4 ms·

If you buy more than two new games a year, you're in the minority

18 points by MBCook 1y ago

sidewndr46 1y ago
Video game industry profit overwhelming comes from microtransactions, so I am unsure why the frequency of game purchase would matter very much
- mooglevich 1y ago
  This is true. It's interesting to see the incentives of the industry though - this business model was less evenly distributed, but given how tough it is to make money in games, more companies are doing this. https://www.matthewball.co/all/stateofvideogaming2025 https://www.matthewball.co/all/stateofvideogaming2025 had an in-depth (very very..in-depth) dive into all these trends.
robertlagrant 1y ago
> If, on average, players are spending, say, £140 on two full price games (or less) each year I buy games, but except for I think Call of Duty MW2, I don't think I've ever paid more than £20 for a game. I doubt the average purchase price is £70. Maybe if you limit to people who buy COD and Fifa (or Madden) every year?
- jerlam 1y ago
  It's a strange filter. With a single Steam sale, you could buy enough games for the entire year for less than the cost a new, single, full-priced game and would probably have a better experience. If you can wait a year, you can buy that same new game for half off or more. And subscription services like XBox Game Pass make buying games at all seem antiquated.
  - robertlagrant 1y ago
    Agreed, although I think subscriptions are causing problems. I'm glad Steam exists, so PC gaming isn't just at the whim of the latest Microsoft deep-pocketed "strategy".
  - lovich 1y ago
    The Game Pass is getting the screws turned on for revenue now that they acquired a large customer base
seanhunter 1y ago
Not sure the relevance of the headline. What I do know is that by revenue, the video games industry more than twice the size of the film and music industries combined. It also is growing faster (>9% yoy). Mobile gaming alone is about the same size as the whole film industry. Here is the source data (sorry I know it's not public) https://www.statista.com/outlook/amo/media/games/worldwide?currency=USD https://www.statista.com/outlook/amo/media/games/worldwide?c...
- paulryanrogers 1y ago
  Isn't growth slowing? I cannot imagine it'll grow forever. Also gaming includes gambling now, albeit dressed in lootboxes and the like. Movies and TV are usually non-interactive.
  - karmakaze 1y ago
    Non-interactive, though I feel like choosing a movie to see in a theatre is a gamble in itself (especially if you don't want to watch all the spoiler/trailers).
- stubish 1y ago
  It is kind of pointing out than a vast chunk of 'the video games industry' uses funding models that don't involve selling games, and that it is completely stupid to lump together the 'traditional' gaming industry with completely different businesses and expect to gain any insight.
mrguyorama 1y ago
Constant insistence that we lump "Mobile games", which are just thinly disguised skinner boxes and gambling machines, in with actual video gaming is genuinely ruining the industry. They are vastly different worlds.
mattbrewsbytes 1y ago
I guess I'm in the minority. I set aside some monthly budget for guilt-free spending (ala Ramit Sethi approach) and $70 for a game that I play for 20 hours or more of entertainment is a no-brainer to me. Back in the day that would be like $3.50 an hour at an arcade (or less if more than 20 hours). 14 quarters per hour, I think I averaged way more than that back then. Then there are subscriptions like PS+ for Playstation that is about $15/mo and I get 3 games that I mostly add to my library and hardly play. If I play half a game and get distracted or bored, I just stop. If I'm not naturally pulled back in, I don't care. The whole "guilt free spending" budget concept really shifted my perspective from wanting to "get my money's worth" to more "its spent, I had fun, what's next/interesting now?" approach.
add-sub-mul-div 1y ago
I don't buy more than two new games in a year which is why Game Pass has been great for me, now I play many more games and a greater diversity of indie games now that I can try them without committing to a purchase. I don't replay games so not owning them isn't a downside for me. I'm willing to spend $20/month on Game Pass as an ongoing expense but never did feel great about spending the equivalent $60x4 on four games I could keep.
- iszomer 1y ago
  I guess I'm in the minority as well; not a Game Pass subscriber let alone own an xbox but I have been slowly acquiring games through Steam over the years, at most three titles last year. The most recent: Manifold Garden, BLACKSHARD, and Chaotic Era. To my knowledge, these are as indie as they can be in my books.
seivan 1y ago
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18 points by MBCook 1y ago

