On Monday, September 12, 2022 at 5:34:50 PM UTC-7, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> On Mon, 12 Sep 2022 08:55:07 +0100, JAB <no...@nochance.com> wrote:
> >On 11/09/2022 03:02, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>
> >> It's odd; Ubisoft design philosophy seems to promote the idea of not
> >> buying all their games, and instead playing only two or three. It
> >> doesn't seem the best way of running a business, but hey, what do I
> >> know: I'm not a C-level exec in a triple-A game publisher ?
> >As I've probably said before besides all the other problems associated
> >with triple-A publishers, they lack innovation in what they do. I
> >stopped playing the FC series after number 3 (even that I didn't get far
> >in as I spent most of my time thinking I'm playing a character I found
> >so annoying that I cheered when I died). I have seen some bits and
> >pieces about the later instalments but as far as I can tell the core
> >game play is basically the same. That just doesn't work for me. Story
> >driven games I feel are more workable as the story is the game but not
> >for action orientated titles.
> As a side note, Ubisoft says it's commited to $70 USD being the
> standard price for all its new games going forward.
> https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/ubisoft-says-70-price-tag-will-now-be-the-norm-for-its-big-aaa-games/
>
> Which, I mean... look, it's not something I'm a fan of, but prices of
> everything have been going up year after year while games have more or
> less stayed in the same place. So I get it; you gotta pay the
> developers. And were everything else the same, I might even -
> grudgingly - be able to get behind the increase.
>
> But on the other hand, it seems like a willful blindness to how much
> the industry has changed. Between the rise of the Indies, and how
> people buy games through digital storefronts (e.g., wait until its on
> sale, or getting it as part of a subscription package), upping the
> price to a new tier seems particularly unaware.
>
> So, sure, you'll get some cash from the people who gotta buy a game
> day one, but you'll also push more people - many who might otherwise
> have bought it day one - to buy it several months or even years later.
> And since triple-A games are increasingly dependent on MTX, that's
> extra months or years before they get any of of those micro-payments
> from those players. And that doesn't even take into account the gamers
> who see the $70 price tag and bail out of Ubisoft games entirely; afer
> all, it is not as if Ubisoft franchises are renowned for giving
> value-for-the-dollar, especially not when Indie games are becoming
> increasingly competitive.
>
> It just seems penny-wise and pound-foolish. It's short-term thinking
> that makes this quarter's profits look good at the cost of scuttling
> the company down the line.

To be fair, while the gameplay remains essentially the same, having played
a number in the last decade, they do keep piling on more crap to do so
you could play the latest AC or FC much longer... if you like doing the
same thing over and over, which seems to be the case for the majority of
their customers.

I'd be fine paying $70 for the next Fallout (maybe not since it seems like
Fallout's been heading toward less and less content, and less interesting
content.) Or the next Fromsoft Game - both sight unseen, but not an
Ubi-game.

- Justisaur

On 13/09/2022 03:19, Justisaur wrote:
> To be fair, while the gameplay remains essentially the same, having played
> a number in the last decade, they do keep piling on more crap to do so
> you could play the latest AC or FC much longer... if you like doing the
> same thing over and over, which seems to be the case for the majority of
> their customers.
>

That's part of the problem I see, games just seem to have more and more
filler but not additional what I think of as content. Marvellous, you've
turned a 20hr game in to an 80hr one by including 60hrs of walking about!

> I'd be fine paying $70 for the next Fallout (maybe not since it seems like
> Fallout's been heading toward less and less content, and less interesting
> content.) Or the next Fromsoft Game - both sight unseen, but not an
> Ubi-game.

I was very disappointed with FO:4 as what I liked about FO:3/NV was just
exploring the world and finding little stories. FO:4 just didn't seem to
have a lot of that and was instead go there, kill everybody and grab the
loot. It kinda reminded me of the 'generated' dungeons in Oblivion.

Then there was the base-building which I really class as filler.

On Tue, 13 Sep 2022 09:58:53 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

>On 13/09/2022 03:19, Justisaur wrote:
>> To be fair, while the gameplay remains essentially the same, having played
>> a number in the last decade, they do keep piling on more crap to do so
>> you could play the latest AC or FC much longer... if you like doing the
>> same thing over and over, which seems to be the case for the majority of
>> their customers.
>>
>
>That's part of the problem I see, games just seem to have more and more
>filler but not additional what I think of as content. Marvellous, you've
>turned a 20hr game in to an 80hr one by including 60hrs of walking about!

But! But! But!

For the low-low-price of only $15 USD, you can buy a Snarfalator,
which lets you bypass the tedious parts of Minigame-A. And for another
$15 USD, you can get the Oooblonzier, which speeds up travel times.
And for an extra $40 USD, you can unlock all the cosmetics in the game
that would otherwise take you months to gather. Why, if you're willing
to spend just a little bit extra, you can bypass all that annoying
grind and make it so that 80 hour game can be finished in only 20
hours! Isn't that a bargain?

(It's obvious you aren't thinking like a triple-A publisher exec).

>> I'd be fine paying $70 for the next Fallout (maybe not since it seems like
>> Fallout's been heading toward less and less content, and less interesting
>> content.) Or the next Fromsoft Game - both sight unseen, but not an
>> Ubi-game.

I was gonna say how I have finally learned my lesson and never buy
games sight-unseen anymore, that I always wait for reviews and
sales... and then I remember that just a month ago I was hammering the
refresh button on Steam so it would tick over and show the "Montana
DLC" for ATS was finally available and I could buy it on Day One, Hour
One, Minute One.

So I'm not so pure either ;-)