1 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:12,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from iHeartRadio. He there, 2 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:15,600 Speaker 1: and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. 3 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:18,479 Speaker 1: I'm an executive producer with iHeart Podcasts and how the 4 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:23,279 Speaker 1: tech Are you well. Welcome to our continuation on the 5 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:27,480 Speaker 1: topic of games as a service or live service games. 6 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:30,600 Speaker 1: If you missed Monday's episode, I recommend you go and 7 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:33,560 Speaker 1: check that one out first. But in general, we're talking 8 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:37,520 Speaker 1: about the tendency for video game developers to move toward 9 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:41,840 Speaker 1: generating games that have a long tail for revenue, whether 10 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:46,279 Speaker 1: that's setting up a subscription model or micro transactions or 11 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:49,760 Speaker 1: something else. I left off last time alluding to how 12 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:53,320 Speaker 1: some developers and publishers started to require gamers to have 13 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:56,880 Speaker 1: a persistent Internet connection for their games. That's where we're 14 00:00:56,920 --> 00:00:59,280 Speaker 1: going to pick up today. These are games that would 15 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:03,440 Speaker 1: require players to have an Internet connection even if the 16 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:07,640 Speaker 1: game they were playing otherwise had no online component to it, 17 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:12,119 Speaker 1: like no multiplayer, nothing else. So this was all part 18 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:16,520 Speaker 1: of a DRM strategy or digital rights management. Still very 19 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:21,319 Speaker 1: much something that's happening today, but you know, a decade ago, 20 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:25,840 Speaker 1: this was kind of a new idea. Back in twenty eleven, 21 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 1: Ubisoft released a PC version of the game from Dust 22 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:34,240 Speaker 1: from Dust in case you're not familiar with it, I wasn't. 23 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:37,640 Speaker 1: This is not one of the Ubisoft titles that I've played, 24 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:40,320 Speaker 1: but anyway, it's a game in which you play is 25 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:44,280 Speaker 1: kind of a god. You're manipulating landscapes so that your 26 00:01:44,319 --> 00:01:49,320 Speaker 1: worshippers can establish communities and prosper, kind of like Populous 27 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 1: if you remember those old games. The PC version of 28 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:55,360 Speaker 1: the game required an Internet connection in order to even launch, 29 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:58,440 Speaker 1: but the game itself was a single player experience, so 30 00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:00,960 Speaker 1: if you didn't have an Internet connection, the game would 31 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:04,320 Speaker 1: not even start. You'd be Soft apparently posted a message 32 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:07,040 Speaker 1: at some point that said you could play the game 33 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:10,799 Speaker 1: with on Internet connection at least after the first play session, 34 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:14,720 Speaker 1: where you would register your copy. But according to sites 35 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:17,920 Speaker 1: I was looking at various media outlets tested this and 36 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:20,959 Speaker 1: found that not to be true. So the whole purpose 37 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:24,160 Speaker 1: of this particular practice was to cut back on piracy 38 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 1: and to require players to prove that they were playing 39 00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:30,600 Speaker 1: on an authorized copy of the game. That you're presumed 40 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 1: guilty until you prove yourself innocent. In other words, now, 41 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:37,560 Speaker 1: as I mentioned in the previous episode, one thing game 42 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:42,200 Speaker 1: companies really want to eliminate is the video games after market. 43 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:47,640 Speaker 1: That's bad for gamers because you know, sometimes I remember 44 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:50,000 Speaker 1: doing this myself. You go to a game store and 45 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:53,560 Speaker 1: you look at the used games and say like, well, 46 00:02:53,639 --> 00:02:56,840 Speaker 1: I can't really afford to buy this brand new, but 47 00:02:56,880 --> 00:03:00,240 Speaker 1: I can buy a used copy and experience this game. Well. 48 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:03,240 Speaker 1: Game companies hate that because they don't make money on 49 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:07,200 Speaker 1: any subsequent sales of used copies. They only make money 50 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:11,200 Speaker 1: if you're buying the new ones. So moving to a 51 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:16,520 Speaker 1: digital realm where digital distribution becomes the norm as opposed 52 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: to physical media, that would be a huge benefit to 53 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:22,639 Speaker 1: the video game companies for lots of reasons. It cuts 54 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 1: down on production costs because you don't actually have to 55 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:27,760 Speaker 1: make anything. Physical cuts you know, you don't have to 56 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:32,840 Speaker 1: ship anything, you don't have to have warehouses to store inventory. 57 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:35,680 Speaker 1: There are a lot of things that it solves. But 58 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:40,400 Speaker 1: it opens up the possibility of piracy. And there's not 59 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:43,400 Speaker 1: a publisher out there, no matter what kind of media 60 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 1: we're talking about, that isn't up in arms about the 61 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: possibility of piracy, not even if piracy is even happening. 62 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:54,880 Speaker 1: We've heard in the past about how companies have argued 63 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:58,520 Speaker 1: they have lost millions or even billions of dollars due 64 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:01,160 Speaker 1: to piracy. Although this is all always a difficult argument 65 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:04,040 Speaker 1: to make because, as I have said many times, you 66 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:06,680 Speaker 1: can't point to piracy and say that's the same thing 67 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:10,200 Speaker 1: as lost sales because there's no guarantee that the people 68 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:14,400 Speaker 1: who pirated the stuff would have purchased it legitimately. Otherwise 69 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:17,960 Speaker 1: you can't make that argument. But it's obvious that piracy 70 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:22,400 Speaker 1: could have a massive impact. So this is particularly understandable 71 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:25,479 Speaker 1: with the digital landscape. It is incredibly simple to make 72 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:29,520 Speaker 1: copies of stuff. It's almost effortless to do so, right, Like, 73 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:32,520 Speaker 1: you could just make a copy available on something like 74 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:35,359 Speaker 1: a peer to peer sharing network or a server or something, 75 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 1: and that's all there is to it. You don't have 76 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:41,479 Speaker 1: to like sit down and transfer tapes to disc and 77 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:44,320 Speaker 1: all that kind of stuff. So companies