Video gaming has always been about what sells.

Platformers are just not so big at

selling right now, but they remain one of the most loved genres so they're not
forgotten by developers. However, look around and you will certainly see that some
of modern gaming's best gems are platformers getting currently released.

Go back to '85 and simple arcade games were really popular, then Mario happened and
lots of platformers were released. Platforming titles ruled the roost for a long
time, though other genres such as shooters (I mean shmups, not first person
shooters) became really famous. Then shooters started to lose luster and 2D
fighting games became so popular that there was a system practically built around
them (the Neo Geo)!

Fighting games and their cousin, the brawler genre, remained popular in the 90's
but shmups practically disappeared. Platformers started to lose popularity but
RPG's started to become important and 3D interpretations of most genres started to
get popular.

Unfortunately for platformers, the transition to 3D was quite difficult what with
stubborn cameras that developers still didn't master and a lack of understanding on
how to do good platforming mechanics in 3D space at a time that everyone wanted to
do 3D. I think that's why the Castlevania series suffered so much; they tried to
bring the Castlevania gameplay to 3D but Konami just didn't quite "get" how to do a
proper 3D platformer. As a result, 3D Castlevania titles had poor platforming and
tried to compensate with other mechanics that weren't as satisfying.

Interestingly, the success of the first person shooter genre has validated all the
effort spent in mastering 3D. I think the FPS, and the related third-person-shooter
genre have had an uncharacteristically long reign in the video game spotlight as
number one genre but that's partly because they provide very malleable base.

I do believe that there is a bit of a resurgence of the platforming genre. That's

possibly because smaller developers have taken up the platform game mantle and have
chosen to provide the wares without worrying about the 3D aspect that much. This
has liberated them to create great titles such as Shovel Knight, Salt and
Sanctuary, Dust: An Elysian Tale, Braid, Shadow Complex, Shantae, etc. All of these
games are excellent platformers that may not have been able to sell as much as a
AAA game, but don't let that fool you. They are as enjoyable, and in many cases,
even much more enjoyable than your typical AAA big budget release.

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Ralph Garcia

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Jordan Pool
Jordan Pool, Gamer
Answered Apr 3, 2016
Just like anything, trends come and go, even in gaming. Think about how survival
games have been huge the last few years, but are now oversaturating the market and
becoming a bit bland, at least in my opinion. I think certain styles of game have
a period where they are very popular as new ideas and technological capabilities
are able to reinvigorate gameplay, but after too long, people get tired of seeing
the same old ideas slightly nuanced, and popularity for those genres fades out for
a while. In my opinion, it is a tough sell to have a straight up platforming game
without any sort of new mechanic to it, because platform games are a bit played
out.

Some recent(ish) platform games that I can think of are Braid, FEZ, and Shovel
Knight, but for each of them, the platforming wasn't really the focus -- it was
another mechanic that took the spotlight and made the games what they are.

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