5 ms·

If you struck gold, don’t stop digging. If you hit growth, don’t stop reinvesting.

by golergka 2y ago

nradov 2y ago
Any game has an inherently limited and temporary TAM, unless you can license the engine to other companies.
- kamikaz1k 2y ago
  Why is that true of games but not other businesses?
  - nradov 2y ago
    Almost all games have an inherently limited lifespan. How many games released 20 years ago are still selling well today? Games aren't like other software where you can keep enhancing the product and keep getting new sales. Thus games developers have to focus more on maximizing short term revenue rather than building a sustainable business around particular products. There are a handful of counterexamples like Madden NFL but only very few.
    - lodovic 2y ago
      That's really not the case. Check the wiki page for the top games in 2005. Many of these games are still around in an upgraded form.
      - teamonkey 2y ago
        In most cases, a re-released game is an entirely new game SKU using the same IP, just as a movie remake is a new movie based on a previous one. And similarly, once released, most rereleased or remastered games have a short tail.
    - Ekaros 2y ago
      Maybe not 20, but still long time CS2(CS:GO really like Windows 11) launch 2012, DOTA 2 2013, LoL 2009, World of Tanks 2010. And more. All still making money and surviving...
    - lupusreal 2y ago
      In 2000, a 10 year old game was positively prehistoric, some unrecognizable thing only distantly related to the current forms. In 2010, a 10 year old game was quite old, but a recognizable ancestor of new releases. In 2020, a 10 year old game was kind of old. You could tell the difference if you had high end hardware and were tuned into certain details, but the new games were essentially the same kind of stuff as the 10 year old games. The pace of advancement is slowing and game design has reached a mature plateau; games having greater potential to last longer each year. If a game can last more than a few months then there is a reasonably good chance it can survive for several years at least (presuming the publisher doesn't decide to cut it off to sell a new version, which is a popular tactic.)
- dartos 2y ago
  What’s TAM?
  - SonOfLilit 2y ago
    total available market, the size of cake you split with your competitors
  - ethbr1 2y ago
    Total addressable market
  - warkdarrior 2y ago
    TAM = total addressable market, meaning, the market size for a product or service (typically assuming one company owning the whole market) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_addressable_market https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_addressable_market
- Tossrock 2y ago
  Roblox is not a game, and indeed makes its money by giving its engine to developers for free, then taking a cut of their earnings.
shermantanktop 2y ago
Future growth won’t keep the lights on, unless you sell part of your future growth, and you probably won’t get a good deal. Which is why large companies are so ideally positioned to do internal ZIRP funding of growth…except they are often culturally unable to do it.
- littlestymaar 2y ago
  Given that they are paying their employees with shares (53% of employees compensation are share, only 47% in cash), future growth is indeed keeping the light on.

If you struck gold, don’t stop digging. If you hit growth, don’t stop reinvesting.

nradov 2y ago

Any game has an inherently limited and temporary TAM, unless you can license the engine to other companies.

kamikaz1k 2y ago
Why is that true of games but not other businesses?
- nradov 2y ago
  Almost all games have an inherently limited lifespan. How many games released 20 years ago are still selling well today? Games aren't like other software where you can keep enhancing the product and keep getting new sales. Thus games developers have to focus more on maximizing short term revenue rather than building a sustainable business around particular products. There are a handful of counterexamples like Madden NFL but only very few.
  - lodovic 2y ago
    That's really not the case. Check the wiki page for the top games in 2005. Many of these games are still around in an upgraded form.
    - teamonkey 2y ago
      In most cases, a re-released game is an entirely new game SKU using the same IP, just as a movie remake is a new movie based on a previous one. And similarly, once released, most rereleased or remastered games have a short tail.
  - Ekaros 2y ago
    Maybe not 20, but still long time CS2(CS:GO really like Windows 11) launch 2012, DOTA 2 2013, LoL 2009, World of Tanks 2010. And more. All still making money and surviving...
  - lupusreal 2y ago
    In 2000, a 10 year old game was positively prehistoric, some unrecognizable thing only distantly related to the current forms. In 2010, a 10 year old game was quite old, but a recognizable ancestor of new releases. In 2020, a 10 year old game was kind of old. You could tell the difference if you had high end hardware and were tuned into certain details, but the new games were essentially the same kind of stuff as the 10 year old games. The pace of advancement is slowing and game design has reached a mature plateau; games having greater potential to last longer each year. If a game can last more than a few months then there is a reasonably good chance it can survive for several years at least (presuming the publisher doesn't decide to cut it off to sell a new version, which is a popular tactic.)
dartos 2y ago
What’s TAM?
- SonOfLilit 2y ago
  total available market, the size of cake you split with your competitors
- ethbr1 2y ago
  Total addressable market
- warkdarrior 2y ago
  TAM = total addressable market, meaning, the market size for a product or service (typically assuming one company owning the whole market) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_addressable_market https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_addressable_market
Tossrock 2y ago
Roblox is not a game, and indeed makes its money by giving its engine to developers for free, then taking a cut of their earnings.

shermantanktop 2y ago

Future growth won’t keep the lights on, unless you sell part of your future growth, and you probably won’t get a good deal. Which is why large companies are so ideally positioned to do internal ZIRP funding of growth…except they are often culturally unable to do it.

littlestymaar 2y ago
Given that they are paying their employees with shares (53% of employees compensation are share, only 47% in cash), future growth is indeed keeping the light on.