have spent a 78 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:46,960 Speaker 1: lot of time and effort developing strategies to prevent people 79 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:50,040 Speaker 1: from being able to do that. The problem for gamers 80 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:53,719 Speaker 1: is that these measures often create a negative experience for 81 00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:57,080 Speaker 1: people who have purchased a legitimate copy of the game, 82 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:02,520 Speaker 1: and if anything, that kind of actually encourages more piracy 83 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:04,800 Speaker 1: attempts because people will try to find a way to 84 00:05:04,839 --> 00:05:07,479 Speaker 1: strip DRM out of games so that they can have 85 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:11,919 Speaker 1: an unfettered gaming experience. Like when the experience of playing 86 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:16,360 Speaker 1: a legitimate copy of a game is worse than playing 87 00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:19,080 Speaker 1: a pirated copy, people are going to start pirating more. 88 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 1: It's been argued many times that DRM has made piracy 89 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:27,680 Speaker 1: worse rather than prevented it. Anyway, Ubisoft's move was a 90 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:30,440 Speaker 1: pretty rough one, and to say that people were upset 91 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:33,839 Speaker 1: is putting it mildly. Though they might be more upset 92 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:36,359 Speaker 1: if From Dust had actually been a more popular game. 93 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:39,960 Speaker 1: I don't know if they were like diehard From Dust fans. 94 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:43,240 Speaker 1: I honestly had not heard of this game before. Diablo three, 95 00:05:43,279 --> 00:05:47,640 Speaker 1: which inarguably had a much higher profile than From Dust, 96 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:51,000 Speaker 1: had similar criticisms thrown its way. Diablo three is a 97 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,719 Speaker 1: game from Blizzard, and the Diablo franchise has been a 98 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:57,480 Speaker 1: really popular one over the years. It's also no stranger 99 00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:00,760 Speaker 1: to play or frustration. There have been some pretty notable 100 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:06,080 Speaker 1: outcries from players relating to Diablo. Like From Dust, Diablo 101 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:11,039 Speaker 1: three required and always on connection because of DRM. But 102 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:15,080 Speaker 1: unlike From Dust, Diblo three also had a few benefits 103 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:19,359 Speaker 1: that derived from that persistent online connection, stuff like you know, 104 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:22,440 Speaker 1: leader boards and that kind of thing. So you could 105 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:26,240 Speaker 1: argue there was at least some additional value for the 106 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:30,599 Speaker 1: player for connecting online for each session, you know, beyond 107 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:32,960 Speaker 1: just being able to boot up the game and play 108 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:35,440 Speaker 1: it in the first place. But people were still upset 109 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:37,920 Speaker 1: that a single player game would require an Internet connection 110 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:40,240 Speaker 1: at all. And I get it. You know, I've lived 111 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:43,600 Speaker 1: in places that have had really spotty internet, and I've 112 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:46,120 Speaker 1: also taken games with me on trips where I've gone 113 00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:48,720 Speaker 1: to places where there was no Internet connection at all. 114 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:51,719 Speaker 1: It is beyond irritating when you fire up a game 115 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:55,479 Speaker 1: that you have paid for, perhaps even paid full price for, 116 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:59,080 Speaker 1: and because of a lack of Internet connection, you can't 117 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:01,880 Speaker 1: launch it because the game just assumes you're a nasty 118 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:05,080 Speaker 1: little thief. Like again, you are presumed to be guilty. 119 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:08,080 Speaker 1: It's pretty insulting after you've dropped like sixty or seventy 120 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:11,080 Speaker 1: dollars on a title. Anyway, this whole thing is a 121 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:13,520 Speaker 1: bit of a tangent from games as a service. It 122 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:17,000 Speaker 1: is related, I would argue, but it's not directly connected 123 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:20,200 Speaker 1: to it. I guess the persistent internet connection element, however, 124 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:22,640 Speaker 1: would become a component for a lot of these live 125 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:26,520 Speaker 1: service games. It's what enables companies to create a stream 126 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:31,320 Speaker 1: of updates and content releases that keeps players engaged in 127 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:35,280 Speaker 1: particular games, and it opens up opportunities for these companies 128 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:38,520 Speaker 1: to make more money. Now. In that last episode, I 129 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:43,640 Speaker 1: also talked about MMO games that's massively multiplayer online games. 130 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:48,760 Speaker 1: I specifically talked a lot about mmoorpgs. The RPG stands 131 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:51,080 Speaker 1: for role playing game. Just in case you're not familiar, 132 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:56,080 Speaker 1: Nearly all of the early mmoorpgs worked on a subscription 133 00:07:56,280 --> 00:07:59,080 Speaker 1: model in which gamers would have to purchase a copy 134 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:02,120 Speaker 1: of the game. You buy a copy, but then you 135 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:04,960 Speaker 1: would also have to pay a recurring monthly fee to 136 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:09,600 Speaker 1: access the online servers that hosted the game. Typically, the 137 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:12,920 Speaker 1: purchase would come with a certain number of months added 138 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:15,880 Speaker 1: in to or bundled in with that price, so that 139 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:19,040 Speaker 1: you're not, you know, paying fifty bucks for a game 140 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:21,800 Speaker 1: and then immediately having to pay ten or fifteen dollars 141 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:25,040 Speaker 1: a month to play it. But eventually, you know, even 142 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:29,960 Speaker 1: if you didn't mind the fee, you would potentially run 143 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:33,640 Speaker 1: up to a problem where you have experienced kind of 144 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:37,320 Speaker 1: like everything the game has to offer. So at that point, 145 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:40,520 Speaker 1: a company might see subscriber numbers start to drop off, 146 00:08:40,800 --> 00:08:43,560 Speaker 1: and the costs of running servers so that you know, 147 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:48,240 Speaker 1: remaining players could continue to access the game would continue, right, like, 148 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:52,920 Speaker 1: the cost of supporting that game doesn't go away just 149 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:57,160 Speaker 1: because some people are leafing. So this meant that there 150 00:08:57,240 --> 00:08:59,800 Speaker 1: was an incentive for companies to come up with ways 151 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:03,440 Speaker 1: to keep players staying on the game for longer, to 152 00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:06,760 Speaker 1: keep them gauged, so they would start to generate new 153 00:09:06,840 --> 00:09:10,679 Speaker 1: content in order to do that. Now, some mmrpgs would 154 