On the Pointlessness of "Hours of Gameplay" 121
KaiEl writes "An article on TotalVideoGames is quoting Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser as saying Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will have 150 hours of gameplay. That's all well and good, but what does it really mean? The way I see it, a game that I enjoy for 20 hours is much better than a game that I hate for 150. So why the obsession in video game media with quantifying gameplay time?"
Re:Just like everything else... (Score:2, Interesting)
Xenogears (Score:2, Interesting)
Non-Linear RPGs (like Fallout, etc) are good if long if you enjoy the setting.
Something like GTA 1,2,3 and 3.5, though...for me, every mission started being the same after a while. If the 'core' game can be completed in about 15 hours, with extras of about 30, this style of game is valid.
But, 150 hours!? There is almost no dialog, or story, so what actions are you going to be doing for that long?
They mention gang wars and such, Sim-Gang? If so, a Sim game should not be measured in hours. If can finish "It came from the Desert" in about 10 minutes, while others take hours. Hours mean nothing in a Sim game.
What Is This Guy Talking About? (Score:3, Interesting)
I very rarely see reviews of games that cite hours played by the reviewer. Based on the knowledge and quality of most reviews, the reviewers rarely play the game for more than 1 or 2 hours. These game play times are generated by the company that is releasing the game, not by people reviewing the game. I mean, look at the cite that is provided - Rockstar games' co-founder Dan Houser is talking about number of hours of play, not an independent third party. The whole rant in Kyle Orland's blog is built on a false premise.
The premise is that these statistics are cropping up in reviews of games. This is not the case. They are cropping up in the marketing of games. And so why bother with a critique? What the marketing firms say about the game is entirely subjective and not even worth noting in evaluating a game.
Re:Quantity + Quality over Quality (Score:3, Interesting)
I kinda dig shorter games, but I'm in the smaller margin.
Advertising Dollars (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Quantity + Quality over Quality (Score:3, Interesting)
the earlier gta's had all kinds of stuff to increase the overall gameplay time that was only necessary if you wished.
besides, if it's _quality_ gameplay you'll enjoy for 30 hours, what does it matter that there's 120 hours still available for you one day. it's not like it made those 30 hours any less fun that there's shitloads of more in the game unless you want to be a 'beat it all' in 30 hours in which case you're lucky with most pc games nowadays(beatable in 8h, totally sucked dry and tested everything possible in 30h).
Re:I'd still rather... (Score:3, Interesting)
I disagree. I have a job, I'm home at 7pm, then I have a few hours to do a lot of things.
I installed Diablo II last sunday (old but good), and played it for 6 hours, quit when I moved from act 1 to act 2. Now RPG's are games which require you to have a lot of hours to waste. Assuming I don't have 2x10 hours to waste on it in the weekend, I could play it for on average 1 hour/evening. If it takes 200 hours of treadmilling to build up stats and gather gold/items it would take me more than half a year.
I have played games like Morrowind, Neverwinter Nights etc. occasionally for a few months until I abandoned them, sure I feel I am probably halfway there, but it still doesn't feel good.
On the other hand, I have finished Call of Duty, most games of this kind are considered too short, but that feels a lot better.
There are also games that do not offer a goal and are are not useless when completed. Sports games and racing games are games you can just play for half an hour and keep their value. Playing a few quick races in Colin McRae 4 feels a lot better than playing an RPG for half an hour and gaining 1 level of strength.
If a game promises me 200 hours of gameplay, it is probably a plus for unemployed persons and teenagers/students and a turnoff for people who just don't 200 hours to waste.