Sherbytes: Industry News Megathread, v.1

[rikwebb]

Game was already back really with like three different versions out there. Me and my cousin loved this game. The remakes have all been ok. Haven't been back in like a year though so not sure how they are doing. I'll always take more attempts at redoing it though. If they don't release it on Steam though it's never going to beat out the other copies that are all on Steam. Releasing a brand new FTP game on Epic only is very dumb.

seeing as it's Epics IP it's probably pat of the reason of why it was greenlighted, pretty sure the game was released and shut down before EGS was launched

 

[SwamiLeoni]

Game was already back really with like three different versions out there. Me and my cousin loved this game. The remakes have all been ok. Haven't been back in like a year though so not sure how they are doing. I'll always take more attempts at redoing it though. If they don't release it on Steam though it's never going to beat out the other copies that are all on Steam. Releasing a brand new FTP game on Epic only is very dumb.

I've sunk entirely too much time into Smite with some buddies of mine. Prior to Smite they played Paragon but when that shut down, they moved over. They loved it. I've been keeping up to date on the Paragon clones (and other MOBAs) but haven't played because I don't have a PC. 3rd Person has always been my preferred style so this could be exciting if they decide to release it on console.

 

[rikwebb]

Sega's just posted lifetime sales/F2P downloads of a number of its IPs

 

[Sycho Sid]

https://www.videogameschronicle.com...n-japan-after-developer-decides-against-cuts/

 

[Sycho Sid]

https://www.axios.com/2022/10/27/microsoft-xbox-game-pass-miss

Subscriber growth for Microsoft's all-you-can-play Game Pass subscription service fell far short of an annual company target tied to CEO Satya Nadella's pay, according to a new financial filing.

Why it matters: The strength of Game Pass has long been used to measure Microsoft's success in disrupting the gaming industry.

• It's also become central to discussions about whether regulators should approve the company's $69 billion bid for Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard.

Details: Microsoft targeted a 73% growth rate for Game Pass for its fiscal year ending June 30, 2022, as part of performance incentives for Nadella and other top executives. But the service only achieved 28% growth.

• That's two misses in a row. The company also failed to hit the executive pay Game Pass target last year, after exceeding it in 2020.
• Microsoft doesn't publicize actual Game Pass subscriber target counts, but it said in the filing that its Xbox division has delivered "over 25 million Game Pass subscriptions."

Catch up quick: For a monthly fee, Game Pass grants Xbox console and PC subscribers access to hundreds of games, including new releases from Microsoft.

• It's an alternative to the historical model of players paying in full for each new game they want.

Between the lines: In an interview yesterday at a Wall Street Journal tech conference, Microsoft's head of gaming, Phil Spencer, framed Game Pass as profitable but limited.

• It accounts for 10%-15% of the company's content and services revenue (which includes gaming) and is "profitable for us," he said.
• In remarks transcribed by The Verge, Spencer said Game Pass growth was "incredible" on PC but had slowed down on console, "mainly because at some point you’ve reached everybody on console that wants to subscribe."
• Game Pass' growth might also be stalled due to a lack of available major releases. In the last two years, Microsoft has published few big exclusive games, especially compared to rivals Sony and Nintendo — neither of which bundle new releases into their subscription offerings.

The intrigue: The U.K.'s Competition & Markets Authority has cited Game Pass as a point of concern regarding whether it'll approve Microsoft's Activision deal.

• In a 76-page initial report, it said the deal gives rise "to a realistic prospect of a substantial lessening of competition" in "multi-game subscription services," should Microsoft put Call of Duty on Game Pass.

• The idea is that offering the popular series — which often accounts for any given year's best or second-best-selling game — could make Game Pass irresistible and Microsoft problematically unstoppable.

The other side: Microsoft has denied such a move would reach an anti-competitive threshold requiring blockage of the deal, saying PlayStation could always counter by putting better exclusives on its service — or even offer Game Pass on PlayStation.

• CMA rejection could kill the bid, though its final decision isn't expected until next year.

A pivotal metric for Microsoft: Game Pass growth is the only gaming-related performance target in the executive pay package.

