US video game sales have record quarter as consumers stay at home • Hacker News Board

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

#201

Post by logicprog » Fri, May 15, 2020, 6:54 PM UTC

kipchak wrote: post #149

NDizzle wrote: post #134

I hope there is a resurgence of couch co-op games after the lockdown. I have been playing a LOT of games, most of them of just mediocre quality, with my kids. Co-op makes mediocre games fun most of the time. I wish there were more options available for local co-op games. PS: Don't try to play Outward with your novice gamer kids.

Co-Optimus is a good resource for finding couch co-op games. https://www.co-optimus.com/games.php?type=couch Some co-op games ones you might enjoy are Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, Magicka, overcooked, hammerwatch, Trine, Rayman Legends or human fall flat. There's also a really big back catalog of arcade or earlier console emulatable local multiplayer co-op games, many of which have gotten ports like Chronicles of…

I've played Rayman, Lovers, and Overcooked. All a blast. I've also played Fall Flat, but that game is super annoying, I'd avoid it. Also, TowerFall Ascension is amazing as a coop game.

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

#202

Post by bentcorner » Fri, May 15, 2020, 6:54 PM UTC

dv35z wrote: post #179

NDizzle wrote: post #134

I hope there is a resurgence of couch co-op games after the lockdown. I have been playing a LOT of games, most of them of just mediocre quality, with my kids. Co-op makes mediocre games fun most of the time. I wish there were more options available for local co-op games. PS: Don't try to play Outward with your novice gamer kids.

(1) Any suggestions for couples? Like something peaceful and fun, maybe open world? My GF and I played Overcooked 2. She loved it, but honestly I found it way too stressful for me (I felt like I was at work during a Sev1!). I've always played FPS & RTS, and so entire genres of games are just so unfamiliar to me, but I'd love to explore some and see what else fits. Just the other day, we tried Stardew Valley. I never…

> What's the game State of the Art for "a group of friends commanding a space ship"?

I realize this isn't state of the art, but "Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime" is a very approachable take on this concept. Very couch co-op friendly and you aren't 100% reliant on your crew so you can carry the game if you're playing with people who don't usually play videogames.

> Other small group of friends games?

Terraria is a 2d-minecraft-like game that AFAIK also has some RPG-like elements. I haven't played it a ton but it seems more approachable than minecraft.

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

#203

Post by ubermonkey » Fri, May 15, 2020, 6:54 PM UTC

I did my part!

Of course, it was only buying the first Mass Effect, which Microsoft was selling for FIVE DOLLARS, so it's a tiny part. But still!

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

#204

Post by jvm_ » Fri, May 15, 2020, 6:56 PM UTC

My used video game sales went from $X00/2 weeks to $X,000/2 weeks after the lockdown started in my area.

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

#205

Post by bentcorner » Fri, May 15, 2020, 6:57 PM UTC

mgolawala wrote: post #140

zarkov99 wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you recommend for co-op with kids?

Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime. Overcooked. Overcooked 2 Up to 4 player Co-op. Incredibly fun games. Source: I play co-op and versus games with my kids. We've incorporated casual video game play into our family time for the past few years.

"Moving Out" also recently launched that has a similar concept to Overcooked. I've heard it's not as good as OC/OC2 but it might be interesting to try for a change of pace.

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

#206

Post by thatguy0900 » Fri, May 15, 2020, 6:58 PM UTC

NDizzle wrote: post #134

I hope there is a resurgence of couch co-op games after the lockdown. I have been playing a LOT of games, most of them of just mediocre quality, with my kids. Co-op makes mediocre games fun most of the time. I wish there were more options available for local co-op games. PS: Don't try to play Outward with your novice gamer kids.

I've been using https://github.com/lucasassislar/nucleuscoop to play borderlands 2 with my nephew, it's a little finniky but it works well. Can't vouch for any other games it supports

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

#207

Post by bentcorner » Fri, May 15, 2020, 6:59 PM UTC

kosei wrote: post #118

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 ;)

As someone who works in the video games industry, I can guarantee it is the lockdown. Stay at home orders align really closely with significant lifts in new players, increased hours played, and many other core metrics across the industry. And many games have seen significant lifts in their existing live service performance (not just new games).

At least personally part of it is that I also have more hours in the day due to no commute that I can spend on other things, including gaming.

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

#208

Post by Trasmatta » Fri, May 15, 2020, 7:01 PM UTC

IggleSniggle wrote: post #197

Trasmatta wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Yup. Tetris, Civilization, XCOM: UFO Defense, Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, Spelunky, Brogue, CDDA, and now Slay the Spire. There have been a lot of other games, but those are the ones I've really played in my life. Others are pretty much relegated to 6 hours maximum, and that's just for games I really enjoy.

Slay the Spire is so good, nice choice! I'm really bad at it though, it's the first deck building game I've ever really played.

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

#209

Post by lelandbatey » Fri, May 15, 2020, 7:02 PM UTC

dv35z wrote: post #179

NDizzle wrote: post #134

I hope there is a resurgence of couch co-op games after the lockdown. I have been playing a LOT of games, most of them of just mediocre quality, with my kids. Co-op makes mediocre games fun most of the time. I wish there were more options available for local co-op games. PS: Don't try to play Outward with your novice gamer kids.

(1) Any suggestions for couples? Like something peaceful and fun, maybe open world? My GF and I played Overcooked 2. She loved it, but honestly I found it way too stressful for me (I felt like I was at work during a Sev1!). I've always played FPS & RTS, and so entire genres of games are just so unfamiliar to me, but I'd love to explore some and see what else fits. Just the other day, we tried Stardew Valley. I never…

I'll highly recommend Untangled 2. It's a platformer based around two-player couch co-op. I played it on the Nintendo Switch and found that it was cheap (~$5), had excellent platforming mechanics, and very clever puzzles that were very different from any other game without being too hard or frustrating.

It's relaxed, beautiful, tons of fun to play, and exactly the kind of game to play with an inexperienced co-pilot.

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

#210

Post by asdkhadsj » Fri, May 15, 2020, 7:03 PM UTC

Hokusai wrote: post #7

ping_pong wrote: post #4

I've bought several games for the Switch for my kids, including Animal Crossings. I don't understand it, but anything to keep them quiet for an hour (or three). One question I have is, is this revenue rate sustainable or it is an unnatural pump that will die out in a couple of years? Once people can go outside without fear I'm thinking that it won't be a long term investment.

> One question I have is, is this revenue rate sustainable or it is an unnatural pump that will die out in a couple of years? The situation is better than that of toiler paper. One human being consumes the same amount of toiler paper during a pandemic that in other circumstances. So, an increase in purchases now means a decrease of purchases in the future. For video games the increase can be real. During a pandemic,…

> The situation is better than that of toiler paper. One human being consumes the same amount of toiler paper during a pandemic that in other circumstances. So, an increase in purchases now means a decrease of purchases in the future.

Aren't types of toilet paper important too? I would assume the average household is literally going through more toilet paper now than before; since before they were partially using industrial toilet paper at their employers.

The paper employers buy is usually not the same types that consumers buy.

With that said, I don't doubt we were out of toilet paper due to hoarding. Just adding a little asterisk that it's not purely hoarding.