3 ms·
Consoles exclusives are the new way to charge >$60 for a AAA single-player game (some of the game's price is hidden in the hardware purchase). It's terribly in
by jjoonathan 8y ago
Consoles exclusives are the new way to charge >$60 for a AAA single-player game (some of the game's price is hidden in the hardware purchase).
It's terribly inefficient in every possible way, but it appears to work.
- leddt 8y agoAren't many consoles sold at or near (or even below) cost, on the assumption that software sales will make up for it? Also, how would a console sold by Sony or Microsoft subsidize in any way a game sold by a third party publisher?
- Gaelan 8y agoPresumably Sony/MS pay the publishers to make the game exclusive to their console.
- jjoonathan 8y agoI don't think so. Evidence #1: The ever-present existence of potato masher PC configurations (cheaper and more powerful than a console in qty 1) makes me doubt that consoles are loss leaders. The crypto bubble played with that math but it seems to generally hold. Evidence #2: Sony keeps bragging about how many consoles their investments in first-party game studios have been able to move. Importantly: that's how they phrase it. Evidence #3: This particular narrative has held true for several people in my bubble, including myself. People will buy a console to play Bloodborne, Horizon Zero Dawn, or God of War. The center-of-mass for single-player narrative-driven AAAs seems to be moving away from the PC, and the ones that stay on the PC seem to be bogged down with "alternative" monetization models.