Almost half of the games on that list launched after 2010, 6 of those being after 2020. Not sure what qualifies a "modern game", but after 2010 would probably be where I personally draw the line.
The most recent game on that list is from 2023, maybe it just takes time before a game end up on that list? Baldurs Gate 3 was beyond mainstream popular at one point, and surely will end up that list sooner or later, but maybe it's still too early?
This is the turning point where the industry began to change from selling products to selling services. Expansion packs existed before then, but they were sold as complete experiences, essentially mini-sequels sold at a discount because they reused the same engine. The horse armor was something different and controversial at the time.
I wouldn't call a 16 year old game particularly modern.
I would probably say the OP was commenting more on Western gaming, as that's the pattern (see UbiSoft's consecutive string of failures, for example). Games like Elden Ring, Animal Crossing, and Cyberpunk came out of popular non-Western gaming.
The only Western games in that list for the last 6 years are Call of Duty games and Hogwarts Legacy, which was good, although from what I remember vilified by Western media for helping enrich JK Rowling.
Think about what you're saying - the majority of those games are at least 16 years old.
That itself is fairly damning but what puts it over the top is that there are wayyyy more gamers nowadays than there were 16 years ago.
Modern AAA stuff is just simply pretty bad. Games made on a conveyor belt just don't work, at least beyond a point - and that point, wherever it may be, is well behind us for just about all AAA studios.
Yes... almost like 16 years ago is when game sales weren't depending on how long games were on shelves. Shocking that Minecraft can still sell today because it's been on a digial storefront for almost 20 years.
>Modern AAA stuff is just simply pretty bad
1. your conclusion doesnt match your premise. what does sales have to do with quality?
2. this whole argument is just a useless tangent. If you want to look for games not on a conveyor belt, don't look at best selling lists. Especially for networked games continually updated for decades vs. hand crafted releases
There's obviously many more long tail games, but with few exceptions games, even long tailed, tend to be heavily front loaded. The list, in terms of games from e.g. 2018-2023 will likely look identical, so far as the games included, in a decade.
The reason the reflects on AAA games is because AAA in modern times is much more about budget than depth or quality. AAA games are dumping massive amounts of money on titles with the hope of a quick turn-around, but sales for these games are increasingly meh, because the games are increasingly meh.
Even the same studios do a poor job of rehashing stuff.
There are currently something like 10x as many players playing Skyrim as Starfield. It's quite pathetic.
We should probably define what 'AAA' means, because Capcom has been hitting it out of the park pretty consistently as of late. The REmakes, Monster Hunter World and sequels, Devil May Cry 5,...
First off, video game sales are notoriously opaque, and one always has to take numbers like this with a grain of salt. (I particularly doubt the number for The Oregon Trail here, and the citation for it is extremely weak).
But also, note that many of the games--especially the ones near the top--also double- and triple-count their numbers by doing rereleases and special editions and whatnot that all get to count for the "same" game.
Next, note that already 10% of the list came out since the COVID-19 pandemic started--is that not modern enough for you?
Finally, several of these games are continually being worked on and receiving content updates. Minecraft and The Sims 4 may be over a decade old, but they both received updates within the past several months, and their players fully expect more updates in the next several months. Does that mean they aren't modern?
And I see a handful of games released since 2020 on that list.
It also only deals with games that are sold. Whereas games like Genshin Impact have a massive worldwide audience and yet aren't going to show up on that list.
Games don't have the same effect as movies where everyone sees them within a month of release.
It's hard for a game released in the past year to make it onto a top ten list full of games like GTA5 that have been consistently selling copies for over a decade.
How many modern games are there on this list?