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It costs $110k to fully gear up in Diablo Immortal

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Re: It costs $110k to fully gear up in Diablo Immortal

#661

I think these free to play might be more of just 'pick your own price'. That way they get people that wouldn't pay 60$ for a mobile game and also people that would pay 1000$ for a game. While I personally don't like it, because it feels like I'm getting an unfinished game if I don't spend a lot, I'm sure that there are many that enjoy this model and don't mind it at all. And at the end of the day, these people that s…

I think you are right if the game offers mostly single-player experiences, though the developers of such games often implement dark patterns that set players up for spending more than they rationally would.

As soon as player-vs-player is introduced, f2p players become part of the "experience" for the whale players.

Re: It costs $110k to fully gear up in Diablo Immortal

#662

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you need to reference LoL/Fortnite to make a point, you are not making a point. In fact, there are very few games that have done the f2p walk successfully, sustainably, and all of them pale in comparison to the few extraordinary exceptions.

There are a _ton_ of successful f2p games with reasonable monetization models - Valorant, CSGO, Warzone, Dota, Path of Exile, Lost Ark, Hearthstone, etc. It's just that games in general are a power law industry - I don't think monetization model is really what will prevent a game from being successful. In fact, much of the discourse around Immortal is that the gameplay itself is in fact top notch. Blizzard has the de…

And how do those compare to the cash-grab market revenue? (Actual question). Let's include games like Genshin and FGO.

Re: It costs $110k to fully gear up in Diablo Immortal

#663

Earlier quoted context omitted.

diablo immortal is going to make A LOT more money than elden ring, so your example is not a good one. not even in the same universe.

Everything I've reads says the opposite. Elden Ring has sold at least 13.4 million units so far[1], which is >$800 million in revenue. The only revenue figure I could find for Diablo Immortal is $800k [2]. They're not even in the same ballpark. [1] https://www.polygon.com/23070948/elden-ring-sales-chart-npd-... [2] https://gameworldobserver.com/2022/06/03/diablo-immortal-gen...

Diablo Immortal earned $800k in its first 24 hours.

Re: It costs $110k to fully gear up in Diablo Immortal

#664
What upsets me is that in exchange for that money you’re treated to a low quality game. You can just feel the disdain for the user/victim at every step.

While launching the game for the first time:

1) No sound!

2) Forced subtitles.

3) Visible tearing in the video because of a lack of vsync.

4) Two tracking and notification permission prompts, including one that lies to you: “Your game is better if we can target ads”.

5) Obnoxious tutorial that takes control away from the player. (If an adult spoke like this to me in real life I would slap them for their insolent patronising!)

6) Forced updates.

7) Etc…

At this point I deleted then game because I don’t want to be gamed by a mega corp. I’m not a money bag to be tracked and siphoned.

Re: It costs $110k to fully gear up in Diablo Immortal

#665
post #272
post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It does work though. "Escape from Tarkov" and "It takes two" are just some of the more noteworthy ones. There's tons more on steam. It's just the mobile market that's screwed entirely. Which I find odd, because I'm convinced there are opportunities for games that work especially well on small screens with touchscreen (like Nintendo demonstrated half a decade before mainstream smartphones)

Yes it does work. Elden Ring is another example of a hugely successful product which is solely focused on being an excellent piece of entertainment. It’s just more optimal for Profitability to create addictive garbage like this. Blizzard has chosen to be greedy and predatory rather than trying to create art of entertainment.

Whats Elden Ring got to do with it?

You are comparing a full AAA game for PC and console made for hardcore gamers versus a mobile game with loot boxes designed to attract and exploit kids or people that addicted to this kinda crap and disguise it like a game, pretty much like slot machine do.

Re: It costs $110k to fully gear up in Diablo Immortal

#666
I hope more country follow suit of Belgium and The Netherlands and classify loot boxes with a random drop element as gambling, and as such make it heavily regulated and banned to kids. This kind of practices are evidently predatorial and manipulative and should be greatly discouraged.

Re: It costs $110k to fully gear up in Diablo Immortal

#667
post #663

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everything I've reads says the opposite. Elden Ring has sold at least 13.4 million units so far[1], which is >$800 million in revenue. The only revenue figure I could find for Diablo Immortal is $800k [2]. They're not even in the same ballpark. [1] https://www.polygon.com/23070948/elden-ring-sales-chart-npd-... [2] https://gameworldobserver.com/2022/06/03/diablo-immortal-gen...

Diablo Immortal earned $800k in its first 24 hours .

Elden Ring earned $720m in the first 2 weeks, which averages ~$51m a day.

Re: It costs $110k to fully gear up in Diablo Immortal

#668

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with this is that games designed to be monetized this way are going to build their progression, reward-systems, cosmetic systems, grind balance, etc. around it. So the players who are "paying what they want (mostly zero)" aren't getting a normal but free Diablo game, they are getting version of that game balanced and prioritized around the whales that /will/ be spending the money. The actual customers. I'…

That's why I don't play these games. But other people have different preferences and that's okay by me. I don't see a need to judge the company(ies), the users, or the system. Not saying you are, but it seems to be the flavor of this article and much of the sentiment in these comments. Why?

I think there's a point where it feels like it's gone beyond simple price discrimination to leveraging hundreds of employees and millions of dollars to actively manipulate and exploit a player base that is often substantially comprised of children. I've watched developer presentations on how best to implement Skinner boxes and other gambling mechanics to help condition users and obscure exactly how much they are spending. That may be fair to judge a company poorly for.

For me personally, it represents the fact that the company is actively working against my best interests, and that feels bad. Additionally, completely selfishly, it makes me sad to see games that I would otherwise enjoy be distorted by this sort of monetization.

Re: It costs $110k to fully gear up in Diablo Immortal

#669
post #666

I hope more country follow suit of Belgium and The Netherlands and classify loot boxes with a random drop element as gambling, and as such make it heavily regulated and banned to kids. This kind of practices are evidently predatorial and manipulative and should be greatly discouraged.

>classify loot boxes with a random drop element as gambling

Most people who talk about this tend to have no idea what laws already cover gambling.

I think that, in this case, loot boxes should be treated like slot machines as far as minimum payout goes; in Nevada (for example) this is minimum 75% by law- meaning that the house must ultimately return 75% of the value it takes in as winnings to its gamblers.

As these systems are effectively slot machines (put coin in, pull handle, get box), not much more needs to be done other than applying the law as written.

It might be tricky to establish a dollar value for the digital assets paid out, and would add overhead to assets distributed in this manner (how one would put a price on "asset that changes the way the game works" is, of course, an open question), but provided it's done properly should clamp down significantly on the anti-consumer aspects of these practices- which is, I suspect, the real reason everyone complains about this in the first place.

Re: It costs $110k to fully gear up in Diablo Immortal

#670
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> casinos do exist. In many jurisdictions they don't. And where they do, they're often very heavily regulated.

While the stock market is much more accessible, operates in a less transparent way, and ruins more people for life than an actual casino.

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