4 ms·

Elden Ring was exactly "make good game, sell it" and it sold very well.

Hemospectrum 4y ago
The "no longer works" comment clearly refers to the business model, ie. ignoring the quality or popularity of the product itself and just looking at the balance sheet. The gambling (microtransaction) model is enormously more profitable than the classical "just sell a game" model. Elden Ring was spectacularly well received and has sold millions of units, but it's "only" a game. There's no casino in the back, and therefore no gambling-related revenue stream.
- interroboink 4y ago
  Maybe I misunderstand you, but if the "no longer works" comment refers to the business model as you say, then the person you replied to is saying "no, it can still work as a business model — here's an example." It may not work as well or as easily, but I don't think that's the point being made.
  - Hemospectrum 4y ago
    The customer might want to buy a product, and the studio might want to make it, but isn’t there someone they forgot to ask? Business models that are lower-risk and higher-return are systematically preferred by investors. Games are expensive to make. FromSoft has been successful enough to stay in business for now. They’ll always be in competition with studios that sacrifice product quality for profitability. Many studios literally cannot afford to do things their way.
- glouwbug 4y ago
  But the reputation of Elden Ring far outshines the reputation of Diablo. Activision Blizzard is dying for reason
  - jacooper 4y ago
    Are they though ? All of their numbers are positive
    - skilled 4y ago
      Sure, positive from people who are happy to pay their way towards a victory. Blizzard as a gaming company is dead and if you never played their games you probably shouldn’t involve yourself in this discussion.
- tubalcain 4y ago
  People are still buying Skyrim and that was made in 2011
swampthinker 4y ago
The cynical response there is “It would’ve performed even better if it was a subscription”
abletonlive 4y ago
diablo immortal is going to make A LOT more money than elden ring, so your example is not a good one. not even in the same universe.
- interroboink 4y ago
  It seems like a good example to me. It was a sales model that worked. That's all. It doesn't have to work better than every other sales model out there. It just has to be profitable and successful on its own.
- anonydsfsfs 4y ago
  Everything I've reads says the opposite. Elden Ring has sold at least 13.4 million units so far[1], which is >$800 million in revenue. The only revenue figure I could find for Diablo Immortal is $800k [2]. They're not even in the same ballpark. [1] https://www.polygon.com/23070948/elden-ring-sales-chart-npd-call-of-duty-best-sellers https://www.polygon.com/23070948/elden-ring-sales-chart-npd-... [2] https://gameworldobserver.com/2022/06/03/diablo-immortal-generates-almost-800k-in-first-24-hours-since-its-launch-on-mobile https://gameworldobserver.com/2022/06/03/diablo-immortal-gen...
  - PradeetPatel 4y ago
    We should be mindful of the biggest difference between Elden Ring and Diablo Immortal - the latter has a constant revenue stream via its in game microtrasaction capability. Whereas the former, despite being a good game, may not provide the revenue model desired by its stakeholders.
    - anonydsfsfs 4y ago
      Elden Ring isn't going to be a standalone game. The publisher (Bandai Namco) says it's the start of a franchise, which fans are almost certain to lap up for a long time to come. Had Elden Ring included microtransactions or other questionable features, it's likely fans would be far less enthusiastic about future installments, which means revenue from the franchise would dry up faster.
pawelmurias 4y ago
Elden Ring shouldn't be even treated as the same sort of thing as an addiction focused mobile game.
- klipklop 4y ago
  Indeed. One is a work of art and the other is a disguised slot machine.

The "no longer works" comment clearly refers to the business model, ie. ignoring the quality or popularity of the product itself and just looking at the balance sheet. The gambling (microtransaction) model is enormously more profitable than the classical "just sell a game" model. Elden Ring was spectacularly well received and has sold millions of units, but it's "only" a game. There's no casino in the back, and therefore no gambling-related revenue stream.

interroboink 4y ago
Maybe I misunderstand you, but if the "no longer works" comment refers to the business model as you say, then the person you replied to is saying "no, it can still work as a business model — here's an example." It may not work as well or as easily, but I don't think that's the point being made.
- Hemospectrum 4y ago
  The customer might want to buy a product, and the studio might want to make it, but isn’t there someone they forgot to ask? Business models that are lower-risk and higher-return are systematically preferred by investors. Games are expensive to make. FromSoft has been successful enough to stay in business for now. They’ll always be in competition with studios that sacrifice product quality for profitability. Many studios literally cannot afford to do things their way.
glouwbug 4y ago
But the reputation of Elden Ring far outshines the reputation of Diablo. Activision Blizzard is dying for reason
- jacooper 4y ago
  Are they though ? All of their numbers are positive
  - skilled 4y ago
    Sure, positive from people who are happy to pay their way towards a victory. Blizzard as a gaming company is dead and if you never played their games you probably shouldn’t involve yourself in this discussion.
tubalcain 4y ago
People are still buying Skyrim and that was made in 2011

swampthinker 4y ago

The cynical response there is “It would’ve performed even better if it was a subscription”

abletonlive 4y ago

diablo immortal is going to make A LOT more money than elden ring, so your example is not a good one. not even in the same universe.

interroboink 4y ago
It seems like a good example to me. It was a sales model that worked. That's all. It doesn't have to work better than every other sales model out there. It just has to be profitable and successful on its own.
anonydsfsfs 4y ago
Everything I've reads says the opposite. Elden Ring has sold at least 13.4 million units so far[1], which is >$800 million in revenue. The only revenue figure I could find for Diablo Immortal is $800k [2]. They're not even in the same ballpark. [1] https://www.polygon.com/23070948/elden-ring-sales-chart-npd-call-of-duty-best-sellers https://www.polygon.com/23070948/elden-ring-sales-chart-npd-... [2] https://gameworldobserver.com/2022/06/03/diablo-immortal-generates-almost-800k-in-first-24-hours-since-its-launch-on-mobile https://gameworldobserver.com/2022/06/03/diablo-immortal-gen...
- PradeetPatel 4y ago
  We should be mindful of the biggest difference between Elden Ring and Diablo Immortal - the latter has a constant revenue stream via its in game microtrasaction capability. Whereas the former, despite being a good game, may not provide the revenue model desired by its stakeholders.
  - anonydsfsfs 4y ago
    Elden Ring isn't going to be a standalone game. The publisher (Bandai Namco) says it's the start of a franchise, which fans are almost certain to lap up for a long time to come. Had Elden Ring included microtransactions or other questionable features, it's likely fans would be far less enthusiastic about future installments, which means revenue from the franchise would dry up faster.

pawelmurias 4y ago

Elden Ring shouldn't be even treated as the same sort of thing as an addiction focused mobile game.

klipklop 4y ago
Indeed. One is a work of art and the other is a disguised slot machine.