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:13,440 Speaker 1: require players to spend a decent chunk of change to 155 00:09:13,559 --> 00:09:17,160 Speaker 1: access that new material. So World of Warcraft, for example, 156 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:21,960 Speaker 1: has had nine major expansion packs released since the game 157 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:26,000 Speaker 1: first debuted, and these expansions typically introduce a lot of 158 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:29,920 Speaker 1: new content. Sometimes it actually changes existing areas in the 159 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:35,559 Speaker 1: game dramatically at times, and this reflects massive story elements 160 00:09:35,559 --> 00:09:39,880 Speaker 1: that unfold in the world's narrative. These expansions would mean 161 00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:43,920 Speaker 1: that two different players could have wildly different experiences within 162 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:46,880 Speaker 1: the game, Like if one person had purchased and installed 163 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:49,920 Speaker 1: an expansion and the other one hadn't, there's going to 164 00:09:49,960 --> 00:09:54,160 Speaker 1: be a gap in those experiences. But typically these gaps 165 00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:57,800 Speaker 1: would only kick in at higher character levels in the 166 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:01,320 Speaker 1: game that you couldn't even access these new areas until 167 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:04,360 Speaker 1: you had reached a certain level, So until that point 168 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:06,600 Speaker 1: there wouldn't be a whole lot of difference between the 169 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:09,760 Speaker 1: two experiences. However, beyond that, the person who had the 170 00:10:09,800 --> 00:10:12,480 Speaker 1: expansion would be able to experience areas and content that 171 00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:15,079 Speaker 1: the other one would not have access to and could 172 00:10:15,080 --> 00:10:19,640 Speaker 1: not get to. The expansions themselves would cost extra to purchase, 173 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:23,880 Speaker 1: so you would have to buy the expansion, and then 174 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:27,600 Speaker 1: at that point you just had the normal subscription fee 175 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:31,839 Speaker 1: kick in after whatever grace period there might be unless 176 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:36,240 Speaker 1: whatever game you're playing switched to a free to play mode, 177 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:40,160 Speaker 1: and typically that means that players can access some of 178 00:10:40,200 --> 00:10:43,360 Speaker 1: the game for free, but then eventually they hit a 179 00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:46,960 Speaker 1: content paywall that will require a subscription in order for 180 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:50,040 Speaker 1: them to access it. I've played a few games where 181 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:52,600 Speaker 1: it did this, where you could walk around and then 182 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:55,920 Speaker 1: you might find like a gateway, but the gateway itself 183 00:10:55,920 --> 00:10:58,800 Speaker 1: would be inactive to you because you would have to 184 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:01,320 Speaker 1: pay a subscription before or you would be allowed to 185 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:04,600 Speaker 1: access it. World of Warcraft actually made this transition to 186 00:11:04,679 --> 00:11:07,640 Speaker 1: free to play back in last year in twenty twenty 187 00:11:07,679 --> 00:11:10,480 Speaker 1: three and allowed players to create characters and level them 188 00:11:10,559 --> 00:11:13,240 Speaker 1: up to level twenty before they hit a paywall, and 189 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:16,120 Speaker 1: at that point it's time to part with fifteen dollars 190 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:18,800 Speaker 1: per month. Or you can opt to pay for several 191 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:22,720 Speaker 1: months in advance, which reduces the cost per month that way. 192 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:25,760 Speaker 1: Or you can use something they call game time, where 193 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:28,760 Speaker 1: you could just pay for sixty days of access and 194 00:11:28,800 --> 00:11:32,880 Speaker 1: it doesn't become a recurring subscription. So maybe you've been 195 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:35,640 Speaker 1: playing for a while and you dropped off, So then 196 00:11:35,679 --> 00:11:38,680 Speaker 1: you pay, you know, for game time, you get sixty 197 00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:41,760 Speaker 1: days access, you play for two months to try and 198 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:44,880 Speaker 1: access of some of the content that you hadn't seen already, 199 00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:47,240 Speaker 1: and then once that time is over, you could just 200 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:50,000 Speaker 1: choose to walk away or you know, subscriber, whatever you 201 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:52,560 Speaker 1: want to do. In more recent years, we've seen the 202 00:11:52,559 --> 00:11:56,360 Speaker 1: industry at large put more emphasis on these ongoing revenue 203 00:11:56,360 --> 00:11:59,679 Speaker 1: generation models. A Grand Theft Auto of five, which sold 204 00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:05,160 Speaker 1: a mind boggling one hundred ninety five million units since 205 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:07,839 Speaker 1: it came out way back in twenty thirteen according to 206 00:12:07,880 --> 00:12:12,040 Speaker 1: Statistic Anyway, that's a great example, according to game Ramp. 207 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:18,160 Speaker 1: According to game Rant, GTA five had a budget of 208 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:26,240 Speaker 1: two hundred sixty five million dollars for development. That is insane. 209 00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:29,920 Speaker 1: In fact, according to the numbers, it was even bigger 210 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:34,600 Speaker 1: than the largest budgeted film for twenty thirteen. That film 211 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:38,320 Speaker 1: was The Loan Ranger, which bombed, but The Loan Ranger's 212 00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:41,439 Speaker 1: budget was estimated to be around two hundred and twenty 213 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:45,840 Speaker 1: five million dollars. So GTA five cost forty million dollars 214 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:50,760 Speaker 1: more in budget than the largest budgeted film of twenty thirteen. 215 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:55,040 Speaker 1: That is an incredible number to think about, and then 216 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:59,319 Speaker 1: you think, well, making that money back, making a profit, 217 00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:05,520 Speaker 1: that's really challenging. However, for Rockstar, that investment is paid 218 00:13:05,559 --> 00:13:08,760 Speaker 1: off because GTA five has made around eight and a 219 00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:12,960 Speaker 1: half billion dollars billion with a B since it was 220 00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:15,800 Speaker 1: released in twenty thirteen. And again, that number is just 221 00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:19,280 Speaker 1: it's so huge as to be unimaginable to me. And 222 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:22,080 Speaker 1: a large part of that revenue is thanks to the 223 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:27,880 Speaker 1: online component, fittingly called GTA Online. It wasn't ready when 224 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:32,079 Speaker 1: the game initially launched, but GTA Online would become an 225 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:36,360 Speaker 1: enormous powerhouse for Rockstar in time. Now, the access to 226 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:39,520 Speaker 1: the online component is free, or at least it's free 227 00:13:39,559 --> 00:13:42,760 Speaker 1: on top of whatever fee a gamer might be paying 228 00:13:42,880 --> 00:13:46,400 Speaker 1: in order to access online services through their respective platforms, 229 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:49,800 Speaker 1: because both Xbox and PlayStation have done that right where 230 00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:52,040 Speaker 1: you have to pay a certain amount in order to 231 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:56,000 Speaker 1: be able to tap into the online capabilities of those consoles. 