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US video game sales have record quarter as consumers stay at home

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Re: US video game sales have record quarter as consumers stay at home

#41

Post by brenden2 »

daxorid wrote: post #17
brenden2 wrote: post #11

FWIW I have been spending a lot of time playing games because, well, there's not much else to do.

Gardening, home improvements, personal or side development projects, exercise, online courses, playing music, etc. There are plenty of activities to do that moves one's life forward, rather than the utter stagnation that is television and video games. edit: To be clear, leisure activities definitely have their place. But to loosely paraphrase JC, while playing games is fine, it's much better to make them.

Video games are pretty fun though. They are quite mentally stimulating, and you can play with friends.

I take multiple walks every day (I have a dog), but I also live in a 500 sqft rental apartment in Manhattan which limits the kind of activities I can engage in.

Re: US video game sales have record quarter as consumers stay at home

#42

Post by zlsa »

city41 wrote: post #33
Grimm1 wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Off by a factor of 10, looks like it was 500k but still, I think that is a function of VR headset ownership which is only at like 2% of the market or something. Adjusted for the market it was likely pretty big. I grant that within the wider videogame market it is not nearly as relevant though.

Although I’d argue the real goal of Alyx was to entice more people to take the VR plunge. That’s bad luck with the pandemic, as I’m sure the $1k price tag (more if you need a better computer too) is hard to do for many in this climate.

You don't need the Valve Index to play Half-Life Alyx. Windows Mixed Reality VR headsets can be had for under $300.

Re: US video game sales have record quarter as consumers stay at home

#43

Post by karatestomp »

xwdv wrote: post #13
duxup wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Half Life Alyx Big name, but random googling says Half Life Alyx sold 50k vs.... Animal Crossing at 11 million+ by March 31. I'm not sure Half Life Alyx has any relevance as far as volume of play goes ;)

As a percentage of users on its platform it’s huge.

That's the norm on a niche, expensive, enthusiast-dominated gaming platform though, right? Release anything even half-decent (not saying Alyx isn't better than that, mind) and almost everyone buys it, because they must really want to play games on it if they've got the platform, and there's relatively little high-quality content tailored for it (so far).

Re: US video game sales have record quarter as consumers stay at home

#45

Post by karatestomp »

backtracking wrote: post #19
ArtWomb wrote: post #3

I'd argue it's not just lockdown. This has been an epic release year: Animal Crossing, Half Life Alyx, Doom Eternal, Gears Tactics, Valorent, Sea of Thieves. And on and on. Paper Mario: Origami King trailer looks like so much fun there is no reason to leave the house this summer ;)

Isn't Sea of Theives a two year old game?

Poster must be a PC gamer who doesn't use the Microsoft store (like most PC users who'd identify as gamers, probably?). It hit Steam this year, was on XBone and MS Store in 2018.

Personally, I'd forgotten there was a MS store until I looked this up just now.

Re: US video game sales have record quarter as consumers stay at home

#46

Post by Trasmatta »

wayneftw wrote: post #36

I think I must be a simpleton compared to many people. I am able to play the same video game for years and years before getting bored with it. Currently that game is Rocket League. Before that, it was Skate, Skate 2 and Skate 3 and before that...World of Warcraft.

I could be wrong, but I feel like there are more people like you that play a lower number of games for years than people like me, that play most big releases as they come out. It's a big reason why games are moving to the "live service" model, where they continually release updates for released games. Many people find a game or two they like and stick with them for years, so companies are trying to find the best way to monetize those types of players.

Re: US video game sales have record quarter as consumers stay at home

#47

Post by Grimm1 »

burntoutfire wrote: post #37
Grimm1 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your thinking is so antiquated name me a good novel and I'll give a video game that matches it in narrative content. And playing music and gardening? Please.

> our thinking is so antiquated name me a good novel and I'll give a video game that matches it in narrative content. "Brothers Karamazow"?

Nier Automata

Re: US video game sales have record quarter as consumers stay at home

#48

Post by paulryanrogers »

wayneftw wrote: post #36

I think I must be a simpleton compared to many people. I am able to play the same video game for years and years before getting bored with it. Currently that game is Rocket League. Before that, it was Skate, Skate 2 and Skate 3 and before that...World of Warcraft.

On the other end I sometimes just enjoy the shopping, buying, collecting games. Even just collecting digital games on sale can be entertaining in its own way.

As I age and my family grows it's becoming obvious I'll never complete many of them. But that's OK too.

Re: US video game sales have record quarter as consumers stay at home

#49

Post by toyg »

wayneftw wrote: post #36

I think I must be a simpleton compared to many people. I am able to play the same video game for years and years before getting bored with it. Currently that game is Rocket League. Before that, it was Skate, Skate 2 and Skate 3 and before that...World of Warcraft.

I just slept 5 hours because of Civilization V, so you're not alone. But yeah, lots of people go through tons of games very quickly. Some buy stuff they will end up not even playing, like it happens with books.

Re: US video game sales have record quarter as consumers stay at home

#50

Post by C1sc0cat »

ssully wrote: post #40
daxorid wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gardening, home improvements, personal or side development projects, exercise, online courses, playing music, etc. There are plenty of activities to do that moves one's life forward, rather than the utter stagnation that is television and video games. edit: To be clear, leisure activities definitely have their place. But to loosely paraphrase JC, while playing games is fine, it's much better to make them.

I have a group of four friends and we have a video game night twice a week. Outside of my wife, it's probably the only social contact I have now that feels "normal".

Like wise for Roleplaying (TTRPG) - for my groups its a way to keep in touch and have human contact.

I have three game sessions for the upcoming week and we are supposed to be starting Startrek at half term.

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