Maybe it's the whole genre.

[Stylish Nero]

This is what I think is the real problem. College students, that are gamers, use online multi-player games as a way to keep in contact and I'm sure they're a big percentage of the audience games are aiming for. If they can't use the game as a social activity, they're probably less likely to buy it. So single player games are selling less.

That probably is the problem.

We need more multiplayer hack and slashes in fact HnS are the only genre that barely made a jump to online multiplayer this gen (I mean all we got was DW but that is somewhat repetitive and too campy for most people tastes). I mean NG and GoW had multiplayer modes but those are more tacked than actual multiplayer focused games.

You know what we need more games like this.

I wouldn't have mind if Capcom did a multiplayer-focused Devil May Cry SPIN OFF!!!

With customization akin to DMC3 and DCM3's combat system just altered to fit multiplayer...it can be a stylish hack and slash version of Monster Hunter.

 

[EllDawn]

That probably is the problem.

We need more multiplayer hack and slashes in fact HnS are the only genre that barely made a jump to online multiplayer this gen (I mean all we got was DW but that is somewhat repetitive and too campy for most people tastes). I mean NG and GoW had multiplayer modes but those are more tacked than actual multiplayer focused games.

You know what we need more games like this.

I wouldn't have mind if Capcom did a multiplayer-focused Devil May Cry SPIN OFF!!!

With customization akin to DMC3 and DCM3's combat system just altered to fit multiplayer...it can be a stylish hack and slash version of Monster Hunter.

I'd be fine with them making it multi-player as long as they still give the option of it being single player, too. It would keep the genre alive, at least.

 

[aoshi]

Yeah, I too spent a lot of time playing RE 5 than DMC 4. Although, I am playing DMC 4 now. IDK, May be its the hardware that makes FPS and TPS games more appealing than hack n slash games.

 

[Stylish Nero]

I'd be fine with them making it multi-player as long as they still give the option of it being single player, too. It would keep the genre alive, at least.

Who says hack and slash were strictly a single player made game last time I checked FPS never started out wit multiplayer either.

Hack and slash are games were you (by various weapons and methods of combat) horde of and take down hordes or packs of enemies...or stylishly dispatches your enemies.

Of course every game has a single player mode (unless its a MMO or something).

 

[IncarnatedDemon]

Very interested in how to two player mode is for Bayo 2. It can become the next standard within Hack and Slash.

 

[Frazz]

Unfortunately the inoperable tumor that is COD and FPS in general is slowly destroying other genres because of the massive amounts of money they get making other companies' sales look bad and thus they have layoffs. A prime example would be the Tomb Raider devs whho I think had some layoffs after TR was released and I quite enjoyed it... The only hope I have now lies in Sucker Punch and Naughty Dog to keep making Uncharted and inFamous because they are all I play asides from Hack n' Slash.

*I apologize to anyone who may find the tumor metaphor distasteful.

 

[EllDawn]

Who says hack and slash were strictly a single player made game last time I checked FPS never started out wit multiplayer either.

Hack and slash are games were you (by various weapons and methods of combat) horde of and take down hordes or packs of enemies...or stylishly dispatches your enemies.

Of course every game has a single player mode (unless its a MMO or something).

Single player is just what you see most. If they could give you an option between multi and single player, that would still be giving people what they want. It would be easier with games that have a more flexible story, so a game like Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, with such a set and heavy story, would not work as a multi-player game. Going by the multi-player games I've tried, having a story that can apply to any character and isn't that strong in the first place is going to be easier for the Hack n Slash genre. Then again there aren't many HnS games that focus on story, from what I've heard.

 

[OppressedWriter]

I really don't want DmC to become a multiplayer game in the conventional sense, but something like a spectator/style competition mode would be great.

For example, two players compete (one at a time) in a bloody palace type arena with custom enemy waves, where 100's of other DMC fans can watch, and the winner is decided sort of like American Idol, the person who is the most entertaining and stylish in disposing the enemies during his turn wins based on the votes of the audience members watching. I think something like that would be really awesome without diluting the depth and quality of the single player campaign.

