this post was submitted on 30 Nov 2023
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Is the Video Game Industry Collapsing? A Lawyer Explains Industry Layoffs and Restructuring. (youtu.be)
submitted 2 years ago by Yuritopiaposadism@hexbear.net to c/games@hexbear.net
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[–] zifnab25@hexbear.net 12 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Its survived much worse.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_crash_of_1983

PC games went into decline during the 2000s. And I'm sure COVID is paying it forward into the franchises thanks to all the delays and consolidations. They're all happening for similar reasons - excess consolidation in the AAA market, lots of really crappy knock-offs filling up the retail space, and the model for the industry being incompatible with the popular demand among players.

Just look at Blizzard, a studio that made its bones on RTS in the early 90s. They haven't released an RTS in over 13 years. Bioware, a studio that pioneered third-person TTRPG-style adventure games, has lost all sense of direction with its foray into MMOs and eroded by staff turnover. Now Larian is eating their lunch on the very title that put them on the map. And then you've got EA, which has been devouring and destroying studios since the early-90s (RIP Origins, you'll always have a special place in my heart).

There's still plenty of demand for video games, and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. But we've been in a quality tailspin since at least the mid-'10s. Enshitifcation has taken its toll.

[–] Comp4@hexbear.net 6 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

Here is the thing, though: I feel gaming offers a lot if you are playing stuff outside of the AAA sphere. There is a metric ton of indie games being released at a pretty steady pace, including new genres gaining popularity, like bullet heaven games (think vampire survivor clones). Genres such as boomer shooters and city builders have been basically revived in the last 5-7 years.

Sure, I do play the occasional big shiny game like Baldur's Gate 3 and enjoy it, but if AAA games were to cease to exist tomorrow, I would be just fine playing indie and mid size games.

Disclaimer im not sober.

[–] zifnab25@hexbear.net 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

bullet heaven games

I just never got into those. I'm much more of a tactical fan than a "can you map the pattern between pixels at 120 fps" type. Far too anxiety inducing, particularly when I get stuck in a failure loop.

Genres such as boomer shooters and city builders have been basically revived in the last 5-7 years.

I do like a city builder, but there's very rarely an end-game payoff that's particularly satisfying. A well-designed 4X with a good story can be fun to play, although I usually get less time on it because my wife finds it boring to watch. By contrast, she's all on board with every BG3 cinematic and dialogue (and has given me absolutely awful advice on hooking up with Astarion, btw).

But yeah, I agree the AAAs have really gotten into a rut. Even FromSoft is sort of at the end of its rope, with Elden Ring being an apotheosis of the genre, but not giving them anywhere else to go.

[–] Comp4@hexbear.net 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Ok. Now that im back from work. A small clarification. You are thinking of Bullet HELL games such as Ikaruga or the Touhou series. Those are the games in which you have to dodge bullets. Bullet HEAVEN games on the other hand are games such as Vampire Survivors in which you end up killing tons of enemies with tons of bullets/attacks/projectiles they are also almost all roguelike games in which you have to survive for a certain amount of time while you collect gems/exp and get stronger over time. There is usually some sort of meta progression in which you unlock new abilites/skills and characters. You might not have heard of Bullet heaven since it just popped up in the last year. There are already like over 20 games or so (some even pretty good).

If you are interested in the gerne Vampire Survivors is a good entry point. Halls of Torment is a diablo 2 inspired one. Other games I did like in the gerne are Soulstone Survivors and God of Weapons. Maybe check them out (trailers) and you should see what im talking about.

[–] M500@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I’m trying to think of the most recent non-Nintendo game I’ve placed that was genuinely good.

I liked resident evil 2 and 3 remake. Cyberpunk was pretty good, but not great.

I mostly play emulated games as most new stuff has not been enjoyable or interesting.

[–] zifnab25@hexbear.net 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I mean, I had a great time with Elden Ring, even if I never finished it. I'm currently enjoying my playthrough of BG3 and tempted to go for another playthrough just to see all the story paths I missed. I enjoyed my stints in Fortnite (particularly the base-building PvE) and Genshin Impact. Diablo 4 was fun to beat once, although I have no desire to play it seasonally. FF7-Remake was the best FF game I've played since 12.

I'll say that waiting until the games drop inside the $30 price point makes buying a game, not enjoying it, and shelving it significantly less painful. Nier Automata was fun-ish, but turned into a slog. I've got my eye on Armored Core 6, but I'm not in a rush.

[–] M500@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 years ago

Those points are fair. This year and I guess last year have been particularly good years for gaming.

I was not a fan of armored core 6. The experience felt pretty empty. It’s just a bunch of short missions. The battles were kind of boring. It’s just you and an opponent revolving around each other firing. That what’s every mission boils down to. I was expecting a lot more from it.

[–] Maoo@hexbear.net 3 points 2 years ago

There's been restructuring in several industries and a lot of it is a consequence of higher interest rates - rates intended to sink small business and make many cut staff to bridge budget shortfalls. Management always wants to minimize labor costs, but tends to try and avoid cutting to the point of collapse or being "uncompetitive". Higher interest rates sets a new bar on what it means to be "competitive" while cutting staff, as everyone has to take that haircut. However, larger businesses can generally outlast these conditions better than smaller ones, and will prepare to buy up the smaller ones when rates drop again. In the meantime, they'll also cut staff to build that war chest and report profitability.

Everything hasn't quite been going to plan re: interest rates, but having an excuse to cut more staff is certainly there.

[–] HexReplyBot@hexbear.net 1 points 2 years ago

I found a YouTube link in your post. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy: