Halo Infinite Discussion

[Apoll0]

Why are there microtransactions when i already pay 60 dollars plus the additional online fee of xbl to play. Fuck that nonsense

If you want to talk economics.... The average price of a new NES game was $50 in 1990.  Accounting for inflation, $60 games today should actually cost almost $100.  yeah, there are more gamers now, but the studios are a lot bigger and ongoing expenses are larger.  Studios are looking for more profit (cuz capitalism duh) but they also need more profit to break even too.  

 

The "games as a service" that microtransactions provide give us cheaper (relative) starting costs for games, more updates over a longer time frame and done right (from a business perspective) makes the companies more money.   Honestly people get over it.  I don't care about microtransactions in a vacuum.  I care about how they are implemented.  Don't bitch about microtransactions period, fight for ones that aren't structured like gambling and aren't P2W.

[TheFloyd]

If you want to talk economics.... The average price of a new NES game was $50 in 1990.  Accounting for inflation, $60 games today should actually cost almost $100.  yeah, there are more gamers now, but the studios are a lot bigger and ongoing expenses are larger.  Studios are looking for more profit (cuz capitalism duh) but they also need more profit to break even too.  

 

The "games as a service" that microtransactions provide give us cheaper (relative) starting costs for games, more updates over a longer time frame and done right (from a business perspective) makes the companies more money.   I don't care about microtransactions in a vacuum.  I care about how they are implemented.

Micro transactions are also the reason why there is still a competitive halo scene.

[Cursed Lemon]

The "games as a service" that microtransactions provide give us cheaper (relative) starting costs for games, more updates over a longer time frame and done right

 

They also gave us the Halo 5 launch. 

[Mr Grim]

Games are worth less now. Its gotten cheaper and cheaper to make them, especially these days now that pretty much every single game engine that's useful has already been developed. The only reason games are $60 us because the market can handle it. People are by and large ok with paying that amount despite it being inflated.

[RyanW]

Fortnite style battlepass for Infinite please.

[Killmachine]

nah microtransactions suck and thats that LOL

[Jake Teh Nub]

lol

[Killmachine]

i literally feel no sympathy to a billion dollar industry not "recouping costs"

 

Just like return of the jedi never made a profit LOLLLL

[Mhunterjr]

Why are there microtransactions when i already pay 60 dollars plus the additional online fee of xbl to play. Fuck that nonsense

I’m generally not a fan of how micro transactions are typically implemented, but I don’t understand why paying $60 is considered a strong argument for not having to pay for continued service updates.

 

By that same logic, a game that costs $60 but doesn’t get any updates is inherently overpriced.

 

In reality, the market is going to value different games differently, and consumers are going to pay what they believe individual products and services are worth.

 

It really isn’t about recouping costs. It’s about extracting maximum value out of an investment. And if a company believes the path to doing so involves including a revenue stream on top of continued service, then that’s what they’ll do.

 

Games are worth less now. Its gotten cheaper and cheaper to make them, especially these days now that pretty much every single game engine that's useful has already been developed. The only reason games are $60 us because the market can handle it. People are by and large ok with paying that amount despite it being inflated.

Games absolutely haven’t gotten cheaper to make. Where did you get this idea from? For reference Gears of War 1 cost $12 million to make. Gears of War judgement cost $60 million to make. This is all using the same (obviously very mature) Unreal Engine. The reason epic sold the franchise, is because they estimated Gears 4 would cost $100million and struggle to make a profit.

 

Source: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gears-of-war-judgment-cost-60-million-and-made-100/1100-6446746/

 

Without a doubt, MTs are the only reason MS can justify making more Gears games after 4’s performance. As you can see, the potential of MT profits justifies making AAA games in the first place.

[Mow]

Imagine being surprised about micro transactions in 2018

[Basu]

Why are there microtransactions when i already pay 60 dollars plus the additional online fee of xbl to play. Fuck that nonsense

 

XBL is the biggest scam of them all. Why can I play the identical game on PC for free? Why can I not play when their shitty service is down? Shit's fucked.

 

[Teapot]

I'm not a fan of microtransactions as a whole, but when the fortnite style battle pass was explained to me I thought it was pretty cool.  I still didn't purchase it but it was a seasonal pass that allowed you the ability to eventually level up and unlock next seasons battlepass for free. (If I'm wrong someone correct me) They're still making a ton of money off people who have to buy it every single season but for those who are dedicated to the game it seems like its a great investment.

