It’s not our job

I will say that during the Steam sale when I rebought Control (just to have it on Steam) I did have a sense of "yeah, Remedy deserves an extra $6". Also, the only microtransactions I ever really bought was in Killing Floor 2 for the same reasons. This was before they flooded it with actual shitty microtransactions. I just wanted to give Tripwire more money! (RIP Tripwire. Fuck the guys who stole your skinsuit).
 
Get Over It GIF
 
It's a gaming forum where we talk about different aspects of video games, including studio layoffs/closures, which affect the production of games that you play.
 
Following the news about the industry helps inform me about my purchasing decisions. If I see major layoffs or changes in direction / leadership in a studio that once produced the games I like, chances are their future games will be shit. A good example is Arkane.
 
It' is not my job. However, I have followed the industry for decades now and will continue to do so. It's been a hobby of mine since its introduction and I am not going to bow out and stop voicing my opinions about the health of the industry because the messaging has shifted. I get the idea behind the OP but there have been some changes based on gamer voices over recent years. The day we ignore the business practices of these companies we have 100% lost.
 
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You're absolutely right and the only people who do care about this shit are way too invested beyond their own lives to actually care. Caring about something that has nothing to do with you in any way is a luxury I wish I had.
 
I've just paid £20 for Rimworld Odyssey, an expansion to a very cheap game that I bought in early access.

I have 3,000 hours in the game already and this DLC is going to get another 3000 horus at least, its that good. Tell me again why I need to waste £80 on a mid AAA game that I will finish in 12 hours and never touch again?
 
Nocty said:
I've just paid £20 for Rimworld Odyssey, an expansion to a very cheap game that I bought in early access.

I have 3,000 hours in the game already and this DLC is going to get another 3000 horus at least, its that good. Tell me again why I need to waste £80 on a mid AAA game that I will finish in 12 hours and never touch again?
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It depends who you talk to.

One person or dev will say enjoy what you like and keep going. Even it's a low priced game no problem. Support and enjoy the game till you die.

On the flip side, some gamers and devs will call you cheap. You shouldnt be milking the game to the bone. If every gamer did that the entire industry will go broke. Stop playing and buy more games to keep the sales chugging like a good boy. And to prove your manliness, buy your games at full price day one without reading reviews. Just buy up so tech bro can keep his job.
 
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Poeole can care and talk about whatever the hell they want. You don't have a job as a gamer for pixels on a screen. It's a hobby and folks will discuss any variable that goes into the gaming equation.

You're job as a peasant is too not look behind the curtain, just consume product. Shut up, you take fictional characters on a tv and the industry way too seriously.
 
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EverydayBeast said:
It's not our job to worry about layoffs, and the profits of a companies hardware, our job as a gamer is without question to play games.

I welcome comments to this topic, has gaming become a business club.
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Someone had to say it…
Also, it would be nice if we had a layoff thread instead of a new thread every time someone lays some off. It's getting kind of out of hand. And before anyone says "just ignore the thread", I do that…that's not the point. The rules apply to game threads, they should also apply to layoff posts too. Idk, just a thought 🤷‍♂️
 
Tajaz2426 said:
Poeole can care and talk about whatever the hell they want. You don't have a job as a gamer for pixels on a screen. It's a hobby and folks will discuss any variable that goes into the gaming equation.

You're job as a peasant is too not look behind the curtain, just consume product. Shut up, you take fictional characters on a tv and the industry way too seriously.
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Yup.

Gamers, just support the games you like and ignore all the crud. And if that means a company has to lay off people because they went ape shit on giant budgets during covid thinking they're dude bro big shots who make crap games or cant even release one game in 5 years with huge budgets, that's on them to figure out how to convince the bosses to keep their jobs. Not us.

The vast majority of jobs out there are not so blessed with being able to coast for 5 years with nothing to show for but a canned trailer and some subpar progress floating around the office. Normie jobs are going to skew to doing a good job right off the bat and perform now. We dont get to say.... "Well, can you bosses give us $50M and 5 years? Trust us it'll be good in the year 2030".

