Its starting to feel like I need to treat my gaming purchases as charity
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Support indie games and indie studios. This is the way to most directly benefit the people who actually work on games with your purchases. It leads to a healthier and more diverse industry too. It's hard for any indie dev to find success, but once they do, it usually ends up actually sustainable.
AAA big game publishing will always be much more driven by business cycles.
AAA big game publishing will always be much more driven by business cycles.
You don't. It's not your fault we're on an unsustainable path here. The industry leaders put us in this position where we feel like we have to buy the Digital Deluxe Edition of every single game as soon as it's available for preorder on a platform or our favorite developers will be shut down before they can even finish the game's post-launch support.
Fucking Microsoft should be able to afford keeping studios open. It's on them, not you.
Like buy the games you wanna play, of course. But it's not on you to make up for bad management and capitalist bullshit.
Like buy the games you wanna play, of course. But it's not on you to make up for bad management and capitalist bullshit.
This hobby really shouldn't be affecting your thoughts that much to the point of feeling guilt over a potential purchase.
Buy something or don't. You as a single entity aren't having any impact.
Buy something or don't. You as a single entity aren't having any impact.
look if you aren't tipping your game developer you are part of the problem, not part of the solution
i haven't bought a new game at all this year and i feel good about it. Still buying games on sale and still playing lots of gamepass and PS+ games, both of which I paid for. Its on pubs and devs to figure out how to make money, not me.
i haven't bought a new game at all this year and i feel good about it. Still buying games on sale and still playing lots of gamepass and PS+ games, both of which I paid for. Its on pubs and devs to figure out how to make money, not me.
Honestly you'll probably contribute more by posting on the internet about the games you like and why (by persuading others to try them out and raising their profile) than buying 1 copy of a random underperforming new release.
OP, the video game industry has shown me recently that studios making commercially/critically successful games are as liable to layoffs in some cases as less successful ones. Just consume the games you want in whatever legal form you choose. You and me as individuals buying or not buying a game isn't going to stop some asshole in a suit whose motive is ensuring the line of growth goes up into perpetuity untill the entire thing pops, at which point they'll float onto the next thing with golden parachutes, zero fucks given. I've seen so much failing upwards lately I'm just fucking numb.
Big game companies (and some of their fans who are a bit too invested) are motivated to cast blame elsewhere for the decisions they make that people won't like. They love to pass the buck and point fingers, but it's still ultimately their decision to shut down studios or fire people. That ain't your responsibility, whatever they try to tell you.
Imagine that you personally had purchased 100 copies of Hifi Rush, and then tipped the company $10,000 on top of that. The game sold millions, that's a tiny blip. If ownership wants to cut costs on riskier studios because of the interest rate environment, do you really think your purchase and tip would've made the slightest difference in their decision?
Imagine that you personally had purchased 100 copies of Hifi Rush, and then tipped the company $10,000 on top of that. The game sold millions, that's a tiny blip. If ownership wants to cut costs on riskier studios because of the interest rate environment, do you really think your purchase and tip would've made the slightest difference in their decision?
Ah, the old Square Enix dilemma, where we would have to buy an awful mobile port in order for them not to kill any chance of a series getting a new main entry. Good times.
No, OP. Do what you want with your money, but this goes waaaay deeper than copies sold, unless it's CoD levels of money involved. Not to mention, if they actually sell a lot, it's just setting up for a even bigger level of risk on the next entry, since the line always has to go up exponentially
No, OP. Do what you want with your money, but this goes waaaay deeper than copies sold, unless it's CoD levels of money involved. Not to mention, if they actually sell a lot, it's just setting up for a even bigger level of risk on the next entry, since the line always has to go up exponentially
I get what you're saying. I posted that I was looking forward to playing Hi-Fi Rush on Humble Choice, now that its devs are dead. Should I have bought it at launch? Should I have bought it on sale?
At the end of the day, it's just not my kind of game, really. I'll try it out, and then I'll put it down. It's all I ever would have done. And then I'd be mad for paying more money for it.
