EA's investor's conference is going to be on May 7th. Between this and Anthem, that's going to be fun. And probably brutal.
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"Apex Legends Disappointment Signals Substantial Pain Ahead [for EA]"
- Thread starter Sqrt
- Start date
Not much different here from what most people are saying. The gameplay is fantastic, and it's still really fun to run around, shoot, move, etc. The moment to moment is still hitting the right buttons for me.
But the carrot just isn't there for me. The battlepass is awful and there's barely any reason to buy it before the very end when you have a realistic view of what you'll be getting. The standard level progression tapers off on the rewards and there just isn't any incentive to keep pushing to get to those higher levels. More community updates or in game events would help, but I feel like the lack of progression is going to be the thing that ultimately kills it for me.
I compare it to Magic Arena, where I haven't sunk a penny into it and am able to continually earn rewards by putting time into the game that makes me want to keep coming back. Once those apex packs from the normal leveling progression run out, you can either pay to outfit the characters / weapons you like, or hope you get something good in the battle pass crates.
But the carrot just isn't there for me. The battlepass is awful and there's barely any reason to buy it before the very end when you have a realistic view of what you'll be getting. The standard level progression tapers off on the rewards and there just isn't any incentive to keep pushing to get to those higher levels. More community updates or in game events would help, but I feel like the lack of progression is going to be the thing that ultimately kills it for me.
I compare it to Magic Arena, where I haven't sunk a penny into it and am able to continually earn rewards by putting time into the game that makes me want to keep coming back. Once those apex packs from the normal leveling progression run out, you can either pay to outfit the characters / weapons you like, or hope you get something good in the battle pass crates.
Been playing this almost every night for a couple of hours a night and not bored yet. The Battle Pass was trash, but the core gameplay is so fun, I haven't stopped playing it.
I'm level 100 the lack of game modes, forcing me to play with randoms and the terrible battle pass has really hurt my enjoyment of the game.
Solo mode would bring me back I love the gameplay but baby sitting teammates has really ruined the fun for me personally.
Solo mode would bring me back I love the gameplay but baby sitting teammates has really ruined the fun for me personally.
It was three individual rewards of 29500 XP, in what ended up being less than 72 hours, not "double XP". Nothing was doubled.
I'm glad I was able to get the rewards but both the timing and the actual rewards were very strange.
The Battle Royale game i've put the most time into for sure. It's still my go to game when I want to Play Batle Royale.
Anecdotal evidence, but me and my group of friends stopped playing it around the time the battlepass got introduced. I'm not even sure I can tell you why, we just kinda moved on. Then again it was the same with Pubg for me, played it a lot for a few months and haven't touched it since, and I have absolutely no interest in Fortnite.
It was never "supposed" to be a massive success. EA/Respawn got incredibly lucky by suddenly hitting Triple Cherries and were suddenly caught with their pants down about how to follow up on that success.
Now they've missed their opportunity. A shame, but it at least saved them from the fallout of Anthem's failure. In that regard, it has already done its job.
Now they've missed their opportunity. A shame, but it at least saved them from the fallout of Anthem's failure. In that regard, it has already done its job.
Battle pass has killed a lot of my interest to be honest. I think I play pretty often but fell off the past 2 weeks, and I'm only at lvl 48. And since I'm leveling so slow I just don't feel like playing. That and all my friends already quit playing and I'm having to play with random 90 percent of the time. I'd like to see them release a solo and duo beta or something just to try it out.
I'm thinking that's their "break glass in case of an emergency" button when numbers get too low. I think they want to keep Titans to Titanfall in case there's a Titanfall 3.
By the metrics the used in the article (or whatever it is) in the OP, Magic Arena is an even bigger failure.
If respawn was just apex in the same way that epic is just fortnite it couldve easily surpassed fortnite. Apex didnt have populariry forced upon it, it was arguably the best BR when it launched. So much so that fortnite took a bunch of stuff it inovated on and put it in their game. And it wasnt another entry in a crowded market. It was THE entry into a market thats not very crowded at all compared to most genres. Fortnite is on top because thats all epic focuses on and it allows them to constantly change and add to the game at a rate that respawn, whos doing a star wars game and probably another titanfall, simply cant.
I still play it everyday and its always full of people, didn't know it was really doing bad :'(
I really can't find any other BR game that gives me the same satisfaction as the sound effect that plays out when you defeat the whole squad, I live for that moment.