So if they cant hack it, fuck em. Especially with the weird politics in games and social media comebacks at gamers. They already hit the lottery making good cash for years while delivering either zero, or some subpar performing products. So just like any job, if you cant perform you're gone.
 
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Remember folks, we are not here to think or question or have opinions. We must only consoom...

This message brought to you by your benevolent corporate overlords.
 
Ge Os said:
Healthy Industry = More (and hopefully, better) Games
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For an industry to be healthy, it has to find equilibrium between supply and demand.
When ton of games fail to find audience and lose dozens/hundreds of millions of dollars, as happens on regular basis, companies lay people off or go bankrupt - as they should. This is all part of the industry being healthy.
 
BbMajor7th said:
Remember folks, we are not here to think or question or have opinions. We must only consoom...

This message brought to you by your benevolent corporate overlords.
Click to expand...

You speaketh the truth, my brother in the Church of BrandLoyalty.
jFy5JzXSBftZFHKz.gif


And remember, as always, that the mega corporations loveth us dearly. 💰❤️💰
 
If a company makes a good game, the ability of said company to repeat the trick is called into question if all the people leave, especially on repeated attempts. So if it's our "job" to play games, then this should be relevant in our calculus.
 
EverydayBeast said:
It's not our job to worry about layoffs, and the profits of a companies hardware, our job as a gamer is without question to play games.

I welcome comments to this topic, has gaming become a business club.
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Well, if you're fan of some company/team/game series you may want them to have a profitable/sustainable business enough.

So it's good to be informed about it to later better understand why (in most cases) they no longer make games of your favorite series, laid off many of their devs or closed their studio. And normal to discuss about it.

And well, if you want your favorite series/studio to continue alive you can support them with your wallet and recommending the game to others. And well, you can also help them sending feedback of the things you liked or disliked via social media, oficial discords and so on.
 
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I don't really see it as my job to play games. It's something I enjoy, but when it feels like work I turn it off. The primary job I care about is my own. I have empathy when people lose their jobs, though. It's rough to go through. I think with the crazy budgets and development time the industry will still have some turbulence until these companies figure it out.
 
Video game industry would get a lot more empathy if it was like other industries..... it's normal to get a refund. I can wear a new pair of jeans all month, it rips and still refund it as long as I dont hit 30 days. And that doesn't even include crazy return policies like Costco.

I know e-stores will refund you a digital purchase if you do it fast enough and the CSR agrees to it. But it's still a buyer beware kind of industry especially if you buy discs. Then youre stuck.

So if any game companies want some more customer satisfaction, stand up to your products and offer refunds. I'm not saying they have to do Costco infinite refund policies, but something much better and standard as opposed to rolling the dice on a Steam/console refund request.

And let's face it. Every one of us (especially back before digital refunds were even a thing) has gotten burned with a POS disc or cartridge. Then as a last resort you sell it to a store or ebay trying to get back as much as you can.

If game companies dont want to stand proud living up to their products, then no gamers should either at them.
 
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If it's not part of our job then this medium isn't serious. And that's fine really.

I hope you haven't brought this up because you're trying to get Microsoft a break. Because that's definitely not our job..
 
Well it's also not my job to worry about my "HARDware", but if it rises out of its hidden spot at unspecific & unwanted times, I have to get it under control. Just having fun with my Joystick doesn't cut it.

Same with this. If you want your hobby to grow healthy and stay at its place, then you have to deathgrip these jerks and make sure they are productive with their outputs.

Especially xbox, they pulled out of too many projects either too early or too late. At this point they are more about abortion than investing.
 
