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Post by shinobiwan on May 6, 2018 15:24:26 GMT
Uhh, no way. Plenty of games are outperforming even Hollywood blockbusters. Farcry 5 generated more revenue week 1 (from game sales alone, not even mtx, dlc, or season passes) than even Black Panther, one of the best-performing movies of the best-performing studio.
Video games still remains one of the fastest growing sectors in the entertainment industry. It has plenty of room to consolidate but a crash is unlikely. Loot box nonsense might sting specific companies but it's hardly going to topple the entire industry.
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Post by Qui-Gon GlenN7 on May 6, 2018 15:43:52 GMT
Uhh, no way. Plenty of games are outperforming even Hollywood blockbusters. Farcry 5 generated more revenue week 1 (from game sales alone, not even mtx, dlc, or season passes) than even Black Panther, one of the best-performing movies of the best-performing studio. Video games still remains one of the fastest growing sectors in the entertainment industry. It has plenty of room to consolidate but a crash is unlikely. Loot box nonsense might sting specific companies but it's hardly going to topple the entire industry. This is interesting, but if you could provide a source I'd like it.
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Post by shinobiwan on May 6, 2018 15:45:41 GMT
Uhh, no way. Plenty of games are outperforming even Hollywood blockbusters. Farcry 5 generated more revenue week 1 (from game sales alone, not even mtx, dlc, or season passes) than even Black Panther, one of the best-performing movies of the best-performing studio. Video games still remains one of the fastest growing sectors in the entertainment industry. It has plenty of room to consolidate but a crash is unlikely. Loot box nonsense might sting specific companies but it's hardly going to topple the entire industry. This is interesting, but if you could provide a source I'd like it. www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2018/04/04/first-week-far-cry-5-sales-top-black-panthers-week-one-domestic-box-office/amp/
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Post by Qui-Gon GlenN7 on May 6, 2018 15:54:32 GMT
Ok, but it is a little misleading. Unless I am missing something, the numbers being compared here are FC5 Global Box v. BP Domestic Box. It is still quite impressive, but how massive comparatively is the drop-off afterwards? I agree that gaming is here to stay. I also think the industry itself is headed for some sort of crisis/crash, because gamers no longer call the shots and that is a problem.
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Post by shinobiwan on May 6, 2018 16:00:39 GMT
Ok, but it is a little misleading. Unless I am missing something, the numbers being compared here are FC5 Global Box v. BP Domestic Box. It is still quite impressive, but how massive comparatively is the drop-off afterwards? I agree that gaming is here to stay. I also think the industry itself is headed for some sort of crisis/crash, because gamers no longer call the shots and that is a problem. Yeah, it's Farcry all vs Black Panther's domestic only, but as noted, games have many more downstream revenue options. Movies basically just have home sales. And again, were comparing this to one of the best-selling movies from what is indisuptably the most successful studio right now. Film sector is shrinking, games are growing. We might see some practices be upset by consumer backlash and possible regulatory reform/enforcement (loot boxes in particular) but what's driving growth for games isn't going anywhere. The appeal is expanding, its. becoming more mainstream, more generations are playing them as the children who grew up on games are now in their 30s-50s, etc.
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Post by SofaJockey on May 6, 2018 16:33:08 GMT
It's not such a simple calculation because gaming and movies are both complex market places.
But arguably Grand Theft Auto V outperformed Avatar, so a big game release can certainly stand up against a big movie release.
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Post by shinobiwan on May 6, 2018 16:51:01 GMT
It's not such a simple calculation because gaming and movies are both complex market places. But arguably Grand Theft Auto V outperformed Avatar, so a big game release can certainly stand up against a big movie release. It's not arguable. GTAV more than doubled the amount of revenue Avatar generated. I don't understand your point about gaming and movies being complex markets. Commercial insurance markets are complex. Futures on commodities are complex. Movie and games sales are relatively simple. And any complexities are mostly irrelevant to the discussion we're having here since we're dealing with reported revenue figures based on specifically ticket and game sales.