Edit:
Here's what I personally want from the game:
- Add solo mode
- Fix the lag bug that happens every other match where all the players can barely move.
That's it.
I really can't find any other BR game that gives me the same satisfaction as the sound effect that plays out when you defeat the whole squad, I live for that moment.
Edit:
Here's what I personally want from the game:
- Add solo mode
- Fix the lag bug that happens every other match where all the players can barely move.
That's it.
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What I've been saying from the start. Industry is going to heavy on the live service stuff like this. Gamers will only play so many at a time.
eh, i still say it stays above PUBG on consoles in most played, its only below fortnite and NBA here in the states. So tons of people are still playing it
What are you friends playing now? Curious what games people will move too.
Apex has definitely waned a bit since its explosive launch but also this article feels hyperbolic and clearly written from a stock analyst's perspective (ie: extremely reactionary). It's still one of the top ten most watched games on twitch and still gets numbers on par with PUBG. People seem weirdly eager to declare Apex a failure when it's still doing pretty well, it's just not at Fortnite levels.
Compare Apex to BFV Firestorm. People literally stopped talking about Firestorm days after launch and now EA is consolidating servers due to due to BFV having a completely diminished player base.
Having said that, I do agree with others that Apex definitely has stuff that can be improved and would probably bring players back. Roll out Solo and Duos. Make better cosmetics that people actually want to earn. Fix the Battle Pass progression so it doesn't feel like a meaningless slog. The core gameplay in Apex is rock solid, it's just the stuff around the edges that needs to be fixed and that stuff is indeed fixable.
Compare Apex to BFV Firestorm. People literally stopped talking about Firestorm days after launch and now EA is consolidating servers due to due to BFV having a completely diminished player base.
Having said that, I do agree with others that Apex definitely has stuff that can be improved and would probably bring players back. Roll out Solo and Duos. Make better cosmetics that people actually want to earn. Fix the Battle Pass progression so it doesn't feel like a meaningless slog. The core gameplay in Apex is rock solid, it's just the stuff around the edges that needs to be fixed and that stuff is indeed fixable.
The game itself is good but since I don't really like playing with rando's that much and I prefer to just mess around on my own, going fast and loose I fell off rather quickly without a solo mode, I was excited for that battle pass but that turned out a total slap in the face. Even Call of duty's tier list that you didn't need a battle pass for was way better.
Yeah it's not doing badly at all. It's lost a lot of momentum but that was pretty much inevitable. Era's hot takes aren't going to change that Apex's future isn't set in stone. If their update cadence so far is indicative of it in the long term, then the game will stagnate, but the fundamental qualities that saw it burst onto the scene means that it can recover its momentum should the updates come thicker and faster. EA don't exactly strike me as a well run company at the moment, but it would be pretty amazing if they looked at, what, $92m revenue in its first month and decided not to capitalise on it.
For those who think Apex is doomed, consider Rainbow Six's trajectory. It's not always up and up and up like some seem to assume.
The whole stance of "Apex is a failure now!" is very telling about the state of the industry. The game is still going strong, they're making smart balance updates and it still holds a strong spot in the current mindset of players overall.
I'm still enjoying it quite a bit myself.
I'm still enjoying it quite a bit myself.
Apex was a stunning success out of the gate, but in order to remain popular and "beat" Fortnite it really needed to master the thing that Fortnite does better than pretty much any other live service game on the market.
Content Production.
Fortnite consistently sees new items, cosmetics, events, etc. being added to the game all the damn time; Epic quite literally shut everything else down to feed the 600lb Gorilla that is Fortnite and it's paid dividends for them (RIP Paragon).
Unless EA pony's up and starts putting out content like Fortnite does, it's going to fall further and further behind.
Content Production.
Fortnite consistently sees new items, cosmetics, events, etc. being added to the game all the damn time; Epic quite literally shut everything else down to feed the 600lb Gorilla that is Fortnite and it's paid dividends for them (RIP Paragon).
Unless EA pony's up and starts putting out content like Fortnite does, it's going to fall further and further behind.
