New Console Generation - Page 7

New Console Generation

Post just about everything that isn't directly related to Spring here!

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Mr. Bob
Posts: 357
Joined: 11 Mar 2010, 09:05

Re: New Console Generation

Post by Mr. Bob »

zwzsg wrote:You're saying online games are massive. I point out they may seem bigger than they are since you don't hear from people without internet.
I'm not sure what you mean by "seem." If online games are making a great deal more money than non-online games, then doesn't it stand to reason that the majority of people who play and buy a lot of games have an internet connection that can support it?

You don't hear from people at all. I'm not referring to me literally hearing people talk about games. That would be irrelevant. I'm talking about companies making decisions based on what sells. Its not any easier to hear from people who play online than it is to hear from people who don't, because either way, they pay money for the goods, and that's all that a company hears. If a company wants to make a lot of money (which all companies exist to do) they'll make products that people have historically bought more of (follow sales trends) and, based on the money that they rake in, that is online games.

tl;dr version: I'm saying they're massive because they make more money, not because I randomly "hear from people" about them.
zwzsg wrote:As a gamer, the amount of money Microsoft make is not my primary concern. Since when are consumers now required to forfeit their own feeling, their own taste and to only to act in accordance with the best interest of companies?
They aren't. I never said that. Not a single time did I even imply that we are supposed to buy into a product that we don't like. In fact, I've suggested over and over and over again in this conversation that you should buy what you want and not buy what you don't want, and if you really really don't like something, don't buy it and try to convince others not to buy it.
zwzsg wrote:I find your trust in free market a bit scary. And no, even if both party agreed to it, not all sales are legal. Thanksfully, even in murica, there are laws to protect consumers against abuse.
It's not a trust, its just what drives the medium. Its a reality that's worked the same in every other entertainment industry in history. Movies, music, radio, etc. Obviously, there are extreme sales that are illegal, such as, you know, slavery. And its a good thing they are illegal. But, sales like the ones we're talking about aren't abusive. They're just arguably a bad bargain. If you don't like the bargain, don't buy it. There's no protection against stupidity. If you don't like something and you buy it anyway, that's rather stupid.

EULAs have been standard for years now, and while they may be "protected" against in various other countries, the lion share of profits are currently in the US, where people don't seem to mind. If you do mind, vote with your wallet. If everyone else doesn't mind, tough shit.

There's no laws against what Steam does. And, people know what it does, and they're fine with it. If you're not, then, again, don't buy into it! That's fine!

--

And, on that note, this doesn't mean that every single game will be a multiplayer shooter and a Moba in the near future. That doesn't make sense. It means that the variety of games will be divided based on how divided the consumer base is. If there aren't many singleplayer gameplay oriented games, then not many people want that. If there are a lot of multiplayer competitive twitch based games, a lot of people want that. If there are a medium amount of story based games, some people want that. It just matches whatever the demand is, because competition exists. And then, of course, its all scaled to match production costs etc etc etc.
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knorke
Posts: 7971
Joined: 22 Feb 2006, 01:02

Re: New Console Generation

Post by knorke »

Since when are consumers now required to forfeit their own feeling, their own taste and to only to act in accordance with the best interest of companies?
Since they installed steam, bought all the "The Sims" expansion sets, got the $1.99 pink horse DLC and started using micro transaction to upgrade their wizards.

Also you said you play Spring RTS so there must now be 5 pages about what is mod, game and engine.
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Pxtl
Posts: 6112
Joined: 23 Oct 2004, 01:43

Re: New Console Generation

Post by Pxtl »

See, as much as people bag on the Ouya and I'm disappointed with it's lackluster launch, I'll give the Ouya one thing: If a developer wanted to make an Android game and just sell it as a naked APK with no DRM or whatever and run it on the Ouya... with *no* interaction between the developer and Google or the Ouya people? They could do it. Like a PC, but it's a $100 videogame console. Where everybody is moving more and more to tighter integration between the developers and the console company following the Steam/App Store model (which powers the Ouya too, obviously) supporting sideloading is all too rare in consoles.

Under those circumstances, the game would phone home *never*.
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Neddie
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Posts: 9406
Joined: 10 Apr 2006, 05:05

Re: New Console Generation

Post by Neddie »

jK wrote:
knorke wrote:Maybe it seems unfair that publisher gets so much money for basically just providing distribution, and download is cheap?
ppl underestimate the work of a publisher. Still their revenues are unfair compared to developer's. That's why developers like Steam & co. cause they got special deals with the publishers, to either being able to sell their games 100% w/o them on the internet or with a higher profit.
Still here a few examples of what a publisher does:
* box art
* bug testing
* gameplay testing (yes, they are responsible for gameplay changes, too)
* giving room on trade fairs -> PR (duno if this is already in marketing cost)
* sometimes they supply the multiplayer server farm
* giving help in development (e.g. when the developer needs a musician/soundtrack)
* they _fund_ the project -> they invest a lot of money in the critical time of development (after spending ~2years on the game w/o earning a cent)
* they talk with the banks to get even more investors
* they talk with the suit guys of the hw vendors, library/engine vendors, ...
...

On the other hand they decide when they publish a game, so when they have another AAA title on christmas, it can happen that your title gets a kick in the ass and gets released on easter -> much less sales for you -> much less money -> you got f#$@
It is also worth noting for those at home that the publisher's role can vary greatly based on the relationship. Some publishers on some games can get away with one or two of the above, others can do it all.

Anyway, if you think the breakdown is rough in this industry, check out the comic industry.
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Neddie
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Posts: 9406
Joined: 10 Apr 2006, 05:05

Re: New Console Generation

Post by Neddie »

Pxtl wrote:See, as much as people bag on the Ouya and I'm disappointed with it's lackluster launch, I'll give the Ouya one thing: If a developer wanted to make an Android game and just sell it as a naked APK with no DRM or whatever and run it on the Ouya... with *no* interaction between the developer and Google or the Ouya people? They could do it. Like a PC, but it's a $100 videogame console. Where everybody is moving more and more to tighter integration between the developers and the console company following the Steam/App Store model (which powers the Ouya too, obviously) supporting sideloading is all too rare in consoles.

Under those circumstances, the game would phone home *never*.
Well, depending on where home is, and what it is for. Phone home for updates? Why not. Phone home to GET/POST/PUT scores or bug reports? Why not.
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PauloMorfeo
Posts: 2004
Joined: 15 Dec 2004, 20:53

Re: New Console Generation

Post by PauloMorfeo »

This is just too much fun (once you get minimally confortable with the routine):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOjVqdRQnLA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iQVx1aiqAU

Mega kudos to Dance Central for actually teaching me how to do any kind of move. You know, dance. But Dance Central routines revolve too much around those specific Tempos of equal time, and you so usually end up doing:
- a move to the right; break;
- a move to the left; break.

Just Dance is more fluid and more fun.

Of course, on the other hand, sometimes Dance Central is more appealing, because I have well defined objectives: follow the dance routine well, instead of just wobble around similarly to the routine.

And I can hardly forgive what they've done with Europe: the Final Countdown.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JFmQNuG7AY
It's so ghastly that I don't even want to dance one of my farourite 80's music.
The dance routine can "make" or "break" a music, for sure...
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