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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

#421

Post by Aerroon »

consteval wrote: post #408
Aerroon wrote: post #378

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> So, no social media When I was a kid, everyone was absolutely riddled with self-doubt and insecurity. Jealousy and bullying was the norm. There wasn't a soul in my middle school who didn't deeply, deeply hate themselves. This was before social media. Imagine that, but now kids ALSO get to form unrealistic expectations and envy at home on their devices. > no video games for kids? What are you talking about? You can…

>You can still get your friends together and play mario party or super smash or kirby or whatever. That never went away, we still have co-op games where it's free to play for the other kids.

Yeah, they don't add those free to play mechanics because they force you to buy an extra piece of hardware for $400 to play those games. It works great when you're rich, I guess, but then these f2p games shouldn't matter in the first place.

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

#422

Post by strich »

IG_Semmelweiss wrote: post #383
GNOMES wrote: post #312

My kiddo has easily spent 500+ on Roblox across birthday/Xmas gift cards/chores. I can't stand that almost all of the games seem to have a pay to win aspect, or are heavily advertising every chance they get. 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…

Buy him DRM free games on GOG. I Do this for young relatives. Ive been shown WhatsApp threads of the young teens who play the DRM-free games i upload - my google drive ID is effectively referenced as some kind of deity lol Side benefit: No online play or interaction with the outside world, only with your own group (usually)

As a game developer it's kind of sad to see such practices in stealing my or others hard work.

But I have to keep telling myself those kids or parents wouldn't have paid for them anyway.

Maybe consider buying a few copies at least in the future?

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

#423

Post by Aerroon »

micromacrofoot wrote: post #385
Aerroon wrote: post #378

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

social media generally bans kids under 13 in the US — there's a good amount of evidence regarding the harms it can have at this point kids haven't been able to buy mature games from brick-and-mortar stores like Gamestop since I was a child decades ago kids used to be able to smoke cigarettes too

>there's a good amount of evidence regarding the harms it can have at this point

Considering this evidence was produced during a time when the public opinion was looking for any excuse to blame social media companies and that the field of research producing those studies has an accuracy of a coin flip I'm unconvinced. I'd need to see a lot more than out of contact quotes from Facebook research or these questionable "we asked kids to taste xyz, they're totally more depressed and it's totally social media's fault."

>kids haven't been able to buy mature games from brick-and-mortar stores like Gamestop since I was a child decades ago

They pirated them instead because kids don't have money.

That being said, I would rather kids be banned from the internet outright rather than the internet becoming yet another watered down place.

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

#424

Post by Biganon »

maxsilver wrote: post #303
simpaticoder wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My kids have recently become interested in Roblox. I installed it on the PS5 but honestly I don't get the appeal. The games we tried are of very low quality. It doesn't have the complexity or interest of Minecraft. It doesn't have the polish of Astro's Playroom (or Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, which they are too young to play). It reminds me a little of Fortnite's non-battle-royal games, but much worse. Can you giv…

It's less about the games being high-quality, and more the games being community-created and user-driven. Roblox isn't a competitor to Astro's Playroom or Ratchet and Clank. Roblox is like, the next generation of ActiveWorlds, or like a user-generated version of Uru. It's a 3D Chatroom that solved the problem of "what do you do when people want something to do, while standing around chatting in the 3D chatroom?" by s…

Thank you for mentioning ActiveWorlds. The French speaking version (Le Village 3D) was extremely important to me in my teenage years

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

#425

Post by camdenreslink »

nsxwolf wrote: post #390

They have the craziest most difficult interview process I've ever seen, like beyond quant level. But I don't know why. My kids play it and it feels like the jankiest most busted-ass 3D engine that ever existed. I'm sure all the secret sauce is doing all this stuff at scale, but what do Leetcode hards in 20 minutes have to do with that?

It's just a hazing ritual. Somebody started it when it was a small company, and all of them had to go through it so new hires will too.

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

#426

Post by dasil003 »

draebek wrote: post #414
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…

I struggle to understand why people are so toxic with chat in video games. I don't go to the supermarket, or even the bar and hear people just casually chatting about "who hates [racial slur]?" There's John Gabriel's Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory, which says that if you give normal people anonymity and an audience then they become (let's call them) assholes. I feel that, in order to buy this, you must accept that t…

I suspect it's because angry and disenfranchised people are over-represented in terms of hours spent playing online games. There's also a negative feedback loop where more casual and/or sensitive gamers opt out since they don't want to deal with the bullshit.

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

#427

Post by junon »

nazka wrote: post #360
latexr wrote: post #318

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. Considering how much you said your kid has spent, that money could’ve been spent on buying copies for all their friends and you’d still have plenty left over.

I upvoted you but after thinking about it actually, you will find that this will attract kids that are friends for the money and start weird dynamics in the social bubble of his son. But your idea is right! Maybe he could have done gaming sessions at his house or who knows what to better spend this money on other games.

Eh yes. And no. Turn it into a gathering event at your house with pizza and bring back LAN parties. That's stuff that kids remember for life.

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

#428

Post by bradjohnson »

gruez wrote: post #415
bradjohnson wrote: post #405

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, I was just providing a link for you. If you wanted to discuss whether cheating is good in this specific scenario, you should have put that as your comment to the parent.

>Ok, I was just providing a link for you. And if you read my last comment more carefully, I wasn't faulting you, only the original characterization. >If you wanted to discuss whether cheating is good in this specific scenario, you should have put that as your comment to the parent. I think it's fair game to call the claim misleading, even if the parents are technically protesting for the right to cheat, for the reaso…

Ok sounds good

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

#429

Post by falsaberN1 »

rvba wrote: post #329
raister wrote: post #66

Roblox is a huge problem for me, as a parent of a 8y kid. Let me explain: I try to block violent apps in his tablet using Google's Family app, however, Roblox internally keeps 'offering' my kid almost any game, whatever if there's violence, drugs, killing others, and so forth. It's a headache and a source of fights, so, I thank the responsible (/sarcasm).

Lots of people here played Doom or Mortal Combat

It's hilarious how plain Mortal Kombat becomes without the K.

I'm not calling you out for making a typo, I'm simply amused at how much punch (no pun intended) it loses when spelled "right". I guess it's true that Ks are Kool.

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

#430

Post by HaZeust »

RockRobotRock wrote: post #162
HaZeust wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For now.

i've been thinking that for 10 years. they forced msft accounts, which is annoying. other than that, hasn't been too bad

So they're empirically making progress towards it.
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