Uncle Tim Cain has some interesting perspective on this era of game dev
Too many games published means too much choice for the consumer
To stand out now you need a recognizable brand. A community you serve in the Gaming Niche. This is harder now with people’s attention divided by so many things Social Media, Netflix, Youtube, Roblox, Fortnite.
It may be helpful to get curated if starting out as a small studio.
Increased Competition & Discoverability: With tens of thousands of games released annually, it is extremely difficult for a game to stand out or even be noticed by potential players (2:33-3:30).
Profitability Struggles: Consumer attention and spending are fragmented across a massive volume of titles, making it difficult for developers to earn back their investments (3:32-4:49).
Market Saturation: The influx of games means players often encounter low-quality titles, leading to fatigue and disillusionment, similar to the causes of the Great Video Game Crash of 1983 (4:51-5:59).
Choice Paralysis: The paradox of choice suggests that when presented with too many options, consumers are more likely to pick something they dislike, which can turn them away from the medium entirely (6:00-7:18).
Misunderstanding Success: Many aspiring developers focus on outlier indie successes while ignoring the thousands of projects that fail to reach profitability or find an audience (7:19-7:53).
Timothy Cain notes that this issue extends beyond games into other creative fields like self-published ebooks, indie films, and standup comedy (7:54-9:07).
The Proposed Solution:
To navigate this landscape, the creator advocates for curation (9:08-9:45). Rather than hoping for discovery, players should find trusted reviewers, streamers, or curators whose tastes align with their own to help filter through the overwhelming number of choices available.