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Post by SofaJockey on May 6, 2018 17:05:51 GMT
I don't understand your point about gaming and movies being complex markets. Commercial insurance markets are complex. Futures on commodities are complex. Movie and games sales are relatively simple. And any complexities are mostly irrelevant to the discussion we're having here since we're dealing with reported revenue figures based on specifically ticket and game sales. I meant complexity because games and movies are not the same, one may have live service costs and recurring revenue, the other may have significant merchandising profits and DVD/streaming sales. Both have different types of marketing spend. . Ticket sales and games sales do not account for varying profit margins, the costs/cuts allocated to intermediaries and spending on staffing and overheads. I'm struggling to view the comparative game and movie economies as 'relatively simple' but you may be an expert in both, I'm not...
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Post by shinobiwan on May 6, 2018 18:04:56 GMT
I meant complexity because games and movies are not the same, one may have live service costs and recurring revenue, the other may have significant merchandising profits and DVD/streaming sales. Both have different types of marketing spend. . Ticket sales and games sales do not account for varying profit margins, the costs/cuts allocated to intermediaries and spending on staffing and overheads. I'm struggling to view the comparative game and movie economies as 'relatively simple' but you may be an expert in both, I'm not... I already said we were talking about week 1 domestic ticket sales (Black Panther) vs game sales (Farcry 5) and noted that games tend to have more opportunities for downstream revenue than movies. Profit margins is an odd thing to bring up here. We're not dealing with volume sales of mass-produced goods. Both Avatar and GTAV had total costs that were 1-3 orders of magnitude lower than their total revenues. The revenues alone thus give a pretty good picture of how successful the item was overall. You originally said that the "market places" for games and films are complex. They're not that complex. Now you're saying "comparative game and movie economies" - I can't figure out what you mean by that term. And, not trying to be rude, but if you don't understand these ideas, I can't figure out why on earth you'd be trying to refute what someone else has said about them, especially when that information is sourced (and not that it matters, and not to reveal too much personal information, but yes, I deal with this stuff as part of how I make my living). So to bring this back on topic, yes, the fact that video games are continuing to generate revenues that rival those of blockbuster films is a strong sign that we're nowhere near an industry-wide crash. In fact, paying any attention at all to how game companies are performing makes clear that the idea is kinda silly. And that's on top of all of the growth factors I mentioned previously.
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Post by SofaJockey on May 6, 2018 18:06:25 GMT
(and not that it matters, and not to reveal too much personal information, but yes, I deal with this stuff as part of how I make my living). That's fine then.
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Post by Quickpaw on May 7, 2018 2:31:30 GMT
I think this is one of the only-ONLY- times I will state, unironically, that gaming was better in niche markets and not mainstream. When companies, developers and publishers alike, understood their actual consumer base and marketed appropriately to allow for wildly different genres. This allowed them (or forced them) to keep the budget small enough to justify the risk each game and type would be taking. Now, though? The companies are controlled by the investors and shareholders, who demand increased profits every quarter. I've more than once heard an inside source talk about design meetings devoted to not "leaving money on the table."
And you know what? This isn't a gaming industry problem. At least, not a gaming industry SPECIFIC problem. It's an American capitalist problem. (Yes, I know there are non-American gaming focused companies, but the primary gaming market is the U.S. so even foreign corporations follow the same mandate). Short term profit and dishonest marketing come before all other considerations now. And pretty much everyone but the top-tier CEOs are suffering for it.
Plus the advent of dedicated online connectivity and mobile gaming has left companies drooling at the thought of the sheer oceans of money they could be making with despicable practices. Look at the new mobile Hogwarts game to see proof of that. They want to make the most money for the least amount of effort.
