Gaming?s Great Recession
- Thread starter Archon
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I was right there with the prognosticators, thinking this thing was recession-proof. The relationship to movies to the Great Depression just seemed too similar to videogames to our current recession. (Not that things are nearly that bad, just yet.) But the $60 price tag is problematic in a lot of ways. When they're short on cash, people will spend $15 going to the movies every week, but refuse to spend that same $60 on a videogame for the month. It's the same amount of money a month, but there is a whole lot of psychology going on. Nobody wants to put that many of their gaming dollars into one basket. (One game might suck, but it's unlikely all four movies will suck.) They'll balk at spending that much all at once. (Entertainment spending is probably the least rational form of spending.) Blizzard has exploited this fact for years. Nobody would pay $500+ for a videogame up front, but WoW has gotten that much money out of long-time players by patiently tapping them for a modest $15 at a time.
I think the $20 price point is where impulse spending becomes possible. If I were a publisher I'd be thinking about how I could get a product to market at that point, either by cutting games into episodes or moving to a subscription model.
I wonder how TellTale Games is doing this year?
I think the $20 price point is where impulse spending becomes possible. If I were a publisher I'd be thinking about how I could get a product to market at that point, either by cutting games into episodes or moving to a subscription model.
I wonder how TellTale Games is doing this year?
I wonder to what extent this is linked to the end of Microsoft's extended warranty for their poorly-designed 360 hardware. I'm on my third and now the disk-drive is acting up even though I have kept all my DVDs in mint condition, so like the sap I am I have started looking at the new Xbox Arcades that have the apparently RROD-free Jasper motherboards (although they aren't advertised as that). Yet, now I'm put off because I've read there is some other "e74" video fault that these are more likely to have...
Then you've got rumors of a price-hike for Modern Warfare 2 - which the industry cynically hope will make the market accept higher prices, yet at the same time the trend towards short-session, single play through to completion, "casual" gaming would suggest that the prices are already too high when the entertainment product is seen in terms of $/hr (in the same sense as movies and music). Whilst I would have paid $200 for Halo: Combat Evolved, because I replayed it so damn much, I can't say the same about COD4 - which ought to have been 25% less expensive and therefore more in line with the cost of PC games; extra money could have been sought from the sale of optional map packs, which I wouldn't personally have bought because I wasn't wowed by the balance of the gameplay or the expressivity and accessibility of the controls.
So, I think that there are a lot of people who are putting their gaming hobby on hold until the 360 is sorted out, the PS3 becomes affordable and the Wii raises the standards of its 3rd party software (or we see some new games out from Nintendo). I've already pre-ordered my next game: Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising, but was dismayed to find that this wasn't going to "fill my Summer" when it was delayed from June to August (if it even materializes then).
The industry are a bunch of idiots who seem to release EVERYTHING in November, then bleat about poor sales. They need to spread things out a lot more. They need to lower the initial cost of ownership, or at least provide a decent demo for our evaluation (not just semi-interactive trailers for the crappier games that can't afford to advertise themselves). They need to run on more reliable hardware and in my opinion, the main blame for all of this (GPU overheating hardware failure, massive movie-scale budgets being passed on to consumers with price-hikes and protracted development times with slipping launch dates) is HD and the burden it places on art (texturing) and animation.
It is a flawed supposition that because HD TVs exist consumers will want their next-generation consoles to support output to them. Many people do have one in their living room, but it is used by the family for watching television - videogaming is not tolerated (unless you are a rich 20-something who lives on their own) - it is far more common for the console to be in another games room or bedroom, plugged into a standard Trinitron TV. This means that all the money being poured into raising the quality of the visuals goes unappreciated and pushing all of this data around amounts to a decadent waste of the console's resources.
I can't even see the argument for having a 'completely' HD PS3 in the living room (due to its Blu-Ray movies capability) because the disks are too expensive to collect and you would be better off with SkyHD Box Office.
So, I guess I look forward to a recession. Maybe it will curtail publisher's rising greed and make them commission "less epic" games that are just as much fun - if not more so, for not being pretentious (MGS4... I'm looking at you).