232 00:13:56,520 --> 00:13:59,959 Speaker 1: There are options to spend real world money in GA 233 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:04,360 Speaker 1: Online to unlock in game content. You can choose to 234 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:07,000 Speaker 1: just play it for free. You don't have to spend money. 235 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:10,000 Speaker 1: You can opt to earn stuff in the game, but 236 00:14:10,040 --> 00:14:13,840 Speaker 1: it's going to be at a rate that is really slow, 237 00:14:14,679 --> 00:14:17,040 Speaker 1: slow enough that you might find yourself tempted to spend 238 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:19,520 Speaker 1: some real world cash to speed things up a bit, 239 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:23,720 Speaker 1: purchasing a so called Shark card with real world money 240 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:28,040 Speaker 1: in Jet's virtual cash into your GTA online character's bank account, 241 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:32,400 Speaker 1: or as Rockstar has put it, quote cash is king 242 00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:36,080 Speaker 1: in this town. Solve your money problem and help get 243 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:39,520 Speaker 1: what you want across Los Sentos and Blaine County with 244 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:43,080 Speaker 1: the occasional purchase of cash packs for Grand Theft Auto 245 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:46,400 Speaker 1: Online end quote. But just to cover their butts and 246 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:49,400 Speaker 1: to emphasize that maybe you should practice a little restraint, 247 00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:54,040 Speaker 1: the company also adds, quote spend wisely. Cash therapy is 248 00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:57,320 Speaker 1: fleeting in the quote, and I guess say I'm impressed 249 00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:00,000 Speaker 1: with help blatant. Rockstar is on the whole spend money, 250 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:02,320 Speaker 1: need to make our game more fun for you messaging. 251 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:06,920 Speaker 1: In fact, we'll touch on that more in just a moment, 252 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:19,800 Speaker 1: but first let's take a quick break to thank our sponsors. Okay, 253 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:23,760 Speaker 1: before the break, we were talking about GTA Online and 254 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:30,160 Speaker 1: the incentive that Rockstar has created to convince players to 255 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:36,680 Speaker 1: spend real world cash on in game currency. That virtual 256 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:38,600 Speaker 1: cash in the game is what gets you access to 257 00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:41,720 Speaker 1: some of the fanciest toys that are available. That might 258 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:44,400 Speaker 1: be a suite headquarters where you can hang out with 259 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:47,920 Speaker 1: your buddies. It might be brand new vehicles that you 260 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:50,120 Speaker 1: can tool around in. It could be all sorts of 261 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:53,720 Speaker 1: different stuff. And you can even purchase a version of 262 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:57,680 Speaker 1: GTA Online that's separate from the GTA five game if 263 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:00,000 Speaker 1: all you want to do is just play the online component, 264 00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:03,640 Speaker 1: and that'll save you like twenty bucks in upfront costs 265 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:07,040 Speaker 1: at that point. Now, rock Stars being a bit cheeky 266 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:10,400 Speaker 1: in its descriptions of this, but I feel the company's 267 00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:13,000 Speaker 1: messaging is shining a light on one of the real 268 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:16,840 Speaker 1: challenges of live service games. At least in the minds 269 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:20,960 Speaker 1: of some gamers, and that's making sure that players don't 270 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:23,720 Speaker 1: walk away with the feeling that they have to keep 271 00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:27,040 Speaker 1: paying in order to make a game be fun. Like 272 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:30,600 Speaker 1: that's a terrible realization to come to. Right You're playing 273 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:33,600 Speaker 1: a game and you're like, well, this isn't fun. I'm 274 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:36,720 Speaker 1: not enjoying this, and then you realize, oh, the fun 275 00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:40,040 Speaker 1: stuff has been locked behind a paywall, so I have 276 00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:44,200 Speaker 1: to pay money if I want to actually enjoy this experience. 277 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:47,600 Speaker 1: There is a very delicate line between providing new experiences 278 00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:50,520 Speaker 1: and content for players that they feel is worth paying 279 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:53,080 Speaker 1: for and holding back on the best stuff of the 280 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:56,360 Speaker 1: game unless the players cough of the dough. If players 281 00:16:56,400 --> 00:16:59,240 Speaker 1: start to feel that they're being milked of cash just 282 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:02,480 Speaker 1: because they want to have fun playing a game, they 283 00:17:02,520 --> 00:17:05,440 Speaker 1: get resentful for really good reason. I mean, games are 284 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:08,840 Speaker 1: supposed to be entertaining. That's why they exist. So if 285 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:11,600 Speaker 1: you get a feeling that a game is not entertaining 286 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:14,719 Speaker 1: unless you keep paying money to the developer, that just 287 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:17,920 Speaker 1: feels like you're being exploited and taken advantage of. That's 288 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:21,760 Speaker 1: not fun. Rockstar has continued to develop lots of content 289 00:17:22,080 --> 00:17:26,879 Speaker 1: for GTA online, which means that it's also important for 290 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:30,000 Speaker 1: them to continue to generate a stream of revenue because 291 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:33,800 Speaker 1: without the revenue, there's no incentive for Rockstar to spend 292 00:17:34,160 --> 00:17:37,639 Speaker 1: assets to build stuff for the game. You would just 293 00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:40,080 Speaker 1: have a static world and it would only exist for 294 00:17:40,119 --> 00:17:42,480 Speaker 1: as long as Rockstar was willing to pay for the 295 00:17:42,600 --> 00:17:45,600 Speaker 1: maintenance of servers. Right, So you have to have that 296 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:50,359 Speaker 1: ongoing revenue stream. And we don't yet have GTA six 297 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:53,680 Speaker 1: available to us. It is in development and we've seen 298 00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:57,119 Speaker 1: some like first looks and stuff, but the general expectation 299 00:17:57,280 --> 00:17:59,960 Speaker 1: is that we're going to see such a similar approach 300 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:04,760 Speaker 1: GTA six that embraces long tail revenue streams. Hopefully they'll 301 00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:08,280 Speaker 1: be incorporated in a way that doesn't feel like rock 302 00:18:08,359 --> 00:18:11,800 Speaker 1: Star is trying to exploit its fan base. But without 303 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:15,960 Speaker 1: that long tail, there's no reason to spend the ginormous 304 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:18,280 Speaker 1: amounts of money needed to build out a game with 305 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:21,480 Speaker 1: the scope of GTA. There's no reason to spend two 306 00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:25,840 Speaker 1: hundred and sixty million dollars making a game because you'd 307 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:28,080 Speaker 1: never make that back. So you can argue that if 308 00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:32,320 Speaker 1: players reject the GTA online model, game studios would have 309 00:18:32,359 --> 00:18:34,879 Speaker 1: no option but to scale way back on games and 310 00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:38,199 Speaker 1: cut budgets drastically in order for the business model to 