DS Daily: Too many games?
by Alisha Karabinus 
{ Jan 11th 2009 at 10:28AM }
Yesterday, as we were discussing the localization of Phantasy Star Zero, there was a lot of talk about different periods of the year being packed with too many worthwhile releases, and that begs another question entirely: are there just too many worthwhile games, period?Listen, we're not talking about just the cream of the crop here, but could you even play all the games you wanted to try? Are there too few for you, Mr(s). Discerning Consumer? Or are you cool with the industry as is, across all systems, and the rate of release of worthwhile games?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Hannah @ Jan 11th 2009 11:30AM
As of right now, I have 36 games I have need to finish, only counting the ones I actually care about. Yes, too many games. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but it is a little frustrating, because while I'd *like* to finish them all, I simply don't have the time.
belta @ Jan 20th 2009 10:47AM
far too many good games, because of the usual stuff adult life throws at you, i only play on my ds and then only when in the bath or when the missus is asleep! and even on the ds there are still games from the ds release i want, it makes it hard to choose what to play. but it's a good thing there is choice out there, it just makes me wish i was a spotty teenager or a stoner again
Danny @ Jan 11th 2009 12:38PM
The problem is they are releasing too many stupid gamessuch as babyz petz shitz ect.
Venom @ Jan 11th 2009 1:54PM
SECONDED!
Too many Hannah Montanas, Imagines, High School Whatevercraps, Naked Bands, Catz, Dogz, Horsez, Gerbilz, Lizardz, Whateverz... And a really small number of worthwhile games, unfortunately. =/
Safiel @ Jan 11th 2009 6:18PM
Way I see it, just don't buy those games. Plus, those games appeal to someone (or at least someone is being tricked into buying them) or they wouldn't continue to be made.
I'd never buy any of those games, but I think there are a lot of kids out there who love to play them. Even if by our standards the games suck, if the people who buy them enjoy them.. well isn't that what it's all about, having fun with the games you buy.
As long as there is stuff you want to play, I see no reason to complain.
BlackDS @ Jan 11th 2009 11:46PM
My experience is that parents are stupid and cheap.
They don't know the difference (or care) between a good title like Nintendogs and a bad title like Dogz. They just see that Dogz is cheaper and try to get their kid to pick up the cheaper game. :(
Most little kids don't know which games are good and which games are bad, so they end up with Dogz, instead of Nintendogs.
Quality 1st party titles like Nintendogs are almost never on sale, while crapware like Dogz is frequently discounted so the retailer can get rid of it.
IMO, that's the reason crapware sells ... apathy, ignorance, and cheapness by parents.
My experience (by observing what's happening around me when I go out to pick up a DS game) is that DS Fanboy readers are the exception, NOT the rule. Most DS game buyers are NOT very well informed and don't really care alot about DS games.
Peace.
raFa @ Jan 11th 2009 1:06PM
No! There's never enough!
Remember that this is all just more options, and that we don't NEED to buy them right now. When we finish or get bored of the games we have in the future, we can go back to the library and find more worthy games.
But yes, my Amazon Wishlist frustrates me.
Symytry @ Jan 11th 2009 1:35PM
The problem with your solution is that by the time you get around to picking up the game you wanted, it is no longer readily available and costs twice as much on ebay.
Matt G. @ Jan 11th 2009 2:38PM
I buy games I want very soon after they come out because I'm always afraid it'll disappear off shelves completely if I were to wait.
Safiel @ Jan 11th 2009 6:26PM
I try to pick up what I want before it disappears off shelves, but some times I miss the time window for a game or I don't hear/notice a game I would have liked till years after it was released.
With just a few exceptions, most ds games you can easily pick up used ds games for less then you would have paid originally. There's a few exceptions to this (tetris, electroplankton), but most of them time you'll be paying around half price for stuff that hasn't been on shelves for a while. Of course, if you don't want to hassle with buying stuff used (which can on occasion be a pain), then that's another matter.
