Would Tetris be a smash hit if it were released today?

woodsmoke

Member
[hypothetical question]

What if no one made Tetris yet and it was developed last week, would it still be a smash hit like it was a long time ago?

I'm guessing it would go under because there are so many other nice minimal games out there for browser and mobile.

Hardware is important too because back in the day it was close to what the computers were capable of making it a "main course" game. I think it would be stamped as a browser game for PC today. Also I don't see it playing well on the most used gaming machines today (smartphones) because touch screen controls aren't good enough. I guess today it would have the most potential on 3ds/Switch which is funny because it was Nintendos killer app for the Gameboy many many centuries ago. Okay maybe on PS, XB, PC it could be viewed as a cool little indie game but probably not much more than that.

Would tetris be a huge success today? What do you think?

Also if you enjoy Tetris, check out the games Triangulis and First person tetris, they are both very cool.
 
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Broseph79

Guest
Yes, Tetris would do well but with some caveats.

If you release Tetris in a crowded field of puzzle drop style game, like Candy Crush and what not then no. Tetris doesn't stand out. But if Tetris had never been released, then all these style games wouldn't exist. Tetris popularized and kicked off the genre. So if it were the only game of this type, then yes, it would do fine.

Also, what you are saying about PC hardware when Tetris came out is incorrect but mostly just irrelevant. It was never a big PC game. It sold mostly on the NES and then massively on the Gameboy. It's also the biggest cell phone game ever, back when cell phones mostly had buttons (so up until about 5 years ago or so).

So it was always mostly a mobile game, with some at home play on the NES and almost none on PC. Modern smart phones don't have good enough controls, so this game wouldn't be as good on them, but it does fine on the various handheld gaming systems that are still incredibly popular. It has also been released for just about every home console. XBoxOne and PS4 have Tetris.
 

woodsmoke

Member
You make some good points. I agree with it being more of a mobile game. I had (have) it on the gameboy, but never really experienced on mobile phones because I never had one then. Didn't know that it was big on old mobile phones, but makes sense because buttons and limited hardware. With computer processing power I meant computers in general including consoles and handhelds. But yeah Tetris even runs on an Atari2600 so it could even had come out earlier. Not to mention the computer it first ran on.

Oh yeah and I forgot to say there's also a nice documentary called Tetris - From Russia with Love.
 
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Genetix

Member
Perhaps not - but at the same time, the entire gaming landscape would also be different. The thousands of puzzle games that are inspired by Tetris elements would not exist or something else would have came along before now that filled it's place.
 

Changgi

Member
I'd say so. The simplicity of retro games are still formulas for smash hits, like Flappy Bird and 2048. Those could have easily gotten the same amount of popularity if they were released in the 80s.
 

woodsmoke

Member
True dat. I can well imagine a flappy bird on the Gameboy\NES with it's one-button controls, although 2048 wouldn't play so fast and fluent. Tetris with touch screen controls, meh, can't imagine it having the same impact there as it did then. But then again it is a brilliant game and still could be smash hit material even with (*shudder*)touch screen controls. Who knows maybe control accessories for phones would be more widespread today.
 
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Koohyar

Guest
Being a smash hit nowadays is a difficult task to achieve. On that time there weren't many games, and big 3d titles didn't exist as well. There was no VR system, no Kinect, and nothing similar. Everything was pretty simple and straightforward.

Nowadays the technology has expanded a lot and the variety of games is out of control. So a simple game like tetris (I'm talking about that simple original version) wouldn't be a super great title if it was released last week. But...

But assuming the original tetris didn't exist at all, if a new version of tetris which accommodates the new standards would come out just now it would indeed be a smash hit. Imagine a version of tetris with VR control and new ideas, specialized handheld device to control the colored blocks etc. Such ideas don't sound great because the original tetris does exist and no matter how many new ideas you put into it and make it big and different, it will be just a copy of the original one with some new options.

So my conclusion is: The original tetris wouldn't be a great title. But a new modern version would, if it was never created before.
 
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Misty

Guest
[hypothetical question]

What if no one made Tetris yet and it was developed last week, would it still be a smash hit like it was a long time ago?

I'm guessing it would go under because there are so many other nice minimal games out there for browser and mobile.

Hardware is important too because back in the day it was close to what the computers were capable of making it a "main course" game. I think it would be stamped as a browser game for PC today. Also I don't see it playing well on the most used gaming machines today (smartphones) because touch screen controls aren't good enough. I guess today it would have the most potential on 3ds/Switch which is funny because it was Nintendos killer app for the Gameboy many many centuries ago. Okay maybe on PS, XB, PC it could be viewed as a cool little indie game but probably not much more than that.

Would tetris be a huge success today? What do you think?

Also if you enjoy Tetris, check out the games Triangulis and First person tetris, they are both very cool.
I fear the connected Consciousness has become drained.