311 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:41,560 Speaker 1: make sense. Would that be a bad thing, Not necessarily, 312 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:44,680 Speaker 1: but it would mean that the games we would get 313 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:48,560 Speaker 1: would be less ambitious in scope, right, We wouldn't have 314 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:53,560 Speaker 1: these enormous open world games with incredible depth and detail 315 00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:55,960 Speaker 1: to them. I think of things like games out of 316 00:18:55,960 --> 00:19:01,000 Speaker 1: Bethesda where you're looking at Fallout or Elders Roles. These 317 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:05,719 Speaker 1: are huge, epic worlds. Whether you enjoy them or not 318 00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:09,960 Speaker 1: is up to your subjective tastes, but it's undeniable that 319 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:12,080 Speaker 1: there's a huge amount of work that goes into them, 320 00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:16,880 Speaker 1: and those things aren't possible if you can't find these 321 00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:20,639 Speaker 1: ways to generate long tail revenue for the most part, 322 00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:24,960 Speaker 1: because who's gonna be able to keep that and make 323 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:28,600 Speaker 1: it sustainable. On the flip side, some people would argue, well, 324 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:32,760 Speaker 1: games have gotten so large in scope that it's overwhelming 325 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:36,800 Speaker 1: and stops being fun, And that's a different conversation. Again, 326 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:40,119 Speaker 1: I think it comes down to personal preference. But maybe 327 00:19:40,160 --> 00:19:41,919 Speaker 1: then you'd say, well, I think it might be a 328 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:44,800 Speaker 1: good thing for the video game industry to kind of 329 00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:47,880 Speaker 1: check itself a bit and take a step back and 330 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:55,200 Speaker 1: perhaps not tackle these ever growing projects that get increasingly 331 00:19:55,359 --> 00:19:58,320 Speaker 1: more complicated and expensive. That's the real rub of it. 332 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:01,440 Speaker 1: Even for teams that just want to build a single 333 00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:05,320 Speaker 1: player experience, to do that on a triple A scale 334 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:08,399 Speaker 1: requires a level of investment. It's just plain hard to 335 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:12,160 Speaker 1: profit from if it's just a single purchase model. If 336 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:16,560 Speaker 1: all you're doing is making an incredibly rich, detailed, enormous 337 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:20,080 Speaker 1: first single player game and then releasing it and just 338 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:22,560 Speaker 1: selling the one copy and that's it, you would need 339 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:26,280 Speaker 1: to sell so many copies of that game to return 340 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:29,960 Speaker 1: something to that level of investment that it's a huge risk. 341 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:35,520 Speaker 1: Ongoing revenue streams, either from subscriptions or micro transactions or whatever, 342 00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:38,760 Speaker 1: are way more attractive. The good developers will build that 343 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:41,480 Speaker 1: into their plans for a steady stream of new content 344 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:44,280 Speaker 1: adding value to what hopefully is already a good game. 345 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:47,439 Speaker 1: Bad developers will hope they can ring as much cash 346 00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:51,000 Speaker 1: out from players as they can before the gig is 347 00:20:51,119 --> 00:20:54,840 Speaker 1: up and you know, everyone calls them out on their BS. 348 00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:59,119 Speaker 1: Many live service games have adopted a seasonal structure for 349 00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:04,760 Speaker 1: their content. Games like Sea of Thieves, Fortnite, Fall Guys Deep, 350 00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:08,760 Speaker 1: brought Galactic Dead by daylight. Tons of games use a 351 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:13,080 Speaker 1: seasonal model. Some of these games introduce new content during 352 00:21:13,119 --> 00:21:16,280 Speaker 1: a season with the promise that once the season is over, 353 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:19,520 Speaker 1: players will no longer be able to acquire the stuff 354 00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:22,479 Speaker 1: that had been introduced. And this creates a sense that 355 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:25,520 Speaker 1: if you allow your subscription to lapse or you don't 356 00:21:25,560 --> 00:21:28,119 Speaker 1: pay up to access this new season, you're going to 357 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:30,320 Speaker 1: be missing out and you won't ever be able to 358 00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:33,800 Speaker 1: get whatever stuff was introduced at that time. So the 359 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:39,040 Speaker 1: fomo that fear of missing out is strong with seasonal approaches. Now, 360 00:21:39,119 --> 00:21:43,200 Speaker 1: let's talk about another specific subset of micro transactions and games. 361 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:46,000 Speaker 1: This is one that has drawn criticism and scrutiny from 362 00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:49,800 Speaker 1: regulators around the world, and that would be lootboxes. Some 363 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:54,080 Speaker 1: games let players buy in game items directly. Right, maybe 364 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:56,520 Speaker 1: you have your eye on a particular outfit in a 365 00:21:56,560 --> 00:21:59,640 Speaker 1: game and you think that looks really snazzy. I really 366 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:02,879 Speaker 1: want to have my character wearing this outfit, and maybe 367 00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:05,840 Speaker 1: the game allows you to actually PLoP down real world 368 00:22:06,359 --> 00:22:10,159 Speaker 1: dollars or whatever currency you are working in so that 369 00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:13,359 Speaker 1: your in game character can look amazing. That's great. You 370 00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:15,280 Speaker 1: know the people who want to do that can do that, 371 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:18,000 Speaker 1: and everyone else can just move along. But what if 372 00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:22,560 Speaker 1: instead you can only spend money for the chance of 373 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:26,040 Speaker 1: getting that outfit, and there's no guarantee that that's what 374 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:29,880 Speaker 1: you're going to get. That's what loot boxes represent. They 375 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:33,840 Speaker 1: are in game items that represent a random or pseudo 376 00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:37,520 Speaker 1: random bit of content. So players spend real world money 377 00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:40,600 Speaker 1: not on a specific thing, but on the equivalent of 378 00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:43,320 Speaker 1: a pull on a slot machine. So if the player 379 00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:46,879 Speaker 1: is incredibly lucky, the loot box will reveal that they've 380 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:50,320 Speaker 1: been awarded the very thing that the player wanted, but 381 00:22:50,359 --> 00:22:53,159 Speaker 1: the odds are not very good. You could argue this 382 00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:57,399 Speaker 1: whole model is heavily inspired by gambling, particularly on stuff 383 00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:00,480 Speaker 1: like slot machines. So why do folks play slot machines. 