Video game industry profit overwhelming comes from microtransactions, so I am unsure why the frequency of game purchase would matter very much

mooglevich 1y ago
This is true. It's interesting to see the incentives of the industry though - this business model was less evenly distributed, but given how tough it is to make money in games, more companies are doing this. https://www.matthewball.co/all/stateofvideogaming2025 https://www.matthewball.co/all/stateofvideogaming2025 had an in-depth (very very..in-depth) dive into all these trends.

robertlagrant 1y ago

> If, on average, players are spending, say, £140 on two full price games (or less) each year I buy games, but except for I think Call of Duty MW2, I don't think I've ever paid more than £20 for a game. I doubt the average purchase price is £70. Maybe if you limit to people who buy COD and Fifa (or Madden) every year?

jerlam 1y ago
It's a strange filter. With a single Steam sale, you could buy enough games for the entire year for less than the cost a new, single, full-priced game and would probably have a better experience. If you can wait a year, you can buy that same new game for half off or more. And subscription services like XBox Game Pass make buying games at all seem antiquated.
- robertlagrant 1y ago
  Agreed, although I think subscriptions are causing problems. I'm glad Steam exists, so PC gaming isn't just at the whim of the latest Microsoft deep-pocketed "strategy".
- lovich 1y ago
  The Game Pass is getting the screws turned on for revenue now that they acquired a large customer base

seanhunter 1y ago

Not sure the relevance of the headline. What I do know is that by revenue, the video games industry more than twice the size of the film and music industries combined. It also is growing faster (>9% yoy). Mobile gaming alone is about the same size as the whole film industry. Here is the source data (sorry I know it's not public) https://www.statista.com/outlook/amo/media/games/worldwide?currency=USD https://www.statista.com/outlook/amo/media/games/worldwide?c...

paulryanrogers 1y ago
Isn't growth slowing? I cannot imagine it'll grow forever. Also gaming includes gambling now, albeit dressed in lootboxes and the like. Movies and TV are usually non-interactive.
- karmakaze 1y ago
  Non-interactive, though I feel like choosing a movie to see in a theatre is a gamble in itself (especially if you don't want to watch all the spoiler/trailers).
stubish 1y ago
It is kind of pointing out than a vast chunk of 'the video games industry' uses funding models that don't involve selling games, and that it is completely stupid to lump together the 'traditional' gaming industry with completely different businesses and expect to gain any insight.

mrguyorama 1y ago

Constant insistence that we lump "Mobile games", which are just thinly disguised skinner boxes and gambling machines, in with actual video gaming is genuinely ruining the industry. They are vastly different worlds.

mattbrewsbytes 1y ago

I guess I'm in the minority. I set aside some monthly budget for guilt-free spending (ala Ramit Sethi approach) and $70 for a game that I play for 20 hours or more of entertainment is a no-brainer to me. Back in the day that would be like $3.50 an hour at an arcade (or less if more than 20 hours). 14 quarters per hour, I think I averaged way more than that back then. Then there are subscriptions like PS+ for Playstation that is about $15/mo and I get 3 games that I mostly add to my library and hardly play. If I play half a game and get distracted or bored, I just stop. If I'm not naturally pulled back in, I don't care. The whole "guilt free spending" budget concept really shifted my perspective from wanting to "get my money's worth" to more "its spent, I had fun, what's next/interesting now?" approach.

add-sub-mul-div 1y ago

I don't buy more than two new games in a year which is why Game Pass has been great for me, now I play many more games and a greater diversity of indie games now that I can try them without committing to a purchase. I don't replay games so not owning them isn't a downside for me. I'm willing to spend $20/month on Game Pass as an ongoing expense but never did feel great about spending the equivalent $60x4 on four games I could keep.

iszomer 1y ago
I guess I'm in the minority as well; not a Game Pass subscriber let alone own an xbox but I have been slowly acquiring games through Steam over the years, at most three titles last year. The most recent: Manifold Garden, BLACKSHARD, and Chaotic Era. To my knowledge, these are as indie as they can be in my books.

seivan 1y ago

[dead]