Yeah I talked about this in a recent interview I did for Investing News Network and also on my YT channel
We dont actually know how much money Apex Legends is making, and there are certainly signs its slowing down. EA may be over valued currently
We dont actually know how much money Apex Legends is making, and there are certainly signs its slowing down. EA may be over valued currently
They don't, this is a hot take article. SeekingAlpha is full of them. The stock was valued at $90 before Apex without shareholders knowing what Apex was and is now $90....
it may have propped them up for a bit and they could be due a slide because of other sides of their business, but from a longer term position perspective Apex is and will be a blip.
yes, as long as its a solid income for Respawn the only EA team that can make a game worth a damn playing, I say let it get a solid base with fluctuations up like R6:S.
Remember that MS is buying EA rumor? Would be the dumbest business move ever. EA needs growth and currently they're squeezing the last drops of milk out of their biggest cash cows Fifa and Madden. Everything else Apex, Anthem, BF are not contributing to the much needed growth. So why would MS spend billions upon billions on a company that adds thousands of employees to their payroll without any big perspective. And as far as I know: they can't buy EA and have a Xbox exclusive FIFA anyways.
The bolded is technically true, but it's not really reflective of reality. Users acquired through influencers have the best performance metrics of any paid channel, and are only lower than organics. Organic acquisitions are extremely rare and you can't plan for them.
All users have expected retention churn regardless of acquisition method, but only Respawn and EA know what their actual metrics are.
Steamers, content creators and fans are going to stick to Fortnite because Epic takes extra care of their community.
- Community input into development/updates
- streamers & content creators getting a cut of shop sales
- Epic gifting players with freebies (battlepass)
- constant new game modes and events to keep the community engaged
- massive prize pools at events
Honestly, if I were a gaming company, I'd stay away from the BR space for now. Epic has it by the balls for good reason and you'd have to put in incredible work to compete.
The difference with this scenario is those same influencers immediately flocked back to streaming and uploading Fortnite once their obligations were up. Then $$$ figures got leaked. Not the best look for the game imo.
- Community input into development/updates
- streamers & content creators getting a cut of shop sales
- Epic gifting players with freebies (battlepass)
- constant new game modes and events to keep the community engaged
- massive prize pools at events
Honestly, if I were a gaming company, I'd stay away from the BR space for now. Epic has it by the balls for good reason and you'd have to put in incredible work to compete.
The difference with this scenario is those same influencers immediately flocked back to streaming and uploading Fortnite once their obligations were up. Then $$$ figures got leaked. Not the best look for the game imo.
But you forget that even Overwatch, which releases slow updates, was launched with much more content than Apex did. There are lot more characters to play and it has multiple maps. That's why Apex is not even comparable to Overwatch regarding content, Apex should have launched at least 2 maps by now.
By all accounts Apex launched way stronger than anyone expected and even with its decline it's still doing well. Plus, Zampella has a lot of clout in the industry. Respawn will be fine. If Apex was a dud right out the gate, that would be a different story.
Pubg is pretty regularly in the top 5 games on Twitch and only usually gets temporarily pushed out by new releases. There isn't a direct correlation between Twitch viewers and players but if the game drops out of the top 10 games it simply gets fewer eyeballs and with Twitch essentially accounting for free extended advertisements for your game it can hurt when you don't get as many viewers for your ad. Not to mention getting meme'd as a dead game on Twitch is bad news.
This game is far from dead like most games the popularity has gone down since the initial surge but I'm sure respawn will continue to support the game. When substantial updates come it'll spike up again. Fortnite is the behemoth in which it started to be measured against and what that game has become this couldn't accomplish. They've essentially started cornering even a Minecraft like market with their creative mode. The appeal to children and the frequency of updates just can't be matched currently.
Personally though this is my favorite BR game and whenever I want to play this is what I go back to. Weak battle pass and all the smooth and fast paced gameplay is just second to none in the BR genre for me.
Personally though this is my favorite BR game and whenever I want to play this is what I go back to. Weak battle pass and all the smooth and fast paced gameplay is just second to none in the BR genre for me.
Agreed.
Don't have content? Don't ship it. Because everything you've built already will just fall by the wayside.
Apex seemed polished and complete at launch, but they clearly didn't have the content in place to support the game as a service. Producing that content is taking too long, and the game is dying.
I don't think it's all doom and gloom though. It's still a popular game and Respawn can turn things around, but they need to be upfront about these issues and outline what they aim to do to address them. Otherwise, the game will be dead within the year.
I don't really like playing the game, and it's even worse to watch. I also don't give a damn about EA, so Respawn is my only horse in this race. They're a good dev and I hope this loss of momentum doesn't result in them getting any kind of ax.