Gaming Goals for 2019

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KSubzero1000
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Re: Gaming Goals for 2019

Post by KSubzero1000 »

Chopper wrote: January 3rd, 2019, 8:37 am I don't know anything about these games. :D
Oh well, gimme a free evening or two and I'm sure you're about to find out! And have a big laugh at my misfortune, no doubt. :P

Chopper wrote: January 3rd, 2019, 8:37 am I tend to buy full priced (or first-sale price) games 'to support the devs', i.e. even if I know I won't play it immediately ('immediately' often means 'never'), as I like the idea of that game/underrepresented genre being on the platform - example, Divinity Original Sin 2 on PS4 - and want the developers to know there is a market. This is very foolish. I guess I am a 'whale' of sorts? Does anybody else have this issue?
Sorta, but not to the extent that I'm not playing them at all. I do like to buy physical games at full price if I get a sense that it would send the right message, so to speak. I knew the Yakuza games would be heavily discounted within a few weeks for example, but I gladly bought Zero and the CE of 6 at launch in order to support the devs.
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Alex79
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Re: Gaming Goals for 2019

Post by Alex79 »

If I'm wrong here, I'll happily stand corrected as I'm only guessing, but wouldn't it not make a difference when buying a game physically whether it was full price or in a sale, to the devs. The shop would buy so many at a given price, and that's when the devs get paid isn't it? The amount of money the devs recieve wouldn't depend on the price the shop then decided to sell the product at, would it? Digitally I can totally see how that could make a difference, but using Yakuza as an example, surely it wouldn't make a difference to Sega whether I bought Yakuza Zero physically for £49.99 or £15 in a sale?

I suppose the shop would then judge how many copies it was worth buying to sell next time maybe which I guess may affect things, I'm not sure how it works really.
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Gaming Goals for 2019

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I think you're mostly correct Alex, but the way I understand it is that initial launch sales are often being viewed as the most decisive piece of evidence to ascertain the popularity of a particular series. So buying a game at launch often helps the devs / series in the long term, even if it doesn't make any short-term financial difference.

But if I'm wrong here, I'll happily stand corrected as well! :)
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Chopper
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Re: Gaming Goals for 2019

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I would think these days it has to be 'sale or return', right? Nobody is buying a load of stock in the hope that they'll sell it, though who knows with the gaming industry. But then, are discount/sale prices negotiated with the publisher as time goes on?

So in that scenario it would benefit everyone most to buy full price. Though now I have my doubts and maybe they do buy 120 copies of RDR2 outright.
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Re: Gaming Goals for 2019

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Boxed copies might work like that, but for digital sales the size of your cut only goes down the longer it’s on sale as the storefronts drop the price.
Joshihatsumitsu

Re: Gaming Goals for 2019

Post by Joshihatsumitsu »

KSubzero1000 wrote: January 3rd, 2019, 4:31 am...8. I'm long overdue for a month-long MGS series replay. There are very few works of fiction that can make me fall in (unconditional) love harder than MGS3 alone. And even MGS4, for all its faults...
Spoiler: show
Image

THAT CINEMATOGRAPHY
Oh, how I love MGS4, even, as you say, for all it's faults!

On a related note of the double-edged blade of digital store-front convenience: I've naturally drifted away from the AAA titles, but I really should spend more regarding original itch.io games. There's usually an option to download for free, and I really should be throwing money towards original, low-budget ideas.

I'm already happy to financially support low budget movies, smaller bands, etc... I really should do that more with gaming.
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Gaming Goals for 2019

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KSubzero1000 wrote: January 3rd, 2019, 4:31 am 3. I need to stop compulsively buying a load of discounted digital games only to give up on them after a few hours.
...I just bought Tales of Berseria based on nothing but the trailer and the super-vague description of the themes on wikipedia. Incorrigible.

Joshihatsumitsu wrote: January 3rd, 2019, 9:48 pm Oh, how I love MGS4, even, as you say, for all it's faults!
Spoiler: show
Image

I KNEW YOU'D UNDERSTAND
Joshihatsumitsu

Re: Gaming Goals for 2019

Post by Joshihatsumitsu »

;)
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Magical_Isopod
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Re: Gaming Goals for 2019

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Alex79uk wrote: January 3rd, 2019, 1:33 pm If I'm wrong here, I'll happily stand corrected as I'm only guessing, but wouldn't it not make a difference when buying a game physically whether it was full price or in a sale, to the devs. The shop would buy so many at a given price, and that's when the devs get paid isn't it? The amount of money the devs recieve wouldn't depend on the price the shop then decided to sell the product at, would it? Digitally I can totally see how that could make a difference, but using Yakuza as an example, surely it wouldn't make a difference to Sega whether I bought Yakuza Zero physically for £49.99 or £15 in a sale?