 

[Loopy]

I really don't want DmC to become a multiplayer game in the conventional sense, but something like a spectator/style competition mode would be great.

Same here. Having said that, I did think it was cool how in DMC3 you could have another player control Vergil for the Arkham fight, or control the doppelganger. That's as far as I'd want to go concering multiplayer as part of the main game in DMC/ DmC.

For example, two players compete (one at a time) in a bloody palace type arena with custom enemy waves, where 100's of other DMC fans can watch, and the winner is decided sort of like American Idol, the person who is the most entertaining and stylish in disposing the enemies during his turn wins based on the votes of the audience members watching. I think something like that would be really awesome without diluting the depth and quality of the single player campaign.

Now I'm thinking of the 'Devil has talent' part of DmC.:lol: Actually, two people could play an elongated version of that level in single player, with enemy waves getting harder as the level progressed, and take turns to beat each other's score.

I don't know how I'd feel about having many people give you scores because it would be subjective, and you could get people just being trolls...then again, trolls are a risk with any multiplayer game.

 

[Meg]

It's not the whole genre. There are reasons while each game the OP listed didn't do well.

1. Lollipop Chainsaw isn't considered to be very good. It's also a new IP, and those are always a risk.
2. Ninja Gaiden 3 is mediocre.
3. God of War: Ascension suffered from franchise fatigue. I mean, think about it. There's God of War 1, 2, 3 plus the two for PSP. Not to mention the three GoW collections that came out. God of War was beaten into the ground.
4. Metal Gear Rising is just a weird game to a lot of people. People who don't like Metal Gear are more likely to ignore it because of the title, and people who do like Metal Gear are likely to ignore it because it isn't a traditional Metal Gear game. Rising suffers from an identity crisis, which makes branding difficult.
5. DmC suffered from a PR and marketing nightmare. Not to mention it could have been a lot better.

So no, it's not the genre. It's companies being stupid. Hack 'n Slash is kind of a niche genre anyway. Oh sure, there are a good amount of games in it, but the industry is dominated by shooters, action/adventure games, shooters, (western) RPGs, and did I mention shooters. Considering that, companies have to be careful with how they handle the hack 'n slash subgenre. Which they haven't been.

 

[EllDawn]

I really don't want DmC to become a multiplayer game in the conventional sense, but something like a spectator/style competition mode would be great.

For example, two players compete (one at a time) in a bloody palace type arena with custom enemy waves, where 100's of other DMC fans can watch, and the winner is decided sort of like American Idol, the person who is the most entertaining and stylish in disposing the enemies during his turn wins based on the votes of the audience members watching. I think something like that would be really awesome without diluting the depth and quality of the single player campaign.

They could do something like what was done in Turok 2 (I don't remember playing any others) where it was split-screen and you were pretty much hunting down the other player, or monsters. If it's going to be played over the internet, no need for the split-screen. But that way you're facing not only the computer, but also a real player. Just make it into an add-on so it's not being forced on people who aren't interested.

 

[8BitHero]

Can I just point that using Platinum games as a reason for why hack 'n' slash games don't sell -isn't a very good one. Platinum Games are known to be some of the best hidden gems but also that they have a curse and sell horrible, just barely hitting a million mark.

As for this H'n'S talk in general.....games have changed. Look at how games have shifted and what gamers are looking for. You could sell a happy adventure collect-a-thon like Banjo, DK64 in the PS1/N64 era just fine but would they sell now? No. Why? Because games have changed. It's now all about serious epic adventures/rapid multiplayer. Like Skyrim/Tomb Raider/ The Last of Us etc. Now games in which you play as a witch user her hair to slay building sized monsters with. Only Nintendo can get away with still being stuck in the 90's.

What confuses me the most about gamers, is that during a time when games we about being silly fun such as: Devil May Cry, Mario Sunshine or Metal Gear(PS2 Generation), Platinum Games(Clover Studios back then) still never sold. Viewtiful Joe, Okami, God Hand.
So even when games were about having fun, they still didn't sell.

