Death of an industry - General Discussion Forum

Chrono_Cross · 2013-02-27T02:00:58+00:00

This is not a doom and gloom topic. So don't treat it as one. Nothing lasts forever. With this economy, there's no denying that paying hundreds of dollars on a toy with $60 games, $60 controllers, downloadable content and optional peripherals such as Wii Zappers, Kinect and PlayStation Eyes, that the industry is an expensive hobby and one many people don’t want to be apart of. In an economy such as the United State’s, the appealing audience of 13-38 years olds is a crippling feat. If you’re not a teenager that wants the newest Mario or Call of Duty with no job or a healthy income from your parent(s)/guardian, you’re that parent with a stiff salary. Making even $50,000 a year, supporting kids, pets, bills, taxes, subscriptions, internet and the rest, gamers have to spend a huge amount of money to feed their habit while (possibly) sacrificing necessities for themselves and their loved ones. Using a service such as GameFly can really minimize the overall cost, but you have to spend hundreds of dollars for the console, TV and controllers for you (or others such as friends and family), to even begin to play the next generation game(s). When you pay for an old tennis racket, it’s cheaper than a new one. When it comes to video games, it’s almost the opposite. Paying for a new copy of say, Chrono Trigger, can run you up $30 to $100+ when it came out in 1995! So if your strategy of playing old games to have fun and to save money sounds genuinely bulletproof, prepare for the possibility of it flowing through the cracks. Then you have the over abundance of systems to play on with thousands of games to purchase over several genres for different players and play styles. That’s good for variety but it’s hefty on the wallet. Since 2006, we’ve seen the Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi, iPhone, iPad, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Wii U, and PlayStation Vita, all of which is off the top of my head. That’s not including the attachments, upgraded systems such as the DS Lite and new upcoming systems that are due in the next two years such as the PlayStation 4, Xbox ? and Valve’s infamous Steam Box. Added: Another point are used games and PC gaming You almost always gain a fraction of the money you originally paid when you trade in games. Black Ops II was $60? Well here's $33 three weeks after its release date. And it'll soon decline as time passes. That in its entirety is another reason the average American cannot fully experience gaming. PC gaming, while expensive in one go, can last you years beyond the traditional console and become well worth it. With Steam, you have dirt cheap bundles, discounted games every week and there's no physical shopping involved or full retail price tags to match. (This isn't always the case.) So that leaves this question: How are we supposed to afford these gaming systems? With the economy going nowhere but down (in more countries than just America mind you), food costs, gas and clothes, skyrocketing, how are we going to do what we love, say, ten years from now? No one can drop $430 on the new PlayStation 4, which is a rumored price, but if was anymore than $400, no one is going to bite the tail when they have a perfectly fine PlayStation 3. Or even appealing to a wider crowd is almost an impossible task. Games are in no way in the same league as Movies or TV dramas. I’d go as far as the music industry, that’s how far behind we are and this industry has been around for nearly three decades. It’s not entirely our fault, but when we do get fantastic games that try to break from the norm (Spec Ops The Line, Heavy Rain, Metal Gear Solid, Journey, etc.), we’re too busy playing the latest Mario or Halo to care and the heart and soul of those games, sell maybe a million copies if that. This is contradictory, but we should be buying those games because those developers know where to direct our industry so we can be viewed as serious consumers rather than teenagers and survive the next few decades. It’s contradictory because I just said it’s difficult to afford games but now I’m saying buy games you normally wouldn’t buy which would be tough on the wallet. But that’s the world around us. You cannot raise a family in this economy without difficulties and with a expensive hobby like video games, those difficulties are only multiplied. For those that hate reading, the reasons why the industry could cave in again: Poor economy Poor alternatives Audience is limited Interesting games that rival cinematic programs sell poorly Too many consoles and add ons Downloadable content Variety is overwhelming The industry is a grenade in a closed space. The closed space compliments the damage the grenade would normally do if it was in an open space like a field or a stadium. That’s the industry when the economy is involved and if this is the route we’re going to continue going in, consider video games a niche hobby amongst a select few people that will fade in the years to come.

41
Ernest_The_Crab
Thu 28th Feb 2013

@Bankai And that's exactly the problem. All of these gamers want essentially everything but are unwilling to make any compromises. This doesn't work anywhere else in the world so why exactly does the community believe that it would here. They will never admit they're unreasonable either so even more problems arise (PR nightmares).

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42
kloudd
Sun 3rd Mar 2013

Great article format. You know, I don't think the industry is going anywhere, even in a bad economy. And that's because of one special element involved: evolution. The consumer electronics market is an ever changing landscape and in turn market values are sensibly adjusted lower as we get closer to the next landmark in technology.

How this works for the gaming industry is that there are two different kinds of consumers in the electronics market, the early adopters and the late adopters. The early adopters confirm consumer demand and the late adopters who wait for the pricing slope provide mass market success and longevity. Early buyers confirmed the PS3's appeal and late buyers keep it alive today.

Then there are the software buyers; I buy my games new, but not until they've reached the $40 price. There is one dilemma in this type of market behavior, and that is that some companies make a lot of financial mistakes and end up with not enough time to wait for the late buyers before going bankrupt. Fortunately for the market this doesn't happen very often though.

[Edited Sun 3rd Mar 2013 by kloudd]

kloudd

43
LzWinky
Sun 3rd Mar 2013

This whole thing is a mess, but let's not forget the smaller and indie developers

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44
DePapier
Mon 4th Mar 2013

You'll have to excuse me bringing (again) a link from an Emily Rogers article to this website, but that's just to say that this subject has already been thoroughly researched:

http://www.notenoughshaders.com/2012/07/02/the-rise-of-costs-...

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...

45
Chrono_Cross
Mon 4th Mar 2013

kloudd wrote:

Great article format. You know, I don't think the industry is going anywhere, even in a bad economy. And that's because of one special element involved: evolution. The consumer electronics market is an ever changing landscape and in turn market values are sensibly adjusted lower as we get closer to the next landmark in technology.

How this works for the gaming industry is that there are two different kinds of consumers in the electronics market, the early adopters and the late adopters. The early adopters confirm consumer demand and the late adopters who wait for the pricing slope provide mass market success and longevity. Early buyers confirmed the PS3's appeal and late buyers keep it alive today.

Then there are the software buyers; I buy my games new, but not until they've reached the $40 price. There is one dilemma in this type of market behavior, and that is that some companies make a lot of financial mistakes and end up with not enough time to wait for the late buyers before going bankrupt. Fortunately for the market this doesn't happen very often though.

I love your enthusiasm as it's nice to see a positive opinion on a potential crisis. (I also agree to an extent.)

DePapier wrote:

but that's just to say that this subject has already been thoroughly researched

That doesn't make my topic irrelevant. Actually, your post was entirely irrelevant.

Just for you.
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