Fatlus @ Jan 11th 2009 1:10PM
You kinda need to buy some games before they dont sell well and fall into obscurity and become collectors items..costing much more when you decide to get it later. But then that's just my fear ;_;
Feburary and March will kill me.(My wallet, specifically)
Danny F. @ Jan 11th 2009 1:15PM
PS3 & PSP could use a freakin game or two soon.. DS and 360 are on a roll with a lot of must haves lately. The wii....ehhh... nothin comes to mind sadly.
BobTheElephant @ Jan 11th 2009 1:27PM
I think the DS is doing quite well in the number of worthwhile games, I own a whole bunch of games(45+) and really really like darn near all of 'em. The Wii, however, I feel is lacking worthwhile games...it had a few but, nothing too impressive as of late. I also feel the 360 is doing pretty well...especially after the last few months. (PS3 and PSP are absolutely unimportant to me so i don't really have an opinion there...)
Alex @ Jan 11th 2009 2:59PM
Maybe I have lost my love for handheld games, but personally I haven't gotten a DS game since Phantom Hourglass, there just have been no games that have caught my intrest, the only games in 09 that I'm looking forward to are GTA China Town Wars and Rhythm Heaven Gold.
Jacksons @ Jan 11th 2009 3:09PM
I don't know. I scan the shelves and get that "been there, done that" feeling. I think I'm ready for the next DS, honestly. Unfortunately, the DSi is not it.
Matias @ Jan 11th 2009 5:01PM
Right now I'm not playing anything new, in any console, so I'm replaying old games.
I'm happy with the next releases because I'll get new games for my ds and wii, but there is still a lack of worthwhile releases, I mean, I want to play like 5 new games for the ds, and like 4 for the wii, thaqt means 9 games, wich I'll probably beat in 1 month or so.
Luckily, those games are spread through 3 months, so I'll get a few months of entertainment, and then I go back to study anyways, so I'll have less time for playing (that's not much to say, because when I'm studying I usually play 4 hours a day anyways).
samfish @ Jan 11th 2009 5:19PM
There are too many games for me.
Part of my problem, though, is that I tend to either start a game and move on to the next one before I finish it or focus on one game and never even open the others!
uuhya @ Jan 11th 2009 5:24PM
Honestly, as far as problems go, too many good DS games is not that bad.
Nitroactive @ Jan 11th 2009 5:39PM
I was keeping up with all the DS games I wanted up until Christmas when I got a Wii. Now I feel overwhelmed with Wii games. Publishers need to stop making games for a bit while I catch up.
aj @ Jan 11th 2009 6:26PM
I am an RPG fan. And as I understand it, RPGs are kind of a special niche. So why are there 5 million RPGS all being released at about the same time for the same system? I'd love to play them all, but don't have 500$ to spend on games.
Safiel @ Jan 11th 2009 6:32PM
I've got a pretty big ds collection (about 90 games right now). I've played most all of them through, though the Christmas season has left me a bit behind.
I buy everything I want to play, typically new, but most often not at full price. A little patience can go a long way with getting stuff for cheap. Wait a few months and Toy's 'r us will have a buy 2 get one free sale or a game will get a price drop. Your dollars will stretch a lot further, which means either more games, more money or both and you'll always have a shelf with a few games just waiting for your spare time. Now, if only I could buy spare time!
Danny @ Jan 11th 2009 7:49PM
Yeah but those poor people, people need to be educated on gaming people are wasting money ad I see it whenever I'm at best buy. I call for Gaming Education!
Jeff Swann @ Jan 11th 2009 9:35PM
I just wish games would come out throughout the year, as opposed to in two major chunks (late spring and holiday season).
Let's get more games around February and June-August. That'd solve all of the problems, and I'd end up purchasing more games overall. Right now I have a backlog of probably 4 or 5 games that I will realistically play.
BlackDS @ Jan 11th 2009 11:21PM
I wish there were more 1st Party titles (Nintendo) released more frequently.
I only need 6 DS games for Platinum Status at Club Nintendo; however, the only game Nintendo will release prior to June 30 that I will buy is Pokemon Platinum.