Then you've got rumors of a price-hike for Modern Warfare 2 - which the industry cynically hope will make the market accept higher prices, yet at the same time the trend towards short-session, single play through to completion, "casual" gaming would suggest that the prices are already too high when the entertainment product is seen in terms of $/hr (in the same sense as movies and music). Whilst I would have paid $200 for Halo: Combat Evolved, because I replayed it so damn much, I can't say the same about COD4 - which ought to have been 25% less expensive and therefore more in line with the cost of PC games; extra money could have been sought from the sale of optional map packs, which I wouldn't personally have bought because I wasn't wowed by the balance of the gameplay or the expressivity and accessibility of the controls.
So, I think that there are a lot of people who are putting their gaming hobby on hold until the 360 is sorted out, the PS3 becomes affordable and the Wii raises the standards of its 3rd party software (or we see some new games out from Nintendo). I've already pre-ordered my next game: Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising, but was dismayed to find that this wasn't going to "fill my Summer" when it was delayed from June to August (if it even materializes then).
The industry are a bunch of idiots who seem to release EVERYTHING in November, then bleat about poor sales. They need to spread things out a lot more. They need to lower the initial cost of ownership, or at least provide a decent demo for our evaluation (not just semi-interactive trailers for the crappier games that can't afford to advertise themselves). They need to run on more reliable hardware and in my opinion, the main blame for all of this (GPU overheating hardware failure, massive movie-scale budgets being passed on to consumers with price-hikes and protracted development times with slipping launch dates) is HD and the burden it places on art (texturing) and animation.
It is a flawed supposition that because HD TVs exist consumers will want their next-generation consoles to support output to them. Many people do have one in their living room, but it is used by the family for watching television - videogaming is not tolerated (unless you are a rich 20-something who lives on their own) - it is far more common for the console to be in another games room or bedroom, plugged into a standard Trinitron TV. This means that all the money being poured into raising the quality of the visuals goes unappreciated and pushing all of this data around amounts to a decadent waste of the console's resources.
I can't even see the argument for having a 'completely' HD PS3 in the living room (due to its Blu-Ray movies capability) because the disks are too expensive to collect and you would be better off with SkyHD Box Office.
So, I guess I look forward to a recession. Maybe it will curtail publisher's rising greed and make them commission "less epic" games that are just as much fun - if not more so, for not being pretentious (MGS4... I'm looking at you).
But hasn't that always been the case? The first of the games were quickly grabbed by the original gamers, and those with the best production values would usually come out on top, even if the technology was restricted (by today's standards, anyway). Indie developers are becoming less and less able to make their games viable in today's market; it's the way it's always been.Sparrow Tag said:
This is the time when people start to become more selective as to what they will buy. The big game companies will make a lot of safe moves and put out lots of games using repetitive IPs that sold well in the past. We're also starting to see some more big blockbuster-type games in the near future. But yeah, the indie sector is definitely going to suffer.
I don't see this news as horribly bad for us the Gamer. Companies being more careful about what they produce? This sounds good to me. Maybe some of those second rate and buggy games that used to get foisted on us will get dropped. Indie developers, with their lower production costs might actually have a competitive edge. And finally I'm hoping that the Big companies that have developed a reputation for horrible customer service (UBI and EA, I'm looking at you) might actually rethink policies to try and bring gamers back into the fold.
As for me, I will continue to be very careful with my money. This is why the escapist is very important to me, the reviews and news will hopefully help me to avoid some of the game stinkers and I can spend my money and time on a more rewarding game experience.
As for me, I will continue to be very careful with my money. This is why the escapist is very important to me, the reviews and news will hopefully help me to avoid some of the game stinkers and I can spend my money and time on a more rewarding game experience.
I`m in one of the sinking ships right now but that`s ok, maybe some of the ships need to sink.
However I don`t think that you people see the full picture here and how the gaming scene will look after the end of this minor apocalypse thing. I predict that most of you will cry after X title that was deleted, y console that got burried etc.
However I don`t think that you people see the full picture here and how the gaming scene will look after the end of this minor apocalypse thing. I predict that most of you will cry after X title that was deleted, y console that got burried etc.
Looking at the Wii specifically I can't say some people didn't expect this to happen. The rush of casual gamers to the Wii created a bubble that finally burst. Sure the Wii basically printed money for Nintendo but I see rough times ahead for the company. A lot of people I know who were never really into gaming went out and bought a Wii but now it sits unused in their homes. They certainly won't be buying any games for it and if that ends up being a trend the Wii and Nintendo is in a real bad spot for the forseeable future.
