2 ms·
Virtually everything cited in this thread boils down to simple economics. The production costs for "AAA" titles have skyrocketed, driven by consumer demand for
by pcwalton 8y ago
Virtually everything cited in this thread boils down to simple economics. The production costs for "AAA" titles have skyrocketed, driven by consumer demand for more content and better graphics. The game industry has the economics of the blockbuster-driven entertainment industry—massive capital expenditure in the hopes of eking out some kind of a profit, with flops easily leading to financial ruin. This is in contrast to the tech industry, which yields enormous profits on very little investment. Unlike Blizzard, Google doesn't need an army of artists to keep dollars coming out of the AdWords faucet.
I have a hard time understanding anger directed at game studios for doing what they need to do to survive. It's one of the toughest tech-related industries there is.
- Iwan-Zotow 8y ago> Unlike Blizzard, Google doesn't need an army of artists to keep dollars coming out of the AdWords faucet hahaha, look at google capex grows https://csimarket.com/stocks/single_growth_rates.php?code=GOOG&capx https://csimarket.com/stocks/single_growth_rates.php?code=GO...
- pcwalton 8y agoMost of Google's increased expenditure is due to headcount increases in efforts to use that enormous advertising profit to expand into other markets. Google could lay off everyone not working on search or ads tomorrow, watch its expenditures crater, and still be making enormous profits. Needless to say, neither Blizzard nor any other game studio has anywhere near this kind of luxury.
- cloakandswagger 8y agoSalary and wages would be recorded as OpEx, not CapEx, correct? I would imagine the CapEx growth is from data centers and equipment for GCP
- JohnJamesRambo 8y agoAre you sure it isn’t just massive waste and cost inefficiencies with all the money funneled to the top?