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Gamedevs not baking in monetization are “fucking idiots”, says Unity CEO

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Re: Gamedevs not baking in monetization are “fucking idiots”, says Unity CEO

#61

Post by micromacrofoot »

jayd16 wrote: post #30
burke wrote: post #3

Or, you know, invested in building games where people retrospectively assess their time spent with the game as enriching rather than exploitative.

That's nice and all but it'll be the last thing your studio does if you didn't think about monetization. Why is "have a business model" so controversial?

because often the people emphasizing business models are insufferable sociopaths that have no interest in making quality products; they'd sell you a fart if they could get away with it... there is healthy space between, but the loudest people in business set a poor stage for the industry and it's so off-putting that many people would rather not think about it at all

Re: Gamedevs not baking in monetization are “fucking idiots”, says Unity CEO

#63

Post by _jal »

I think he's probably right, in context. And I also think this is increasingly why I just don't play new games anymore. I like the output of those clay-carver idiots, and don't like product from savvy businessgamers.

Cash extraction machines aren't fun. When I want an escapist experience, "social" bullshit incorporating status skins and whatnot is an utter turnoff, as is effectively mandatory upsells for in-game whatevers.

I'm sure losing people like me works out on the balance sheet. I'll be over here, yelling at clouds.

Re: Gamedevs not baking in monetization are “fucking idiots”, says Unity CEO

#64

Post by selfhoster11 »

formerkrogemp wrote: post #9
burke wrote: post #3

Or, you know, invested in building games where people retrospectively assess their time spent with the game as enriching rather than exploitative.

> Or, you know, invested in building games where people retrospectively assess their time spent with the game as enriching rather than exploitative. The most profitable franchises have not done this. It's all timesinks, pay-to-win, and microtransactions.

So profit is the only thing that matters in life? And not leisure, which appears to be the whole point of engaging in gaming?

Re: Gamedevs not baking in monetization are “fucking idiots”, says Unity CEO

#65

Post by [deleted] »

jayd16 wrote: post #30
burke wrote: post #3

Or, you know, invested in building games where people retrospectively assess their time spent with the game as enriching rather than exploitative.

That's nice and all but it'll be the last thing your studio does if you didn't think about monetization. Why is "have a business model" so controversial?

[deleted]

Re: Gamedevs not baking in monetization are “fucking idiots”, says Unity CEO

#66

Post by decremental »

Xeamek wrote: post #47
bastawhiz wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Counterpoint: Minecraft did essentially zero marketing and is monetized only in the sense that you need an account to log in (which is easily bypassed for single player) and it was/is the biggest and most valuable game of all time.

>"Most valuable game of all time" Is it though? Yes, it did sell the most copies of any game ever, but how are you justifying to call it "the most valuable"?

Its cultural impact is undeniable and is generally positive. It depends on how you define valuable. It's pretty subjective when describing a video game.

Re: Gamedevs not baking in monetization are “fucking idiots”, says Unity CEO

#67

Post by JackFlapper »

jl6 wrote: post #23

Did you know there is a market for pre-war steel? This is steel manufactured before 1945 that is uncontaminated by radionuclides: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-background_steel There will soon be a market for pre-microtransactions games. Also: I used to hate on the casino industry for using the term “gaming” to euphemistically refer to gambling, but now they’re not so different so I’ll let them have that one.

I think Apple Arcade and similar are already doing this. Games on there are free from microtransactions/ads.

Re: Gamedevs not baking in monetization are “fucking idiots”, says Unity CEO

#68

Post by wahnfrieden »

selfhoster11 wrote: post #57
wahnfrieden wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

are you suggesting that game dev labor should be valued by society in other ways than via the market? the market finds that this type of monetization is more profitable. why does HN turn anti-capitalism when it comes to games?

Because it's common consensus that capitalism went way too far with games. Microtransactions and/or ads and dark patterns are endemic, diminishing enjoyment of games and unduly robbing people of attention/money. Online activation is a thing. And it's not that it's "fine not to do these things", because there are so many offenders, both high and low-profile, that it seems "all right" to do these things to developers w…

are you saying that capitalism innately has a good solution for games, but that it became slightly ill and can be reformed back to excellence? seems odd to promote “capitalism, but not like this”

Re: Gamedevs not baking in monetization are “fucking idiots”, says Unity CEO

#70

Post by jerf »

bastawhiz wrote: post #29
hklgny wrote: post #17

This seems like a click bait title to me, he "technically" uses those words, but the article seems a lot more sensible to me than inflammatory. We should definitely be thinking through sales/marketing when building games just like we do when building software. Not sure why you wouldn't be. Edit to add: This rings true even when you decide "not a priority this time", that's still thinking it through

Counterpoint: Minecraft did essentially zero marketing and is monetized only in the sense that you need an account to log in (which is easily bypassed for single player) and it was/is the biggest and most valuable game of all time.

"Minecraft did essentially zero marketing and is monetized only in the sense that you need an account to log in"

No, Minecraft has been monetized for a while: https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/catalog

That said, I've found it on the inoffensive side. It's got a plug on the title screen but my kids zip past it easily enough. Most of what you can buy involves a reasonable amount of work, they're not selling slight retexturings for $25. They've given away enough free stuff (of substance!) that I don't even feel bad that the free stuff is to remind you the market exists. No lootboxes.

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