I find it quite funny and ironic that when Nintendo came out with the NES, they wanted to avoid the fate of Atari (Flooding the market with mediocre and bad games). For many years, they did just that. But then they forgot why they were a successful platform in the first place. Their fan base felt abandoned and subsequently moved onto to platforms that catered to their every needs on hand and foot. When the casual gamers rushed in, Nintendo didn't blink. All they saw were dollar signs. Now that the casual gamer has stopped buying games for the Wii, what's there to replace them? Nothing. Their base has left and moved onto the 360 and the PS3 where their desires were being met.Bigeyez said:
Nintendo's short term strategy paid out a lot of money really fast, but could not be sustained in the long run.
Is Nintendo done? I don't think so, but I think this will be a lesson learned.
It seems to me, Nintendo is suffering from the very thing right now that caused them to create the 'nintendo seal of quality' ages ago...
A system flooded with badly made games...
A system flooded with badly made games...
It appears that critics of the Wii did not make it to Page 2:
But the recession also highlights a challenge the industry has faced in that they had many very expensive, premium products. Those are the first type of products you would expect to see get hurt with consumer spending.
But the recession also highlights a challenge the industry has faced in that they had many very expensive, premium products. Those are the first type of products you would expect to see get hurt with consumer spending.
Well if people started to release titles that we wanna see, then maybe ide buy them!!!
Diablo 3, hurry the f up please
Diablo 3, hurry the f up please
Stop blaming the recession for that big drop, the bigger issue is the lack of popular games in the last few months. Game spending is actually UP in my country. Just give people something to actually spend that money on.
From Iwata's statements he does seem to consider gaming recession proof and blames the lower profits squarely on the inadequate late 2008 release schedule for the Wii. You'll notice they're 66% down currently and predict only 12% down for the whole year, means they expect to rebound as the year goes on and their big hitter titles get to sell their load. After coasting for nearly a year with Animal Crossing and Wii Music they've of course lost a lot of momentum that they plan to regain with new games.
" If the casual gamers' experience is that they play a $20 or $40 game only an hour or two, then find themselves bored, it's easy to see how they forgo this type of purchase when money gets tight."
Pachter is proving himself an idiot again. I don't think he has ever witnessed a casual gamer play a game that's appropriate for casual gamers. They have much less restraint than veteran gamers and will often play for LONG stretches. Of course if a game bores them that's more the fault of the game than the player. They don't get bored by Tetris or PopCap games that quick. Just gotta design a game right and not bore the player with hours of tutorials and plot setup.
From Iwata's statements he does seem to consider gaming recession proof and blames the lower profits squarely on the inadequate late 2008 release schedule for the Wii. You'll notice they're 66% down currently and predict only 12% down for the whole year, means they expect to rebound as the year goes on and their big hitter titles get to sell their load. After coasting for nearly a year with Animal Crossing and Wii Music they've of course lost a lot of momentum that they plan to regain with new games.
" If the casual gamers' experience is that they play a $20 or $40 game only an hour or two, then find themselves bored, it's easy to see how they forgo this type of purchase when money gets tight."
Pachter is proving himself an idiot again. I don't think he has ever witnessed a casual gamer play a game that's appropriate for casual gamers. They have much less restraint than veteran gamers and will often play for LONG stretches. Of course if a game bores them that's more the fault of the game than the player. They don't get bored by Tetris or PopCap games that quick. Just gotta design a game right and not bore the player with hours of tutorials and plot setup.
Nonsense, there are just no games to sell to Wii owners. The attach rate is still decent, about 1 lower than the PS3's but about twice the DS's and noone's proclaiming that the DS is a bubble. People do buy games, the publishers just aren't making it easy for them.Bigeyez said:
How about just discounting older games and keeping them stocked? Those games had their dev cost paid for long ago and can be squeezed for a bit more money at little expense. Making a new game that can sell well at the lower price costs money and risks making the game look inferior (supposedly people become wary to products that are too cheap, with old games they at least expect it)Shamus Young said:
Do you have some data showing that indie games are selling less? I'm not sure that is the case.Sparrow Tag said:
They actually went back to the NES levels. Maybe not in terms of iron fist third party handling (but third parties wouldn't put up with that anyway) but they're screwing games back in terms of complexity so people can join gaming again. NES games were easy to pick up for everybody. Of course they were seen as casual garbage by the computer gamers who were used to the epic complexity of games that came with 200 page manuals and whatnot and thought that going down to a mere four buttons and a d-pad would be a real retardation for gaming.warfjm said: