Games console industry tries to adapt to rise of free-to-play titles

Virtual goods such as Fortnite weapons and subscription services such as Microsoft’s Game Pass have become as important to the console industry as its traditional money spinner of high-priced standalone games, marking a turning point for the $60bn business.

Console players are set to splash out $21bn on in-game items and subscription services this year — about the same as they will spend on game downloads and discs, according to research group Ampere Analysis.

Such expenditure has risen sharply since the popular free title Fortnite debuted in 2017. Gamers that year spent three times more on console software than on subscriptions and virtual items.

“If players continue to gravitate to free games, such as Fortnite, that do not require the latest hardware, Sony will find it more difficult to sell its PS5 to all but the most dedicated of players, some analysts have argued.”

Archived version of the article: https://archive.vn/032BW#selection-2369.103-2373.159

  • Potatos_are_not_friends@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Is this is the reason why game companies are charging $70 and add microtransactions and battle passes to every game. If you’re shitting on it and still buying it, you’re part of the problem.

    • Ilikepornaddict@lemmynsfw.com
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      1 year ago

      Best thing to do, is not buy the game at all. Whales don’t like spending money in empty games, they have no one to show off to. Simply avoiding the mtx isn’t good enough.

    • jackfrost@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      I’m saddened by the phenomenon because there’s plenty of evidence that the audiences for these most of these games hate the experience, but they can’t stop playing because they’ve become victims of predatory psychological tactics designed to keep them addicted and their wallets wide open. These publishers and studios literally hire psychologists who specialize in generating this addiction, using models optimized to prey on their own users as much as humanly possible. It’s sickening. The sports games are especially shameless about this. Ruining people’s finances and their core sense of financial responsibility to fatten their pockets. I don’t know how they sleep at night. Sociopaths, the lot of them.

      • Mojojojo1993@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Proof or ban.

        Cite something. If you are going to make outrageous claims like this at least drop an article

        • jackfrost@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          I’m sorry, I don’t follow. What did I say that would be considered an outrageous claim?

              • Mojojojo1993@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                So nothing backing up your claim. 1 lawyer claimed psychologist had been hired but with zero proof. I think you are taking rumors and running with them.

                Psychs don’t have anything specific to add to gambling. Gambling is easy enough to replicate without any special traits psychs could add.

                Try to refrain from calling into disrepute the psychological profession. It’s bad enough without this shit

                • jackfrost@lemm.ee
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                  1 year ago

                  This is such an absurd distortion of the evidence I have provided that you surely have a vested interest in trying to gaslight people about a standard business operation.

                  Spoiler: The gaslighting isn’t working. That was actually pretty embarrassing.

  • MossBear@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I hate this. I hate this so much. Mobile games are mostly crap because of these business practices and now it’s taking over PC and consoles too.

  • Mojojojo1993@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Pretty sure I have never bought an item in game. I buy dlcs if I really enjoy the game and want to continue.

    Maybe govt needs to crack down on in game purchases.

    Or people need to be less dumb. Dunno. Is buying video game crap any worse than pints at the pub cigs at the shop. If I fill my house with figurines vs skins in a game.

    Protect the vulnerable I suppose

    • rambaroo@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Not really considering the vast majority of people don’t use micro transactions. These companies make money by farming whales who have mental health/addiction issues.

    • TORFdot0@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      It’s time for people to vote with their wallets and stop purchasing and playing games with predatory monetization models.

      But saying that people complaining about MTX are like old man yelling at cloud is wrong. There will always be room for criticizing MTX like there will always be room for criticizing capitalism.

        • TORFdot0@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I definitely agree with you on this. It’s possible to vote with your wallet and still lose the vote. But I simply mean to suggest that those of us who won’t stand for MTX filled games ought to embrace the games that don’t have them (or at least don’t compromise the experience for them) like god of war, or red dead 2 etc. and that we should reach back into our backlogs and find games that we missed and look to purchase and play those rather than get the latest full price games that are still filled with MTX