[Mr Grim]

I’m generally not a fan of how micro transactions are typically implemented, but I don’t understand why paying $60 is considered a strong argument for not having to pay for continued service updates.

By that same logic, a game that costs $60 but doesn’t get any updates is inherently overpriced.

In reality, the market is going to value different games differently, and consumers are going to pay what they believe individual products and services are worth.

It really isn’t about recouping costs. It’s about extracting maximum value out of an investment. And if a company believes the path to doing so involves including a revenue stream on top of continued service, then that’s what they’ll do.Games absolutely haven’t gotten cheaper to make. Where did you get this idea from? For reference Gears of War 1 cost $12 million to make. Gears of War judgement cost $60 million to make. This is all using the same (obviously very mature) Unreal Engine. The reason epic sold the franchise, is because they estimated Gears 4 would cost $100million and struggle to make a profit.

Source: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/gears-of-war-judgment-cost-60-million-and-made-100/1100-6446746/

Without a doubt, MTs are the only reason MS can justify making more Gears games after 4’s performance. As you can see, the potential of MT profits justifies making AAA games in the first place.

...aah fuck you're right. I had it wrong. It's not game development it's game manufacturing that's brought the price down. Like $50 in 1990 was $87. Now it's $60. Or it should be even less but the market has settled at $60.

 

So I had it backwards.

[Mr Grim]

i literally feel no sympathy to a billion dollar industry not "recouping costs"

Just like return of the jedi never made a profit LOLLLL

even so I have zero doubt that they do recoup the losses without MTs

[Killmachine]

imagine somehow confusing being surprised with being disappointed

[Mhunterjr]

...aah fuck you're right. I had it wrong. It's not game development it's game manufacturing that's brought the price down. Like $50 in 1990 was $87. Now it's $60. Or it should be even less but the market has settled at $60.

 

So I had it backwards.

I gotcha! The cost of distribution has gone down tremendously. DVDs are much cheaper to produce than cartridges and now with ~40% of games being sold digitally, distribution costs are even lower.

 

But these savings are offset by rising dev costs. DLC and MT is a large reason why MSRP hasn’t crept up above $60 despite dev costs rising astronomically.

[Mow]

imagine somehow confusing being surprised with being disappointed

 

It's as if disappointment comes from expectations.

[Cursed Lemon]

It's all comedy to me. 

[Knighty Knight]

It's all comedy to me. 

 

[Pyroteq]

Games absolutely haven’t gotten cheaper to make. Where did you get this idea from? For reference Gears of War 1 cost $12 million to make. Gears of War judgement cost $60 million to make. This is all using the same (obviously very mature) Unreal Engine. The reason epic sold the franchise, is because they estimated Gears 4 would cost $100million and struggle to make a profit.

 

Oh bullshit. $100M? Yeah... $20M for game dev and $80M for advertising don't you mean?

 

Games have gotten more complex and require bigger teams now, but the amount of sales has gone up like 20x. Also, perhaps if they concentrated on making GOOD GAMES instead of trying to simulate hair physics and hiring big budget actors it wouldn't cost so much?

 

There is NOTHING CEO's can't stand more than people "owning" something. It keeps them up at night. They toss and turn in their beds and have nightmares about people going to a store, paying money for an item and then keeping it forever.

 

The reasons you should DETEST micro-transactions so heavily is that it represents the direction we're headed.

 

Imagine a world where you don't buy a PC or a console any more. Instead you just buy a device similar to a Chromecast or Steam Link. You then rent a game and you get access to it, but the game is never installed on your device. Instead, the game is all rendered in "the cloud" and then the display is sent to you.

 

Sounds like fiction? You better fucking believe that this is the direction companies like EA are trying to push us towards.

 

You'll no longer keep a game you buy. Break the vague ToS? Lose all access to your games. Modding? Hahaha, you're dreaming.

 

Normies are going to swallow this garbage hook, line and sinker. They're gonna say "OMG, I can play Madden for only $5 a month and I don't have to spend $500 on a console!!!"

 

The video game industry is looking at Spotify, Netflix, etc, and licking their lips. Hell, even the car industry dreams of making auto driving cars that you rent instead of owning.

[Mr Grim]

I hate microtransactions because it's always a fucking domino effect of "how much more intrusive and shitty can we make it"

 

The practice as a whole needs to die to ensure gamers are getting a fair shake. That means axing even the least offensive types of MTs like cosmetics that cost like a cent.

 

Plus they're gay as fuck.

[Mhunterjr]

Oh bullshit. $100M? Yeah... $20M for game dev and $80M for advertising don't you mean?

