4 ms·

The share prices and revenue numbers of these allegedly driven-into-the-ground companies seems to tell the opposite story.

mschuster91 5y ago
Marvel movies are the top of the line financially, but they are all the same basic formula, and they're effectively film versions of old comic storylines. When was the last time you saw actually original (as in, not based on last year's surprisingly successful novel), creative, non-"mainstream" movies at your city's cinema? Interstellar or (to a certain extent, given that the plot was more or less copied from Pocahontas) Avatar, likely. Anything else is moved off to niche/arthouse cinema or straight to DVD/Netflix. With games, it's the same. Innovation has been sorely lacking in many genres from racing to shooters - it's all remasters, microtransactions, free to play and advertising bullshit these days or the atrocity that Rockstar made out of GTA 3/VC/SA. Last actually innovative game in the shooter genre probably was Borderlands.
- oarabbus_ 5y ago
  >With games, it's the same. Innovation has been sorely lacking in many genres from racing to shooters - it's all remasters, microtransactions, free to play and advertising bullshit Sure, but that's just the thing, actually. Gamers overindex on what _they_ like, which simply isn't what the general public cares about. "Video game players" as opposed to "gamers" really want two things: they want to play Madden or FIFA with the newest rosters and the best graphics. And then they want to take a break and play the Call of Duty game with the best graphics. Why do these AAA studios need to innovate when this formula doesn't just work - it's doing absolutely excellent? We have indie studios to satisfy gamers' creative-game needs.
- InitialLastName 5y ago
  Avatar and Interstellar, both made with enormous budgets by overwhelmingly successful directors, are weird examples to use for "non-mainstream". In fact, most of the Oscar Best Picture nominees from 2020 [0] meet that description better than the movies you cited (not sure what was in theaters last year, but most of them were readily available from a mainstream source; I'm sure that in a normal year most would have been in mainstream theaters). [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Picture#2020s https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Picture...
- ethbr0 5y ago
  > When was the last time you saw actually original[...], creative, non-"mainstream" movies at your city's cinema? Encanto (11/24) King Richard (11/19) Last Night in Soho (10/29) The French Dispatch (10/22)
jdgoesmarching 5y ago
Great point, it does actually seem that these metrics don’t necessarily correlate with good products or even a useful definition of value unless you’re a shareholder.

mschuster91 5y ago

Marvel movies are the top of the line financially, but they are all the same basic formula, and they're effectively film versions of old comic storylines. When was the last time you saw actually original (as in, not based on last year's surprisingly successful novel), creative, non-"mainstream" movies at your city's cinema? Interstellar or (to a certain extent, given that the plot was more or less copied from Pocahontas) Avatar, likely. Anything else is moved off to niche/arthouse cinema or straight to DVD/Netflix. With games, it's the same. Innovation has been sorely lacking in many genres from racing to shooters - it's all remasters, microtransactions, free to play and advertising bullshit these days or the atrocity that Rockstar made out of GTA 3/VC/SA. Last actually innovative game in the shooter genre probably was Borderlands.

oarabbus_ 5y ago
>With games, it's the same. Innovation has been sorely lacking in many genres from racing to shooters - it's all remasters, microtransactions, free to play and advertising bullshit Sure, but that's just the thing, actually. Gamers overindex on what _they_ like, which simply isn't what the general public cares about. "Video game players" as opposed to "gamers" really want two things: they want to play Madden or FIFA with the newest rosters and the best graphics. And then they want to take a break and play the Call of Duty game with the best graphics. Why do these AAA studios need to innovate when this formula doesn't just work - it's doing absolutely excellent? We have indie studios to satisfy gamers' creative-game needs.
InitialLastName 5y ago
Avatar and Interstellar, both made with enormous budgets by overwhelmingly successful directors, are weird examples to use for "non-mainstream". In fact, most of the Oscar Best Picture nominees from 2020 [0] meet that description better than the movies you cited (not sure what was in theaters last year, but most of them were readily available from a mainstream source; I'm sure that in a normal year most would have been in mainstream theaters). [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Picture#2020s https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Picture...
ethbr0 5y ago
> When was the last time you saw actually original[...], creative, non-"mainstream" movies at your city's cinema? Encanto (11/24) King Richard (11/19) Last Night in Soho (10/29) The French Dispatch (10/22)

jdgoesmarching 5y ago

Great point, it does actually seem that these metrics don’t necessarily correlate with good products or even a useful definition of value unless you’re a shareholder.