The Great Video Game Business and Financial (In)Stability Thread

http://www.serkantoto.com/2014/07/30...

Short of it is Console/Handheld market shrinking..mobile gaming now bigger than total console market combined (hardware and software). So maybe Japan is still working through that whole mobile gaming "fad"

Also...Japanese consumers still use feature phones?

The contracts are kind of pricey for just about any smart phone so traditional handsets are the only way to go if you're budget conscious. Of course, I'm surprised that those kind of consumers spend any real kind of money on purchasing digital content.

The thread covering this story on Gaf is pure comedy gold.

It basically translates to R.I.P. Japan (game development) / mobile gaming is The Devil.

The seething hate is a wonder to behold.

TheGameguru wrote:

So maybe Japan is still working through that whole mobile gaming "fad"

10 years is one hell of a fad. I remember in college when Square-Enix started announcing they were making cell phone games and not understanding why they would do that. Then Carmack started making Doom RPGs...

shoptroll wrote:
TheGameguru wrote:

So maybe Japan is still working through that whole mobile gaming "fad"

10 years is one hell of a fad. I remember in college when Square-Enix started announcing they were making cell phone games and not understanding why they would do that. Then Carmack started making Doom RPGs...

Japan went big for mobile in general. My understanding is that phones are ridiculously common while actual computers are comparatively rare.

As a complete aside, I've also noticed that Japanese media features way more depictions of cell phones than American media (though its been catching up). You know how some plots don't work if the characters have cell phones and can call each other? Turns out, there are also plots that work because all of the characters have cell phones, and it opens up a whole new set of tropes, like the ominous shot of the dropped and abandoned cell phone.

Gremlin wrote:

As a complete aside, I've also noticed that Japanese media features way more depictions of cell phones than American media (though its been catching up). You know how some plots don't work if the characters have cell phones and can call each other? Turns out, there are also plots that work because all of the characters have cell phones, and it opens up a whole new set of tropes, like the ominous shot of the dropped and abandoned cell phone.

So it's the reverse Seinfeld problem?

Aaron D. wrote:

The thread covering this story on Gaf is pure comedy gold.

It basically translates to R.I.P. Japan (game development) / mobile gaming is The Devil.

The seething hate is a wonder to behold.

I'm neither of the opinion that this is RIP Japan as a development culture nor that mobile gaming is the Devil. Phones are just a platform like any other with their positives and negatives.

What does concern me are the kinds of games being produced. I don't think mobile gaming is a fad, but there's definitely some fad chasing going on in terms of gameplay. I don't exactly have an unquenchable thirst for free to play card battling games and Puzzles and Dragons clones.

I have a personal aversion to the type of game that comes up naturally in a $0.99 or fremium dominated market. It's not necessarily the physical product's fault (not that it matters). The horrible control schemes dictated by touch interfaces is another thing...and I own a tablet and a smart phone of one kind or other. It's a fundamental limit of the platform.

Quite simply put, I would find another hobby if mobile drove other games out. Not really seeing it happen, though. We might see more of a mix of the two in the future, but once you start depending on docking station and peripherals, it's not really mobile anymore, is it? The short life cycle of mobile at a relatively high cost is also a bit of a problem. Hmm....

*shrug*

Aaron D. wrote:

The thread covering this story on Gaf is pure comedy gold.

It basically translates to R.I.P. Japan (game development) / mobile gaming is The Devil.

The seething hate is a wonder to behold.

Comments have been disabled, I was looking forward to reading that.

Mobile games are fast-food gaming. Personally I will indulge from time to time, but mainly when I'm in a hurry or want to gorge on something less than stimulating. I don't see them threatening AAA, cloth-napkin development. Its gaming to fit your life, rather than fitting your life around gaming. For some this is the only gaming they are interested in/able to do.

I see developers that primarily make cross-promotion/junk food/shovelware games turning away from consoles for mobile. I doubt we'll have another console generation like the PS2 (3,870 games?) but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The most significant, negative knock-on effect will be bad associations in the popular mind for 'gaming' and the inability to evangelize it as a mid or top-tier hobby rather than a shallow, addictive indulgence.

Alternatively, for many investors, 'gaming' still means casinos- and many mobile games fit nicely into that portfolio.

Schmootle wrote:

Mobile games are fast-food gaming. Personally I will indulge from time to time, but mainly when I'm in a hurry or want to gorge on something less than stimulating. I don't see them threatening AAA, cloth-napkin development. Its gaming to fit your life, rather than fitting your life around gaming. For some this is the only gaming they are interested in/able to do.

I see developers that primarily make cross-promotion/junk food/shovelware games turning away from consoles for mobile. I doubt we'll have another console generation like the PS2 (3,870 games?) but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The most significant, negative knock-on effect will be bad associations in the popular mind for 'gaming' and the inability to evangelize it as a mid or top-tier hobby rather than a shallow, addictive indulgence.

Alternatively, for many investors, 'gaming' still means casinos- and many mobile games fit nicely into that portfolio.

Agreed. ...and very well put, too.

The problem, and I see this repeated over and over, is that in-app-purchases make money. Sometimes a lot of money. I know that there a lot of developers who chafe at making freemium games and wish they could use an friendlier business model--not least because those are the games they prefer to play themselves.

Although, in another ten years I expect that there will be a few kids who grew up playing those kinds of games who have the drive to make better versions of them, so we'll see.

