How do video games make any money at all?

[G.Silver]

I am dissatisfied in general, but I recognize that they have value for other people and can't really begrudge them that. The dollar value is really beside the point, I have bought games and then never played them, so obviously I'm not worried about wasting money.

[ShinjukuNeedlemouse]

I am dissatisfied in general, but I recognize that they have value for other people and can't really begrudge them that. The dollar value is really beside the point, I have bought games and then never played them, so obviously I'm not worried about wasting money.

You're kind of like me in that regard, I buy a pile of games (either ones I specifically sought out like Rez or just games that have anime on the cover) and then I proceed to not play them for a while, my job is full-time so I can't exactly devote enough time to them (thats why I can only get into like one RPG at a time like Rogue Galaxy).

In general, I don't think that I got my money's value for the games I get, but I think it's because I didn't do enough research into what I buy, not some global gaming conspiracy.

[gr4yJ4Y]

I buy a pile of games (either ones I specifically sought out like Rez or just games that have anime on the cover).

I don't understand why people buy a game just because there's anime on the cover. I know a guy who honestly thinks the quality of the game goes up if there's generic anime characters on the cover. He acts like it puts it into a different genre ("That looked like a pretty good anime strategy game."). I guess it's like when kids think that style is the ultimate art form or something.

Which reminds me that I'm working at Youmacon next weekend. I don't suppose anyone here is going, huh?

[Crowbar]

Thinking about this I've realised that I'm very different about games than I am about music or manga.

I've pretty much never bought a game I didn't really want (the exception being Scaler, which I got at Cex for £2 because the character on the box looked appealing). As such, I think the only games I've ever bought that I really hated was Sonic Chronicles (New Super Mario Bros could contest for this honour, too). I was also given Starfox Adventures for christmas and found it so unplayable that I resold it within weeks.

I'll buy music or manga on a random whim without even previewing it, though (yes, buy music, I only pirate stuff that I can't buy). I've actually discovered a few artists and series I've really come to like thanks to this tendency (Boards of Canada, Amon Tobin, Plaid; Keroro Gunsou).

Obviously, the reason is that games are more expensive so I'm far less inclined to spend money on them if I'm not certain I'll get its worth. I'm quite surprised to see that some people actually do.

[G.Silver]

Another difference I noticed about video games and other media recently! I guess they've been doing this for a while now but I only just saw some of the GameFly ads with the "don't get stuck with a bad game again" ads, particularly the one where it just shows the "effects of bad games" on people. Somehow I don't think a movie rental place would ever have an ad like that, or what about "Don't buy a bad book ever again... visit your public library!" I guess having not actually rented a game in years I have some bias, but I find these commercials kind of offensive and they suggest (to me) that they are also saying that you shouldn't even be buying video games at all, which, although practical, seems kind of slimy.

[gr4yJ4Y]

Well, if they're trying to get you to rent games of course they're only going to focus on the pros and none of the cons that come with it.

[G.Silver]

I kind of lost focus there. What I meant to say is could any other media be depicted by people howling in agony, crying, or throwing their TV out the window, because they watched a bad movie or read a bad book?

[Crowbar]

Gamers are obsessive, angry people.

[Neo]

I kind of lost focus there. What I meant to say is could any other media be depicted by people howling in agony, crying, or throwing their TV out the window, because they watched a bad movie or read a bad book?

No, because usually both of them combined don't add up to the price of a video game.

[Shadow Hog]

Although I dunno, there do seem to be people who get pretty riled up over an awful movie.

But really, one thing a bad movie has over a bad game... there's no element of interaction. Sure, you still have to endure awful dialog, storylines, characters, camera shots, special effects etc., but it's relatively straightforward - the same awful things will happen on the screen, at the same pace it always has, no matter what you do, so ultimately it's not any fault of yours. With a video game, it then tasks YOU with doing whatever it is the plot demands of you, and then you have all of the above, with the added bonus of awful gameplay mechanics rearing their ugly head. Suddenly, you'll find you're unable to complete that which you set out to do, which frustrates you to no end. You can't save the princess, the world, or whatever. I mean, what'd you set out to do with the awful movie? Watch it? Well, that's easy enough, if a bit painful. It is not inherently difficult to finish a movie. Video games, meanwhile, frequently retain an element of challenge, even in the awful ones, so the bad game is actively preventing you from finishing it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that, even with a god-awful book or movie, you can still watch/read it all the way. Almost nothing is preventing you from doing so. With a video game, thanks to the element of interaction generally forcing a "losing" condition to exist, you have game overs to worry about, which set you back a bit (or worse, force you to start all over), and the bad gameplay mechanics can force it so that you'll NEVER be able to finish it. Add in the fact that the bad movie or book don't cost anywhere near as much as the bad game, and then it all boils down to this: who's wasted their money more? The person who bought the bad book/film can finish it and be on with their lives. The person who bought the bad game cannot finish it (because it's that bad), and spent significantly more money - the only way to move on with their lives is to stop playing it, and consider that money to have been a significant waste. Finally toss in the fact that it'd be near impossible to recoup all that wasted money, and there you go: angry video game nerds players.

[Protodude]

^Don't forget game over screens and the like, with some even being as bad as to taunt you for your the game's failures, or having to hear the same message or see the same cutscene over and over again.

[P.P.A.]

I'm currently reading the Wallenstein trilogy.
Dramas > games
Schiller > Miyamoto

[Blount]

^Don't forget game over screens and the like, with some even being as bad as to taunt you for your the game's failures, or having to hear the same message or see the same cutscene over and over again.

YOU ARE DEAD! DEAD! DEAD!

[friend2chaos]

I buy a pile of games (either ones I specifically sought out like Rez or just games that have anime on the cover).

I don't understand why people buy a game just because there's anime on the cover.

Higher online resell value.