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Alanah Pearce - It's going to get worse

Indie Games are not the answer to this problem. Indie game studios shut down all the time, you just don't hear about it like you would a Tango Gameworks or Arkane Studios. It is very difficult for Indie Games to get funded and find a publisher.
I love how the definition of indie game has changed from independently funded and published games to games funded and published by third parties that just happen to have a smaller budget.
 

midnightAI

Banned
I love how the definition of indie game has changed from independently funded and published games to games funded and published by third parties that just happen to have a smaller budget.
Agreed, I was going to say, there are more avenues than ever for funding for Indies, but she probably means large indies (some with hundreds of developers) not just bedroom developers/small teams (you dont even need a publisher, unlike before the internet was a thing)
 
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Fabieter

Member
Nah, single player games won’t become scarce. Actually, it’s the key to success, really.

As I say time and time again, Fortnite, Warzone and GTA Online already capitalized on the live service market. People are not dropping those for some random copycat like Suicide Squad or whatever.

Single player games are events on itself. BG3 was huge, TotK was huge, Ragnarok, Spiderman, Hogwarts, hell, even smaller stuff like Jedi Survivor got engagement.

Gaming living through the phase that Hollywood was living a couple of years ago: thinking streaming and services were the key. Then came Barbenheimmer and they understood that people are willing to go to the cinema if the movie’s good.

Same thing will happen for gaming: they’ll fail and fail at live service stuff until something like BG3 comes out and wipes the floor.

There are loads of really good games not selling goof enough to make enough profit. Gaming and movies ain't the same, since movies is alot easier to consume.
 

Fabieter

Member
Maybe we start with making games cheaper and smaller in terms of gameplay. Growing up I played many great games that I spent endless hours on trying to get high scores on. Now games are 28-40hrs of fetch quest and drawn out stories. Sell games at 29.99 and have them be 10-15 hours experiences. If it sells make a sequel. Reduces development/ allows more creative opportunities, allows more risk /

They need to drop the geqphics alot for it to sell it for 29,99. To cut come content won't be enough. They need to cut on geqphics quality but than people will complain like with rise of the ronin. Its 100% the consumers fault.
 

Dorfdad

Gold Member
Maybe we start with making games cheaper and smaller in terms of gameplay. Growing up I played many great games that I spent endless hours on trying to get high scores on. Now games are 28-40hrs of fetch quest and drawn out stories. Sell games at 29.99 and have them be 10-15 hours experiences. If it sells make a sequel. Reduces development/ allows more creative opportunities, allows risk /
 
Maybe we start with making games cheaper and smaller in terms of gameplay. Growing up I played many great games that I spent endless hours on trying to get high scores on. Now games are 28-40hrs of fetch quest and drawn out stories. Sell games at 29.99 and have them be 10-15 hours experiences. If it sells make a sequel. Reduces development/ allows more creative opportunities, allows risk /

Games are indeed too big nowadays. Max 40 hours is more then fine by me…
 

Wildebeest

Member
Games are indeed too big nowadays. Max 40 hours is more then fine by me…
It's a case of all or nothing. Either you play a game every day for the rest of your life, or it might as well not exist. Unless your game becomes an episode in a social media metagame, then you enter a twilight zone where it doesn't really matter if your game has content, looks good, or plays well. All it needs to do is to trend on social media.
 
I hope Stellar blade sells great. It deserves all of it. It’s the best game I played in a long time

I agree to this, it's a fantastic Single Player game with no monetization of any kind. These developers should be supported.
If the sales are good, that's the message we'd like to send to the publishers. We WANT more SINGLEPLAYER games like these and NOT gaas.

Imagine the industry where every game is gaas and monetized. It'll just be like mobile games industry and even straight up start producing gambling games.

Nobody will be able to play a well made story based games anymore even if they crave for one
and companies like these make games as casino's where they thug you for extra.
 

Zug

Member
The actors in the VG industry have become too big and too greedy, always craving for more profit, which only GaaS can provide through shady methods (exploiting addiction levers being the most common).
This is not sustainable, a great purge is needed.
 
I agree to this, it's a fantastic Single Player game with no monetization of any kind. These developers should be supported.
If the sales are good, that's the message we'd like to send to the publishers. We WANT more SINGLEPLAYER games like these and NOT gaas.

Imagine the industry where every game is gaas and monetized. It'll just be like mobile games industry and even straight up start producing gambling games.

Nobody will be able to play a well made story based games anymore even if they crave for one
and companies like these make games as casino's where they thug you for extra.


Well, their supposed fanbase is still boycotting the game, so that's also sending a message. Maybe we people in the West truly deserve EA, Activision, Ubisoft, and all that filth. People supported and justified their bullshit all this long.