384 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:04,320 Speaker 1: They play because the machines represent the possibility of a payout, 385 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:06,920 Speaker 1: and a lot of machines are designed so that they 386 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:12,040 Speaker 1: display near misses right like, it's not just a clear miss, 387 00:23:12,119 --> 00:23:15,000 Speaker 1: though that can be shown too, but you're so close 388 00:23:15,080 --> 00:23:17,640 Speaker 1: it almost lined up, and if it had lined up, 389 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:21,199 Speaker 1: you would have gotten a big payout. That creates this 390 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:25,000 Speaker 1: feeling that you almost succeeded and that you just need 391 00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:27,000 Speaker 1: to stick with it a little bit longer. And then 392 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:29,879 Speaker 1: you're going to be rolling in the dough. It's all 393 00:23:29,920 --> 00:23:33,320 Speaker 1: in an effort to encourage more gambling. Despite the token 394 00:23:33,359 --> 00:23:36,480 Speaker 1: warnings and some casinos about the dangers of gambling addiction, 395 00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:41,880 Speaker 1: loot boxes arguably do something very similar. They tempt players 396 00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:46,080 Speaker 1: with the prospect of awarding rare in game items, whether 397 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:49,439 Speaker 1: those items are purely cosmetic or maybe they have some 398 00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:53,520 Speaker 1: in game effect, and that has gotten companies into trouble. 399 00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:56,679 Speaker 1: Various lawsuits around the world have been built around an 400 00:23:56,760 --> 00:24:00,280 Speaker 1: argument that loot boxes are, at their heart, a kind 401 00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:03,840 Speaker 1: of gambling. However, one thing that has remained a sticking 402 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:07,119 Speaker 1: point is that, unlike gambling, the stuff that comes out 403 00:24:07,119 --> 00:24:10,720 Speaker 1: of loot boxes typically cannot be converted back into real 404 00:24:10,720 --> 00:24:15,439 Speaker 1: world dollars, so that has defeated the gambling argument in 405 00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:18,640 Speaker 1: a lot of court cases. That's an important distinction, right. 406 00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:21,120 Speaker 1: If you go to play a poker game, for example, 407 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:24,280 Speaker 1: you may first have to convert your money into chips, 408 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:26,680 Speaker 1: and then you play your game. Let's say you're up, 409 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:29,080 Speaker 1: you're down, whatever it is. At the end of your 410 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:31,919 Speaker 1: time playing, you take whatever chips you have and you 411 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:34,960 Speaker 1: convert them back into money. But with loot boxes, you 412 00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:37,040 Speaker 1: don't get to do that, you convert your money into 413 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:39,840 Speaker 1: loot boxes, or you convert your money into some in 414 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:43,440 Speaker 1: game currency that you then spend on loot boxes. Then 415 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:45,679 Speaker 1: you open the loot boxes and you end up with 416 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:49,280 Speaker 1: whatever the rewards are, but you can't change those back 417 00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:53,000 Speaker 1: into real world dollars, at least not for most games. Now. 418 00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:55,240 Speaker 1: I say most games because there have been lots of 419 00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:59,119 Speaker 1: games that have allowed players to trade items in game 420 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:01,879 Speaker 1: between one another, where you can give it as a 421 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:04,560 Speaker 1: gift or you can trade for something else. And in 422 00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:07,920 Speaker 1: those types of games, time and again we've seen markets 423 00:25:08,080 --> 00:25:12,120 Speaker 1: spring up, player run markets in which players are offering 424 00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:16,600 Speaker 1: to give away items in return for real money. But 425 00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:18,840 Speaker 1: in those cases, you could argue this is really just 426 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:21,720 Speaker 1: more of a black market situation. The game itself is 427 00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:26,000 Speaker 1: not responsible for creating those markets. It's arguably just inspiring 428 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:29,199 Speaker 1: it to happen. Many of the loop box court cases 429 00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:32,360 Speaker 1: essentially have boiled down to saying that loop boxes are 430 00:25:32,359 --> 00:25:37,160 Speaker 1: not technically gambling. But there's plenty of work published out 431 00:25:37,160 --> 00:25:40,040 Speaker 1: there that points out how video games are relying on 432 00:25:40,119 --> 00:25:43,840 Speaker 1: the same incentives as you would encounter in games of chance. 433 00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:47,080 Speaker 1: I already mentioned the near miss thing with slot machines. Well, 434 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:51,880 Speaker 1: slot machines also will give much smaller payouts, sometimes small 435 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:55,560 Speaker 1: enough where it's not even covering however much money you've 436 00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:59,080 Speaker 1: been spending as you're playing, and that this also helps 437 00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:03,119 Speaker 1: encourage people play longer and to lose more money. Well, 438 00:26:03,359 --> 00:26:07,240 Speaker 1: video games can also give out smaller payouts to convince 439 00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:09,879 Speaker 1: you that, oh, you almost got the thing you wanted. 440 00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:14,960 Speaker 1: You did get something. It's much lower in your esteem 441 00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:17,800 Speaker 1: than whatever it is you're after, but at least it's something. 442 00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:21,320 Speaker 1: And there are all these little feedback methods that games 443 00:26:21,359 --> 00:26:24,000 Speaker 1: rely on in order to keep their players active in 444 00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:27,480 Speaker 1: the game and hopefully spending more money to achieve some 445 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:30,760 Speaker 1: specific task. So I think it's legit to argue that 446 00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:34,480 Speaker 1: the games are using somewhat predatory strategies in order to 447 00:26:34,520 --> 00:26:39,720 Speaker 1: maximize revenue, even if the end result isn't gambling from 448 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:42,720 Speaker 1: a legal sense. It's just, you know, it's not against 449 00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:45,440 Speaker 1: the law to get people hooked on playing a game 450 00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:49,960 Speaker 1: that's not illegal. So that's the big loophole there. Now, 451 00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:55,760 Speaker 1: there is one massive drawback to all the online stuff 452 00:26:55,800 --> 00:26:57,919 Speaker 1: that we do need to talk about, But before we 453 00:26:57,960 --> 00:27:00,520 Speaker 1: get to that, we're going to take another quick break 454 00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:12,400 Speaker 1: to thank our sponsors. Will be right back all right. 455 00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:15,200 Speaker 1: Before that break, I alluded to the fact that there 456 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:19,840 Speaker 1: is a huge disadvantage to these online components, and that 457 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:22,880 Speaker 1: is that there can come a time when a game company, 458 00:27:22,880 --> 00:27:28,520 Speaker 1: for whatever reason, withdraws support for the game and operating 459 00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:31,520 Speaker 1: game service. You know, like I said, it requires ongoing investment. 460 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:35,359 Speaker 1: You have to do maintenance and repair, You have to 461 00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:39,000 Speaker 1: pay electrical bills if nothing else. So even just keeping 462 00:27:39,080 --> 00:27:42,919 Speaker 1: an online game going requires a company to pour money 463 00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:45,080 Speaker 1: into it. So it should come as no surprise that 464 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:48,840 Speaker 1: sometimes companies will shut stuff down if the money coming 465 00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:51,280 Speaker 1: in is less than the money going out. That's what 466 00:27:51,320 --> 00:27:52,840 Speaker 1: you got to do in order to keep your business 467 00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:56,439 Speaker 1: afloat right. And also there are times where companies just 468 00:27:56,440 --> 00:27:59,040 Speaker 1: go out of business. You know, maybe they went bankrupt, 469 00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:01,440 Speaker 1: maybe they got a quiet. All of these things can 470 00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:04,280 Speaker 1: affect whether or not a game will continue to get 471 00:28:04,320 --> 00:28:09,480 Speaker 1: ongoing support. The list of abandoned games online games is 472 00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:12,960 Speaker 1: pretty long, and of course it will just get longer. 