It's this time of the year, when stacks of games are being spat out every Friday, that I always wonder. Not, as you may expect, 50 Cent game why? But how many of these games will ever actually be finished by their owners? I'd love to know the stats. Yes, I appreciate that sports games and MMORPG's can't be completed in the traditional sense, but anecdotal evidence suggests most games are put aside long before they are finished. Can you imagine doing this with a film or book? Sure, it happens - anyone else walk out of Revolver? - but not to the same extent it does with games. So why is this? Have we all gone soft?
The obvious conclusion is that games are too long and too difficult. Older gamers, veterans of the unforgiving 8 bit era when lives came in threes, may scoff, but it's true. Especially the length issue - games are generally too long. Time is tight for most people and yet reviews still mark games down for having less then, say, 20 hours gameplay. With so many games released every week it takes a committed player to stick it out when stuck on a game, especially now it is so easy to trade in or sell an older title to fund newer purchases.
How many people do you know who ever fully completed, say, GTA:San Andreas?
But there must be more to it than just time. Is it a cultural thing? Now that gaming is mainstream has the completist urge been diluted by post-pub players and casual participants? Is the cost an issue? Games ain't cheap.
In reality I'd suggest the much of the problem is caused by competing interests. On the one hand you have hardcore gamers who demand hours of challenging action - on the other, less committed players who want to dip in and out of a number of titles and, crucially, feel like they are making progress. All the console format holders and publishers are aware of this - EyeToy, Revolution controller, Live Arcade - but the majority of games are still aimed at the hardcore guys, leaving other interested parties with a game they can't or won't finish.
Most of all though, spare a thought for the game creators - the bearded guys who create these interactive worlds we all love. Imagine spending years crafting your epic only for a tiny amount of people to ever see the end - people who would probably then moan about the length anyway.
We all consume media but gaming seems to fill us up far too quickly.