As for Alanah's words, they are a bunch of nothingness, an empty message straight out of Paulho Coello's textbook. Let's start with the obvious: Videogames are a product of capitalism. So, blaming "capitalism" is moronic. She means corporate greed, but she can't say it out loud, cos she is a coward. The "industry crash" is filling games with DEI bullshit, season passes, empty open worlds, AI-generated writing, among other awful practices.

And this is the devs' fault. For too long they have treated their fanbase as cattle. Now comes the reckoning.
 

MrRenegade

Banned
No, because the metaverse will suck out the remaining air (time) from everyone else. Zuck is on to something. VR headsets gonna be a norm.

On to more relevant topics. No need to be afraid about this since people's thresholds will adjust over time and they will want more stimulation.
 

Hunnybun

Banned
I disagree about the point regarding publishers focusing on more live service games. Sony have recently halved their planned number of live service games, or we have Sega who killed Hyenas before it was finished.

I don't agree that shutting talented development studios who make great games is a new trend. It's been happening for decades. See Westwood, Cavedog, Bullfrog etc etc.

I point about indy devs isn't more complex. It's a lot easier now to make a video game, but most start ups still need publisher funding. However, because we're being flooded with video games like never before, publishers need to be selective on which projects get their funding.

To me the idea that the industry's in some kind of financial or even creative crisis is just completely ludicrous.

I literally have more AAA games than I could even dream of playing even if I didn't have a business and other commitments. There are more incredibly great looking indie and AA games than I can hope to keep track of, let alone buy and add to my 50 game-long backlog.

Literally the other day Animal Well (is that name right?) came out of nowhere to rave reviews and available 'free' on PSN. I'd never even heard of it. It looks awesome from what I've seen. Yet it'll be months before I get round to playing it - and I might well never get to it tbh.

The industry pumps out brilliant and creative titles every month and at every scale of development.

The fact that certain parts of the market have become saturated is just an unfortunate aside. To me it's this simple: if you've got at least 5 excellent games in your backlog (ie ready to play RIGHT NOW - not waiting for purchase) then you've no right to complain about anything unless you're directly affected by these (sadly predictable) retrenchments.
 
I agree with the 'Time war' part. That is very true.

Even if you just look within videogames, the absolute explosion of 'indie games' and any Tom, Dick or Harry dev being able to push out good or usually mediocre smaller titles means there are too many things releasing each month to sustain any type of profit for those involved. These titles are competing with the 10+ other titles releasing each month.

Up until recently this was compounded as all major platform holders were throwing money at AA and indie titles. But we've ended up with too many games and not enough people to buy them. There had to be some sort of reckoning when you have literally thousands of separate dev studios releasing so many new games each month. This can't be sustained.

I know some will disagree with me but I will repeat there are TOO MANY GAMES releasing these days. I would prefer quality over quantity tbh. I remember in the old days of the Genesis/Mega Drive and even Playstation, each release was savoured and anticipated, these days I can't keep up with what is releasing as I'm still trying to buy what came out in 2018!

AAA titles are kinda different as here the release cadence has slowed, especially with FP titles and would preferably be sped up (instead of 15-20 hour campaigns I would be happy with around 10 hours if the content is quality perhaps is a solution idk).
 
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darrylgorn

Member
We have entered a "Time War" where everything is now competing for your time.

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Hunnybun

Banned
That is all very nice, but we no longer own the games that we buy. Especially digital copies.
Corporations can, at at point, take away parts of a game, functionalities, ort even the whole game.

Have you got even the slightest idea how business works in the social media age?

Sony can't even implement some new policy on Helldivers II without having to u-turn and issue a grovelling 'we hear u'; there'd be fucking war if they even breathed some idea of just removing access to your games.

People need to just grow up over this shit.
 

Hot5pur

Member
I guess it's good for consumers but harsh for anyone working in the games industry. Competition is fierce and there are too many good games. I remember back in the early 2000s you were waiting for a new game and then finish it in like 10 hours, there were constant gluts. Now it's like 20-30 hours SP games, 100s of hours live service games, multiplayer - my backlog is massive and growing. I just worry for today's teens, they are going to have their brain melted by all the dopamine and not sure how they'll be able to stay disciplined later on in life.
 

winjer

Gold Member
Have you got even the slightest idea how business works in the social media age?

Sony can't even implement some new policy on Helldivers II without having to u-turn and issue a grovelling 'we hear u'; there'd be fucking war if they even breathed some idea of just removing access to your games.

People need to just grow up over this shit.

Don't be silly. As if consumers are just mindless peons, that have to buy everything corporations make.
It's like modern corporations feel completely entitled to consumers money. As if consumers are just an obstacle between the money corporations feel they deserve.
 

hyperbertha

Member
You described forspoken. And it closed down the studio lol. Gameplay king game with no gaas. Not even sbi included.

people want gaas crap games. Gamers are broken.
I hope Stellar blade sells great. It deserves all of it. It’s the best game I played in a long time
Forspoken is an objectively shit game. Just realise your opinion about it is extremely fringe already.
 

dDoc

Member
They need to drop the geqphics alot for it to sell it for 29,99. To cut come content won't be enough. They need to cut on geqphics quality but than people will complain like with rise of the ronin. Its 100% the consumers fault.