Signalis said:
NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt
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I don't know why you tagged me but if you want my thoughts on it

I'm playing less newer games and going more towards older games using emulators. I find even lot of the Japanese stuff, I would rather wait for a sale on their games than buy them right away. When it comes to newer games, there's only a few game franchises I buy Day One like Xenoblade and The Legend of Heroes. Compare that to ten years ago, I definitely have been spending less money on games these past two to three years. But even with Legend of Heroes games, I've been buying the Korean version on Steam and just applying an MTL English Fan Patch and playing it that way. I heard that NisAmerica really screwed up the English Translation for the recent Trails games

There's a reason why there is so many layoffs recently and one of the reasons why is because these game companies care more about appeasing investors than wanting to make games that gamers would actually like. I might not have liked Baldur's Gate III but the way that developer is ran, should be standard across all of the gaming industry. I'm pretty sure they are private so they have no investors and in the long run that's the better way to do it. You don't have investors to try to screw over gamers because of thier greed. And what they have been saying ever since their game released has been very pro consumer

Alot of these games are overbudget and do too much. Expedition 33 was a success due to the team being able to make game with the proper budget and not going overboard with the gameplay mechanics. It's how Nintendo operates in regards to them making games and I think more developers need to look at the Nintendo model of making games for them to be profitable. Despite each Xenoblade selling 1 to 3 million per title, there's a reason why Nintendo is able to make smaller titles like that, their bigger IPs sell a lot more to offset the cost of their smaller sellers. Nintendo is a really healthy company when it comes to profits and they always prioritize gameplay first which most of the time results in great games
 
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Im doing my part. I buy games, but I wait a lot. I ain't paying $80 for a game. There are lots of great old games I can have for $10, play and wait for new games. It's not my fault a stupid CEO put all his chips into a shitty live service game and now has to fire a whole studio but incrise his bonus. The whole thing doesn't make sense. Vote with your wallet, buy what you can and want.
 
NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt said:
I don't know why you tagged me but if you want my thoughts on it

I'm playing less newer games and going more towards older games using emulators. I find even lot of the Japanese stuff, I would rather wait for a sale on their games than buy them right away. When it comes to newer games, there's only a few game franchises I buy Day One like Xenoblade and The Legend of Heroes. Compare that to ten years ago, I definitely have been spending less money on games these past two to three years. But even with Legend of Heroes games, I've been buying the Korean version on Steam and just applying an MTL English Fan Patch and playing it that way. I heard that NisAmerica really screwed up the English Translation for the recent Trails games

There's a reason why there is so many layoffs recently and one of the reasons why is because these game companies care more about appeasing investors than wanting to make games that gamers would actually like. I might not have liked Baldur's Gate III but the way that developer is ran, should be standard across all of the gaming industry. I'm pretty sure they are private so they have no investors and in the long run that's the better way to do it. You don't have investors to try to screw over gamers because of thier greed. And what they have been saying ever since their game released has been very pro consumer

Alot of these massive games are overbudget and do too much. Expedition 33 was a success due to the team being able to make game with the proper budget and not going overboard with the gameplay mechanics. It's how Nintendo operates in regards to them making games and I think more developers need to look at the Nintendo model of making games for them to be profitable. Despite each Xenoblade selling 1 to 3 million per title, there's a reason why Nintendo is able to make smaller titles like that, their bigger IPs sell a lot more to offset the cost of their smaller sellers. Nintendo is a really healthy company when it comes to profits and they always prioritize gameplay first which most of the time results in great games
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Good post.

Reason I tagged you is because the OP's title is "It's Not Our Job" and it I thought of your username. It's not our problem anymore.
 
EverydayBeast said:
It's not our job to worry about layoffs, and the profits of a companies hardware, our job as a gamer is without question to play games.

I welcome comments to this topic, has gaming become a business club.
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Gaming hasn't become a business club or a home for business graduates to analyze.

You can tell it hasn't by the amount of business illiterate people who say things like "It's all Don Mattricks fault that Xbox sucks now" or the new mantra of "All games should be multi-platform."

You can tell these aren't people who understand the fundamentals of organizations and or the fundamentals of creating a competitive advantage/having a strong value proposition. People often laugh at business majors because people think that anyone can just hop into business; so people think business graduates are just people who wasted a bunch of time, energy, and money. In reality, in order to understand business, you need to have a deep comprehension of how shit actually works in the real world.

