Topic: Live service future

render · 2022-05-03T09:07:24+00:00

So another week another acquisition, this time Square Enix selling off a large part of their western studios / IP. Various media outlets are reporting that the low sale price is due to the worth of the single player content traditionally made by these studios, and the fact that even something as big as Tomb Raider can't turn the profit of a live service game. Sony have said as much with their Bungie purchase, and the news that they are currently working on more than 10 live service games. It does seem that most of the industry is moving that way and that the sort of games that many of us love will take a back seat in pursuit of higher profit from always online, constantly evolving, MT driven experiences. I don't play anything live service as such I'm not a big fan of this approach for various reasons. I find playing single player games I can experience lots of different genres, lots of different stories and worlds and in the most part experience some really tight gameplay and great story telling. I know you can get some of those things from live service games but you definitely can't get all of them. The live service ethos is to lock you into playing something long term, locking in your loyalty to that game so that you spend the majority of your time and money there. Destiny 2 is a good example as it sounds like if you haven't got into the game or dip out of it for any length of time then you are likely to miss out on content or in game items which, correct me if I'm wrong, might hinder your understanding of the universe or progress in the game. I think most games are going to struggle with this and for me it would take a lot of the love out of gaming if all the games I enjoyed were run this way. I can't help thinking about how the games I enjoy would work as live service and what would tempt me over the fence. GT7 is as close as I've come so far as it's a great racing game and could be extended a load to include new events, championships, tracks etc. Some of those they are already doing but would I be prepared to pay additional money for them? I'm not sure I would but then perhaps if I hadn't paid for the game that might change things and yeah then I might buy a car or two if I could try them first, or maybe pay a small amount of cash to enter an event. But something like Horizon or Elden Ring, how do they work in a live service world. I can imagine that they could do additional content that's released to expand the world, and weapons and things could be earned through grinding or MTs but that would really take the fun out of finding those items or being given them by an NPC etc. So to those that don't play anything live service - which single player game going live service would tempt you to play it, and what would get you to part ways with your hard earned? Try not to say things like "Hell will have to freeze over first" or "I'd sooner give up gaming" and try to think about what you'd find acceptable. For those that already play live service, do you spend any money on MTs and are you happy with the way your preferred live service game works?

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MaulTsir
Mon 6th Jun 2022

@Th3solution sorry for the late reply busy week or so. But yeah I've actually seen The Soical Dilemma, and this was sort of on point with what we where discussing about live service games, the guys creating them probably never intend them to become the monsters they turn in to. Similar to a car, they only knew they needed seat belts after the crashes until they happen you would never think of the safety net.

MaulTsir

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