I suppose the shop would then judge how many copies it was worth buying to sell next time maybe which I guess may affect things, I'm not sure how it works really.
It actually depends. A lot of "sales", such as when a slate of newer Ubisoft releases go on at the same time, or when everyone has PS4 controllers $30 off, these are actually part of a rebate program. EA and Ubisoft in particular are extremely reliable for their rebates - paying full price for Ass Creed or Battlefield is irrational, because they will always go on for $20 off within 3 months of release. The trick here is that EA and Ubi both have heavy microtransactions and seasonal releases (esp. with FIFA, NHL, etc.). But have no doubt, these are exactly the same sort of calculated manufacturer rebates as on PC parts.

Interestingly, if you look at how Square-Enix does similar rebates, it actually reveals their corporate structure a little bit... The Eidos branch of their business frequently rebates their newer titles - your Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, etc. But the Japan end of the business is *extremely stingy* with rebates, with their titles often only going on sale due to poor sales relative to copies shipped(Bravely Second and Lightning Returns being two examples that come to mind).

When it comes to a game having poor sales (again, relative to stock), the discounts tend to be less predictable and the retailer is taking a hit. Back when I worked at EB Games, Mercenaries 2 was like, the textbook example. Every location had dozens of copies, and even discounted to $8.97 brand new, they wouldn't move stock. The last store I worked at had to destroy something like 36 copies of that game.
Mirror's Edge was a similar case, which is why I'm shocked it ever got a sequel at all. I think my store received something like 250 copies on each console, and after a couple months, we had so many freaking copies we stashed them on shelves mounted up near the ceiling, where they sat until it went on clearance for $9.89 for Boxing Day the same year it launched. Prince of Persia was a similar situation, though not quite as bad.

You probably weren't expecting such a lengthy response, but I really wanted to highlight just how dubious sales figures can be. Like. Whatever VG Chartz has for Mirror's Edge numbers, I'd be shocked if even 10% of those sold for full price. And something like Resident Evil 6, something stores STILL have brand new PS360 copies of for like $10, that "11 million sold" number is guaranteed BS. Would quite seriously not be shocked if 2-3 million of those are still inventory.
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Re: Gaming Goals for 2019

Post by Magical_Isopod »

Chopper wrote: January 3rd, 2019, 2:25 pm I would think these days it has to be 'sale or return', right? Nobody is buying a load of stock in the hope that they'll sell it, though who knows with the gaming industry. But then, are discount/sale prices negotiated with the publisher as time goes on?

So in that scenario it would benefit everyone most to buy full price. Though now I have my doubts and maybe they do buy 120 copies of RDR2 outright.
Well, in the case of RDR2, it was most certainly more than 120 copies. :P That game sold gangbusters.

As for bulk discounts and all that - Yeah. Retailers do negotiate that sort of thing. Much as it's easy to bemoan pre-orders because of things like Fallout 76 existing, they are actually an extremely reliable metric for gauging order numbers. Bethesda is not only getting shit on by gamers and media, but by the retailers as well. I guarantee it. Because that game had huge preorder numbers founded in lies, and now stores have all this stock they can't even give away. I'd be shocked if that one weren't subject to recalls by the time Spring hits - the retailers are not going to sit on the stock they have. The EB Games here in town has nearly 20 *boxes* of this game sitting unsold. And unlike Mirror's Edge mentioned above, it's not a game that's great, but not worth full asking price - it's just a crap game. So someone's deffos getting fired over that debacle, especially once Zenimax gets to the point of warehousing and destroying recalls.

And for sale prices being negotiated... See above post. :P
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Re: Gaming Goals for 2019

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2018 was a surprise for me, goal wise. I finished very few games but i did earn Ultimate Fan status in Rare Replay, Pirate Legend in Sea of Thieves and got a credit for helping out with Chris Seavor's new game, Rusty Pup.

This year? Who knows but secretly I'm hoping to find my way into a more game design role if/when i QA my next game. Its tricky to not sound like a knob when you're suggesting how games should be made but hopefully I've forged a good relationship that i can use my experience to help shape a game in more ways than just QA.
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Re: Gaming Goals for 2019

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Magical_Isopod wrote: January 4th, 2019, 3:38 am Well, in the case of RDR2, it was most certainly more than 120 copies. :P That game sold gangbusters.
I live in a very small town! :P

Interesting to hear the bricks and mortar shops buy in their stock; I would never have thought that, thanks.
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Re: Gaming Goals for 2019

Post by kintaris »

I'm on a big self-improvement kick this year and games form a small part of that. Namely, I want to spend a little less time playing trash (while admitting to myself that sometimes I want to play trash), and actually get some big names from my backlog completed. (I think my total cross-platform backlog, of purchased games, is nearing 500).