Ronin launched at EUR 75 over here, not really cheap for the not so great graphics.
 
On the one hand, it's pretty lame how all these online gaming personalities have to somehow get involved, even when they really don't have anything to contribute. Companies chasing GaaS, great games not always meaning great profits, nothing new here. But on the other hand, I've come into this thread and done the exact same thing, and I don't even have big tits to look at as a redeeming feature. 🤷‍♂️
 

FunkMiller

Member


Shaun's absolutely right.

And completely out of date.

Because the games companies don't want us to own our games any more. They want us to buy into subscription services and digital online marketplaces, so they can keep selling shit at us. Buying a physical single player game isn't profitable enough for these cancerous ghouls anymore. Games must be never-ending, constant cash cows - and fuck anything else. Baldur's Gate 3 only made $90 million! Fuck that! Baldur's Gate 4 should be a multiplayer online experience with a battlepass so we can make $200 million!

This overwhelming greed is going to kill AAA game making. And frankly, at this point, better it dies and takes some of those cunts with it.
 
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We just need good games, as in actual good games. Not more service games and definitely not pandering games. Just simply good games. You make good games and people will buy them. The service game market is crowded so not a lot of room for growth there but the hunger for really good AA/AAA games is there. Unfortunately, it’s mostly indie studios taking risks and making genuinely fun games that get unnoticed due to poor exposure and marketing.

The big publishers need to revisit their history and make the kind of games they used to make like 10-15 years ago and stop this chasing for the next Fortnite or COD train. That’s why I love Stellar Blade, reminds me of the games I used to play during the PS2/early PS3 era. Just a kickass and complete game with no pandering or stupid microtransactions or a forced multiplayer mode.
 
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Madflavor

Member
As a customer the only thing we can do is STOP BUYING LIVE SERVICE GAMES AND IT'S MONETIZATION.
SUPPORT SINGLE PLAYER GAMES.

Things will change.

All it takes is 1 whale to cancel out 100 people who don’t buy the game. I mean, that number might not be completely accurate, but the general idea is definitely true.
 

Madflavor

Member
There’s no stopping live service games, so voting with your wallet will only affect you on a personal level. But voting with your wallet, definitely matters when it comes to supporting genres that you like and making sure we continue to get more of them.

So many times do I see “Hey the game is great but it’s not consistently running at 60fps. Gonna wait for deep discount.” Or something like that.

I mean, do what you want with your money. But if you’re concerned about the state of the industry, you might want to reconsider that approach and just support the developer.
 

BlackTron

Member
I have no sympathy for any consumers unsatisfied in the future. It was all right there at a cheap price and everyone spit on it. Yes I do blame consumers. Enjoy it, this is what you guys wanted. 🤷‍♂️

Are you talking about the future of video games or the future of Gamepass?
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
.In addition, at present, you have a whole generation of gamers who love good single player games, who will have time and money as they approach their 60s, 70s and 80s. Nobody those ages play games consistently these days, so the market will likely increase.
.
Ah hell, now they gotta create a "grandpa difficulty" where all the bad guys move slower, all the dialogue is 50% louder, and there are mandatory pee breaks every 30 min to avoid an "oopsie" :p
 

Calverz

Member
To be honest I feel the industry is heading towards a model where really AAA games will be live service titles and everything else will go back to AA. There will be exceptions to this as time goes by (Spider-Man 3 etc) but Iv felt like this is where it’s headed. The big focus will be live service despite many not seeing the light of day.
 

evanft

Member
I agree with most of what she said but i also don't like how she, on many occasions, says its capitalisms fault.

This is always so funny to me. Do these people believe that their industry would exist and be as lucrative as it is without capitalism? If we had a more managed economy, odds are people like Alanah would be told to go dig ditches since they don't appear to have any other truly useful skills.
 

Fabieter

Member
Ronin launched at EUR 75 over here, not really cheap for the not so great graphics.

It has alot of great content tho and it definitely had the biggest budget ever for TN. If you want smaller games with still super impressive graphics for less money than nothing will change for publishers.
 

simpatico

Member
Alanah Pearce being accepted as a high profile "industry mind" tells you everything you need to know about the current state of the gaming "industry".

Am I the only one that sees all of this as a good thing for gamers???
All the bad guys are getting burnt. You'd have to be confused to see what is happening now as anything other than great. Sure some innocents are getting some pain in the crossfire, but from 30,000 feet, gaming is healing.
 
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