More About Money, and Why Destiny Is Brilliant

          So last week we talked about how the ways paying for games have changed. Which, like I said earlier, isn't really much of a surprise to anyone. This time, I am going to talk a little more about that. Honestly, I am going to write a lot more. Everything is internet connected these days. With games connected to the internet, it allows developers to sell extra content, quite easily. Not to mention, think about how little that costs them as far as sales go. If you put any additional content on a disc, you have to pay to have the discs printed, packaged, shipped, etc. There is so much extra cost attached to having a physical copy. Now consider selling the same content, but digitally. The only cost attached to it is creating the content, and hosting it on the servers. You completely cut out the cost of printing and shipping discs. Yet, they can sell the content for the same price. This is also done with full games, not just extra content. Whether you buy the hard copy or the digital game, you are still paying $59.99 retail price. The difference is, that with the digital copy, they make so much more in pure profits. They get to cut out the production cost by a large margin. It is for this reason that many indie and third party games are download only. It is much cheaper to do, and much larger profits.

          So this is one way to make a lot of money, off of one game or franchise. But using the expansion/dlc model, one can continue to make money almost indefinitely. To understand what I am talking about, let us look at the most popular MMORPG, pretty much ever. Most, if not all of you, have heard of or know someone who plays or has played World of Warcraft. We have all met someone who has. That makes sense, as the playership of that game is insanely large. Yet despite having come out ten years ago, MILLIONS of people still play it on a daily basis. And I do not mean that figuratively. As of summer 2014, there are almost 7.5 million active accounts on World of Warcraft. That is sort of crazy, when you think about it. That almost ten years later, one game can still have over seven million players on a daily basis. Not many games can make that claim. Less still can continue to profit almost a decade later. The big question in this situation really is how do they do it?

          Part of World of Warcraft’s success is from its previous fanbase. Before the MMORPG, was released, there was already a Warcraft game. There was several, actually. The Warcraft series on PC was already decently popular, so they decided to tap into the online model. Not only did they bring over their already existing fanbase, but added a ton of new players as well. The real secret to their success is continued quality, and constantly staying relevant. They never let the game get too stale or old. Basically, World of Warcraft uses the expansion method for PC gaming. Every year or two, Blizzard Studios makes a new expansion, to keep the game fresh, the latest installation being called the Mists of Pandaria. Like previous expansions, it added new areas, missions, and this time a new playable race. But like I mentioned, by continually adding content every so often, the game never really has time to get old. They add missions and races, regions, and sometimes even new aspects altogether.

          So now we have seen that one game can stay relevant, and widely played, over the span of a decade. Now, there is a console game that wants to do the same. By now, most of you have heard of the new blockbuster game Destiny. This game is trying to do something new, something different. Now, up until now there have in fact been a few console based MMORPGs, but quite frankly, none of them very good. For one reason or another, the MMORPG format has, up till this point, never translated well onto console. With Destiny, Bungie Studios and Activision are trying to tweak this model to work to their advantage. Instead of making this an online RPG, Destiny will appeal to a whole new target audience of players: First Person Shooters. In Destiny, Bungie is taking the FPS format and making it a massive online experience, with cooperative and versus multiplayer options.

          Quite frankly, Bungie is brilliant for making this game the way they have been. To start with, they already had a massive fanbase from their previous series, Halo, which is one of the most popular fps franchises on Xbox. Secondly, the format in which they are presenting the game will make them a disgusting amount of money. By making this game using the MMO expansion type model, when combined with the DLC method,  will be largely profitable in the long run. The game made half a billion on the first day it was released, and will continue to sell. The first expansion comes out in December, which will retail for $20, and be available for digital download as DLC. Like WOW, they will be periodically adding content, for a relatively low price, This will not only keep the game relevant and fresh, it will continually allow for new players to join in on the fun. Not to mention, Bungie has a 10 year contract and plan with Activision. They intend to release content for the next 10 years, to try and tap the financial success that has been working so well for Blizzard. The only challenge for Bungie now will be making sure that they can add enough original and quality content to keep the game relevant for the years to come. 

