The games industry may not be suffering to the same degree as numerous other industries in this depressing economic climate, but it is not completely out of danger yet. In the long-term, the industry may be hit hard as fewer people are willing to spend their hard-earned cash on leisure activities as there is overall less disposable income floating about.

However, a recent article by Associated Press stated that the games industry has a secret weapon: hardcore gamers. We all have an image in our head of games fanatics: those long queues stretching out down the high-street to mark the midnight launch of a new title, the hours spent locked away in darkened rooms as fans immerse themselves in their own worlds. It is these very gamers who are giving the industry a cushion to fall back on.

According to the article, despite the popularity of such consoles as the Wii, which have opened up the market to new consumers, it is the original big gamers who are responsible for half of all sales. Therefore, as long as they keep on buying – and people in the know seem to think they will – the industry does not have much to fear.

There has been a lot of talk recently about games taking over as the number one form of entertainment in the future, dwarfing films and music combined, which is great news for the industry. But no matter how popular gaming becomes, it will always be the big gaming fans who keep the industry going from strength to strength.

Although the games industry is surviving fairly well in these dark economic times, this fact has not stopped the popular high street retailer GAME from offering a helping hand to its army of faithful customers. This helping hand has come in the form of an online games rental service that will allow customers to rent out games from the shop and then deliver them back by post.

Online DVD rental has already proved to be hugely popular, and people living outside towns and city centres benefit hugely from the ability to rent out films and return them without the hassle of making any trips to the store. It therefore seems about time that the same service was provided for gaming enthusiasts.

In order to further enhance its online presence, GAME has teamed up with SwapGame, which already offers a rental service of its own. The GAME service will allow users to rent up to two games at any one time, and they will also benefit from the lack of any late fines, allowing customers to keep the game for a bit longer if they are close to completing it. The service has a monthly fee and after one game has been posted back, another one will then be sent out to the customer.

Alternatively, for more complex games, the service offers a means by which customers can try it out to see if they like it before going back and buying it. Some new games can cost around £40, and this is not the kind of money that many people can afford to take risks with, especially in these times. As a result, this is also being seen as a ‘try before you buy’ scheme which aims to prevent the disappointment of taking a game home only to discover that it has been a complete waste of money.

Last week Nintendo received confirmation that its latest patent has been approved. This patent, code named “Kind Code”, is the brain child of Nintendo’s own Creative Director, Shigeru Miyamoto, who is the man behind everything from Mario to Wii Fit. In keeping with their latest direction, Nintendo’s patent revolves around the idea of making games more accessible for the so called “casual” market, and appears to be Miyamoto’s attempt to finally break the barrier between these players and traditional game genres such as the Action/Adventure and Role Playing Game.

Kind Code looks to be several ideas rolled into one, all of which act as a system to make sure players with limited time or skill can still enjoy the entirety of a game's narrative. The first part of the patent refers to a picture in picture video hint system that can be accessed if the player becomes uncertain as to what to do next. These videos would be directly linked to a particular puzzle or challenge and act like a walkthrough guide, without the need to break the immersion by leaving the game’s environment.

The second part of the patent refers to a DVD-like functionality which allows users to skip to specific chapters in a title, meaning players could potentially replay their favourite parts or skip forward through a section without completing it. The idea of a game being completely open and unlocked from the beginning is definitely something that would create both design possibilities and problems. What would stop a user from skipping a vital story element, for example, and then being confused later on in the game because of this action?

This said, many people who miss the first episode of a TV show will start from the second if it means being in sync with friends who are also watching it. This feature could provide a way for people with less time to drop in and out of larger games at will. They may not get the full experience doing this, but they could experience parts of a game that they otherwise would never have attempted to play.

The final part of the patent is perhaps the most extreme as it strays the furthest from the conventional ideas of what defines a videogame. Referred to in the patent as “Digest Mode”, this feature would allow the player to watch a narrative based title being played for them, rather than interacting themselves. The player could then choose to pause the action at any time and take over the controls. This would allow a gamer with little skill to still enjoy story elements that they could not have progressed to otherwise. This feature also makes a significant nod to the Interactive Narrative genre which is often spoken of but rarely worked on. Potentially, a user could watch a film/game, choose to change a decision or where to go next, and then sit back and see how their decision affects the outcome of the story, much like a ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ novel.

For traditional gamers, all of the above ideas may seem to go against their opinions about why a game should be played in the first place. The removal of challenge from play, puzzles that have built-in tutorials, and games that play themselves are certainly not going to appeal to everyone. This patent, however, is not aimed at the traditional gaming scene, and it will be very interesting to see just how the emerging casual market will respond to these changes if the patents ever become a reality.

You can take a look at the patent in full
here.

Achievement points have been one of the most talked about features of this generation's games, and their success for Microsoft has spurred on Sony and other companies to offer similar awards across their own titles. As of February 2008 over one billion achievement points had been unlocked on the Xbox 360 and the number will only rise faster as more consoles are unwrapped this holiday season. Everyone likes to be told that they have done well and an achievement can offer just that, but what else have they done in the past 3 years?

It’s hard to admit but achievements do seem to be playing an ever increasing role in what games we are willing to try. A large amount of people for example have downloaded and played Adver-games for Yaris and Doritos on XBLA. Both of these titles are widely known for offering a quick and easy 200 points, and both probably wouldn’t have been touched without them. Whether this is a good thing depends on what you think about the new games you try. In some instances you may be disappointed, but at the other end of the spectrum the lure of extra points may sway you to purchase a hidden gem that you would otherwise have missed.

Anyone who has attempted to unlock the “Pacifist” achievement on Geometry Wars will know that achievements have the ability to change the way we play. This goal was to stay alive for 60 seconds without firing, something that starkly contrasted the original design suggested by the two stick shooter. The resulting experience was something that many may never have tried otherwise but it proved so popular with fans that an entire game mode was dedicated to it in the sequel.

In opposition to this, achievements also have the potential to spoil games. Many a time the temptation to read through the list of points before you play can be too much and this will often result in players specifically aiming for certain goals or story paths, rather than simply experiencing the game afresh.

Ask someone if they have completed The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and many will say yes, but even the most thorough of gamers would struggle to claim they have seen everything in some of today’s multi-path and open-world games. Achievements can act as a cut off point in many of these bigger titles, allowing busy gamers still to feel as if they have experienced the majority of what is on offer. Badly chosen achievement points, however, run the risk of artificially ending a game earlier than the designer intended. In Grand Theft Auto IV for example, many of the joys of experimenting with the open world were not encouraged by the awarded points, meaning newer players to the series may have moved on from the title before experiencing a large amount of the fun.

These are just a few examples of how achievements have affected games since their arrival on the console scene. As the market matures and as publishers become even more aware of just how powerful the achievement can be, I believe design and playing habits will begin to change at an even greater rate. Whether or not this will be good or bad for the industry is yet to be seen but one thing is certain: as long as achievements continue to encourage purchases they will be a key part of consoles for years to come.