3 ms·

Aren't games like CSGO, FIFA, and Overwatch almost exclusively run on gacha-profits?

jsheard 10mo ago
Yes they are. The implementation tends to differ from how eastern-developed gacha games work, but they're making billions from virtual slot machines nonetheless.
- dpoloncsak 10mo ago
  Yeah, I still indulge in video games, and understand that on the surface CSGO skins feel different than Genshin summons, but from 100 feet up it's all the same crap, imo I do kinda get what you mean, though. Gacha mechanics feel expected in anything western, while 'loot boxes' are still a 'feature' of some games in the east. Eastern studios have definitely noticed, though, and are running the same playbook.
  - dpoloncsak 10mo ago
    ...I think I mixed up East and West oops
modwilliam 10mo ago
Overwatch is not
- dpoloncsak 10mo ago
  Didn't they bring back loot boxes?
  - deleted 10mo ago
    [deleted]
  - modwilliam 10mo ago
    Yes, but you basically can't pay for them. Revenue is basically all from direct cosmetic sales or the battle passes
    - dpoloncsak 10mo ago
      I see. You can remove 'Overwatch' from my original comment and the point still stands, but I do appreciate the fact check. I know Blizzard from HearthStone and Diablo....not great experiences with gacha there haha (Diablo Immortal, atleast), but those are far from the most popular Eastern games
    - fwip 10mo ago
      The battle pass contains loot boxes though, right?
      - modwilliam 10mo ago
        Yes
spacemarine1 10mo ago
I think it is possible to be successful in games without being predatory. Humble Bundle was a demonstration of that. I don’t believe that ultra-predatory mechanics are long-term sustainable. They usually yield a “ring of fire” effect that creates a growing ring of users for a while but really you’re burning out all your core users and will implode. This is how many describe the original Zynga model. Supercell (founded around the same time) has cultivated longterm ecosystems and IP by respecting their players. EGG takes a similar long-term perspective.
- YetAnotherNick 10mo ago
  [flagged]
  - Loughla 10mo ago
    It's successful in my opinion by offering really good value with fair practices. It's not a secret, I think.
  - bigstrat2003 10mo ago
    If you don't consider tens of millions of dollars in revenue a success, your definition of "success" is completely out of whack.
    - Espressosaurus 10mo ago
      It’s not successful for a VC. VCs are looking for the billion dollar exit. 10s of millions is 100-1000x off what they look for
    - YetAnotherNick 10mo ago
      Depends on development cost, no? If game development costs 10s to 100s of millions of dollars, 10 million in revenue is a failure.
- dpoloncsak 10mo ago
  >I don’t believe that ultra-predatory mechanics are long-term sustainable I don't think they're trying to be. I think they're whale hunting, find a few high spenders, and milk them for all they're worth. Then they spin up a new IP (or license one out), rinse and repeat

Yes they are. The implementation tends to differ from how eastern-developed gacha games work, but they're making billions from virtual slot machines nonetheless.

dpoloncsak 10mo ago
Yeah, I still indulge in video games, and understand that on the surface CSGO skins feel different than Genshin summons, but from 100 feet up it's all the same crap, imo I do kinda get what you mean, though. Gacha mechanics feel expected in anything western, while 'loot boxes' are still a 'feature' of some games in the east. Eastern studios have definitely noticed, though, and are running the same playbook.
- dpoloncsak 10mo ago
  ...I think I mixed up East and West oops

modwilliam 10mo ago

Overwatch is not

dpoloncsak 10mo ago
Didn't they bring back loot boxes?
- deleted 10mo ago
  [deleted]
- modwilliam 10mo ago
  Yes, but you basically can't pay for them. Revenue is basically all from direct cosmetic sales or the battle passes
  - dpoloncsak 10mo ago
    I see. You can remove 'Overwatch' from my original comment and the point still stands, but I do appreciate the fact check. I know Blizzard from HearthStone and Diablo....not great experiences with gacha there haha (Diablo Immortal, atleast), but those are far from the most popular Eastern games
  - fwip 10mo ago
    The battle pass contains loot boxes though, right?
    - modwilliam 10mo ago
      Yes

spacemarine1 10mo ago

I think it is possible to be successful in games without being predatory. Humble Bundle was a demonstration of that. I don’t believe that ultra-predatory mechanics are long-term sustainable. They usually yield a “ring of fire” effect that creates a growing ring of users for a while but really you’re burning out all your core users and will implode. This is how many describe the original Zynga model. Supercell (founded around the same time) has cultivated longterm ecosystems and IP by respecting their players. EGG takes a similar long-term perspective.

YetAnotherNick 10mo ago
[flagged]
- Loughla 10mo ago
  It's successful in my opinion by offering really good value with fair practices. It's not a secret, I think.
- bigstrat2003 10mo ago
  If you don't consider tens of millions of dollars in revenue a success, your definition of "success" is completely out of whack.
  - Espressosaurus 10mo ago
    It’s not successful for a VC. VCs are looking for the billion dollar exit. 10s of millions is 100-1000x off what they look for
  - YetAnotherNick 10mo ago
    Depends on development cost, no? If game development costs 10s to 100s of millions of dollars, 10 million in revenue is a failure.
dpoloncsak 10mo ago
>I don’t believe that ultra-predatory mechanics are long-term sustainable I don't think they're trying to be. I think they're whale hunting, find a few high spenders, and milk them for all they're worth. Then they spin up a new IP (or license one out), rinse and repeat