473 00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:16,800 Speaker 1: They include a lot of MMORPGs, you know, games like 474 00:28:16,840 --> 00:28:21,560 Speaker 1: City of Heroes or Asheron's Call or Jade Dynasty, among 475 00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:24,520 Speaker 1: with like dozens of others have had their day in 476 00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:28,520 Speaker 1: the proverbial sun, only to subsequently fade from view now. 477 00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:33,679 Speaker 1: Sometimes the communities for these games will keep things running 478 00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:36,480 Speaker 1: with fan run servers. I mean City of Heroes has 479 00:28:36,520 --> 00:28:39,640 Speaker 1: some of those where there's community servers out there that 480 00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:43,000 Speaker 1: you can still play on. But other times the game 481 00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:46,240 Speaker 1: just goes away and it means that you've got a 482 00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:49,120 Speaker 1: game in your collection that you paid money for that 483 00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:51,240 Speaker 1: you could no longer play because there's no longer a 484 00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:54,760 Speaker 1: server supporting it. Sometimes the problem actually has to do 485 00:28:54,800 --> 00:28:57,640 Speaker 1: with things like licensing fees. Right Like, if a game 486 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:01,960 Speaker 1: has been made that draws upon an establish IP, typically 487 00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:05,240 Speaker 1: that sort of thing is done for a set amount 488 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:08,760 Speaker 1: of time and that is determined by a licensing agreement. 489 00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:12,560 Speaker 1: Like a company might secure a license for a popular 490 00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:16,120 Speaker 1: IP I'm just gonna name a random one. Let's say 491 00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:20,440 Speaker 1: it's Batman, and the agreement allows the company to run 492 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:24,480 Speaker 1: this game for five years before the licensing agreement expires. Well, 493 00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:27,080 Speaker 1: when that agreement does reach the end of its life cycle, 494 00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:30,160 Speaker 1: that means that the game company either needs to pay 495 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:33,840 Speaker 1: to renew that license or it will have to end 496 00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:36,160 Speaker 1: support for the game. And if a game again is 497 00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:38,880 Speaker 1: not driving enough revenue, you can bet the company would 498 00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:41,640 Speaker 1: go with option number two for games that require an 499 00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:45,720 Speaker 1: always on DRM connection. That is another huge hassle, right 500 00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:48,240 Speaker 1: because if someone buys a copy of the game, they 501 00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:51,080 Speaker 1: typically expect to be able to play that anytime they 502 00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:54,680 Speaker 1: want from that point forward. They bought it, so they 503 00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:57,480 Speaker 1: should be able to play it. However, if the game 504 00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:00,959 Speaker 1: they bought requires a connection to a DRM server and 505 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:04,480 Speaker 1: the game company goes away or those servers are shut 506 00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:07,680 Speaker 1: down and they don't send out some sort of update 507 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:10,920 Speaker 1: that removes that DRM, that means the gamer is pretty 508 00:30:10,960 --> 00:30:13,800 Speaker 1: much faced with two options. I either find a cracked 509 00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:16,560 Speaker 1: copy of the game that has had the DRM stripped 510 00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:19,160 Speaker 1: out of it so they can just keep playing, or 511 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:22,080 Speaker 1: they never play the game again because there are no 512 00:30:22,280 --> 00:30:25,560 Speaker 1: verification servers out there and so the game won't launch. 513 00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:28,880 Speaker 1: A couple of games have really frustrated players with DRM 514 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:33,760 Speaker 1: server shutdowns, such as Three Switched and dark Spot. Both 515 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:37,560 Speaker 1: of those games had always on DRM, and both of 516 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:40,800 Speaker 1: those games had those servers shut down, which made the 517 00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:43,360 Speaker 1: games inert and it meant the only way you could 518 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:46,520 Speaker 1: play them was to get cracked versions of those games. 519 00:30:46,520 --> 00:30:51,480 Speaker 1: So again, this DRM really is inspiring piracy more than 520 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:56,000 Speaker 1: dissuading pirates. But obviously the games that exist solely as 521 00:30:56,080 --> 00:31:00,840 Speaker 1: online experiences are affected by server shutdowns, and that's It's 522 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:03,200 Speaker 1: like the same thing as saying you have one copy 523 00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:05,200 Speaker 1: of the game, it's stored on your computer's hard drive, 524 00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:08,880 Speaker 1: and your hard drive dies, well, like imagine that, but 525 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:12,880 Speaker 1: it's for an online server and the entire instance is dead. 526 00:31:13,120 --> 00:31:16,479 Speaker 1: Sometimes again, communities will keep things going all in an 527 00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:18,960 Speaker 1: effort to keep a game alive past it shutdown date. 528 00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:22,400 Speaker 1: Other times you will hear about players who will gather 529 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:26,000 Speaker 1: online when a game is coming to an end, kind 530 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:28,840 Speaker 1: of like they're there to observe the end of the world, 531 00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:31,600 Speaker 1: like it's an apocalyptic film or something. There are videos 532 00:31:31,600 --> 00:31:37,040 Speaker 1: online of players congregating on various online worlds just as 533 00:31:37,080 --> 00:31:39,960 Speaker 1: those online worlds were getting switched off for the last time. 534 00:31:40,320 --> 00:31:42,520 Speaker 1: There are other really big issues in the video game 535 00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:45,080 Speaker 1: industry these days, apart from the ones I'm talking about, 536 00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:48,240 Speaker 1: Like one big one is the push to get games 537 00:31:48,320 --> 00:31:52,400 Speaker 1: released as quickly as they can be. Gamers are notoriously 538 00:31:52,480 --> 00:31:56,520 Speaker 1: bad at dealing with delayed gratification. That's part of why 539 00:31:56,560 --> 00:32:00,000 Speaker 1: there's this rush among some gamers to jump into earth. 