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Post by linksocarina on May 7, 2018 2:42:47 GMT
I think this is one of the only-ONLY- times I will state, unironically, that gaming was better in niche markets and not mainstream. When companies, developers and publishers alike, understood their actual consumer base and marketed appropriately to allow for wildly different genres. This allowed them (or forced them) to keep the budget small enough to justify the risk each game and type would be taking. Now, though? The companies are controlled by the investors and shareholders, who demand increased profits every quarter. I've more than once heard an inside source talk about design meetings devoted to not "leaving money on the table." And you know what? This isn't a gaming industry problem. At least, not a gaming industry SPECIFIC problem. It's an American capitalist problem. (Yes, I know there are non-American gaming focused companies, but the primary gaming market is the U.S. so even foreign corporations follow the same mandate). Short term profit and dishonest marketing come before all other considerations now. And pretty much everyone but the top-tier CEOs are suffering for it. Plus the advent of dedicated online connectivity and mobile gaming has left companies drooling at the thought of the sheer oceans of money they could be making with despicable practices. Look at the new mobile Hogwarts game to see proof of that. They want to make the most money for the least amount of effort. Thats been the state of gaming since the 1980s...that's not only nothing new but expected for any form of commercial art.
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Post by Quickpaw on May 7, 2018 3:07:43 GMT
Thats been the state of gaming since the 1980s...that's not only nothing new but expected for any form of commercial art. But until around the mid 2000s every game HAD to be feature complete, no patches needed, and all content in that was ever going to be in the game. Otherwise a shitty game would get terrible word of mouth and would tank. Online games like M.U.D.s were the minority. We didn't have content being gouged out to sell back to us later. We didn't have game features like skins or extra modes ripped away and told "that's the current market, deal with it." We didn't have mediocre or disappointing titles being far FAR more profitable than excellent ones. Now all that has been reversed. The best selling-or more profitable-titles (baring admirable outliers like BF2 EA) are not the best ones. By a long shot. And it's the case across almost all of America's consumer goods and culture.
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Post by Sanunes on May 7, 2018 3:27:28 GMT
Thats been the state of gaming since the 1980s...that's not only nothing new but expected for any form of commercial art. But until around the mid 2000s every game HAD to be feature complete, no patches needed, and all content in that was ever going to be in the game. Otherwise a shitty game would get terrible word of mouth and would tank. Online games like M.U.D.s were the minority. We didn't have content being gouged out to sell back to us later. We didn't have game features like skins or extra modes ripped away and told "that's the current market, deal with it." We didn't have mediocre or disappointing titles being far FAR more profitable than excellent ones. Now all that has been reversed. The best selling-or more profitable-titles (baring admirable outliers like BF2 EA) are not the best ones. By a long shot. And it's the case across almost all of America's consumer goods and culture. They might have "had" to be feature complete, it doesn't mean they were. There were plenty of games with bugs or issues within them and people just didn't care. I remember a friend showing me a NES game that he bought and he had to use a Game Genie at one point because the beat boss of a level you needed the weapon from the next boss. I think players now are more unwilling to accept a problem with the game and just move on.
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Post by simit on May 7, 2018 3:42:10 GMT
ppl like what they like, the craze which is pubg/fortnite or lol/overwatch show why microsoft an ea made the statements they made about games as a service or sp not being as profitable as it used to be but thank god for titles like the new GOW that show done right sp is still profitable, but it still dont stop the fact ppl will complete GOW in a couple of sittings then go right back to there game as a service flavour.
You, me or anyone on these boards might no like it but what microsoft an ea said is basically the way gaming seems to inevitably be going an while i agree there a few mediocre titles get to much attention for some reason i'd also say some of the companies "seemed" to have learned an put more effort in, case in point ubisoft with farcry 5 an AC:Origins, an i will say regardless what anyone thinks i still enjoy EA releases, if ppl should look to bury a publisher look no further than Activision.
On top of that i probably enjoy more games per year than at any time in my 3 decades gaming but then like books an movies i dont stick to one genre and am willing to atleast try all.
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Post by Quickpaw on May 7, 2018 3:50:45 GMT
They might have "had" to be feature complete, it doesn't mean they were. There were plenty of games with bugs or issues within them and people just didn't care. I remember a friend showing me a NES game that he bought and he had to use a Game Genie at one point because the beat boss of a level you needed the weapon from the next boss. I think players now are more unwilling to accept a problem with the game and just move on. I meant more that once a game shipped, that was it. No fixing it. It was done, whether it was "fully cooked" or not. Only a remaster or rerelease could fix issues the games had at first launch. Only so many devs and pubs could afford the bad pr or the cost of the fix. But yeah, bad/broken games have always existed.