Back in the day we were children, Gameboy was the amazing invention of our time.
But no looking back at is, such things have lost their glamour.
The hype has died, and we are old, outgrown the Shire.
 

Carnivius

Member
I'd say so. The simplicity of retro games are still formulas for smash hits, like Flappy Bird and 2048. Those could have easily gotten the same amount of popularity if they were released in the 80s.
Flappy Bird is just a copy of the old Helicopter in the caves type games which WAS out in the 80s. And people such as myself even made their own versions in BASIC and such on their 8-bit home computers.
 
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Misty

Guest
What a terrible, uninformed stance for a game developer to take. Have you visited the indie scene lately? You might find it a lot more welcoming than you think.
My thing is this. I care about the framerates and presentation, and I view this stance as being a legit critic and elite connoisseur of games.
For me, there is nothing worse than picking up and old and dated game, having it lag around at 20 fps framerate.

The graphics, for me, are about presentation more than about polycount. I can forgive a low-poly game if the graphics are pleasing to my eye. But I cannot forgive a game that has bad aesthetics and presentation.
A lot of the quest for good graphics is really the quest for good aesthetics...gamers confuse aesthetics for polycount after the years and saga seeing all these low-polygon games and want something more smooth.
But personally I think a medium poly game with decent resolution is all that is needed. We have long escaped the rut of being stuck in PS1, 200 foot draw distance and it is time to move into the era of medium poly, but maximum content.
 

Changgi

Member
Flappy Bird is just a copy of the old Helicopter in the caves type games which WAS out in the 80s. And people such as myself even made their own versions in BASIC and such on their 8-bit home computers.
I know the game you're talking about. But when Flappy Bird came out it was a hit even if many don't know it came from an earlier game, which is enough to prove my point that if a similarly simple game came out today, if people don't notice it's a blantant rip-off, it could be successful.

Heck, 2048 is actually a ripoff of 1024 (I think that's the name) which in turn ripped off Threes, but people didn't necessarily know this and they enjoyed it.
 
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Misty

Guest
I know the game you're talking about. But when Flappy Bird came out it was a hit even if many don't know it came from an earlier game, which is enough to prove my point that if a similarly simple game came out today, if people don't notice it's a blantant rip-off, it could be successful.

Heck, 2048 is actually a ripoff of 1024 (I think that's the name) which in turn ripped off Threes, but people didn't necessarily know this and they enjoyed it.
From what I remember, Flappy Bird wasn't popular until Pewdie Pie made a video bashing it and telling people not to play the game because of how bad it was.
Then people did the exact opposite and it became insanely popular.

In my opinion, its a terrible game with excessively difficult gameplay and repetitive levels.
 
We are not in the arcade era anymore. Tetris is no longer "impressive". It would not do well.
Yes, Candy Crush making like ten trillion dollars proves this beyond a shadow of a doubt, obviously.
If Tetris was never made, and nothing else came along with the same (or close to the same formula) in the past years, I think Tetris would absolutely still be a huge hit. Getting your name out there with a great game is easier than ever, and Tetris' core gameplay loop still easily holds up.
 

Neptune

Member
💩💩💩💩 games become popular today for reasons like: "you're great grandpa could play it, and he's blinde!", or a youtube celebrity featured it, or a popular meme featured it, or it was in a vine (when that was popular). Tetris might do "OK", but if it does not recieve some outside boosting force, i dont think it would be a " smash hit!"
There are exceptions that im sure can be dug up, but... Just dont lol

@RichHopelessComposer On a side note sarcasm and being condescending does not make an opinion "better" (or using logical fallacies, if that is intentional or not).
 
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So basically you're saying that one of the best puzzle games ever made, a game that regularly sits near the top of "best games of all time" lists wouldn't be able to get any word of mouth now, even though it did it thirty years ago when it was infinitely harder to do so. Even though even "💩💩💩💩" games manage to do it constantly now, according to you.

Well, can't argue with that logic. Close the thread I guess. lol.

What a terrible, uninformed stance for a game developer to take. Have you visited the indie scene lately? You might find it a lot more welcoming than you think.
Yeah, this. I've said it a thousand times already, but gamers really are the fairest, most informed audience on the planet. I don't think developers have anything to complain about.
 
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Neptune

Member
Look I've always known what Tetris is, but I played Tetris for the first time at an arcade bar called Reset Games sometime at the start of this last school-quarter.
Between the boos and some friends, it was entertaining for a few tries, but I wasnt enthralled by it -- I wasn't scrambling for a phone app download or something.
"Your taste of games is terrible." -- Maybe, but again its just my opinion.
 
The reversal of this topic's proposal is fairly interesting.

Would Bejewled do well were it released in the 1980's?
Would 2048?
Would Crossy Road- oh wait



The mobile gaming climate is somewhat similar to what arcade gaming was back in the day. They just have a different, more efficient method of sucking the money from your wallet.
 
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