How Prices Have Evolved

Everything changes over time, in some fashion or another. That is something everyone can agree to. Anyone can agree that video games have changed over time, even those that have never touched a controller in their life. People always talk about how the graphics, or game engine, or story, or gameplay have improved as technology progresses. There is one major change that the video game industry has seen that many overlook. It has nothing to do with how the game plays or looks. What many do not consider is all of the ways that financial cost has changed over the years in the gaming world.
I will admit, it was never really something I considered growing up. It was not until I saw this infographic that someone made that I actually started to think about it. The image can be found here.
So, to start, let’s look at how games used to be sold. Twenty years ago, if you wanted to buy a console game, that is all you would get. For the sake of this example, we will Mariokart 64, for the Nintendo 64. I don’t remember the exact cost, but I believe the standard price of a Nintendo 64 game cartridge was between $70-$80 dollars. Once you that price, that game, in its entirety, was yours. That game was all it was going to ever be on that console. No extra tracks, no bonus racers, just what was included. Back then, all of those extra maps or characters were already included in the game, but you had to unlock them by playing through the game. It was not uncommon to unlock extras by completing certain missions or finishing a track under a certain time. That is how most games operated from the late 90’s to early 2000s.
The next model came not too long after. Developers started to notice that the more popular games people would buy and play months to years after it came out. They observed that the better the game, the more loyal the fanbase. So, as intelligent businessmen, they introduced something called the expansion pack. On PC, this was usually an extra disc that would retail for a fraction of the cost of the original game. Once installed, the expansion pack would add more maps, characters, weapons, etc, that were not included in the original release. On console, this meant releasing the same game, about a year or two later than the original release, but with all the extra content on the disc or cartridge. A perfect example of this model was Fable, for the original Xbox. This game was released in 2004, and was a wildly popular rpg for console. I can personally say it was an excellent game with very high replay value, making it a good investment for gamers. A year later, the developers released Fable: The Lost Chapters. This version, like the first, had all the original content and unlockables, but with added areas, missions, weapons, and backstory that added several hours of play time to the game. This was a brilliant financial move as it opened the game up to plenty of new players, as well as appealing to the large fanbase already established from the initial release.
Developers noticed the financial gains that could be made through expansions, and found another way to make this already successful model more profitable. As technology became more online oriented, the downloadable content, or DLC, model was introduced. The formula was pretty simple. Basically, it take a few steps.

1.       Design and release game

2.       During development, create, (but don’t release) characters, maps, etc.

3.       After initial release of game, periodically, put up “extra content” (extras already made during initial development)

4.       Sell DLC at fraction of cost for full game

5.       Profit

Financially, this was one of the most brilliant moves game developers and publishers ever came up with. Like with the expansion pack model, it allowed them to introduce the game to more players after the initial release. By releasing more DLCs every few months, developers could keep their games relevant as the popularity decline. Example, Borderlands 2 comes out. $60 dollars at release, and makes a ton. Two months after release, you can buy an extra campaign pack that includes new areas, weapons, and NPCs for the low cost of $10. Not a terrible deal, all things considered. A great game with more stuff, for only a few bucks more? Don’t mind if I do. Now, let’s say they have 4 extra campaigns, at $10 dollars each, plus 2 extra playable characters, for $5. Again, it doesn’t seem like much, since they would space out the release of the campaigns and characters every few months. But, if you were to buy the game at launch, plus all 4 extra campaign DLC packs, and the 2 extra characters, you have just payed $110 dollars for this one game. That’s right, developers would make almost twice the sale price of the game just in downloadable content. That figure does not even include extra skin packs, to make your player look even more rad. As you can see, it’s an insanely profitable model. To try and make this model more appealing, the developers added the “season pass”. This let you pay one bulk sum up front, but gave you several of the DLC packs, at a discounted rate. In the case of Borderlands 2, that meant paying $30 dollars for the 4 campaign packs. If you had planned on getting the DLCs anyways, that saved you $10 on something you had already planned on purchasing. To sweeten the deal, many developers added “season pass exclusives”, such as weapons, armors, and skins only available to those that purchased the season pass.

            As time has gone on, video game companies have found many ways to make even more money off of every purchase. The most brilliant thing about it, is that so many people never noticed. Those that have, often lament the way it has progressed. Gone are the days of unlocking that super sweet character with the awesome finisher move by completing some insanely difficult and asinine challenge. Now, that overpowered tank of a player can be yours for the low low price of $4.99. Can’t say I fault the developers, and I too buy DLCs. Still, gotta agree with some of those older games. I do miss the accomplishment of unlocking those really difficult characters.

