Fortune's Jeffrey M. O'Brien explains how Nintendo's new game machine won over the world - and beat the pants off Sony and Microsoft.
"While game consoles typically attract youngish males with an antisocial streak, the Wii is bringing people of all demographics together: in nursing homes, for Wii bowling leagues, on cruise ships, at coed (!) Wii-themed parties and, of course, in lines - as hordes of consumers clamor to buy the impossible-to-find $250 machine. Nintendo is churning out over a million units a month and still can't meet demand."
With so many games fighting for players' attention and interest losing out over time, time sink games are at risk of eventually losing steam.
It was worrisome to begin with.
It's a niche genre with only a handful of hits that can stand the test of time.
Only a few will catch on. You need a perfect storm to be successful in GaaS and a bit of luck on top of that. But a potential cash cow will keep them trying and some will go out of business because of it.
Helldivers 2 manages just fine…
Keep production costs low… don’t just make custscenes until the mechanics and enemies are perfected first.
Make so much content that you can drip extra content for years, and the game already feels complete without them.
Most importantly: make weapons, enemies, levels, and mechanics that will stand the test of 1000 hours. This might require more devs embracing procedurally generated leveled, which I think separates Helldivers 2 from Destiny’s repetitiveness.
Nameer from eXputer: "Some exceptions aside, I don't think the battle pass is a net positive for gaming with how they're implemented in most live service titles."
I like the way Helldivers 2 does battle passes. It allows you to make purchases on each level of the battle pass and gives you the option of choosing which item to unlock first. The more purchases you make using medals the further you progress. There is no timer and you can earn medals towards purchasing stuff via personal orders and Major orders.
I haven't played much live service games that have battle passes but I remember some games that have battle passes where you progress through it linearly using an exp system. What makes it really bad is that the battle pass will have like 50 or more levels with the cooler stuff being closer to the end. They also have an in-game shop that sells exp boosters so you can reach the end of the pass before it refreshes. Everyone ilse will have to grind their way through.
battle pass in fortnite is perfect; buy one and it buys the rest for every other season as it gives you more money than the first cost. so 8.50 and season ends with you getting 13.00, it pays for the next and you have some pocket change to save up for cash shop. All of which is optional
Sony is taking actions as video by Moore’s Law is Dead, has been issued with a copyright claim.
And people say it's all fake because Sony haven't said anything 😂 conveniently forget the PS4 Pro was only announced 2 months before release.
Just announce it already! I want to preorder one asap. But in reality they don’t want to lessen PS5 sales until Pro is ready to launch so I understand the business part of it. September is probably when they announce it with an early November launch like the PS4 Pro
I would take that video and upload a torrent of it, fuck that copyright bullshit. If your going to do something that has a chance of being taken down, make a torrent first share it. Then Sony or any other company is helpless and you can laugh in their faces, taunting them to try to take it down 🤣
As much as the PS4 Pro didn't represent a major % in the playerbase, announcing a 'better' model will hinder sales from the 'base' model. They are right, business-wise.
I'm sick of hearing about the wii, where do these people live in a remote island, I can go to any store and find the wii. I think is stupid fanboys editors that keep hyping the system more that what it really is a last gen system
Let's face it, they got some big hits with Wii Sports and Wii Play, but how long are they going to be able to keep the "casual gamer" locked in?
Hardcore gamers are the ones that will jump on the latest game title, generate the most sales per user, and basically be the bread and butter keeping the money flowing in to the companies putting out the games that appeal to the hardcore gamer crowd...
The casual gamer crowd is a bit more fickle... They aren't as likely to keep buying games for it (especially when you historically get a boatload of crappy games on Nintendo's systems), and they're not the type that will lookup reviews on games before they buy. How many times of buying an absolute craptastic games for $50 a pop will it take to turn off the casual gamer from the Wii?
I've always complained about Nintendo holding back technology. The last truly advanced system they put out was the N64 (a SGI Indigo workstation, sans hard disk and optical drive, in a funny looking casing). They may have hit it off big at first, but how long is this crazy momentum going to carry on without AAA titles?
"While game consoles typically attract youngish males with an antisocial streak............"
Fvck you asshole, we gamers all have our social lives. I't not like we play games all day long. And videogames became mainstream in early 2000s, it's not like Nintendo opened a whole new area. The gamescene began in the 70s and actually got mainstream in the 90s, but the real big mainstream is in 2000s. What a monkeyfvck this guy is.
Pricey is no concern, Fun~Factor a Perfect 10! Togetherness is better than alone!
Don't you have to out sell your competitors before you can be crown king? Wii may be selling well but there games are not. The wii has a 2 to 1 attach rate and the xbox has a 6 to 1, so who's doing better, I would go with the one selling the most games as that would make me as a developer want to makes games for a system that sells games. The wii can sell 50 million units and still end up losing if the only games people play on it are wii sports and wii play. So to the morons out there defending nintendo for offering you a gamecube with a gadget and overcharging you for it, buy a real next gen system.