• Other goals involve Microsoft Cloud Revenue, Teams usage and LinkedIn Sessions.
• The Game Pass metric was weighted more heavily this year than in previous years and was tied to a potential payout to Nadella of more than $37 million worth of stock.
• The miss on that stat probably wasn't too painful. For the 12 months ending June 30, 2022, Nadella was awarded $55 million in cash and stock compensation

TLDR; Sounds worse than it is. Still profitable for them. May just be reaching saturation on consoles, especially with no big releases.

Should be interesting to see what happens when things like Starfield start coming out for the system.

 

[Valhoven]

https://www.videogameschronicle.com...n-japan-after-developer-decides-against-cuts/

Had no idea myself. Wow.

 

[rikwebb]

https://www.videogameschronicle.com...n-japan-after-developer-decides-against-cuts/

I have a feeling that the original Dead Space went through the same thing aswell

 

[Sycho Sid]

Had no idea myself. Wow.

Yeah, I thought it was just Australia that had the super strict guidelines, though I think those were lifted by now too.

 

[SwamiLeoni]

I've sunk entirely too much time into Smite with some buddies of mine. Prior to Smite they played Paragon but when that shut down, they moved over. They loved it. I've been keeping up to date on the Paragon clones (and other MOBAs) but haven't played because I don't have a PC. 3rd Person has always been my preferred style so this could be exciting if they decide to release it on console.

Lfg.

It looks fantastic.

 

[Valhoven]

Following rik's earlier update on Capcom global franchise sales, this is another eye-opener – albeit not a trend anyone didn't see coming (for better or worse given game 'ownership' debate and then hobbyist collectability):

​

 

[Sycho Sid]

Following rik's earlier update on Capcom global franchise sales, this is another eye-opener – albeit not a trend anyone didn't see coming (for better or worse given game 'ownership' debate and then hobbyist collectability):

​

The PS5 digital sales kind of counter this.

 

[Dizzy]

https://www.videogameschronicle.com...n-japan-after-developer-decides-against-cuts/

Use it for advertising.

“So shocking it was BANNED in Japan!”

 

[SwamiLeoni]

Following rik's earlier update on Capcom global franchise sales, this is another eye-opener – albeit not a trend anyone didn't see coming (for better or worse given game 'ownership' debate and then hobbyist collectability):

​

I have to admit, I am one of these people. But I would be lying if I said I don't get a bit nervous with using only digital. Especially with Sony's customer service. I'm not sure how or what laws protect digital purchases but you always hear stories of companies removing certain movies / tv shows from their platforms that you purchased. With the exclusivity wars raging, I would hate to lose games I purchased because some company decided to opt out of one of the major gaming consoles.

 

[KaNesDeath]

seeing as it's Epics IP it's probably pat of the reason of why it was greenlighted, pretty sure the game was released and shut down before EGS was launched

They made multiple mistakes involving shortening the map for quicker matches while implementing a broken card system. Player base was already low but this shattered it further beyond repair.

Long term its the right move by Epic Games. While they have game engine developers they dont have any game designers. It'll help inform game engine designers and potentially help them design a original game. Right now their online store shows no future of being profitable and the ad revenue patch cadence of Fortnite has a noticeable shelf live.

 

[Valhoven]

The PS5 digital sales kind of counter this.

Well mentioned. I remember Sony themselves saying they were surprised by the ravenous demand of the ODD PS5.

In some way digital v. physical forecasts have me think on the 'SP is dead' protestation, championed by EA, that in follow-up really only saw the best in gaming as well as GOTY titles being of SP stock. Overwatch won GOTY 2016 from most awarding bodies, the year before EA said this, so I really like to think it was a marketing stunt – but you wouldn't know that from the response they got. I feel like the gamerverse came together and returned a resounding nah, son.

I think physical media has a steeper hill to climb compared to the one SP did (and will ultimately lose, I'd imagine), but it's interesting and gamers are a markedly nostalgic demographic, making future media tough to predict.

 

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

The PS5 digital sales kind of counter this.