 

[Chancey289]

It's not just hack n slash. Horror and character platformers like 8bit pointed out are all suffering too. The gaming industry thinks that everyone likes to play action shooters just because they are popular. This is why the market is just ****ing saturated with the same generic and boring crap.

It's not just hack n slash fans having to deal with an ailing genre.

 

[VineBigBoss]

Seeing how do you make profit in the current market the genre is not profitable anymore the way the industry try to sell and make these games, not just because of the players mindsets but the devs too: they could easily make low-budget hack'n'slash games (research on stabilished franchises like Devil May Cry that have an already solid and rich basis to its gameplay can't be too expensive, you just need a talented team) to sell at that mark of 1~3 mil and make it profitable, but they prefer to spend a lot of money and take big risks to broader the audience of the genre itself like they did with DmC: expensive Avatar studios mocap bullshit, focus on graphics instead of performance (which takes more resources to achieve) and things like this is what make hack'n'slashers poor profitable games nowadays, they're trying to transform something that just doesn't fit to the actual broadier audience, and they end losing their fans, selling less than previous titles and as bonus they focus on expensive things to make the games.

And GoW:A was clearly less expensive than any games of the main series and probably failed because it was not appealing to the fans and people still like GoW a lot it's not like this franchise is dead, this is a social network for brazilian gamers and GoW 3 is one of the most played and discussed games; i'm personally not a fan and not even finished GoW 3 until now but it's a decent hack'n'slash on its own merits (just like DmC) and the first two entries did a good job in being challenging to me:

Team Ninja is trying something interesting, they are making a Ninja Gaiden very similar to MadWorld for the iOS (that is a huge market nowadays) and XBLA, i think this can be interesting to them because it will be a good way to bring attention to the main series and make profit with a low-budget game; just like i propose here on this thread they could do with the hack'n'slashers in the consoles and PC; low-budget games, with subpar graphics, a good engine like MT Framework to ensure maximum performance and cool gameplay.

 

[Chancey289]

, a good engine like MT Framework to ensure maximum performance and cool gameplay.

Panta Rhei engine? Even Unreal Engine 4 is looking very impressive. We're making that jump to next gen so you know. In case you missed all that. God MGS V and that Fox Engine makes the game look f*cking amazing.

 

[VineBigBoss]

Panta Rhei engine? Even Unreal Engine 4 is looking very impressive. We're making that jump to next gen so you know. In case you missed all that. God MGS V and that Fox Engine makes the game look f*cking amazing.

That's exactly what they have to avoid to minimize the budget to produce the game, in case you missed my point.

 

[Chancey289]

That's exactly what they have to avoid to minimize the budget to produce the game, in case you missed my point.

It's now easier to make games for consoles such as the PS4 because the thing is basically made up of PC parts which is what games usually start developing on in the first place. I think this is going to to help with that budget thing.

 

[Dominus]

I'm waiting for the FPS genre to crash and burn because it already peaked years ago.. I'm afraid H&S genre will be dead by mid next gen (RIP) and we will so more Arkham Asylum styled action games where the combat is easier to handle. My last hope is a new Metroid being released, but it seems Retro passed that opportunity to instead make another DK game..lolllllll

 

[8BitHero]

I'm waiting for the FPS genre to crash and burn because it already peaked years ago.. I'm afraid H&S genre will be dead by mid next gen (RIP) and we will so more Arkham Asylum styled action games where the combat is easier to handle. My last hope is a new Metroid being released, but it seems Retro passed that opportunity to instead make another DK game..lolllllll

The hack and Slash genre is never going to die because it's hasn't been saturated to point of it getting stale. It's going to continue to be a small genre that's able sustain itself for yours to come; so long as we still have companies like Ninja Theory and Platinum still willing to make fun games such as: Bayonetta and Enslaved.

 

[VineBigBoss]

The hack and Slash genre is never going to die because it's hasn't been saturated to point of it getting stale. It's going to continue to be a small genre that's able sustain itself for yours to come; so long as we still have companies like Ninja Theory and Platinum still willing to make fun games such as: Bayonetta and Enslaved.

I didn't even know that Enslaved was a hack'n'slash. I thought that it was more an adventure/action or something to these lines.