Let's take the recent Xbox layoffs since that's the genesis of this thread. Xbox are laying off a bunch of people because of their continuous inability to make the brand the king of gaming. They keep trying, they keep failing. This is why when people like Jeff Gerstmann attempt to paint the recent layoffs as a result of just a company-wide initiative (i.e., Microsoft) -- this is why you can safely ignore his opinion on anything Xbox-related. He cannot understand that it is Phil Spencer -- and not Don Mattrick -- that put Xbox in its current position where it can be gutted as much as possible. It's pathetic that people are still trying to blame Don Mattrick for Xbox's current failures.

Just to provide a little more context. The reason Xbox will continue to close projects, close studios, and fire a bunch of other Xbox people is because Xbox will more than likely continue to make nowhere near the amount of money that would justify maintaining all of their staff and projects. It sounds so simple but that's because it is; if you're making $20K a month but your expenses are $25K a month, at some point, you will have to make a serious change to your lifestyle. Xbox is making a serious change to its' 'lifestyle', and no amount of sanitizing Phil Spencer's inability to lead will change what's actually happening and what will more than likely continue to happen.

The same can be said for PlayStation's first-party software business. The mismanagement of their own software business isn't as horrendous of an impact as what's happening at Xbox. I absolutely believe PlayStation will do another round of layoffs, but it won't be because of a lack of enough money coming in. It will be because the risks they took with their own software (i.e., GaaS) have not resulted in astronomical profits, so they simply can't justify taking more risks without a massive payoff.

Another way of looking at it is like this. Xbox is a basketball player that has missed every shot they took, while PlayStation is a basketball player that made a lot of shots but then tried to become just a 3-point shooter and failed at it, so now they have to get back to taking shots inside the perimeter.

It's also important to note that people who care about stuff will always discuss stuff. It doesn't matter if it's gaming or the new Superman movie or robotic dogs; people will always form communities to talk about what they care about. It's unrealistic to expect a dedicated gaming board to just talk about a game's trailer or release and ignore everything and everyone that went into making that game. In fact, I would bet that had Xbox not done everything in their power to hide their sales figures, I bet that people would be less interested in what's happening behind the scenes. It's comical that their deliberate obfuscation of numbers (related to their business) has now resulted in people caring more about the numbers behind their business. The Streisand Effect.
 
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But we've lost many great track records from Studios to IPs and publishers. It's so naive to think that we know everything going on behind the scenes like a creator who's working on a sequel and lost all his data from his hard drive by accident, there's definitely more into his story that we know nothing about.
 
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It's kind of interesting to read about, but I don't give it much deeper thought. There will always be someone making games and even if not, there are already more games out there than one person could play in a lifetime. So if the whole industry goes down the drain, it won't keep me up at night.
 
People only care about business numbers because its like the scorecards of the team they are supporting. Y'all are still in the playground like it was the SNES v Mega Drive wars.
 
Topher said:
Lots of folks like to follow the industry as a whole, including the business aspect. Nothing wrong with that.

If you don't want to talk about such things......then don't
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Also… it is not a job to play games… unless this is an astroturfers trap or something 😂.

In other ways very sociopathic message of "not our f'ing business to worry about massive layoffs and burning the industry to the ground… our job is to Consume product, get excited for new product!".

Last few weeks have been shit, but this is sticking head in the sand and shouting "stop talking about this! Stop attacking FavouriteCorpDuJour!" or seems like it.
 
Panajev2001a said:
Also… it is not a job to play games… unless this is an astroturfers trap or something 😂.

In other ways very sociopathic message of "not our f'ing business to worry about massive layoffs and burning the industry to the ground… our job is to Consume product, get excited for new product!".

Last few weeks have been shit, but this is sticking head in the sand and shouting "stop talking about this! Stop attacking FavouriteCorpDuJour!" or seems like it.
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You will notice, it's mostly team green saying such things. I wonder why?
 
I agree OP, I don't want to see anyone lose their jobs but I am not going to actually worry about if these people managing these studios are doing a good job. If you are a good employee you will hopefully find solid employment.

I feel like the industry needs a reset and budgets need to reduce. I don't care about super, super high end assets. Sure they look nice but I am probs gonna spend 20 to 100 hours on a game full stop then move on. Whatever they need to do to sort this all out then do it.

I do think Execs need to be held accountable to these fuck ups though.
 
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