At the end of the day, it's just not my kind of game, really. I'll try it out, and then I'll put it down. It's all I ever would have done. And then I'd be mad for paying more money for it.
All the people who are saying "your individual actions don't matter" are missing the point.
It's definitely true that no one individual's choices matter. We're all just drops in the bucket. But consumer behavior matters. Word of mouth matters. Buzz matters. Companies spend many many millions of dollars trying to replicate the effect of a few influential people saying, "Hey, here's my take."
And hobbyists--people who are deeply invested in a subject--do often have influential voices, because most people don't have the time or interest to deep dive on all the things they're only lightly invested in.
The trick is figuring out how to push people in a direction they're willing to go. Asking people to give up things they love is going to be hard. Asking people to spend more to get less is going to be hard. People will opt in to virtuous behavior when it's easy, or convenient.
It's definitely true that no one individual's choices matter. We're all just drops in the bucket. But consumer behavior matters. Word of mouth matters. Buzz matters. Companies spend many many millions of dollars trying to replicate the effect of a few influential people saying, "Hey, here's my take."
And hobbyists--people who are deeply invested in a subject--do often have influential voices, because most people don't have the time or interest to deep dive on all the things they're only lightly invested in.
The trick is figuring out how to push people in a direction they're willing to go. Asking people to give up things they love is going to be hard. Asking people to spend more to get less is going to be hard. People will opt in to virtuous behavior when it's easy, or convenient.
Yes but I think the 'your actions don't matter' people are saying you would actually need to react in unison and intentionally to get change and those things infrequently happen. Like for example, when Sony wanted to close the PS3/Vita store. Or MS with the 2013 E3 Xb1 reveal,or trying to double the price of Live gold some time ago. Those things resulted in a united cry of outrage that was powerful enough to reverse course, because the companies feared bottomline impact and that's all they give a shit about.
There's alot of things I would take a moral stand on not putting my money towards and give myself an 'atta boy' for, but the company in question doesn't know that I'm not supporting them for specific reasons or if I was just someone with no interest in supporting the product anyway. If ethical stances mirrored real action at a tangible scale alot of shit wouldn't go down, but these companies like to see just how far they can go knowing the worst that will happen is some pissing and moaning.
I think i am part of the problem. I bought some games last year and this year that i wanted to support but IDK when I'd play them. I gotta stop with that I think.
Don't. I fell into this trap in the early 2010s when JRPGs were scarce and the only way to play them consistently was to buy niche localized titles from publishers like XSEED and NISA. Everyone went on and on about supporting these companies, and know what we got out of it? A metric ton of kusoge Vita games and empty wallets. Sometimes it doesn't work out for a dev and that sucks, but it's not the consumers responsibility to reinforce a company against business trends. In fact, I would argue it's more effective to just not give your money to what you perceive as a negative trend in the first place (ex: stop preordering the newest tentpole AAA title when you can blatantly tell it's unfinished from footage-I'm looking at you, everyone who was somehow still surprised that Cyberpunk blew). A big company losing revenue will do more to improve the industry than helping the little guy with a one-off success. Capcom didn't start making worthwhile games again because people were nice and "supporting" them.
Does it really matter? No matter how you played the game or how many copies you bought yourself Hi-Fi Rush was never going to be anything other than pretty much what it was. It's not a game that could ever move Halo, Starfield or Call of Duty numbers. If Xbox's policy is now to focus on its 'priority' games then no matter what your buying habits are then Tango would have been on the chopping block.
Maybe devs that are on ResetEra will set me straight on this but I've never considered my purchase to be 'supporting the devs' unless it is a self-published title. If I am to purchase Hellblade 2 rather than play it through Game Pass, or even buy multiple copies of it, does any of this actually "support the devs" or does it just add a few extra dollars into a Microsoft bank account somewhere? As with Hi-Fi rush it still isn't going to do AAA numbers so I don't feel like it is likely to prevent a potential studio closure or layoffs.
