Weekend Reading: User Generated Content May Not Be the Future

Sony has recently launched ModNation Racers, for which we already have a review up on Softpedia, a title that aims to deliver a complete kart racing experience for the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation Portable while also introducing the player to a host of content creation tools existing under the “Play, Create, Share” concept that also powers the Little Big Planet universe.

The hope is that after becoming familiar with the mechanics of the racer, which are not too complicated, players will be interested in making their own customized drivers, their own personalized karts and special tracks, which they will then share with the rest of the world, putting together a more or less constant stream of content for ModNation Racers.

It's a nice idea but comes with quite a bit of issues that the companies in charge and the community built around the game need to solve, from policing copyright infringements and inappropriate content to creating a system where the best content rises to the top.

There are mechanisms in ModNation Racers to solve them but, despite the game offering me the freedom to design and put my personal stamp on those creations, I find that I am reluctant to do so. “Play, Create, Share” might fail because, by nature, gamers like to have their experiences served up fully formed from the hands of developers and not user created.

As gamers are getting older, they begin to lack the time as quickly as they begin to get the money needed to play all the titles they are interested in. Even if one focuses exclusively on, let's say, the PlayStation 3, there are enough big and small games launched for the platform to keep a gamer occupied even if they do not spend the time to delve very deep into each of them.

And it's surely more interesting to play through what a team of professional developers has created than to look for good user generated content. There is certainly superb user created stuff but it's easier to trust developers and what they offer than someone who is basically just a consumer with a creative streak.

This does not mean that titles like ModNation Racers and Little Big Planet 2 are destined to fail. Their concepts and the tools they are offering are very good for those who want to use them and communities will surely form benefiting from them. Just don't expect them to become the future of gaming.