PBFT t1_j21ctv0 wrote on December 28, 2022 at 11:12 PM

Reply to comment by Kevrawr930 in Activision's Boston studio workers announce unionization by No-Drawing-6975

This is true, but consider that this is only possible because major publishers mostly green-light projects with well established IP or games with additional funding streams like microtransactions. Studios that don’t make a large enough profit often get restructured to work on more profitable games.

Kevrawr930 t1_j21ezmm wrote on December 28, 2022 at 11:27 PM

Okay?

What the hell does that have to do with anything? Loads of Indie games make hefty profits because they aren't budgeted like a bloated, sprawling beached whales desperately trying to cling to life. If AAA companies can't make money ethically, then I say that means the Free Market dictates that they fail and make room for someone less out of touch with reality.

PBFT t1_j21gk88 wrote on December 28, 2022 at 11:38 PM

I can’t even understand what you’re saying. It’s all just jumble.

If you want to talk free market, consider that there hasn’t been a visible dip in sales among games that raised their prices to $70.

Kevrawr930 t1_j21nl96 wrote on December 29, 2022 at 12:29 AM

???

The first comment I replied to was trying to explain the price increase of games away by stating that the cost of game production had increased. I told you that that couldn't be the real reason because their profits have increased even more than their costs.

Now you seem to not understand how I could possibly think the 70 dollar price was just simple capitalist greed and nothing more.

PBFT t1_j21qda2 wrote on December 29, 2022 at 12:49 AM

You’re confusing two different values for being the same: one is the profits of a publisher and the other is the profits of a development team within a publisher.

Yeah Activision is making record profits off the back of Call of Duty, Diablo Immortal, Candy Crush, etc., but Crash 4 seemingly didn’t meet sales expectations so Toys for Bob was restructured to support Call of Duty development for a while and are now making a GaaS Crash game. If the game rakes in $10 more per game, Activision would be more inclined to let them keep making single player games.

Kevrawr930 t1_j222rfr wrote on December 29, 2022 at 2:20 AM

Yes.

One, single entity controls the profits of the teams working under them. The context clues in the previous sentence should lead you to the answer.

If the publishers are doing well, the studios who make the games that are their sole source of revenue should be doing equally well.