Apples and oranges. (platforms and demographics are different - MP8 was also the first MP on Wii. Compare sales to MP9 and MP7.) Further, Portal was only mildly innovative. Portal 2 was simply not innovative at all.

Meanwhile, that comparison bloody well does illustrate the diseased thinking that's led to the problem in the first place. Portal, and even Portal 2 made a lot of money.

THAT'S OKAY. IT'S OKAY TO MAKE A LOT OF MONEY.

The problem is that it's not good enough in the eyes of far too many people. These people don't want to make a lot of money. They want ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD, and they want it yesterday. All competitors must be ground into dust, their houses murdered and their families burned, etc, etc.

Meanwhile, who is asking Mario Party to innovate? Do you believe that Nintendo has made no innovations during the 17 years of Mario Party's 10 iterations?

Can you name a single title that was truly unique and innovative in its design and core concepts compared to other games in the few years before its release which managed to show an exceptionally strong sales record compared to other titles released around the same time which had far fewer core differences from previous titles?

If the market truly cared about companies Actually innovating, then the market would Support innovation. And supporting innovation in the market means players Actually Buying innovative content over the same old rehash of what we bought last year, the year before, and the year before that.

Businesses that make games are in business, and that means they're out to make money. Sure, Portal made a fair bit of money, but in the grand scheme of things it really didn't make a great deal. It repaid itself, but it would barely give Valve any head room to work with. On sales numbers they could have produced another similar title or so, but what if that title flopped? A game making a fair bit of money is only a good thing if the company can make games for very little. If a single game hasn't made enough to cover the development of the next two or three titles, then the company is in a rough spot. It means they are months away from not being able to pay salaries, at which point development on products stop, which means future income stops. AKA, the company no longer exists.

So no, wanting games that makes "Tons of Money" isn't just about greed, it is about doing what they can to ensure they are staying in business and keeping their livelihood going.

Innovation can sell, but it's risky. If it's fundamentally a good game, you might build a loyal niche fan-base. Innovation just for the same of being different is a bit pointless though - what problem are you innovating to solve, what new game mechanics are you creating?

Nobody is saying innovation is bad and ppl shouldnt do it.

The point is innovation is risky and hard to get right. Thus why the big companies dont innovate.

I hadn't seen this post, but I posted on a similar issue. I was wondering if it was just the sex and violence, until I saw the supposed numbers for Madden. Ugh.

Without innovation there would be no advancement whatsoever. When gamers say they want innovation, they mean they're tired of playing the same shit re-skinned for the billionth time.

True to a point - but why do "old" worn out game consepts receive more sales than new and innovative games ?

Mario Party 8 has sold more copies than BOTH Portal games combined !

One of the factors I am sure is marketing. Worn out game concepts typically done by large studios can shell out more money to buy more marketing campaign. Innovative games tend to be more on the indie side, and thus have less money to market.

Another factor is familiarity. You know how to play game X, you will certainly know how to play game Y, which is just a reskin of game X with "All-new Physics Engine!" Wow! Much fun!

People get challenged with innovative games. How do I play this? What am I supposed to do? What are those floating things? Am I supposed to get it? How do I attack? YOU CAN'T ATTACK?? There are reasons why games like basketball and football remain popular. People already know about them. Most people don't want to get challenged.

Unless, of course, someone else has done it, someone else has said it's good, someone else has said it's fun. Then they will try it.

That whole YouTube channel is asinine.

Without innovation there would be no advancement whatsoever. When gamers say they want innovation, they mean they're tired of playing the same shit re-skinned for the billionth time. They're not saying they want someone to rub their ass on the keyboard, compile, and ship. A new idea can be good or it can be bad. Saying that new ideas are all bad is just as stupid as saying that they're all good.

Wow, that's a pretty strong reaction, for not agreeing with one video.

Perhaps you and original poster, Code Fox ought to watch through to the end of the video, because at the end, it mentions a follow up to that theory.

If you guys could just take the time watch this one as well, you'll see that MatPat's point of view isn't that innovation doesn't work, but rather there are conditions to be met first before it does work, like someone earlier mentioned, for example, Minecraft.

Basically, innovation for the same of innovation more than likely will fail.

Wow, that's a pretty strong reaction, for not agreeing with one video.

Khatharr, I think you're really missing the point of the video. People keep saying they are tired of 'the same old thing', and yet 'the same old thing' continues to sell like mad and vastly trumps the sales of quality innovative titles.

If the market actually wanted innovation, it wouldn't be shelling out $60+ for yet another first person shooter with more blur, flair, and browner graphics, while giving a pass to Portal.

What I believe?

If you want to make somthing inovative you have to build your community... to have some people that like your games and then most of the games you give them will be liked be them. But the way to build your community is by making mainsteam games, games that are already proven that people like! Then once you have some people that like your games you can give them to play a new, fresh and inovating game that most people will play.

But the key to stop taking risks is always ask for the community advice... I mean like ask them if they'd like to see something like what you have in your mind! Or brink in your idea in an update of an already famous game! Or make an inovative game for free for a short period of time and then see the feedback!!!

I belive that the video game industry isnt going down because they have no new ideas, but because they leave their ideas for better ways of making money!

Do you agree???