Well mentioned. I remember Sony themselves saying they were surprised by the ravenous demand of the ODD PS5.

In some way digital v. physical forecasts have me think on the 'SP is dead' protestation, championed by EA, that in follow-up really only saw the best in gaming as well as GOTY titles being of SP stock. Overwatch won GOTY 2016 from most awarding bodies, the year before EA said this, so I really like to think it was a marketing stunt – but you wouldn't know that from the response they got. I feel like the gamerverse came together and returned a resounding nah, son.

I think physical media has a steeper hill to climb compared to the one SP did (and will ultimately lose, I'd imagine), but it's interesting and gamers are a markedly nostalgic demographic, making future media tough to predict.

The thing is people could have myriad reasons for buying a PS5 with an optical drive vs without that goes beyond how they buy their games.

I bought one with the optical drive for two reasons:
1. At launch they were a lot easier to fine than the digital only
2. I use it to watch my DVDs and Blurays.

But I haven’t bought a single physical PS5 game, and through the entire PS4 generation I literally only bought like four games on disc: Destiny, Xcom 2, Deus Ex Mankind Divided, and Call of Duty Infinite, and even then only because I found them in store for good sales at like Best Buy or Walmart.

Everything else has been digital.

 

[Valhoven]

The thing is people could have myriad reasons for buying a PS5 with an optical drive vs without that goes beyond how they buy their games.

I bought one with the optical drive for two reasons:
1. At launch they were a lot easier to fine than the digital only
2. I use it to watch my DVDs and Blurays.

But I haven’t bought a single physical PS5 game, and through the entire PS4 generation I literally only bought like four games on disc: Destiny, Xcom 2, Deus Ex Mankind Divided, and Call of Duty Infinite, and even then only because I found them in store for good sales at like Best Buy or Walmart.

Everything else has been digital.

The supply problems complicate things so I'm camp agnostic on this; we'll never know. For example in exercise, the reason ODD had been easier to find at any point could have been the demand for digital being that much higher. Without an A/B test of two on a shelf – which you want, it's hard to say either way. Second point is a good one. But again, many have digital film libraries that replace DVD, Blu-ray equivalents (like me), meaning they're wanting an ODD for gaming purposes, to play Devil's advocate.

 

[My Spot]

The digital only PS5 is $100 cheaper so I'm not surprised it's always been in more demand.

 

[Dizzy]

You can pry physical from my cold dead hands.

 

[rikwebb]

The Sequel to Myst , Riven has had a remake announced

https://www.gematsu.com/2022/10/myst-sequel-riven-remake-announced


Announcement FAQ

Here is the full announcement FAQ:

Q: Are you working on a remake of Riven?

A: Yes.

Q: Is it a remaster or a from-the-ground-up modern remake?

A: It is a modern remake.

Q: Is this remake point-and-click only like the original Riven was, or will it be traversable in 3D space?

A: The remake of Riven will be fully traversable in 3D space. Any other supported navigation methods will be announced at a later date.

Q: Why did this take so long? It’s been 25 years!

A: Riven is one of the most highly regarded games in Cyan’s history. We didn’t want to approach it lightly or frivolously. Cyan is a small indie studio. We wanted to make sure we could take on such a difficult, costly and complicated endeavor—and do it well.

Q: Is this the Starry Expanse Project?

A: No, this is a from-the-ground-up remake of Riven from Cyan. However, the Starry Expanse team did assist in kicking off this project. See our blog post here for more details on that.

Q: Which platforms is it coming to, when it is coming out, what are the system requirements… etc.?

A: We don’t have information to share about that yet.

Q: If I purchased a copy of the original Riven, will I get a free copy of this remake?

A: Thank you for your support over the years! But, no. This new Riven is not an update or upgrade, it is a modern from-the-ground-up remake that has required (and will continue to require) a substantial investment of resources.

Q: I must know more! Where can I find out more information about this new version of Riven?!

A: The best way to keep up with the development process is to subscribe to our Cyan Insider newsletter, as we typically share the latest news with our subscribers first!