3 ms·

Video games take an average of 18h to beat now: https://howlongtobeat.com/stats https://howlongtobeat.com/stats and on average players will play less than half

by c2h5oh 3y ago

Video games take an average of 18h to beat now: https://howlongtobeat.com/stats https://howlongtobeat.com/stats and on average players will play less than half of that https://deathisawhale.com/2021/01/20/how-many-players-actually-finish-games/ https://deathisawhale.com/2021/01/20/how-many-players-actual... Excluding multiplayer games with huge replayability AAA titles cost closer to $8-10/h of entertainment. A LOT of AAA titles can be completed in about 10 hours and still cost $60

skyyler 3y ago
The value proposition of AAA video games is actually just sad compared to indies. Stardew Valley comes to mind, but also infinitely re-playable games like The Binding of Isaac...
AaronFriel 3y ago
Important to remember that the distributions here are multi-modal, so averages don't represent the data well. For AAA games I think you're way off. Looking at the 5 top played games in 2023, "main story" to "completionist": Title Main Story (hrs) Completionist (hrs) Baldur's Gate 3 57 146 Super Mario Wonder 10 19 Starfield 22 145 Zelda: ToTK 59 235 Hogwarts Legacy 27 68 Of these, the first two are co-op but not the same kind of multiplayer I think you allude to. Super Mario Wonder is not, I think, what many people would call "AAA". If we add Spider-Man 2, that's still a 17 hour main story, and has been criticized for being "too short". Many people who purchase AAA titles do expect 20-30 hours of entertainment, for a ~$2/hour return. And the Game of the Year is the title with the second best ROI!
- c2h5oh 3y ago
  Depends on the type of the games you are looking obviously: - 2023 shooters average just over 12h to complete - 2023 RPGs 37.5h - Battle Arena (all time) 433h All in all average for 2023 releases is just under 20h _to complete_, which doesn't necessarily mean people actually played that much - the other article I've linked suggests that on average people got to less than half of the main story..
  - sp332 3y ago
    Shooters are focusing more on the multiplayer right? So the story modes are de-emphasized and also many players don't bother with it.
    - c2h5oh 3y ago
      That's possible, but in general action games are shorter (unless padded with "open world") - e.g. all recent Tomb Raider games are around 12h mark, horror games average around 9h etc. Since I can't filter data by "AAA titles only" I'm assuming that on average they are no different in length than all games in general - under 20h to complete. Add average completion percentage of less than 50% it gives you average play time per title of less than 10h.
Night_Thastus 3y ago
To me, that's well worth it if the experience is unique, interesting, emotionally moving, etc. I think that measuring something like that in terms of dollars per hour is a bit reductionist. I'd rather have a short but impactful game over something that sprawls for 40+ hours but doesn't do much with that time. Cocoon was around 5 hours for $25, but I don't regret that purchase for a second. But when there are so many games out there vying for attention - and I don't know if the game will 'click' with me in advance, I myself often wait for sales. Most of what I buy ends up being in the $10-$30 range, and I frequently play games many years after their release. By then, computers have advanced so the game runs better, bugs have been patched, expansions released, etc.

by c2h5oh 3y ago

skyyler 3y ago

The value proposition of AAA video games is actually just sad compared to indies. Stardew Valley comes to mind, but also infinitely re-playable games like The Binding of Isaac...

AaronFriel 3y ago

Important to remember that the distributions here are multi-modal, so averages don't represent the data well. For AAA games I think you're way off. Looking at the 5 top played games in 2023, "main story" to "completionist": Title Main Story (hrs) Completionist (hrs) Baldur's Gate 3 57 146 Super Mario Wonder 10 19 Starfield 22 145 Zelda: ToTK 59 235 Hogwarts Legacy 27 68 Of these, the first two are co-op but not the same kind of multiplayer I think you allude to. Super Mario Wonder is not, I think, what many people would call "AAA". If we add Spider-Man 2, that's still a 17 hour main story, and has been criticized for being "too short". Many people who purchase AAA titles do expect 20-30 hours of entertainment, for a ~$2/hour return. And the Game of the Year is the title with the second best ROI!

c2h5oh 3y ago
Depends on the type of the games you are looking obviously: - 2023 shooters average just over 12h to complete - 2023 RPGs 37.5h - Battle Arena (all time) 433h All in all average for 2023 releases is just under 20h _to complete_, which doesn't necessarily mean people actually played that much - the other article I've linked suggests that on average people got to less than half of the main story..
- sp332 3y ago
  Shooters are focusing more on the multiplayer right? So the story modes are de-emphasized and also many players don't bother with it.
  - c2h5oh 3y ago
    That's possible, but in general action games are shorter (unless padded with "open world") - e.g. all recent Tomb Raider games are around 12h mark, horror games average around 9h etc. Since I can't filter data by "AAA titles only" I'm assuming that on average they are no different in length than all games in general - under 20h to complete. Add average completion percentage of less than 50% it gives you average play time per title of less than 10h.

Night_Thastus 3y ago

To me, that's well worth it if the experience is unique, interesting, emotionally moving, etc. I think that measuring something like that in terms of dollars per hour is a bit reductionist. I'd rather have a short but impactful game over something that sprawls for 40+ hours but doesn't do much with that time. Cocoon was around 5 hours for $25, but I don't regret that purchase for a second. But when there are so many games out there vying for attention - and I don't know if the game will 'click' with me in advance, I myself often wait for sales. Most of what I buy ends up being in the $10-$30 range, and I frequently play games many years after their release. By then, computers have advanced so the game runs better, bugs have been patched, expansions released, etc.