MWEB GameZone writer, James Wernich writes about whether age restrictions are relevant today when the youth are already so exposed to violence and sex in games and movies.
Microsoft just posted the third quarter of its 2024 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $61.9 billion in revenue and a net income of $21.9 billion during Q3. Revenue is up 17 percent, and net income has increased by 20 percent.
Xbox content + services up 62% while hardware down 31%... seems about right with the way they tout you don't need the hardware to play. People can play on their phones or smart tv or other means. I don't hardly play on my consoles directly since getting devices like the logitech g-cloud and ps portal. Which is to also say I have been playing more digital than physical because of these devices.
Too expensive hardware when others offer the same or more for less? Good work, Green Team.
"Despite some early successes for Xbox games on rival platforms, Xbox hardware is down by a massive 31 percent this quarter."
"Without Activision Blizzard, Microsoft’s overall gaming revenue would have actually declined this quarter."
"Xbox content and services would have only been up a single percent without Activision Blizzard..."
"It looks like next quarter is going to be a similar story for gaming at Microsoft, too."
That is crazy... so A/B/K is carrying the whole Xbox gaming.
Oh and Microsoft will be fine. Windows, Office and Cloud are growing with each pc purchase.
As of right now, there are no monopolies in the games industry, and for the sake of the medium as a whole, they never should either.
And yet the biggest tech companies in America are essentially that. They buy up all the small comps only to kill them off and steal what they have, and if they can't buy em they bleed them to death.
They buy IPs not talent. That's why these buyouts never work and the IPs die. Right now it's too expensive to develop games - but I expect that to shift maybe as AI tools can make it easier. The best games have been indie games for awhile as big developers fuck their ips to death with "games as a service" -
INDIE Live Expo, Japan’s premiere online digital showcase series , will debut never-before-seen games & content updates across more than 100 titles on May 25th.
Age restrictions are not only relevant today, IMHO it is a crucial requirement. For example, mys is doesn't know a thing abt gaming, the ONLY guide she goes on for her fanatic gamer kid, is the parental guidance.
Also just cause we see violence & sex everywhere doesn't mean we now have to throw the baby out with the bathwater and call free season to all explicit material, right.
Agree with this, but I have to say that people ignore age restrictions because they choose not to be informed. Not all parents know enough about what their kids play in order to make accurate assessments on this. I've seen my little nephews playing God of War and getting excessively aggressive (perhaps more because they're boys) but also calming down after not playing it. So it's a tough one to call.
nah sorry, I am ALL for adult content in games, but being a father, i also think that those restrictions on CERTAIN games are there for a VERY valid reason. Granted on some titles the lines get blurry but lets not just chuck the baby out with the bathwater mkay
Age restriction is one thing, having it contextualized by a parent or other suitable guardian is crucial. Not only that, it makes it more of a bonding experience between parent and child. Extra Credits over at Penny Arcade TV did a great piece on this a couple of weeks back, and i would really encourage people to watch it, as it does give some great tips on how to make this a fun and enjoyable experience, regardless of the content of the game itself.
Linky to the extra credits episode - http://youtu.be/ddZfCMRx47Q
Age restrictions are informative, if not vital. Even putting aside the whole parental angle, being able to get a general idea of what type of content is in a game is very useful for any purchaser. There are adult gamers who also aren't interested in violence, sex, whatever.