It's really shit what has happened and is happening but it isn't the consumer's problem to fix. Voice your displeasure and voice it loudly but we live in a world where public companies are practically compelled to make as much money as quickly as they can for their shareholders. Your gaming purchases aren't going to change that. You're more likely to effect change in the voting booth.
Maybe devs that are on ResetEra will set me straight on this but I've never considered my purchase to be 'supporting the devs' unless it is a self-published title. If I am to purchase Hellblade 2 rather than play it through Game Pass, or even buy multiple copies of it, does any of this actually "support the devs" or does it just add a few extra dollars into a Microsoft bank account somewhere? As with Hi-Fi rush it still isn't going to do AAA numbers so I don't feel like it is likely to prevent a potential studio closure or layoffs.
It's really shit what has happened and is happening but it isn't the consumer's problem to fix. Voice your displeasure and voice it loudly but we live in a world where public companies are practically compelled to make as much money as quickly as they can for their shareholders. Your gaming purchases aren't going to change that. You're more likely to effect change in the voting booth.
Man, it is fucked up that the Gaming Industry gaslighted you into thinking it is your fault when a game studio closes down.
Industry is hurting themselves in more ways than you are hurting industry by not buying games. What about all of those games released in broken state that took months to fix and sometimes end up not fixed at all? What about all of those games where MTX were primary goal and not game itself? What about all mismanagement inside all of these companies? And list goes on and on.
No, it's the bad management that no amount of copies of a game you personally buy will solve. Executives take home millions and billions while shuttering studios like Tango after they have a very successful game. Plus the devs already got paid. When Bobby Kotick was still around, they would have "record years" of profits and then still have hundreds of layoffs anyway, all while Bobert here took home millions.
www.polygon.com
It's frustrating, but you're absolutely not obligated to buy a game and you choosing not to buy a game has little, if any effect on whether a studio gets killed off.
Plus in some companies, the failure of a game doesn't necessarily mean layoffs, it means doing something different and potentially putting the IP of said game to rest (which also sucks, especially as a TWEWY fan, but is also much better than layoffs or closures).
Activision Blizzard cuts hundreds of jobs despite ‘record revenue’ year
800 affected amid company-wide restructuring
www.polygon.com
It's frustrating, but you're absolutely not obligated to buy a game and you choosing not to buy a game has little, if any effect on whether a studio gets killed off.
Plus in some companies, the failure of a game doesn't necessarily mean layoffs, it means doing something different and potentially putting the IP of said game to rest (which also sucks, especially as a TWEWY fan, but is also much better than layoffs or closures).
I read a little bit of the thread but please do not get confused with charities that do a public good or supposedly a public good to a company that is there for an entertainment product it's no different than if you stream a movie that came out and was considered a bad movie versus actually seen in the theater and encouraging weird and awkward movies.
Sometimes games go by the wayside it happens unfortunately I mean I'm one of the big defenders on the Saturn era of games but not just the Sega side but a lot of PlayStation companies those small games never win anywhere after that generation.
All I can do is love them for what they were or when I've discovered them now. Frankly nowadays gaming to me is an absolute luxury I will get cool games that come but at the same time I will not go out of my way to day one a lot of games that I know I can get later.
I'm very much looking forward to paper Mario but I just can't do it right now.
Sometimes games go by the wayside it happens unfortunately I mean I'm one of the big defenders on the Saturn era of games but not just the Sega side but a lot of PlayStation companies those small games never win anywhere after that generation.
All I can do is love them for what they were or when I've discovered them now. Frankly nowadays gaming to me is an absolute luxury I will get cool games that come but at the same time I will not go out of my way to day one a lot of games that I know I can get later.
I'm very much looking forward to paper Mario but I just can't do it right now.
We can't reward corporations for mismanagement. Layoffs and closures suck, but even if we all managed to shower enough success on a game, most of that money would just go to executive bonuses, stock buybacks, shareholder dividends, and M&A. Indirectly, a successful studio is obviously more likely to have job security for the developers that are employed there, but even that benefit is offset by the fact that when a corporation sees a successful studio, they're more likely to run it into the ground by expanding it recklessly or forcing it into hail mary money-printing projects.