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Post by Pounce de León on May 7, 2018 16:13:12 GMT
They might have "had" to be feature complete, it doesn't mean they were. There were plenty of games with bugs or issues within them and people just didn't care. I remember a friend showing me a NES game that he bought and he had to use a Game Genie at one point because the beat boss of a level you needed the weapon from the next boss. I think players now are more unwilling to accept a problem with the game and just move on. I meant more that once a game shipped, that was it. No fixing it. It was done, whether it was "fully cooked" or not. Only a remaster or rerelease could fix issues the games had at first launch. Only so many devs and pubs could afford the bad pr or the cost of the fix. But yeah, bad/broken games have always existed. Pretty much. Patch distribution wasn't really easy with retail going anonymously through brick and mortar. Now, digital distribution has opened a direct channel to the consumer with all the good and bad things. Easy patches, games sold in slices - all possible with digital distribution. Imagine the huge surge in profit margins cutting out the traditional middle-men. All that cost for producing game copies, distribution, packaging, order procession - all gone. But hey: " Games have become so expensive to make..." Yea, let me shed a little tear for that chunk of the sale price that the shops nibbled. What was it? 50%? 40%?
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Post by Sanunes on May 8, 2018 11:30:23 GMT
I meant more that once a game shipped, that was it. No fixing it. It was done, whether it was "fully cooked" or not. Only a remaster or rerelease could fix issues the games had at first launch. Only so many devs and pubs could afford the bad pr or the cost of the fix. But yeah, bad/broken games have always existed. Pretty much. Patch distribution wasn't really easy with retail going anonymously through brick and mortar. Now, digital distribution has opened a direct channel to the consumer with all the good and bad things. Easy patches, games sold in slices - all possible with digital distribution. Imagine the huge surge in profit margins cutting out the traditional middle-men. All that cost for producing game copies, distribution, packaging, order procession - all gone. But hey: " Games have become so expensive to make..." Yea, let me shed a little tear for that chunk of the sale price that the shops nibbled. What was it? 50%? 40%? First digital distributors I think still would want a cut of the profits, I think Valve is rumored to want 30% of all sales and brick and mortar stores took $20. For simplicity lets say for a game the publisher owns like Mass Effect with brick and mortar they made about 50% of the games sales and with digital they are up to about 70% since its reported Valve takes 30%. Not everyone buys digital, in EA's last Earnings Call they said their digital sales were only 37%. Now look at the increases in costs, the big one is labor for there are more people working on each game now then a generation or two of consoles ago. I think for the PS2 era it was about 50 people per game, now its at least 100 per game. There is also the factor that game prices have remained fairly steady so inflation will have a factor on how far the money they get back goes. I won't disagree that publishers are seeing more money because of digital distribution, but I don't think its the windfall to cover the additional costs of development. Just like I don't think DLC is that magic bullet either, it might help. The catch is DLC sells less and less the longer between release of the game and the release of the DLC with the potential labor costs of developing it and the platforms taking their cut. The only real place where I can see developers really making money with digital content is if they own the platform as well, so Microsoft selling a Microsoft published game on the Windows or Xbox Store. For EA I don't think that they really sell that many PC copies to make that much of a difference.
