Tag: VideogameIndustry

Gaming Chronicle #12

April 8th, 2025

The Evolving Cost of Gaming

It has been almost a week since the Switch 2’s big showcase. The Direct itself was a wonderful showing of what Nintendo has in store for its highly anticipated Switch successor. A slew of big names ranging from Mario Kart to Final Fantasy and even a Switch exclusive FromSoftware game was announced. The lineup of games was diverse and showed what the system is capable of. Despite the big fanfare of these games one thing was very blatantly missing from the presentation, pricing. Afterwards we learned, from Nintendo’s own site, that the Switch 2 would sell for $450 and a bundle with Mario Kart World would cost $500. The biggest shock came with the price reveal of the standalone Mario Kart. A whopping $80. The videogames industry has been teasing for some time that game prices would be increasing. Multiple media articles taunted the idea of even $100 games. Added to this the recently imposed tariffs and the prices are expected to go even higher than what was initially shown. As part of Nintendo’s possible reevaluation of Switch 2 prices, they have postponed preorders in the US (and more recently Canada). This suggests that they might increase the price to mitigate the effect of tariffs on their bottom line. That said, the current landscape of the market has been completely shaken.

Nintendo had two additional presentations to showcase the Switch 2 some more. Their Treehouse Live streams were bombarded with messages to “drop the price”. A sentiment many fans have taken to heart, but is unlikely to happen. It’s even worse considering how there is a possibility that prices may increase further. It should be noted that it seems like Mario Kart World is an outlier in terms of price. Donkey Kong Bananza, also announced at the Direct, has been set to $70 which seems like the standard pricing as there are many others that share the same price tag. Previously Nintendo set that price to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, possibly as a way of testing the waters.

Basic economics tells us that an increase in price reduces demand. A brand that is so beloved by its fans tends to maintain loyalty from its consumers, but in the current economic landscape it will be difficult for many to justify the purchase of a new console. This price increase is not happening in a void. As the cost of other goods also increases, purchases shift to more important items like food, utilities and maybe clothing. Ultimately this could all lead to an eventual price reduction, if the 3DS is any indication. Then again, don’t hold your breath for it as it is unlikely to happen any time soon. As I mentioned, the current economic landscape is difficult and filled with uncertainty. Whatever Nintendo’s next move is, it will define its new, incoming generation.
Gaming Chronicle #8

July 2nd, 2024

Oversaturation

If you take a look at the videogame industry it appears it is at a point where it is heavily bloated by the amount of games being produced. This bloat makes it more and more difficult for games to stand out. It also makes it harder for aspiring developers to enter the industry and find any kind of success. This is aggravated by live service games. As these kinds of games proliferate there is greater competition for a player’s time. Since games can persist for so long it has become an uphill climb to create something that will pull a player away from established franchises or live service games. Live service games are a result of the ongoing changes in videogame development and technological advances. The ability to update games so easily has made this kind of game more viable. Although some development practices will sometimes allow a game to launch in a broken state, only to be patched shortly after launch. The focus on live service by a lot of developers has also clogged the market. They need to stand out greatly in order to retain a large enough player base that can invest in the game.

A short scroll through Steam and anyone can see the vast amount of games on offer. Even the Switch’s own storefront is filled with hundreds of games that have little chance to stand out. This may be discouraging for future developers. The industry can be unforgiving and the investment of time and resources makes this all the more inaccessible to anyone who does not have the funding for it.

The amount of layoffs in the videogames industry is a direct result of this oversaturation. What once was a growing industry, now needs to scale down. This is coupled by game projects being cyclical, unless the developer plans ahead with numerous projects. A large videogame may require a large amount of artists and programmers, but once the game is out in the market only a small few are retained to provide maintenance. Contract work is popular in the industry as it provides an easy way out for a company. There is, of course, no excuse for the layoffs. It is a lack of planning that results in this. The livelihood of so many people is constantly changing because the videogames industry has allowed the failings of management to permeate.

To conclude, the videogames market has the biggest amount of games it ever has. This works against discoverability of games published by indies or single developers unless the game itself can stand out. So unless the game comes from an already established franchise or studio it might not find the success it needs to help the creator survive in the current economic environment.

Tag: VideogameIndustry

Gaming Chronicle #12

Gaming Chronicle #8