540 00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:03,560 Speaker 1: The access for games or for beta testing, and so 541 00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:06,640 Speaker 1: video game companies are often under a ton of pressure 542 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:09,400 Speaker 1: to get games out the door, even if those games 543 00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:11,520 Speaker 1: are not fully baked yet, and a lot of that 544 00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:15,040 Speaker 1: pressure doesn't necessarily just come from gamers, but from higher 545 00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:17,400 Speaker 1: up on the food chain in the games industry, like 546 00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:20,680 Speaker 1: there might be parent companies that want numbers on spreadsheets 547 00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:22,920 Speaker 1: to look real good in time for an earnings call, 548 00:32:23,080 --> 00:32:24,920 Speaker 1: and they might put the pressure to get a game 549 00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:28,040 Speaker 1: out the door even if it's not fully ready yet. 550 00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:31,360 Speaker 1: So lots of times games go live while they still 551 00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:33,959 Speaker 1: need a lot of TLC. And it's become pretty common 552 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:36,600 Speaker 1: in the video game world to release a title and 553 00:32:36,640 --> 00:32:39,800 Speaker 1: then require players to also download a massive patch early 554 00:32:39,880 --> 00:32:41,600 Speaker 1: on to fix issues with the game, and a lot 555 00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:43,840 Speaker 1: of games will release patches in the months that follow 556 00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:46,440 Speaker 1: the released in order to address various bugs. Now, to 557 00:32:46,480 --> 00:32:49,560 Speaker 1: be fair, we were talking earlier about the size and 558 00:32:49,640 --> 00:32:52,960 Speaker 1: scope of massive like Triple A games. These days, when 559 00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:56,760 Speaker 1: you get to that size, there's just no way for 560 00:32:56,800 --> 00:33:00,640 Speaker 1: you to test everything thoroughly with all all the different 561 00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:05,040 Speaker 1: possible variations that will happen once a game goes gold, 562 00:33:05,080 --> 00:33:08,040 Speaker 1: assuming that game is popular, right, you can only test 563 00:33:08,120 --> 00:33:11,080 Speaker 1: so many things. But in the real world people will 564 00:33:11,120 --> 00:33:13,600 Speaker 1: try all sorts of stuff that you never even thought of, 565 00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:15,880 Speaker 1: and some of that's going to break the game. So 566 00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:17,600 Speaker 1: it's really only when the game is out in the 567 00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:20,680 Speaker 1: real world and players are putting it through its paces 568 00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:24,240 Speaker 1: that you find where the pain points are. And you 569 00:33:24,280 --> 00:33:29,000 Speaker 1: should expect patches to follow the release of larger games, 570 00:33:29,160 --> 00:33:30,840 Speaker 1: but yet it's still something of a joke in the 571 00:33:30,880 --> 00:33:33,640 Speaker 1: game's world that anytime a game comes out these days, 572 00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:37,240 Speaker 1: it does so with an enormous patch required on day one. 573 00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:40,600 Speaker 1: But this is the world of big games. That's how 574 00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:44,000 Speaker 1: things are now. And of course there are still smaller 575 00:33:44,160 --> 00:33:46,960 Speaker 1: games out there, you know, games that don't necessarily require 576 00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:52,200 Speaker 1: persistent online connections or have micro transactions or seasons of 577 00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:54,880 Speaker 1: content or any of that stuff. But the studios that 578 00:33:55,080 --> 00:34:00,280 Speaker 1: make these games are often these smaller, independent studios that 579 00:34:00,440 --> 00:34:03,320 Speaker 1: are in the sights of the bigger players in the space. 580 00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:07,600 Speaker 1: As those bigger companies gobble up the studios left and right, 581 00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:12,440 Speaker 1: so your Microsoft's send your ten cents and your Embracer groups. 582 00:34:12,440 --> 00:34:16,760 Speaker 1: They go out there and they acquire these smaller companies, 583 00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:20,200 Speaker 1: and sometimes these are the same companies that get shut 584 00:34:20,320 --> 00:34:23,719 Speaker 1: down later on by these bigger fish like you know, 585 00:34:24,120 --> 00:34:28,839 Speaker 1: Arcane Austin and Tango Game Works and those sorts of studios. 586 00:34:29,320 --> 00:34:33,080 Speaker 1: There are ways to do live service games correctly. There 587 00:34:33,080 --> 00:34:35,080 Speaker 1: are ways that you can do it where it doesn't 588 00:34:35,120 --> 00:34:38,920 Speaker 1: seem to withhold the best content in return for you know, 589 00:34:39,120 --> 00:34:41,960 Speaker 1: someone paying a ransom to the developer to get access 590 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:44,800 Speaker 1: to it. There are ways that encourage players to enjoy 591 00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:48,880 Speaker 1: a game on their own terms, which can include spending 592 00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:52,040 Speaker 1: a bit more after initial purchase if the players want to. 593 00:34:52,200 --> 00:34:55,040 Speaker 1: I've played a few games myself where I've chosen to 594 00:34:55,120 --> 00:34:58,440 Speaker 1: purchase stuff in game because the title I was playing 595 00:34:58,520 --> 00:35:01,240 Speaker 1: was free to play, or or I had been playing 596 00:35:01,239 --> 00:35:03,640 Speaker 1: it for years and I was really enjoying it, and 597 00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:06,600 Speaker 1: I wanted to continue to support something that I really 598 00:35:06,680 --> 00:35:09,200 Speaker 1: liked because that's the way I get more stuff that 599 00:35:09,280 --> 00:35:12,120 Speaker 1: I like. Plus, I mean, some of those exclusive outfits 600 00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:15,440 Speaker 1: get real snazzy. But obviously there are lots of ways 601 00:35:15,440 --> 00:35:17,840 Speaker 1: to do it poorly. And I think that's the big 602 00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:20,560 Speaker 1: issue we're seeing right now in the video games industry 603 00:35:20,640 --> 00:35:23,240 Speaker 1: is that there are a lot of companies that seem 604 00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:27,640 Speaker 1: to be pretty eager to throw in as many of 605 00:35:27,719 --> 00:35:31,560 Speaker 1: these abilities to generate revenue down the line of a 606 00:35:31,600 --> 00:35:35,080 Speaker 1: games lifespan as is possible without regard to how that 607 00:35:35,160 --> 00:35:39,919 Speaker 1: actually impacts the playing experience or gamers' perceptions of the game. 608 00:35:40,160 --> 00:35:41,600 Speaker 1: There have been a lot of games that have come 609 00:35:41,600 --> 00:35:46,960 Speaker 1: out recently that have had some hefty criticism thrown their way. 610 00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:50,279 Speaker 1: For this, one that just recently springs to mind is 611 00:35:50,360 --> 00:35:54,359 Speaker 1: the Suicide Squad Kills the Justice League game. That one 612 00:35:54,480 --> 00:35:58,680 Speaker 1: has received a lot of criticism recently for many reasons, 613 00:35:58,719 --> 00:36:03,080 Speaker 1: not just the live service aspects of the game, but 614 00:36:03,120 --> 00:36:06,200 Speaker 1: that has been part of that conversation. So yeah, I 615 00:36:06,280 --> 00:36:08,640 Speaker 1: don't think live service is going away. I don't think 616 00:36:08,680 --> 00:36:11,879 Speaker 1: games as a service is really going away. I think 617 00:36:11,920 --> 00:36:17,000 Speaker 1: you will still find independent game developers who create really 618 00:36:17,239 --> 00:36:21,239 Speaker 1: interesting and fun and entertaining games out there that lack 619 00:36:21,320 --> 00:36:23,319 Speaker 1: a lot of the stuff because they're not working at 620 00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:27,400 Speaker 1: that same scale. But I think just the nature of 621 00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:32,920 Speaker 1: the truly enormous games, the really deep, huge games of scope, 622 00:36:33,280 --> 00:36:37,920 Speaker 1: that kind of necessitates this long tail revenue approach. Otherwise 623 00:36:37,960 --> 00:36:40,000 Speaker 1: there's no reason to do it because you'll never make 624 00:36:40,040 --> 00:36:43,520 Speaker 1: your money back. You'll spend way more developing than you'll 625 00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:47,640 Speaker 1: get from sales. So again I think It's understandable, but 626 00:36:47,800 --> 00:36:50,360 Speaker 1: there is, in my opinion, a right way and a 627 00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:52,880 Speaker 1: wrong way to go about doing it. I hope you 628 00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:56,400 Speaker 1: enjoyed this pair of episodes. I hope you are all well, 629 00:36:56,840 --> 00:37:06,120 Speaker 1: and I'll talk to you again really soon. Tech Stuff 630 00:37:06,239 --> 00:37:10,760 Speaker 1: is an iHeartRadio production. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit 631 00:37:10,800 --> 00:37:14,319 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 632 00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:15,320 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.