Corporations only have an obligation to their bottom line. Our attempts to influence them can only go so far when Fortnite, Call of Duty, GTA Online, Minecraft, and Roblox are what decision-makers are reading about and striving for. If you're feeling charitable, throw more money at independent developers. There are so many quality options out there.
Corporations only have an obligation to their bottom line. Our attempts to influence them can only go so far when Fortnite, Call of Duty, GTA Online, Minecraft, and Roblox are what decision-makers are reading about and striving for. If you're feeling charitable, throw more money at independent developers. There are so many quality options out there.
As others have said, no need to feel that way, especially for the big publishers. I have started to give more support to indies that aren't on a subscription service like Game Pass though, and I think we should all collectively do our bit to signal boost their trailers and indie showcases, whenever possible.
Absolutely not. These publishers will do whatever they can to limit their costs and maximize their profits. The sales of a particular game are not relevant to keeping studios open. If the publisher can maximize their profits by laying off their staff, they will. Human beings are just numbers on a spreadsheet to these people.
Do not buy the AAA games that only pay directly to the huge publishers. Buy the AA game that the devs start a new studio for and release their first game a few years later, even if it's not quite as high-fidelity and doesn't have as many high profile voice actors. That's how you can support the devs, because buying the game from their owners does nothing to help them.
And conversely taking the position to not support a product as a message to these AAA megacorps hurts the developers, not the Bobby Koticks of the world. When people like that 'fall' it's typically onto a well padded bed stuffed with dollar bills. The system backhand slaps you in the face with its blatant corruption and dares you to question it.
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For what it's worth your individual game purchase puts way more money into the pockets of the executives we all hate than it does into the pockets of the developers, unless its an indie game in which case every dollar does help.
Buying AAA games doesn't actually help the situation over there, if anything its the opposite, the sooner their current paradigm collapses, the sooner something maybe better/more sustainable can replace it.
Buying AAA games doesn't actually help the situation over there, if anything its the opposite, the sooner their current paradigm collapses, the sooner something maybe better/more sustainable can replace it.
This is such an American individualistic mindset - like if everyone just recycled, then the ocean wouldn't be full of plastic. (Sorry if you aren't American, but still.) The individual has no power over corporate greed and mismanagement, but Americans have been conditioned to think otherwise, so those some corporations can absolve themselves of responsibility.
I buy multiple copies of indies just to support them, but I am also a big weirdo. I don't think you need to feel that way OP.
Only because you're not obsessed with car manufacturers, branding, and have an unhealthy attachment to the automobile industry. Some people do and for them it is not generally fine and they do care very much about what they buy in terms of a vehicle.
Your unhealthy attachment just happens to be games, that's all.
That's exactly the true but i really understand the OP.
Its really strange and I've been feeling this way many many times lately.
For exemple, I just took more than a month to finish FFVII rebirth and have many games to play ( playing Harold Hallibut and Dead Island 2 now on gamepass and many PSVita games ) and in the near future canes Hellblade 2 .
With this I didnt had time for new releases but I just keep feeling bad for not having supprted yet the Banishers Ghost of new Eden developers and for Dragons Dogma 2, just because they are narrative single player experiences.
It kind of feels that I have some kind of obligation to support this type of content just for they keep existing…
Its a really really strange ERA in gaming with all this bad news being bombarded us everyday.
OP
OP
Yeah you right, I just need to start to roll back some of the weight I give these thoughts/decisions. Like you said its a bit of an unhealthy attachment of feeling like I have to support it, fuck I mean like I said, I and many others on here work in it, its been my hobby for like 25 years, and even when Im not playing games im learning something about them or discussing them. Like mcruz said, it just kinda feels like I gotta support it to keep it around even though just like most others in this thread pointed and I course know inside, that my single purchases dont really matter much in the grand scheme and we should all of course do whats best for us at the end of the day.
Of course I dont actually treat my purchases like a charity and absolutely support more then AAA but they were the first words that came to mind to describe the thought and make the point.
Hmmm