I'm sure the ability to download AAA titles helped this time.
US video game sales have record quarter as consumers stay at home
291–300 of 307 posts
Re: US video game sales have record quarter as consumers stay at home
#292Half-OT: Currently I'm playing Stardew Valley on my FireHD10, I never played a mobile port that had THAT good controls. I also got Terraria and Minecraft and they are pretty bad to play with awkward on-screen controls. Does anyone here know of games that have good mobile ports? Or even good mobile games to start with? Most "native" mobile games just were really basic, full of in-app purchases etc. so I was looking mo…
Morrowind runs really well on my modest android phone, with openmw,
It even support mods,
Re: US video game sales have record quarter as consumers stay at home
#293Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 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
Can you elaborate how the themes in this game map onto themes in Brothers Karamazov? I tried doing that myself, based on plot synopsis in Wikipedia, but was not able to.
Not to mention that just equivalence of narrative content does not mean anything in terms of work of art's quality - i.e. one could write the most wretched version of Brothers Karamazov, with technically the same content, but just no substance... The true value of work of art reveals itself in how deep it is - i.e. how much it can deliver to its reader (in terms of richness of characters, jumping points for philosophical thought etc.). BK were studied for over a century now, with countless articles and PhD theses from different angles written about it - a true testament to its richness. One can wonder how deeply "Nier Automata" will be studied.
Re: US video game sales have record quarter as consumers stay at home
#294Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apologies - I linked the wrong article, take a look at this survey[0] where laid-off game devs can submit their work after being laid off for COVID-related reasons [0] https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/1/d/1LiVnFpmDK29UV9xj...
Maybe companies are using COVID as an excuse for layoffs, or it could be that advertising revenue is down for low end mobile games. But it doesn't really make sense for an industry that is seeing increased revenue to have a downturn. I'd also be skeptical of that survey, there are a lot of people with game side projects that will do just about anything for exposure.
Layoffs often happen once a game is shipped. Maybe they are getting that one game they were working on before the pandemic shipped, then laying a bunch of people off and rethinking their game plan.
Anecdata: I personally have been laid off from 3 different game studios, each time it was just after one of the games I was working on had shipped. I finally decided my dream industry was a little too dysfunctional to stay in it, and left it after the third time. I only make video games in my spare time, now.
Although I've worked for a few enterprise organizations since then, and so far I've seen nothing but dysfunction in them, too, so maybe it's just endemic all over. Like at my current company, which managed to drop from its all-time-high stock price a whopping 93% over the past year and a half, for many good reasons. But at least I get paid more.
This article also discusses the tendency, and how infuriating it can be: https://kotaku.com/why-game-developers-keep-getting-laid-off...
Re: US video game sales have record quarter as consumers stay at home
#295Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think your source for the "game dev side" is odd-it's from 2009, a recession with markedly different characteristics than this one-and says nothing about the claim you've made about people losing jobs right now. Usually video game sales track the market, this time they're not doing that, which makes this more interesting. Do you have any links indicating that game developers have been losing jobs at an absurd pace?…
Apologies - I linked the wrong article, take a look at this survey[0] where laid-off game devs can submit their work after being laid off for COVID-related reasons [0] https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/1/d/1LiVnFpmDK29UV9xj...
That's a much larger list than I expected. Wow. Over 1400 names (with details) on there when I checked, all seem to have happened this year.
Re: US video game sales have record quarter as consumers stay at home
#296Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
I find that it feels just as challenging (and satisfying) at my current ascension of 18 as it felt when I struggled to complete a run pre-ascension. Which is a remarkable achievement in game design.
I do wonder if me getting bored with it will occur at Ascension 20, Ascension 20 with Heart, or sooner.
Re: US video game sales have record quarter as consumers stay at home
#297I'm not a gamer, but I want to play something to maintain connection with family and distant friends. What should I play? I was once given a copy of Civilization and after playing it for a day, decided it was too much work and I already lose to many things IRL no need to add the Assyrians to my vanquishers as well. I also played Zelda, by "play" I meant wander around the landscape looking for goodies and trying to ch…
Animal Crossing might be up your alley, there's no real goals in the game, you can decorate your house and island, garden, befriend fellow villagers, craft new furniture, catch fish and bugs, and change your clothes and that's basically the entire gameplay. You can visit islands of your family and friends to swap items, shop in each other's stores, and share special events/visitors that happen in one person's island…
Can you visit same console friends/family islands or does this have to be online?
Re: US video game sales have record quarter as consumers stay at home
#298Earlier quoted context omitted.
That doesn't have to make you a simpleton. Some of the most complex hardcore games take years to master. Like EU4. I've been playing it for many years, and I'm still learning new things. I tend to stick with games for a long time.
> Like EU4. I've been playing it for many years, and I'm still learning new things. I just learned that cavalry sucks. I probably have 1000 hours in EU4. Though Paradox needs to patch it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-62B7GiwDw
Paradox is constantly patching it. I believe a new patch is about be out right around now, adding tons of new missions to minor nations.
Steam claims I've got 3000 hours in the game (I think much of that was paused while I was doing something else), and I'm just doing my first complete iron man game. Possibly the first time I ever got past 1700, or at least the first time in a very long time.
Re: US video game sales have record quarter as consumers stay at home
#299Earlier quoted context omitted.
Doesn't that require two machines and two screens? "Couch co-op" is for games that can be played with two or more people looking at the same screen, probably while sitting on the same couch.
The PC version initially appears to be LAN-only, but you can play split-screen using a console command.
It's a little finicky but it works OK. Nothing that detracts from the experience once things are set up.
The biggest issue is that only one XInput controller can work at a time, so you have to use something like JoyToKey to utilize a second controller unless one of you is okay with mouse and keyboard. Happy to save someone the headache if they need a JTK configuration.
Re: US video game sales have record quarter as consumers stay at home
#300I 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.
WoW is hardcore and people still playing it of course. I would think simpletons can't retain attention that long.