 

Games have gotten more complex and require bigger teams now, but the amount of sales has gone up like 20x. Also, perhaps if they concentrated on making GOOD GAMES instead of trying to simulate hair physics and hiring big budget actors it wouldn't cost so much?

 

There is NOTHING CEO's can't stand more than people "owning" something. It keeps them up at night. They toss and turn in their beds and have nightmares about people going to a store, paying money for an item and then keeping it forever.

 

The reasons you should DETEST micro-transactions so heavily is that it represents the direction we're headed.

 

Imagine a world where you don't buy a PC or a console any more. Instead you just buy a device similar to a Chromecast or Steam Link. You then rent a game and you get access to it, but the game is never installed on your device. Instead, the game is all rendered in "the cloud" and then the display is sent to you.

 

Sounds like fiction? You better fucking believe that this is the direction companies like EA are trying to push us towards.

 

You'll no longer keep a game you buy. Break the vague ToS? Lose all access to your games. Modding? Hahaha, you're dreaming.

 

Normies are going to swallow this garbage hook, line and sinker. They're gonna say "OMG, I can play Madden for only $5 a month and I don't have to spend $500 on a console!!!"

 

The video game industry is looking at Spotify, Netflix, etc, and licking their lips. Hell, even the car industry dreams of making auto driving cars that you rent instead of owning.

This is one hyperbolic and misinformed post. Lol.

 

1) marketing is a legitt cost

2) you admit team size has gone up, but undersell the increase in labor cost. AAA studios of today dwarf those of a decade ago

3) CEOs care less about killing ownership and more about volume of exposure, returning customers, eliminating middlemen.

 

Madden is like the worst possible example for you to use because there’s little value in owning a 5 year old copy of the game - especially if your a guy who upgrades every year anyway. You can pay $60 a year and own madden. Or you can play $60 a year, and have unlimited access to the last 4 years of madden + every other EA game that came out in that span.

 

At the end of the day, regardless of the consumers preferred model, there’s an option available. Sometimes ownership isn’t the best option for someone- it’s no different than in any other aspect of life (entertainment, living arrangement, transportation, etc). But none of this really has much to do with MTs.

[HeX Reapers]

If it doesn't impact gameplay i really couldn't care less. However, it would be nice to be able to obtain the items in question or the currency they're bought with through in-game play. But if we're talking cosmetics in Halo I'd like a good handful of items to be locked behind some challenge completion/achievement. Both options give me things to do and a reason to keep playing.

[Pyroteq]

This is one hyperbolic and misinformed post. Lol.

 

1) marketing is a development cost

2) you admit team size has gone up, but undersell the increase in labor cost. AAA studios of today dwarf those of a decade ago

3) CEOs care less about killing ownership and more about volume of exposure, returning customers, eliminating middlemen.

 

Madden is like the worst possible example for you to use because there’s little value in owning a 5 year old copy of the game - especially if your a guy who upgrades every year anyway. You can pay $60 a year and own madden. Or you can play $60 a year, and have unlimited access to the last 4 years of madden + every other EA game that came out in that span.

 

At the end of the day, regardless of the consumers preferred model, there’s an option available. Sometimes ownership isn’t the best option for someone- it’s no different than in any other aspect of life (entertainment, living arrangement, transportation, etc). But none of this really has much to do with MTs.

 

Hyperbolic?

 

Uh, you might wanna recheck that statement:

 

https://variety.com/2018/gaming/news/ea-cloud-gaming-1202838940/

 

You think once publishers realise they can make you a recurring customer for life they're going to let you BUY games?

 

Also, I undersell the increase in labor cost?

 

Mate, WTF are you smoking?

 

https://www.pcgamesn.com/activision-blizzard-profits-2017

 

https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/ATVI/activision-blizzard/stock-price-history

 

https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/EA/electronic-arts/stock-price-history

 

The games industry is freakin' soaring. They could remove microtransactions from every single game today and STILL turn a profit.

 

Edit: Also here's a market:dev budget ratio. 3-4x money spent on marketing than dev costs.

 

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/96227-How-Much-Did-Modern-Warfare-2-Cost-to-Make

 

Meanwhile, PUBG just pays a few big streamers a few K each. Turns out if you make a fun game you don't need to spend the yearly GDP of African nations for people to buy your game.

[cQrPsE]

I hope Halo Infinte doesnt have sprint, boost, perks or any of that other BS. Just please be a Halo and not some shitty Quake hybrid.