4 ms·

I hate that the gacha model (free game with millions of IAPs) is working. I refuse to play/buy them, and I worry that it's just the future. Why would Sony spen

by awill 5y ago

I hate that the gacha model (free game with millions of IAPs) is working. I refuse to play/buy them, and I worry that it's just the future. Why would Sony spend so much making a single player offline game to get a one-time purchase when they can milk their customers tens of dollars a month for years.

Macha 5y ago
Yeah, I feel like we're just being left behind. Voting with your wallet is way less effective when companies give a way for whales to outvote you many times compared to a single purchase game. I feel like in 20 years I'm just going to be playing indie games and games that are then 25 years old.
- feoren 5y ago
  In 20 years, indie games are going to be amazing! The tools just keep improving at an accelerating rate.
- awill 5y ago
  Yes. I knew building up my Steam backlog would pay off :)
GhettoComputers 5y ago
You don’t change any gameplay with skins from Fortnite, CS:GO, or TF2. What you’re describing though was why Kojima left Konami after they turned to gatcha games (including MGS) and Konami is focusing on pachinko.
bogwog 5y ago
> Why would Sony spend so much making a single player offline game to get a one-time purchase when they can milk their customers tens of dollars a month for years. Probably because when those mobile casinos get regulated, Sony’s model will pull ahead.
minimaxir 5y ago
> Why would Sony spend so much making a single player offline game to get a one-time purchase when they can milk their customers tens of dollars a month for years. Because releasing a game with a games-as-a-service model is a massive technical and logistical challenge if you want to retain players and isn't free money. A good recent example is The Avengers, which was sunk from the forced-GaaS model. Also, after EA released Anthem and Star Wars: Battlefront II which had massive backlash due to their flawed GaaS, EA released Jedi: Fallen Order as a single-player game with no gimmicks, and it sold incredibly well.
- criley2 5y ago
  Over 3 years of Fallen Order sales, they've made at max $600 million in revenue. EA is on track to make something like $1.75 billion this year from FIFA Ultimate Team microtransactions alone. It is what it is, but EA and their investors know exactly where the profits are coming from
  - minimaxir 5y ago
    Certainly the ceiling is much higher for GaaS games but it shows that single-player games aren't done for, especially for portfolio diversity.
somehnacct3757 5y ago
Gacha model is the worst of F2P and not that prevalent on traditional gaming platforms. Most console & PC games are offering a mix of cosmetics, DLC, and battle passes which are incredibly straightforward about what you get for your money. Battle passes are just subscriptions rebranded with the auto-renew turned off. I also think the success of Genshin will dampen gacha in the future. You now need a triple-A game budget to command the gacha prices Genshin asks for. In the past, you could make that money selling pngs in a mobile game. If anything, I think F2P has been improving its value proposition over time.
jack1243star 5y ago
> making a single player offline game Current-gen gamedev is so expensive it's not worth taking the risk anymore for triple-A studios. I'd say indie games are truly the frontier of game design at this point.
- idiegbjs 5y ago
  Indie games have been for a long time. I havent played a new AAA game with a real interesting innovation or fun new mechanic in a long long time. Indiegames do all the time

by awill 5y ago

Macha 5y ago

Yeah, I feel like we're just being left behind. Voting with your wallet is way less effective when companies give a way for whales to outvote you many times compared to a single purchase game. I feel like in 20 years I'm just going to be playing indie games and games that are then 25 years old.

feoren 5y ago
In 20 years, indie games are going to be amazing! The tools just keep improving at an accelerating rate.
awill 5y ago
Yes. I knew building up my Steam backlog would pay off :)

GhettoComputers 5y ago

You don’t change any gameplay with skins from Fortnite, CS:GO, or TF2. What you’re describing though was why Kojima left Konami after they turned to gatcha games (including MGS) and Konami is focusing on pachinko.

bogwog 5y ago

> Why would Sony spend so much making a single player offline game to get a one-time purchase when they can milk their customers tens of dollars a month for years. Probably because when those mobile casinos get regulated, Sony’s model will pull ahead.

minimaxir 5y ago

> Why would Sony spend so much making a single player offline game to get a one-time purchase when they can milk their customers tens of dollars a month for years. Because releasing a game with a games-as-a-service model is a massive technical and logistical challenge if you want to retain players and isn't free money. A good recent example is The Avengers, which was sunk from the forced-GaaS model. Also, after EA released Anthem and Star Wars: Battlefront II which had massive backlash due to their flawed GaaS, EA released Jedi: Fallen Order as a single-player game with no gimmicks, and it sold incredibly well.

criley2 5y ago
Over 3 years of Fallen Order sales, they've made at max $600 million in revenue. EA is on track to make something like $1.75 billion this year from FIFA Ultimate Team microtransactions alone. It is what it is, but EA and their investors know exactly where the profits are coming from
- minimaxir 5y ago
  Certainly the ceiling is much higher for GaaS games but it shows that single-player games aren't done for, especially for portfolio diversity.

somehnacct3757 5y ago

Gacha model is the worst of F2P and not that prevalent on traditional gaming platforms. Most console & PC games are offering a mix of cosmetics, DLC, and battle passes which are incredibly straightforward about what you get for your money. Battle passes are just subscriptions rebranded with the auto-renew turned off. I also think the success of Genshin will dampen gacha in the future. You now need a triple-A game budget to command the gacha prices Genshin asks for. In the past, you could make that money selling pngs in a mobile game. If anything, I think F2P has been improving its value proposition over time.

jack1243star 5y ago

> making a single player offline game Current-gen gamedev is so expensive it's not worth taking the risk anymore for triple-A studios. I'd say indie games are truly the frontier of game design at this point.

idiegbjs 5y ago
Indie games have been for a long time. I havent played a new AAA game with a real interesting innovation or fun new mechanic in a long long time. Indiegames do all the time