No way am I buying Nintendo's Personal MATH Trainer just to reach Platinum status.
Hopefully Nintendo will announce more games before their Club Nintendo year ends on June 30. Otherwise, I'm buying Wii games (to achieve Platinum status) ... and I don't own a Wii (yet).
There a tons of 3rd party games as developers try to make a quick buck off the large DS user base. Unfortunately, most 3rd party games are shovelware.
I wish Nintendo would have some kind of quality control to weed out all the bad titles, because they are crowding out shelf space for quality DS titles.
Peace.
Danny @ Jan 12th 2009 12:09AM
Well then maybe parents don't care about the fun of their child. How saddening, Dogz to Nintendogs a kid gets Dogz. So so sad....
MarkShark @ Jan 12th 2009 12:27AM
The only problem I find with having so many games is how hard it is to suggest stuff to people on the fly. I mean, where do I even start?
Tim @ Jan 12th 2009 2:24AM
I believe that the DS is being flooded by the following:
--shovelware
--mis-released games
--good games
yet, there are too little games that are released when the time is right (read: when there's not much competition).
This is what I think, anyway.
juntok @ Jan 12th 2009 11:55PM
many good games, means nintendo ds still have long long good future ahead, as consumer will play all the good games one by one...like me..hehe
lizzieizzie @ Jan 12th 2009 2:00PM
Too many games? Nonsense! I'm overwhelmed with all the awesome games that have just been released over the holiday period, added to the games that are going to be released within these next few months. But I'm overwhelmed in a good way!
Let's see, newly released games that I want include Age of Empires: Mythologies, Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest IV, Etrian Odyssey 2, and Disgaea DS. And now Dragon Quest V, Fire Emblem, Pokemon Platinum, Puzzle Quest: Galactrix, and Suikoden are coming out soon!
The only downside is that these games add to the huge backlog that I already own, but hey, that means my DS will ALWAYS have some use, and I'll never be without a great game to play!
Dante G @ Jan 12th 2009 4:51PM
There are too many games worth playing out there. The good thing about this is that prices drop pretty fast and you can get more games to play even if you don't have the time to when you buy them.
Mike97 @ Jan 12th 2009 5:01PM
Yes, there are far more games than I have time to play, but to me this is a great problem to have. I like being able to choose from the cream of the crop and always having a great videogame to play rather than having to try to go out of my way to find a game that is at least decent after I've played all the good games.
Yes, there is a lot of shovelware, but my daughters love a lot of that stuff. Believe it or not, Nintendogs isn't the most kid-friendly virtual pet game out there. Most kids would rather just customize their pet and play some mini-games with it to earn stuff. Check out the popularity of Webkinz if you don't believe me.
My love for the DS has a lot more to do with the amazing game library it possesses rather than the touch screen, the microphone, or having two screens. If the PSP and the DS had equal libraries and release schedules, I would be playing a PSP all the time. It's one of the coolest handheld devices ever. Unfortunately, the PSP has very few worthwhile games (unless you really like sports and racing) while the DS has tons.
Moco Loco
ViRGE @ Jan 12th 2009 10:51PM
There are only too many good games if you like RPGs; seeing as how they're flooding out of Japan. If you don't like RPGs, then I find that there are precious few games.
goog9 @ Jan 13th 2009 2:59PM
too many games that arent good! they should remake tales of destiny (ps2) for the ds. and translate all the ds tales games, and then some! i love tales.
urbanryoga @ Jan 13th 2009 6:17PM
To be honest the last DS game I bought was Final Fantasy IV. I bought the latest WWE game for my nephew for DS only for him to find it horribly unbalanced. There has been way too much crap released on the DS and way too many rehashes. I rented Chrono Trigger (gamefly) to only find it to be completely worthless to those who have already played through the game already (and the bonus ending will seem retarded to those who played Chrono Cross). PS0 is a breath of fresh air and I want it now.
Right now, the only good game i'm really interested in purchasing is Moon. Besides that and the eventual release of DQIX, all I want is PS0. All I want for right now is a PS0.