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Since 2018 it is also the most profitable entertainment product of all time, overtaking movies such as "Star Wars" and "Gone With the Wind" (adjusted for inflat

by 4cao 6y ago

Since 2018 it is also the most profitable entertainment product of all time, overtaking movies such as "Star Wars" and "Gone With the Wind" (adjusted for inflation). [1] 1. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-violent-videogame-has-made-more-money-than-any-movie-ever-2018-04-06 https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-violent-videogame-has...

maxbaines 6y ago
That surprised me, even more when apparently its around 6 Billion Dollars
- 4cao 6y ago
  There are still some more profitable game franchises (notably Pokemon, Mario, and Call of Duty) according to Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_media_franchises https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_media... But apparently no single "entertainment product" ever earned more. What's also unique is that all the listed revenue ($10bn for the whole franchise as of now) appears to originate from game sales itself (and perhaps microtransactions as of late), not merchandise, etc. It's reasonable to guess this way is much more profitable.
cheschire 6y ago
They timed their releases perfectly. I ended up buying the game 3 times. First was PS3, then a year or so later on PS4 because it was night and day better graphics. Another year or so later I dropped yet another $60 on it for the 1080p60. I'm guessing the next gen console dev cycle was just a little too short for GTA 6 to hit the same stride though.
- zamadatix 6y ago
  Why make GTA 6 when people are still going to buy GTA V for the PS5.
  - shmoogy 6y ago
    Because then you sell GTA6 on ps5/Xbox, and a year later PC. And 6 years later PS6
- 4cao 6y ago
  And apparently GTA V will be re-released again for PS5 in 2021. [1] Meanwhile, a huge portion of the revenue must be coming from microtransactions. The total cost to unlock all the in-game content is estimated at GTA$700M, [2] while potential earnings are capped at GTA$500k per hour of playtime at most (GTA$300k is a more realistic figure). [3] At this rate, it'd take hundreds of hours of grinding to get past all the paywalls. And it also has to be noted that competing against other human players, which is what most GTA Online players seem to prefer, does not generate any significant income and in fact costs money. Players are also charged for being logged into GTA Online regardless of what they are doing, and these fees can reach GTA$40k or more every 48 min. [4] In-game currency may be purchased for real money at the rate of GTA$8M = (US)$100 (for the largest top-up available). [2] Unlocking all in-game content through microtransactions would cost $8,800 in real-life money. 1. https://blog.playstation.com/2020/06/11/grand-theft-auto-v-coming-to-playstation-5-in-2021/ https://blog.playstation.com/2020/06/11/grand-theft-auto-v-c... 2. https://gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/364182/how-much-gta-would-it-cost-to-buy-everything-in-gta-online https://gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/364182/how-much-g... 3. https://www.pcgamer.com/how-to-make-money-in-gta-online/ https://www.pcgamer.com/how-to-make-money-in-gta-online/ 4. https://old.reddit.com/r/gtaonline/comments/90rehp/how_much_are_you_paying_for_daily_fees_property/ https://old.reddit.com/r/gtaonline/comments/90rehp/how_much_...

by 4cao 6y ago

maxbaines 6y ago

That surprised me, even more when apparently its around 6 Billion Dollars

4cao 6y ago
There are still some more profitable game franchises (notably Pokemon, Mario, and Call of Duty) according to Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_media_franchises https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_media... But apparently no single "entertainment product" ever earned more. What's also unique is that all the listed revenue ($10bn for the whole franchise as of now) appears to originate from game sales itself (and perhaps microtransactions as of late), not merchandise, etc. It's reasonable to guess this way is much more profitable.

cheschire 6y ago

They timed their releases perfectly. I ended up buying the game 3 times. First was PS3, then a year or so later on PS4 because it was night and day better graphics. Another year or so later I dropped yet another $60 on it for the 1080p60. I'm guessing the next gen console dev cycle was just a little too short for GTA 6 to hit the same stride though.

zamadatix 6y ago
Why make GTA 6 when people are still going to buy GTA V for the PS5.
- shmoogy 6y ago
  Because then you sell GTA6 on ps5/Xbox, and a year later PC. And 6 years later PS6
4cao 6y ago
And apparently GTA V will be re-released again for PS5 in 2021. [1] Meanwhile, a huge portion of the revenue must be coming from microtransactions. The total cost to unlock all the in-game content is estimated at GTA$700M, [2] while potential earnings are capped at GTA$500k per hour of playtime at most (GTA$300k is a more realistic figure). [3] At this rate, it'd take hundreds of hours of grinding to get past all the paywalls. And it also has to be noted that competing against other human players, which is what most GTA Online players seem to prefer, does not generate any significant income and in fact costs money. Players are also charged for being logged into GTA Online regardless of what they are doing, and these fees can reach GTA$40k or more every 48 min. [4] In-game currency may be purchased for real money at the rate of GTA$8M = (US)$100 (for the largest top-up available). [2] Unlocking all in-game content through microtransactions would cost $8,800 in real-life money. 1. https://blog.playstation.com/2020/06/11/grand-theft-auto-v-coming-to-playstation-5-in-2021/ https://blog.playstation.com/2020/06/11/grand-theft-auto-v-c... 2. https://gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/364182/how-much-gta-would-it-cost-to-buy-everything-in-gta-online https://gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/364182/how-much-g... 3. https://www.pcgamer.com/how-to-make-money-in-gta-online/ https://www.pcgamer.com/how-to-make-money-in-gta-online/ 4. https://old.reddit.com/r/gtaonline/comments/90rehp/how_much_are_you_paying_for_daily_fees_property/ https://old.reddit.com/r/gtaonline/comments/90rehp/how_much_...