And I hate to remain the mired start (although to be honest, 2016 continues to be overall under stellar), but this brings us to next trend. Many developers have stopped speaking about gameplay. I'm not sure if the scales tipped, since it is been an extended and slippery slope.
However, the idea was pressed home at a gathering I went to in 2010. Not one person needed to Madden Overdrive Coins talk about how their game was intriguing and different. They spoke of IAPs, optimal advertising, clones upon clones squeezing the whales to the last drops in their precious oils.
I want to own conversations about new touch controls. Gameplay mechanics that overpower "standard, rare and epic" loot systems. Something different. Something new. Something passionate.
The whole year wasn't merely a spiral of doom and gloom though. Pokemon GO sprung beyond nowhere, catching us all with this creative pants down and Buy Madden NFL Overdrive Coins blasting the Summer charts into chaos. There have already been geo-location games inside past. Nothing like this though.
It was the refreshing shot within the arm that 2016 needed. Forget the slightly iffy mechanics and tech issues. This would be a genuinely enjoyable game that you may play whilst running, or going for the pub, or shopping, or whatever. Bra-fricking-vo Niantic!