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Post by rras1994 on May 8, 2018 15:47:05 GMT
Pretty much. Patch distribution wasn't really easy with retail going anonymously through brick and mortar. Now, digital distribution has opened a direct channel to the consumer with all the good and bad things. Easy patches, games sold in slices - all possible with digital distribution. Imagine the huge surge in profit margins cutting out the traditional middle-men. All that cost for producing game copies, distribution, packaging, order procession - all gone. But hey: " Games have become so expensive to make..." Yea, let me shed a little tear for that chunk of the sale price that the shops nibbled. What was it? 50%? 40%? First digital distributors I think still would want a cut of the profits, I think Valve is rumored to want 30% of all sales and brick and mortar stores took $20. For simplicity lets say for a game the publisher owns like Mass Effect with brick and mortar they made about 50% of the games sales and with digital they are up to about 70% since its reported Valve takes 30%. Not everyone buys digital, in EA's last Earnings Call they said their digital sales were only 37%. Now look at the increases in costs, the big one is labor for there are more people working on each game now then a generation or two of consoles ago. I think for the PS2 era it was about 50 people per game, now its at least 100 per game. There is also the factor that game prices have remained fairly steady so inflation will have a factor on how far the money they get back goes. I won't disagree that publishers are seeing more money because of digital distribution, but I don't think its the windfall to cover the additional costs of development. Just like I don't think DLC is that magic bullet either, it might help. The catch is DLC sells less and less the longer between release of the game and the release of the DLC with the potential labor costs of developing it and the platforms taking their cut. The only real place where I can see developers really making money with digital content is if they own the platform as well, so Microsoft selling a Microsoft published game on the Windows or Xbox Store. For EA I don't think that they really sell that many PC copies to make that much of a difference. Microsoft and Sony I think take about 30 % as well for digital distribution - this is where the platformers make their money, not by selling first party games and consoles, but by selling third party games, DLC, and MTX. The actual cost of physical distribution is very small (produce disks, warehouses etc.) it's something like 5 % - it's the cut to platformers, retailers and license holders that's the big cost. The big benefit to digital distribution is the longer tail life - when it was retail only, your game was only going to sell for as long as it's in stores which is only a few months or so after launch most of the time. With digital it's available for years after launch. Really if we want more diverse genres, at some point I think the platformers are going to have to bring down the cut they get - even if they only do it for certain genres that they don't have much of. I don't think they'll be very keen to do that though in all honesty.
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Post by JokeDealer on May 8, 2018 20:16:04 GMT
Oh man. I always enjoy Cracked articles. That being said, I don't agree with the idea that the industry is about to crash. I'll tackle things point-by-point. - We Put People Who Don't Know Gaming in Charge -- This is true and it is a very fair point. However, there's no guarantee or evidence that all games CEOs are clueless to the extent that is suggested in the article. CEOs are businessmen first and foremost, and many have entire teams of consultants and analysts who keep them apprised of the market and its trends. And yes, these guys are not always right -- surprise hits are usually named such because they weren't expected to succeed in the way that they did. Nonetheless, these surprise hits still get made and often start a new trend. Even so, the financial success of the "safer bets" like Call of Duty or Battlefield tend to provide capital that is later used to produce more risky ventures like A Way Out, in addition to compensating for losses caused by commercial failures.
- Budgets Have Gone Insane, and That's Making Innovation Almost Impossible -- Yes, this is absolutely true and not all consumers see it this way. There is a wonderful channel on YouTube called Extra Credits who explain this all in greater detail. Their videos on this topic can be found here and here, and I encourage anyone with any passing interest in the games industry to check out their channel. I cannot possibly disagree with this point, yet I still don't think the games industry will crash. I find it more likely that the industry will adapt before it fails outright, especially since this is a problem that many within the industry are already aware of. In my opinion, the only thing keeping the price of games from rising is public perception and fear of negative backlash.
- Publishers Are Gaming the Review System -- I took the most issue with this point. Yes, game reviews can be and often are shady as hell, but, to be frank, critics and users are not always looking for the same thing when they review a game. To use the author's own example of Mass Effect 3, its average user score of 5 is primarily driven by a number of negative reviews, most of which are largely overemotional and nonobjective responses to the ending. Many did not like Mass Effect 3's ending, but does that ruin good game design, sound design, or voice acting performances? I feel that gamers' tendencies toward emotional and often toxic overreactions is obvious to anyone on the internet, so this disparity between gamers and critics may stem a fundamental misunderstanding of the purpose of game reviews. Basically, "This is a good game," versus, "I liked this game." It's a small distinction, but one that leads to two different approaches to thinking about any sort of numerical score. Again, I'm not saying that review sites aren't sketchy, but the disparity between critic and user scores is not only due to that.
- You're Always Flying Blind -- This is true of almost every entertainment industry, but it's usually different for each medium. This is one of the reasons I no longer work as a theatre tech and why I flat-out avoided working in the film industry. Unless you are one of the higher-ups, you rarely have any idea of what the full plan is. You are a grunt and you get treated like a grunt. While it's unfortunate, I don't see that causing a crash. I would hope that developers strike for better working conditions.
