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Roblox is the biggest game in the world, but is unprofitable

matthewball.co

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Re: Roblox is the biggest game in the world, but is unprofitable

#371

Post by account42 »

amclennon wrote: post #364
wavemode wrote: post #340

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> just gifting a game to the friends would be creepy lol well this certainly depends on how it's done. Walking up to them in a trench coat and handing them a disc? Probably creepy. But you could also just, like, send them a gift key on Steam...

Unless this person is literally Santa Claus, I suspect a lot of parents might question the motives of a grown man sending gifts to their children without their knowledge.

Just give your kid extra keys to hand to his friends lol, no need to make this complicated.

Re: Roblox is the biggest game in the world, but is unprofitable

#373

Post by modeless »

darknavi wrote: post #355
modeless wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Roblox games are not comparable to texture packs or skins. They are complete games with assets and executable code, or at least the fancy ones are. Maybe data packs are more similar but it seems like Minecraft for iOS does not support them.

Minecraft Bedrock (iOS and all mobile/console versions) do support assets and executable code as well. They are called "Behavior Packs": https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/minecraft/creator/document...

Seems like they use JavaScript and this might qualify for the HTML5/JavaScript exception that Apple has. Also it seems like they are a lot less powerful than Roblox scripts, and there isn't an in-game store allowing you to purchase them without using Apple's in-app purchase flow.

Re: Roblox is the biggest game in the world, but is unprofitable

#374

Post by mst »

IG_Semmelweiss wrote: post #26

I can't recall the exact company name (Edit: it was TCI), but this was a smart accounting move that made one of the big US telcos frogleap the competition in the race for connectivity. Basically, the company invested sufficient into long term assets, big infra investments like cabling, towers, etc. Because of accounting rules, they could choose to amortize all of that investment in a straight line over 30 years, OR a…

HN hivemind has already delivered but I've found that for "I can describe it but can't remember the name" an LLM will have a decent chance of surfacing the name given the description (and is usually a very simple case to verify unlike much LLM output).

Re: Roblox is the biggest game in the world, but is unprofitable

#375

Post by consf »

wredue wrote: post #356
mrmetanoia wrote: post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've mentioned this in other comments, but I sat in with my nephews on a Roblox session, then stayed after to check things out on my own. There's an astounding number of adults on that platform saying some of the most horrible things. The games are like you say, and there's some that are indeed the model of what I expected: games that kids and amateurs made with their tools. Car jump games. Simple platforming. Basic…

Games in general have been a target of hate base voice chat. You get these people everywhere.

[dead]

Re: Roblox is the biggest game in the world, but is unprofitable

#376

Post by [deleted] »

wavemode wrote: post #340
whoknew1122 wrote: post #335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As a gamer dad, I try to show my kid better games to play, but because they aren't free, his friends can't play. Just drives him to keep playing and wanting more Robux. It's compounded when his favorite Youtubers play... If there's a paid game your kid really likes, perhaps you can talk to his friend's parents and buy the friend a copy of the game. ...I say talking to the friend's parents first, because just giftin…

> just gifting a game to the friends would be creepy lol well this certainly depends on how it's done. Walking up to them in a trench coat and handing them a disc? Probably creepy. But you could also just, like, send them a gift key on Steam...

[deleted]

Re: Roblox is the biggest game in the world, but is unprofitable

#377

Post by mywittyname »

whoknew1122 wrote: post #337
mrmetanoia wrote: post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've mentioned this in other comments, but I sat in with my nephews on a Roblox session, then stayed after to check things out on my own. There's an astounding number of adults on that platform saying some of the most horrible things. The games are like you say, and there's some that are indeed the model of what I expected: games that kids and amateurs made with their tools. Car jump games. Simple platforming. Basic…

First thing I do when playing a multiplayer game with proximity voice chat is to turn voice chat off. Makes play sessions much more enjoyable. Sure you may miss the 5% of chat that is actually tactical and relevant to the game, but it's a very small price to pay in order to avoid edgelords and other toxic people.

This sucks because, when used appropriately, prox voice chat works really well and adds depth to multiplayer. A lot of games feel really dead without it. But finding pubbies that use it appropriately is practically impossible.

Re: Roblox is the biggest game in the world, but is unprofitable

#378

Post by Aerroon »

micromacrofoot wrote: post #344
_coveredInBees wrote: post #317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eh, I dunno. My son plays a bunch of Roblox and has spent a net $10 for a few custom avatar mods. While there is certainly a pay to win aspect for some games within, there is also a ton of "free" games to sift through, and since all of them are competing for players, they still have to make the experience compelling enough at the free tier. We've had conversations about the pay-to-win aspect, and even though he has s…

both should be regulated, this type of predatory gambling-like behavior shouldn't be allowed for kids under a certain age

So, no social media and no video games for kids? Man am I glad that I grew up before tomorrow when everything is going to be restricted.

Re: Roblox is the biggest game in the world, but is unprofitable

#380

Post by ToucanLoucan »

xhkkffbf wrote: post #359
riwsky wrote: post #348

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We did that for tobacco, though? It was a huge public health win?

Actually, it's mixed. The states now get such a huge chunk of tobacco money that they're incentivized to keep people smoking. The more they smoke, the more the state gets.

Also, the companies are doing gangbusters in developing countries where people aren't as informed of the dangers of smoking.

This is not judgement, to be clear. I enjoy the occasional smokable like anyone else, but I do that with full understanding of the health risks associated with it.

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