Men_in_Boxes
Snake Oil Salesman
"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." - Jim Ryan, yesterday, probably.
We've all had to hear XBox fans talk about Microsoft's fearsome war chest since 2003. "Just you wait. They can buy anyone they want. Then we'll see who's laughing". Well, it seems like the war chest is finally in play.
But what can Sony do?
The answer is Moneyball. There's a bunch of great YouTube videos explaining it but I'll give you Hollywoods description, as it can be pretty dry.
Context: MLB baseball doesn't have a salary cap, which means wealthy teams can construct rosters by paying the best players. In the clip, Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) is the GM of the lowly Oakland A's. His owner hires a non baseball mathematician (Jonah Hill) who assesses a players talent using non traditional means.
Sony can't outspend Microsoft. They don't have the stomach for it, and frankly they don't have the ability.
In order for Sony to compete over the next 10+ years, they must identify what the market overvalues, what it undervalues, and spend accordingly.
The question I pose to NeoGAF is "What does the industry currently overvalue, and what does the industry currently undervalue?"
Overvalue:
Big budget graphics - The market would rather play Minecraft and Fortnite than The Last of Us II or Resident Evil 2 Remake. Gamers don't value graphics like we did back in the day.
Quirky Japanese games (KojiPro) - There's a reason Japan has fallen off a cliff over the last 20 years. Kojima, we love him, isn't commercially relavent anymore.
20 hr single player games w/no replay value. These games come and go so quickly out of the zeitgeist that it's not worth pursuing if you're spending crazy time and resources on them.
High skill floor games - Games that can't be picked up by a wide variety of gamers are putting a ceiling on their success. The Bloodborne/DarkSouls type games are never going to be big sellers.
Undervalue:
Multiplayer - SteamCharts and XBox Live most Played Games List shows that people are overwhelmingly playing multiplayer games today.
Western Indie - Valheim is closing in on 7 million sold. That's approaching The Last of Us II numbers.
GAAS - In 10 years, the amount of people playing their "one game", is going to increase. Sony needs to be leading that charge.
Sandbox - Stardew Valley sold 10+ million, Animal Crossing sold 40+ million, Terraria sold 25+ million. These games appeal to a bigger audience and they traditionally have longer legs.
We've all had to hear XBox fans talk about Microsoft's fearsome war chest since 2003. "Just you wait. They can buy anyone they want. Then we'll see who's laughing". Well, it seems like the war chest is finally in play.
But what can Sony do?
The answer is Moneyball. There's a bunch of great YouTube videos explaining it but I'll give you Hollywoods description, as it can be pretty dry.
Context: MLB baseball doesn't have a salary cap, which means wealthy teams can construct rosters by paying the best players. In the clip, Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) is the GM of the lowly Oakland A's. His owner hires a non baseball mathematician (Jonah Hill) who assesses a players talent using non traditional means.
Sony can't outspend Microsoft. They don't have the stomach for it, and frankly they don't have the ability.
In order for Sony to compete over the next 10+ years, they must identify what the market overvalues, what it undervalues, and spend accordingly.
The question I pose to NeoGAF is "What does the industry currently overvalue, and what does the industry currently undervalue?"
Overvalue:
Big budget graphics - The market would rather play Minecraft and Fortnite than The Last of Us II or Resident Evil 2 Remake. Gamers don't value graphics like we did back in the day.
Quirky Japanese games (KojiPro) - There's a reason Japan has fallen off a cliff over the last 20 years. Kojima, we love him, isn't commercially relavent anymore.
20 hr single player games w/no replay value. These games come and go so quickly out of the zeitgeist that it's not worth pursuing if you're spending crazy time and resources on them.
High skill floor games - Games that can't be picked up by a wide variety of gamers are putting a ceiling on their success. The Bloodborne/DarkSouls type games are never going to be big sellers.
Undervalue:
Multiplayer - SteamCharts and XBox Live most Played Games List shows that people are overwhelmingly playing multiplayer games today.
Western Indie - Valheim is closing in on 7 million sold. That's approaching The Last of Us II numbers.
GAAS - In 10 years, the amount of people playing their "one game", is going to increase. Sony needs to be leading that charge.
Sandbox - Stardew Valley sold 10+ million, Animal Crossing sold 40+ million, Terraria sold 25+ million. These games appeal to a bigger audience and they traditionally have longer legs.
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