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[IbizaPocholo]

Take-Two's Zelnick says the industry's pandemic boost is permanent

During Take-Two's year-end earnings report this week, the publisher said that the pandemic "initiated a transformationa…

www.gamesindustry.biz

During Take-Two's year-end earnings report this week, the publisher said that the pandemic "initiated a transformational shift in entertainment consumption" that would lead to a larger addressable market for all game makers going forward.

Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz this week, Take-Two chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick goes into a little more detail about what that meant.

"Interactive entertainment is now the number one entertainment vertical in terms of revenue, and I guess people still don't fully realize that," Zelnick says. "And a good deal of that growth was driven by people either discovering or rediscovering interactive entertainment and its social aspects during the pandemic. And what we've found is that while certain trends should be expected to moderate, that shift is permanent."

A key part of why Take-Two believes that shift is permanent has to do with the increasingly social aspects of popular games.

"As people discover and rediscover interactive entertainment, they realize we -- and our competitors -- offer incredible graphics, great stories, great characters, great gameplay," Zelnick says. "And at the same time, while you're playing, you can hang out with your friends all around the world. You can create new friends and be part of new or existing communities. You can have shared experiences. You can talk to each other. You can chat in the chat clients.

"We as consumers, all of us enjoy shared entertainment experiences. That's why we watch movies together, and TV shows together. It's why we go to theme parks together. We're not looking for a solitary experience, and interactive entertainment is the definition of a shared experience, particularly with what technology allows us to do today."

Check the link for more.

 

[Plantoid]

God help us, we gonna drown on lootboxes

 

[EDMIX]

He's not entirely wrong I remember telling people that this is going to propel Automation and artificial intelligence support in a way that I don't think people fully understand or recognize right now.

Think about it you have a bunch of baby boomers that for the first time in their life are forced to use self-checkout or forced to use services like GrubHub or Postmates or forced to use those Bank assistance that telecommute because of the pandemic.

Ask yourself do you think that's magically just going to go away in regards to its convenience to those people now? It means this pandemic has opened a world up to them of convenience and has forced them to learn something that they otherwise did not use regularly.

So I'm not surprised that the pandemic for the entire world has introduced a new audience to gamers. The pandemic may have got them to play a whole bunch of games they never played before but it's not going to magically stop them once it goes away. So he's definitely not wrong.

PS. Some of you need to stop fucking trying to attach your personal dislike with people with information they are conveying, I'm not saying this person is my best friend but for fuck sakes I disagree with a lot of you guys on here but if you tell me something that I agree with I'm going to agree with you.

Not everything is a Mindless fight... agreeing with the statement made does not mean you agree with every other practice this man does or anything stupid like that.

 

[namekuseijin]

We as consumers, all of us enjoy shared entertainment experiences. That's why we watch movies together, and TV shows together

no, we don't.

I hate this social communism BS. gaming was better off as entertainment for basement geeks in the 80s.

 

[eyesabitdull]

PS. Some of you need to stop fucking trying to attach your personal dislike with people with information they are conveying, I'm not saying this person is my best friend but for fuck sakes I disagree with a lot of you guys on here but if you tell me something that I agree with I'm going to agree with you.

Not everything is a Mindless fight... agreeing with the statement made does not mean you agree with every other practice this man does or anything stupid like that.

But...theres three replies in the thread so far, who are you up in arms against?

Anyway, on topic:

Yeah, the pandemic has surged my gaming playtime into ridiculous proportions that is beyond reasonable at current age.

But there's legit fuck all else to do, so

 

[JeremyEtcetera]

But...theres three replies in the thread so far, who are you up in arms against?

My guess: the guy who posted above him including everyone who liked his post.

 

[EDMIX]

But...theres three replies in the thread so far, who are you up in arms against?

Anyway, on topic:

Yeah, the pandemic has surged my gaming playtime into ridiculous proportions that is beyond reasonable at current age.

But there's legit fuck all else to do, so

I mean for folks who dislike him in general.

 

[Warablo]

We're going to be playing a simulation inside a simulation

 

[schaft0620]

This is half true. Gaming time is going to decrease as people go back to commuting, the gym, events, eating out, etc, etc.

But it did normalize daily gaming. Especially when compared to TV.

 

[ArtemisClydeFrog]

no, we don't.

I hate this social communism BS. gaming was better off as entertainment for basement geeks in the 80s.

Do you not have a phone? Play that by yourself in your basement you nerd.

 

[Putonahappyface]

When I hear about how popular mobile gaming is getting, it really concerns me that gaming as we know it via a console or PC is on borrowed time. Isn't development costs for mobile gaming vastly cheaper than console and PC? I'm sure I've read that multiple times.

 

[Real-HipHopGamer]

Take - Two is a different beast in the gaming industry. when you have GTA, NBA 2K, Borderlands, Red Dead, the list goes on, the pandemic just sped up what we already knew as hardcore gamers.

What we already knew was that gaming is the biggest form of entertainment in the world and now the whole world like it or not has no choice but to accept it.

 

[N1tr0sOx1d3]

Expanding the industry is all well and good, but standing out in the industry is a whole other level.
You need to differentiate yourself from the crowd and deliver something people are excited for.

 

[Kerotan]

This is half true. Gaming time is going to decrease as people go back to commuting, the gym, events, eating out, etc, etc.

But it did normalize daily gaming. Especially when compared to TV.

It will also increase digital market share. Not everyone will go back to buying in gamestop etc.

 

[kyussman]

Play together,spend together....that should be the new mantra for gaming as we move forward,lol.
Pretty obvious at this point the big publishers like EA,Take Two,Ubisoft etc all want to move to shared gaming experiences that allow people to constantly spend within their games.
His description there of how everyone likes to entertain themselves in social groups is obviously bullshit,but it fits with the business models they want to produce maximum profits.
Sony and Nintendo games that focus on single players sell gangbusters but they don't require continued spending so they are just uncomfortable statistics for the likes of Take Two I guess.
At the end of the day it's their business though,they can make whatever kind of games they want and they are making lots of money with these games.....if there does become a time when they become the norm then I'll just nope out of gaming.....I'm an old git now anyway,probably just not the target audience for many of these games tbh.

 

[namekuseijin]

Btw, he's the same asshole who calls VR a buzzword:

VR is a "Buzzword" Says Take-Two Interactive's CEO - GMW3

VR is much more than a buzzword.

www.vrfocus.com

"I’m always allergic to buzzwords. The buzzwords of VR didn’t get this industry too far and AR hasn’t improved matters either"

of course, without support from major assholes like this or Kotick, it really won't get that far, sadly.

so, it's up to gamers. Demand either more immersive GTA or more GTA on a small social screen to play while taking a dump.

 

[wipeout364]

I actually completely agreed with his take on VR and this also makes sense. I don’t like Take 2 monetization strategies but this guy seems to have a good Sense of where the industry is at and where it’s going.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

When I hear about how popular mobile gaming is getting, it really concerns me that gaming as we know it via a console or PC is on borrowed time. Isn't development costs for mobile gaming vastly cheaper than console and PC? I'm sure I've read that multiple times.

I’m not worried. Are mobile games making money? Yes, but they don’t have mindshare of the typical gamer. Even a typical “casual” can tell the difference between Temple Run, Angry Birds, etc. and a full fledged game.

PC gaming has become more accessible but is still more expensive to own than a console, and you need a little technical know how which is beyond the shits given by the majority of the population.

The mobile gaming experience is just straight up shit. There is no comparing playing even a full fledged game on a phone or tablet screen compared to on a big screen. You get interrupted all the time because it’s not a gaming first, dedicated device.

There’s another big thing on the horizon, which is VR. I don’t think it will replace flat gaming but it will be huge and occupy a space no phone/handheld device can replicate for a very long time. The limit of physics and graphical processing power will necessitate some kind of box to power ever increasing requirements, and you’ll need some kind of setup in a room to track the players movements. You won’t get that from a smart phone.

Finally, there are a lot of people who like consoles and games as they are. We grew up gaming like this and are a large market. One day we’ll become the old and out of touch people, and though we might not be the majority forever, there will be a large target audience so long as we have money to spend on it. So I’m looking forward to LAN parties in the retirement home, and to hear scandals about how Reaident Evil 23 has to have warnings about how scary it is because some dude literally died

 

[The Cockatrice]

When any gaffer will be as rich as this guy, then I'll take your word for it but until then, the dude has a point. Lootboxes and mtx in general is what will drive the industry forward because the majority of "gamers" are a bunch of fucking idiots or a bunch of uneducated kids.

 

[namekuseijin]

Lootboxes and mtx in general is what will drive the industry forward because the majority of "gamers" are a bunch of fucking idiots or a bunch of uneducated kids.

they indeed are for falling for that crap and making these assholes rich

 

[schaft0620]

It will also increase digital market share. Not everyone will go back to buying in gamestop etc.

100% agree.