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Disclaimer - the $70 and $60 price points refer to AAA games and game developers, not indy games, which often run closer to $20-$40. So with that disclaimer, a
by falcolas 6y ago
Disclaimer - the $70 and $60 price points refer to AAA games and game developers, not indy games, which often run closer to $20-$40.
So with that disclaimer, any time someone (like the author) says that games have never been cheaper at the $60 price point, I like to point out that the AAA game developers have never turned higher profits than they are right now. Activision Blizzard is reporting over 4 billion (yes, ‘B’ billion) dollars in profits.
> It's time
If this author really thinks that a price hike of the minimum game experience they’re selling is going to stop any of the predatory behaviors, they’re being incredibly naive. AAA game developers don’t just want your money, they want as much of your money that they can squeeze out of you.
Fifa - the only game confirmed at this new price point so far - is particularly bad about this, with individual players occasionally spending tens of thousands of dollars on this game.
- dlp211 6y agoLet's be clear, there are plenty of AAA games that do not nickle & dime you. There are also a bunch where they do sell additional material, mostly additional campaigns via DLC, that is no way necessary. Just off the top of my head, Witcher 3, Doom 2016/Eternal, Last of Us 2, Spiderman, Uncharted 4, Bloodborne/Sekiro, Last Jedi, Persona 5 (Royal), FFVII Remake.
- falcolas 6y agoFor every Spiderman, there’s a FIFA. For every TLOU II, there’s a TLOU2 Elly edition being sold for over 4x the entry price. Even the Witcher 3 sold a season pass for $30 prior to any expansions being released. And Cyberpunk 2077? There’s a $260 edition and a $400 edition. There’s no official word, but it’s looking likely that there will be a season pass sold for it as well.
- dlp211 6y agoAnd you don't have to buy any of that. Stop concerning yourself with what others spend their money on.
- falcolas 6y agoI concern myself with it in two cases: When they’re taking advantage of adults (and children) with gambling illnesses. Jim Sterling has a great video about this reality, and how it impacts people. The second is when games are changed in an attempt to get more money. Anytime an XP boost is sold, it’s because the grind has been made intolerable. Anytime powerful characters/abilities/gear is sold, it’s because it’s been made harder or unreasonable (or impossible) to get through the game itself. When skins are sold, they’ve been removed as a natural reward from the game itself. Games are being actively ruined by these money-making tactics.
- dlp211 6y agoYet, some (most?) of the best games of this generation don't do that. I agree the loot boxes are terrible, and I think that the government should outlaw them, but I find it hard to be outraged at MTX and DLC when I've literally spent less than probably $30 on those things in my lifetime, almost all DLC, Spiderman and Breath of the Wild, and I spent $3 on SimCity Mobile one time. If there were nothing but games that required XP Boost, that'd be one thing, but it isn't. I can't even keep up with the amount of great AAA and indy games and I probably game anywhere from 20-60 hours a week. My backlog of games to play is nearly 80 deep.
- conception 6y agoFf7 probably shouldn’t be there since it’s chapter one of an unspecified number of chapters.
- pcwalton 6y ago> I like to point out that the AAA game developers have never turned higher profits than they are right now. Activision Blizzard is reporting over 4 billion (yes, ‘B’ billion) dollars in profits. In 2019 ATVI made $1.5B profit on $6.5B revenue, down YoY from the previous year. During the same year Google made $34B on $161B of revenue, up YoY from 2018. Apple similarly had a gross margin of about 38% on $89B of revenue. Relative to companies that actually are making profits hand over fist, I find it hard to muster any outrage toward labor-intensive entertainment businesses.
- falcolas 6y agoI was looking at the gross profit figures, since we’re explicitly talking about the cost of making video games - not marketing or executive/corporate costs. > Activision Blizzard annual gross profit for 2019 was $4.395B But, even with “only” $1.5B profit they’re doing pretty amazing - that’s just shy of a 25% profit/revenue split. That’s better than Google, which I’m sure you realized. And if billions of dollars of profit isn’t “hand over fist” money, I don’t know what is.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- willis936 6y agoThose are companies that are in every facet of everyone’s life. That’s like comparing the profit of a local ranch to Kellogg. The revenue of big game publishers comfortably puts them in the top 10 most profitable media companies, competing with massive conglomerates.
- PostOnce 6y agoYou're right, of course. Games also exploded in popularity, the industry is huge now, games can make a billion dollars in a matter of days. AAA doesn't need a price increase, it makes it up in volume... and fucking IAP.
- google234123 6y agoWhy do you accept other products going up in price with inflation but not games? It's getting more difficult to make an AAA from what I can tell.