Games Make Friends

Here we are, halfway through September. To many, Fall holds significant meaning. Some think of going back to school, and some think of Halloween and Thanksgiving. To a large percentage, it means football season. Football, and sports in general, are a great way for people to socialize. Thousands of men and women all over the world, can sit down with a complete stranger, and talk for hours about their favorite sports teams. Two guys who have never met will sit down at a bar, and compare stats for their favorite batters over a few rounds a beer. To those who say that sports are nothing more than an entertainment medium, there are many others who would say otherwise. Mutual love of a sport can breed a sense of community where there are no other common factors. Additionally, it can help breed a sense of intellectualism in an individual who does not see themselves as smart.

 Gerald Graff, a well-respected professor at University of Illinois in Chicago, actually has a fantastic piece relating to this. In “Hidden Intellectualism”, he actually talks about all this. Graff specifically discusses students with poor grades, or did not feel engaged at all in class would be able to memorize statistics and numbers, that if framed a different way, would not remember a single digit. He also references the community building aspect of sports.

After reading that article for a class, my immediate thought went to video games. I have seen students who completely hate math memorize formulas and statistics that only apply to a game. a college dropout will memorize the drop rate and percent chance of finding a rare item, or the spawn rate of a rare boss in relation to how many players are online. Additionally, much like sports, it is a topic that complete strangers can bond over. Walk through any Best Buy, GameStop, or FYE, and look in the electronics and gaming department. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen a total random lean over to someone and tell them why the game they are holding is a good idea, or a terrible purchase. Many times, that little tidbit launches into a full blown discussion about similar good games, upcoming titles, and better alternatives. Having worked at a video game retailer, I have seen many of these conversations end in the exchanging of phone numbers and gamertags, so they can play together in the future. Speaking from personal experience, just last week I went to the midnight release of Destiny. That being said, they crowd is filled with more game enthusiasts than casual gamers. However, that is much akin to the environment of a sports bar on Super Bowl Sunday. While waiting in line, I asked the gentlemen behind me a single question, that lead to a lovely conversation that continued until we had all checked out and went our separate ways. Like the interactions I mentioned earlier, that exchange ended in the three of us swapping gamertags.

                Like sports, video games are in many ways, another way for complete strangers to engage one another, and help people build some sense of community. It can lead to friendly rivalries and long lasting friendships. If nothing else, that is just one little way I think that games can be good for you.

Hello, Lovely Internet People

When reading any blog, I feel there are a few questions to ask. Questions like, “Who the hell even is this dude?” “Why should I listen to him?” “What is this blog even about?” Or maybe you don’t ask those questions, and that’s just me. In either case, I intend to answer them anyways.

So, let us start with the basics: what is this blog about? This, like so many others, is a blog about video games. I know what you may be thinking; “Great, some other nerd going on about how great his killstreak was last week.” Thankfully, this is not one of those blogs. Those blogs, in my opinion, are stupid. It is one thing to talk about why a game is good or bad, but it is something else entirely to use your blog just to brag about how great you are. If you feel so inclined to share those achievements with the world, at the very most, one should just lightly pepper the blog with self-congratulations, while spending the majority of it on other, more pertinent topics. As such, this blog will have a good deal more than that. Unlike those, this blog will have more substance. I intend to discuss things like why people should not blame video games for violent tendencies, why online gaming is actually good for helping people socialize, and the like. I may have a review here and there, but I won’t devote entire posts to talking about how fantastic my Gamerscore is.

As to whether or not you should listen to me, that is entirely up to you. However, here are some reasons I would listen to me. For starters, if not the most hardcore gamer, I have been playing games recreationally since I was eight years old. I have not stopped since. I have played handhelds, consoles, and some pc. Currently, I play Xbox 360, Xbox One, and one mmo on my pc. Even if I cannot always afford the newest games that come, I do try to stay current on what is happening in the gaming industry. I have always loved it, and always will. Additionally, I worked for a large video game retailer on and off for several years. For legal reasons, I will not specifically name the company. I mean, you know how sensitive these large corporations are. As such, it was my job to know what was going on in the beautiful world of video games. More times than I could count, I would have conversations with parents about violence in games, what is appropriate for age groups, what will be good for their children, and why getting a specific game for their child would be beneficial. In short, many of the conversations I had in the past will be the topics of a few of my blogs.

In the end, whether or not you continue to read this blog is entirely up to you. If my style of writing is not to your taste, I understand. Some other good blogs to check out would be Kotaku, IGN, and GameSpot. If you do decide to follow this blog, I think that is pretty rad, and I hope you enjoy. Later folks.