I think my general aim is to read at least 1 book, watch at least 1 movie, listen to at least 1 new album/artist and complete at least 1 major game per month. I have leaned way too hard on gaming recently when I enjoy all forms of media.

I also want to buy myself 1 new item of clothing a month where possible. A strange one, but I'm fed up of just "putting up" with my wardrobe and never feeling particularly well-dressed. I figure this way I will encourage myself to at least look at what's out there once a month and get a better sense of what I actually want to wear.

I successfully kicked the Gamerscore chase last year, though unfortunately I replaced it with a Platinum chase...
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Re: Gaming Goals for 2019

Post by James »

Admirable goals, kintaris!

I don't think you're alone in wanting to redress the balance when it comes to how you spend your spare time. I seem to have a pendulum in my head, swinging back and forth from one year to the next, when it comes to how I divide my time. :-)
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Re: Gaming Goals for 2019

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I'm starting to think this year is going to be a good time to start going through some of the backlog games I have - especially the ones I liked, but just dropped because life and/or new releases came along.

Principally, I want to finish:
- Witcher 3 + DLC (I'm like 100 hours in and just about done Skellige)
- Yakuza 0 (I am just after the parts where
Spoiler: show
Majima reduces the blind girl and Kiryu beats up Kuze in the sewer
)
- AC Odyssey (currently in the "split" just after Athens)

But I also want to restart and finally complete:
- Mother 3 (though I may just settle for Vinny's stream of it)
- Tactics Ogre: Lettuce Cling Together (PSP version, which I've heard is much easier than the original)
- Valkyria Chronicles 3
- Front Mission: Gun Hazard
- Fire Emblem IV: Geneology of Holy War
- Final Fantasy VIII

And I have the following 2018 games to start:
- Vampyr
- Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise
- Fire Emblem Echoes

Pair allllll these games with the fact I still have to find a candidate to run in the 2019 general election (I run an electoral district for a Canadian political party), on top of running a campaign, helping with a bi-election set for Feb 25th in my neighbouring riding... All while effectively working on an internal youth movement within the larger party structure... Gonna be fuckin' mental for me spare time this year bruv, trust.
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Re: Gaming Goals for 2019

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Magical_Isopod wrote: January 13th, 2019, 3:42 am Tactics Ogre: Lettuce Cling Together
:lol:

Nice to see some classic FE love round these parts, too.
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Re: Gaming Goals for 2019

Post by Magical_Isopod »

KSubzero1000 wrote: January 13th, 2019, 3:55 am
Magical_Isopod wrote: January 13th, 2019, 3:42 am Tactics Ogre: Lettuce Cling Together
:lol:

Nice to see some classic FE love round these parts, too.
Lettuce Cling Together is an in-joke from when I worked at EB Games... Certain games were infamous for being a pain in the butt to search on the POS - the best example being "Eternal Poison" being listed as "EP". For whatever reason, the code for Tactics Ogre on PSP pre-owned was something like, "PO - TO: LetcCliTog"... So it just forever became Lettuce Cling Together from that point on.

As for Fire Emblem? It's a series I'm kinda lukewarm on. FE7 on GBA is really memorable for the amazing animations and smart play, but the newer ones - Awakening and Fates - have drifted way too hard into otaku territory.

THAT SAID, I absolutely love the OST to FE4, and I'm hoping it can win me. If it doesn't, I'll try Echoes. And if that one fails me too, I'll just give up on the series.
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Gaming Goals for 2019

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Magical_Isopod wrote: January 13th, 2019, 4:19 am As for Fire Emblem? It's a series I'm kinda lukewarm on. FE7 on GBA is really memorable for the amazing animations and smart play, but the newer ones - Awakening and Fates - have drifted way too hard into otaku territory.

THAT SAID, I absolutely love the OST to FE4, and I'm hoping it can win me. If it doesn't, I'll try Echoes. And if that one fails me too, I'll just give up on the series.
Well I'm an old-school FE fan as well who doesn't like Awakening and Fates either, and I think Echoes is the best of the 3DS lineup by far. The maps are a bit rough (it's a very faithful remake of Gaiden and most of the maps use their original layouts), and some of the mechanics are really retro (no weapon triangle, promote asap, etc...), but the localization is excellent and there is no dating sim-esque nonsense, thankfully. Don't give up on the series yet! There is still plenty to like.
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Re: Gaming Goals for 2019

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Magical_Isopod wrote: January 13th, 2019, 3:42 am - Tactics Ogre: Lettuce Cling Together (PSP version, which I've heard is much easier than the original)
The original must be insanely hard then. The PSP version broke me late in the game and I never finished it.
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Re: Gaming Goals for 2019

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The PSP version allows you to back track and take other routes through the game if you find a particular branch you went down is too hard.
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