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[Vena]

<5k lets go.

Almost right, hot damn.

 

[Primethius]

Almost right, hot damn.

So close.

I guess I'll bump up my NPD prediction and say <70k.

MvC:I, you too can be in the upper niche Japanese tier!

 

[Humdinger]

Next-gen graph update:
click to enlarge

Thanks to Liabe Brave for the recent figures.

Very nice! Thanks to you both.

 

[mckmas8808]

The 'mid-gen' upgrade is a continuation of the general approach by Sony/Microsoft/western publishers over the last what, 5 years? Focus on increasing the money the core will pay you rather than appealing to new markets. Get someone who already has your console to pay you another $400-500 for an upgrade. Get someone who's already paid $60 on your game to spend another $100 on digital items in the game.

Great for the bottom line (if they can sustain it which is always the problem with this strategy), but depressing as a consumer that doesn't like the feeling of being squeezed.

Except with both DLC and mid-gen upgrades, both are purely optional.

Legend's point is that it's easier to milk the cows you already have than to go get more cows. It's true. But, at some point, cows are outta milk. Apparently we're not there yet.

But lets not act like Sony didn't release a VR headset or that MS isn't working on a Mixed Reality headset option in the future.

 

[MatPiscatella]

But lets not act like Sony didn't release a VR headset or that MS isn't working on a Mixed Reality headset option in the future.

As of now, one is rounding error on total market spend, while the other's future in gaming is certainly TBD.

I don't see how that relates though. Guess I must be missing something.

 

[legend166]

Except with both DLC and mid-gen upgrades, both are purely optional.

Well, yeah, I mean it's just video games, everything is optional. But you're being naive if you don't think this approach (as Mat so eloquently put it, milking the cow for everything its got rather than getting new cows) has an impact on everything from the games that get green lit in the first place to game design.

- Less emphasis on single player experiences, more emphasis on multiplayer games where you can sell skins, loot boxes, progression skips, equipment, etc, etc, etc
- Fundamentally changing the way progression systems are designed to encourage spending money to skip mundane tasks (hello NBA2K18).
- Or for that matter, the fact that every game now has to have a progression system in the first place so they can sell things to you.
- Ridiculously priced special editions where you can hide on-disc content and sell crappy plastic figurines that people love to buy for some reason.
- A fundamentally insular approach to video games as a medium. Who cares about reaching new markets and demographics when your 16-40 year old male will pay $50 to instantly improve their character?

Thankfully the indie scene is mature enough now that they produce heaps of quality content on a regular basis so it's a lot easier to ignore the AAA scene and not feel like you're missing out of everything. But it still sucks to see the segment with the most resources put it more towards trying to extract every single dollar.

 

[Nightengale]

A fundamentally insular approach to video games as a medium. Who cares about reaching new markets and demographics when you're 16-40 year old will pay $50 to instantly improve their character?

The hilarity of this is that even though "mobile" was a major paradigm in reaching new markets and demographics in terms of players, it only helped to reinforce the spending power of the insular core, aka the "whales."

 

[Elfstar]

Hah, I know this isn't saying anything surprising or new, but it's crazy that a WEEKLY Japanese sales figure thread has 1,350+ replies and the MONTHLY USA sales thread has 400ish replies on NeoGaf.

Dude, Japanese sales thread are basically Nintendo fanboys' Last Bunkers, they will always reach 20+ pages regardless of the data since they're all about circlejerking each other and fighting with Sony Defenders.

so what is Capcom doing wrong?
nearly all their titles underperform

the genre does not matter and the platforms also does not matter
XB1 / PC exclusive Dead Rising 4
Ps4 / PC exclusive Street Fighter 5
all platform Marvel vs Capcom: Infinity

Seems like they lack budget to compete with other AAA productions.

 

[mckmas8808]

As of now, one is rounding error on total market spend, while the other's future in gaming is certainly TBD.

I don't see how that relates though. Guess I must be missing something.

Yes the money is a drop in the bucket, but I was speaking more about "ideas". If VR does catch on big, you better believe Sony will benefit huge. And Sony will be a key reason why it would catch on.

So my point was it's not like Sony and MS aren't trying to grow new cows. They are. We just have to wait and see if VR and/or MR will catch on.

Well, yeah, I mean it's just video games, everything is optional. But you're being naive if you don't think this approach (as Mat so eloquently put it, milking the cow for everything its got rather than getting new cows) has an impact on everything from the games that get green lit in the first place to game design.

- Less emphasis on single player experiences, more emphasis on multiplayer games where you can sell skins, loot boxes, progression skips, equipment, etc, etc, etc
- Fundamentally changing the way progression systems are designed to encourage spending money to skip mundane tasks (hello NBA2K18).
- Or for that matter, the fact that every game now has to have a progression system in the first place so they can sell things to you.
- Ridiculously priced special editions where you can hide on-disc content and sell crappy plastic figurines that people love to buy for some reason.
- A fundamentally insular approach to video games as a medium. Who cares about reaching new markets and demographics when your 16-40 year old male will pay $50 to instantly improve their character?

Thankfully the indie scene is mature enough now that they produce heaps of quality content on a regular basis so it's a lot easier to ignore the AAA scene and not feel like you're missing out of everything. But it still sucks to see the segment with the most resources put it more towards trying to extract every single dollar.

- I'm a Playstation guy so I still get many single player experiences. It's exclusively why I can never see myself buying into the whole Xbox ecosystem though, because their exclusives seem to be more leaning toward multiplayer and that's not my thing. But you are right that many are going that way.

- Remember that relative to inflation, games prices on average are waaay lower than they were 10-20 years ago. So it makes sense as to why they need a new way to make more money. That okay for them to do.

 

[AniHawk]

Yes the money is a drop in the bucket, but I was speaking more about "ideas". If VR does catch on big, you better believe Sony will benefit huge. And Sony will be a key reason why it would catch on.

So my point was it's not like Sony and MS aren't trying to grow new cows. They are. We just have to wait and see if VR and/or MR will catch on.

i think we would already know by now if vr was going to catch on with ps4. it might need to be next gen's main hook and built into every ps5 if it is going to continue in a meaningful way. sony basically traded their handheld line for something a lot more expensive and a lot less successful.