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By the time you get to the loading screen they've already profited. The fact that they continue to sell the same game over and over means individuals have likel

By the time you get to the loading screen they've already profited. The fact that they continue to sell the same game over and over means individuals have likely purchased the game multiple times meaning they don't care about loading times, they just like the game. It's easy to say their management is shitty from the comfort of your computer, but the reality is Rockstar produces great games, and they're making a ton of money because there games are good. I find most multiplayer games have a start up cost, glad they shortened it, but I don't think it's stopped anyone from playing that really wants to play. https://www.thegamer.com/gta-5-rockstar-2-5-million-per-day/ https://www.thegamer.com/gta-5-rockstar-2-5-million-per-day/ https://www.tweaktown.com/news/80912/grand-theft-auto-made-over-6-4-billion-since-gta-vs-launch/index.html https://www.tweaktown.com/news/80912/grand-theft-auto-made-o...

zerocrates 4y ago
The action is, as always, on the margins. Those people who kind of wanted to play but got frustrated at the load times, you want them. In some senses you care more about them, the people you can gain or lose with changes, than your more committed users who are a little bit locked in. GTA V has sold, and continues to sell, amazingly well. But Online, where this slowdown was exclusive to, is the real moneymaking engine. Any little marginal push to keep people out of Online, from feeling they could just jump in whenever, was significant. The real baffler to me is just thinking about all the time spent by people internal to Rockstar sitting on that same screen.
blablabla987 4y ago
My statement is mostly based on the assumption that a large part of their revenue is based on microtransactions, for which satisfied customers are key. Therefore if I stop playing due to the loading times, they effectively loose money since I certainly won't buy any in-game money with my real money. But you are of course right that I have already bought the game. Regarding the management: If it takes >5 minutes on top high-end gaming rigs to load a game and if your loading times have become a meme in the internet, I think a somewhat reasonable product manager should ask their developers to at least invest 5 minutes in figuring out why it takes so long (that's probably about the time needed to figure it out given the tools the developers have) and if it can be decreased in a reasonable amount of time. I was just amazed by how simple the problem actually was for an issue that has led me and many others to stop playing. (And I actually really wanted to play, but I just didn't want to look 15 minutes at loading screens for having 5 minutes of actual playtime.)

zerocrates 4y ago

The action is, as always, on the margins. Those people who kind of wanted to play but got frustrated at the load times, you want them. In some senses you care more about them, the people you can gain or lose with changes, than your more committed users who are a little bit locked in. GTA V has sold, and continues to sell, amazingly well. But Online, where this slowdown was exclusive to, is the real moneymaking engine. Any little marginal push to keep people out of Online, from feeling they could just jump in whenever, was significant. The real baffler to me is just thinking about all the time spent by people internal to Rockstar sitting on that same screen.

blablabla987 4y ago

My statement is mostly based on the assumption that a large part of their revenue is based on microtransactions, for which satisfied customers are key. Therefore if I stop playing due to the loading times, they effectively loose money since I certainly won't buy any in-game money with my real money. But you are of course right that I have already bought the game. Regarding the management: If it takes >5 minutes on top high-end gaming rigs to load a game and if your loading times have become a meme in the internet, I think a somewhat reasonable product manager should ask their developers to at least invest 5 minutes in figuring out why it takes so long (that's probably about the time needed to figure it out given the tools the developers have) and if it can be decreased in a reasonable amount of time. I was just amazed by how simple the problem actually was for an issue that has led me and many others to stop playing. (And I actually really wanted to play, but I just didn't want to look 15 minutes at loading screens for having 5 minutes of actual playtime.)