- The Industry Is Exploitative, and It's Driving Away Talent -- Much of my response to the previous point applies here as well. One of the reasons I avoided the film industry and went into teaching instead is because I wanted to have a family. You can't have that when work calls you to all sorts of places for a ridiculous amount of time, and sometimes it's for projects that you have no interest in aside from the paycheck. It's also why I understand when devs leave a studio after a long time. Everyone wants to blame Bioware departures on EA, but sometimes you want to pursue a different passion or spend time with family.
Ultimately, I don't see the Video Games Industry crashing anytime soon, but I do see a dire need for change that needs to be addressed.
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Post by Sartoz on May 8, 2018 23:48:25 GMT
Hm.....
On the 1st. pt.
Why have a Chief Game Designer for the whole of EA? Wasn't this guy Chief VP for all the studios and suddenly with a sleight of hand the EA pres makes him a Chief Game Designer, no less.
On 2nd pt. Consumer views are irrelevant. They don't put up the money and are subject to investors' interests. Consumers just buy games and react afterwards.
On 3rd pt. "... to be frank, critics and users are not always looking for the same thing when they review a game. ..." I'm under the false impression that critics are there to inform users about their interests. They are not movie / theatre critics. Shame on me for failing to understand that critics are there to point out their personal views and to get paid for them. I'm of the opinion that recent LB controversy is forcing major players to re-think their explotive strategies to avoid legislation. Perhaps it's a good thing overall.
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JokeDealer
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Post by JokeDealer on May 10, 2018 7:10:35 GMT
Hm.....
On the 1st. pt.
Why have a Chief Game Designer for the whole of EA? Wasn't this guy Chief VP for all the studios and suddenly with a sleight of hand the EA pres makes him a Chief Game Designer, no less.
On 2nd pt. Consumer views are irrelevant. They don't put up the money and are subject to investors' interests. Consumers just buy games and react afterwards.
On 3rd pt. "... to be frank, critics and users are not always looking for the same thing when they review a game. ..." I'm under the false impression that critics are there to inform users about their interests. They are not movie / theatre critics. Shame on me for failing to understand that critics are there to point out their personal views and to get paid for them. I'm of the opinion that recent LB controversy is forcing major players to re-think their explotive strategies to avoid legislation. Perhaps it's a good thing overall.
- I'm not sure what you're trying to say or are asking for here. Something about the wording isn't clicking for me. If you could clarify and allow me to understand your concerns regarding my first point, I'd appreciate it. Regardless, Patrick Soderlund was the former CEO of DICE and the Executive VP of Worldwide Studios.
- Ultimately, yes, but good faith and trust are easily lost. If a price increase were to occur, it would need to be implemented by most or all of the games industry at the same time. If only some try to implement it, it'll look bad and, as the SWBF2 controversy has shown, that can have a noticeable effect on sales. There is a reason it simply hasn't been done yet and, while my lack of knowledge on the finer points of this subject prevent me from saying so with 100% confidence, I do believe that public perception is a large part of it.
- Not all critics are created equally and this is true of any medium that can be reviewed. Yes, there are some critics who simply give a long-winded answer to the question, "Did I like this?" However, the best critics often take their job-title to heart and actually think critically about the products they're reviewing, which often involves looking at its individual parts. For example, good game reviewers often remark on other aspects of the game, such as how the musical score affected certain moments or how one voice actor made an interesting villain in a generally lackluster story. Regardless of those aspects, some reviewers will still give a higher or lower score because they found the game to be either very fun or absolutely miserable as an experience. While I understand the misconception that game reviewers are simply sharing opinions (and some undoubtedly are), it would strike me as unprofessional if games critics put out reviews and gave scores using the same rationale as some user reviews. I'm not saying that someone is wrong for feeling a certain way, but an unpleasant ending does not and should not invalidate any sort of recognition for good game design, a strong art style, or any other technical aspect that was done right.
