BY NATHAN HAZELWOOD: Gameplay versus graphics. Obviously, it is subjective to each individual. Top of the line graphics are aesthetically pleasing. The visual input can help us feel like we’re really there, swinging that sword, or shooting that gun. They help us feel like that blood smear over there is really real. Are they more important than solid gameplay, though? It’s something that’s went around and around in my head for years as we’ve watched video games get crisper, cleaner, more realistic graphics.
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.
graphics are important in helping to tell your story and setting the atmosphere. But gameplay will always be paramount.
Gameplay is always the most important, it's the reason Nintendo has the highest rated exclusives.
There’s a reason video games have come so far & so strong.
There’s a reason video games have such a lasting & potentially addicting effect.
There’s a reason one can play a game over & over & over again without feeling a hint of boredom or loss of intellect.
In the land of games, Gameplay is king.
A game with great gameplay & ok graphics will always trump a game with ok gameplay & great graphics.
(imo)
I want to make the other side of this argument! I say graphics are just as important as gameplay, here's why...
1. When a game is revealed for the first time, it's the graphics that catch your eye first. If you only look at the game for a moment to check out the gameplay, it's the graphics that pulled you there. Publishers know this, tis why cut scenes and trailers are made to look their best.
2. When new hardware launches, it's about the graphics up front and everything else 2nd. First info leaked or announced is usually how powerful the hardware is, what rez it can output, it's fps ect.
3. It's why Nintendo has struggled with 3rd party support over the last decade and a half. The games that are in highest demand, the multi million sellers, all push graphics that Nintendo's hardware just can't run. To skip a platform of potential customers because you, as a developer, chose graphic fidelity says it all.
4. Graphics, not gameplay, is what sells other tech. 4k tvs, $1200-3000 graphics cards, $2000 27inch gaming monitors, hdr, and gsync are all tech that exist because of the importance of graphics.
5. Motion controls and Kinect were brought to you by gameplay!LOL