Moving forward Sony is no longer supporting Playstation Mobile on Android devices. I expect "Playstation Mobile" in general is going to be a dead name soon and was always a misguided venture.

garion333 wrote:

Moving forward Sony is no longer supporting Playstation Mobile on Android devices. I expect "Playstation Mobile" in general is going to be a dead name soon and was always a misguided venture.

Which is hilarious, considering that one of the major Vita focuses was Playstation Mobile releasesiOS ports last year.

Then again, when you're announcing Fieldrunners 2 as a major release almost a year after it's initial release on iOS... you're doing it wrong.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

I'm neither of the opinion that this is RIP Japan as a development culture nor that mobile gaming is the Devil. Phones are just a platform like any other with their positives and negatives.

Right, it's not phones that themselves are inherently the problem, it's the "free to play" model. The effluent from that toxic idea is spilling everywhere.

Adventures in frivolous lawsuits for today: Sony hit with lawsuit because the PS4's Killzone: Shadow Fall's multiplayer graphics are in 960 x 1080 rather than 1080p.

WizardM0de wrote:

Adventures in frivolous lawsuits for today: Sony hit with lawsuit because the PS4's Killzone: Shadow Fall's multiplayer graphics are in 960 x 1080 rather than 1080p.

On one hand, the lawsuit is stupid.

On the other hand, Shadow Fall was so bad that I kinda want Sony to compensate me for the time I wasted.

Hmm.

Gremlin wrote:

The problem, and I see this repeated over and over, is that in-app-purchases make money. Sometimes a lot of money. I know that there a lot of developers who chafe at making freemium games and wish they could use an friendlier business model--not least because those are the games they prefer to play themselves.

Somewhat related... DeNA reported a 31% decline in year-over-year profits for the quarter, partially due to a 14% drop in sale of virtual currency.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/2...
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...

WizardM0de wrote:

Adventures in frivolous lawsuits for today: Sony hit with lawsuit because the PS4's Killzone: Shadow Fall's multiplayer graphics are in 960 x 1080 rather than 1080p.

That is a ridiculous lawsuit. The game is definitely putting out 1080p. How it arrives at that final output resolution is up to the game. I doubt they'll get past the summary judgement phase. (as in, defense: "here's a monitor showing we're outputting 1080p." Judge: "Case dismissed.")

It's important to remember that the very essence of game programming is tricking the user into thinking you're doing more work than you actually are. That's why the back sides of most objects don't have textures, for example. Games, especially 3D games, are mostly illusion. Computational power is incredibly limited, and the real world is of nearly infinite complexity.

The PS4 and XB1 are both rather underpowered for 1080p, though the PS4 is a fair bit better, and this sort of thing will be absolutely routine, all throughout this generation of consoles.

You can't actually make weak hardware do more work than it's capable of, but sufficiently clever programmers can make it look that way.

Malor wrote:

It's important to remember that the very essence of game programming is tricking the user into thinking you're doing more work than you actually are. That's why the back sides of most objects don't have textures, for example. Games, especially 3D games, are mostly illusion. Computational power is incredibly limited, and the real world is of nearly infinite complexity.

I am going to start a review site where I compare backface culling between various versions of popular videogames and complain about it incessantly. IF YOU CAN'T RENDER BOTH SIDES OF THIS VASE THEN WHY SHOULD I GIVE YOU BOTH SIDES OF MY DOLLARS?

For all the sh*t neogaf gets, there are a lot of neogaf-worthy posts on this last page.

nel e nel wrote:

For all the sh*t neogaf gets, there are a lot of neogaf-worthy posts on this last page.

I don't see many personal attacks on this page...

nel e nel wrote:

For all the sh*t neogaf gets, there are a lot of neogaf-worthy posts on this last page.

Since I know you like neogaf, I'm going to assume this is a compliment.

I am going to start a review site where I compare backface culling between various versions of popular videogames and complain about it incessantly. IF YOU CAN'T RENDER BOTH SIDES OF THIS VASE THEN WHY SHOULD I GIVE YOU BOTH SIDES OF MY DOLLARS?

That was freaking hilarious.

*still laughing*

garion333 wrote:
nel e nel wrote:

For all the sh*t neogaf gets, there are a lot of neogaf-worthy posts on this last page.

I don't see many personal attacks on this page...

mobile-gaming-isn't-gaming elitism - check

desire for monetary compensation because someone didn't enjoy a game - check

not all of the crap on neogaf is personal attacks.

Yeah, I thought that'd get a rise. There are certain things that set Gaf apart from other places and one of those things is the vehemence of certain people towards others.

That said, I'm more than willing to concede your two points though I really don't think cube truly wanted Sony to reimburse him for the game.

garion333 wrote:

Yeah, I thought that'd get a rise. There are certain things that set Gaf apart from other places and one of those things is the vehemence of certain people towards others.

That said, I'm more than willing to concede your two points though I really don't think cube truly wanted Sony to reimburse him for the game.

I'm sure of that too (re: cube), and I'm not trying to come from a 'lolgotcha!' angle either, just idle observation of someone who does frequent neogaf.

EDIT: Never mind.

Parallax Abstraction wrote:

EDIT: Never mind.

You're wrong!

Parallax Abstraction wrote:

EDIT: Never mind.

Gosh darn it!

I always miss the good stuff.