Honestly, the Loot Box controversy is probably the best thing that could have happened to gamers, at least in the long run. It got a good conversation going and, when we look back on it, this will likely be viewed as the spark that lit the fires of change. That being said, much like the film industry before the first incarnations of the Motion Picture Codes, the video games industry needs to learn to regulate itself or it will be regulated by the federal government in a manner that is far more inflexible and uncomfortable for all involved. The games industry needs to take a stance on loot boxes and predatory microtransactions as a whole, with their own set of guidelines governing any future actions.
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Post by Cyberstrike on May 11, 2018 20:21:39 GMT
Uh, I'm supposed to take a listicle seriously, on a listicle syndication site whose mission statement is, "America's Only Humor Site"? You're sure this "article" isn't just a big joke? You know, it was the gamer CEO who was blamed for the fall of Telltale games. www.theverge.com/2018/3/20/17130056/telltale-games-developer-layoffs-toxic-video-game-industryThe thing is, analyzing how the gaming industry is vulnerable is a worthwhile thing to do. The cost trend is not conducive to maintaining growth, or even flat revenue -- which, from the Wall Street perspective, is the kiss of death. Recurring revenue or alternative models, like crowdfunding, are needed to sustain growth. That's an article I'd like to read, but I'd like to read it from the WSJ. Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't BioWare founded and ran by a pair of Canadian doctors until the ME3 ending controversy forced them to resign? A gamer CEO is not any better than a non-gamer CEO IMHO someone who isn't a gamer might see things that the gamer CEO will miss and vice versa.
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Post by goishen on May 14, 2018 0:07:10 GMT
You're lucky if what they have for a CEO ever completed a game of Pong in 1979, and that's what they consider a gamer, before going off to drink some brewskis with their homies and fuck a couple'a skanks. It's ridiculous. What's more ridiculous is the kind'a drugs that they're doing now off'a $10K a night hookers.
If you would'a told me this fifteen years ago, that we'd be in this place in 2018, I'd have laughed in your face.
But here we are.
Enjoy the shitshow.
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helios969
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Post by helios969 on May 15, 2018 9:52:00 GMT
(1) Non gamers hold the CEO job. Seems like it could be plausible though I doubt the author knows the personal history of every gaming developer CEO. It's plausible because games have become increasingly more formulaic and cookie-cutter ripoffs of one another. The lack of creativity is disturbing. I wonder how many titles are released per year...and how many are distinct enough to be called unique. It may be less a problem with their "lack of gaming" knowledge and more about them being risk adverse. (2) Gaming budgets have skyrocketed. Been arguing this one with people for a while now...particular those who complain incessantly about microtransactions. The difference in budgets and staffing between DAO and DAI is staggering, yet DAI was a mere 10$ more to purchase day one. I think when gamers come to terms with such and are willing to pay the appropriate day one value, such things could be less intrusive. Of course, you'll still have exploitive companies that'll charge 100$ for a game and still cram if full of microtransactions. (3) Publishers are skewing the reviews. Is this really a problem anymore? I've long since stopped giving "professional" reviewers any sort of validity. I mostly rely on Youtubers who share my gaming interests for a reliable assessment of a game. (4) Gamers are in the dark when buying a game. Not sure I agree with that (at least not entirely). Mostly due to the previous explanation, but in most cases there's tons of info on a game already. When I was deciding on a day one MEA purchase there were already "bad" reviews and rumblings from the fandom, but there were enough vids showing the combat mechanics that I thought even if the story was subpar I'd get plenty of enjoyment from the gameplay. And I have. (5) Exploitative game industry This is hardly unique to the videogame industry. Every corporation will look to maximize their bottomline...and this can only work if the gamers themselves allow it. The problem is this sort of tactic is never sustainable, and gamers become increasingly aware as they get older. So instead of sustaining a fanbase and adding to it with each new generation, they alienate and drive away the old in search of the "Holy Grail" game that's going to pull huge numbers. I think this is where Bioware/EA have really failed. Without a solid foundation the house collapses.
I have know idea if a "crash" is coming...or even what that would entail, but it is disheartening that I have to wait 2-3 years before finding a game that provides the sort of experience I'm looking for.
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