Current Events > Do you think we would benefit from another video game crash?

(+) Yeah! (+)

My knee jerk reaction is yes.

However, idk if a proper crash is even possible anymore.

Lol we avoided a recession because people wouldn't stop buying shit.

No way there's going to be a video game industry crash

When was the last video game crash?

ItsNotA2Mer posted...

When was the last video game crash?

1983 and circumstances were very different then.

not at all. Games are not as creative as they used to be because companies are all about making the most money possible and that wont change with a crash

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It was back around the time they started burying the ET Atari game in the desert. That game is a great example of why the industry crashed back then.

I would love to experience one as we have never had one in Britain!

The original video game crash happened because the market was flooded with a bunch of crap games that were (prohibitively) expensive (around $100 in today's money on average) when average wages were even lower.

ET is just the go to example of the straw that broke the camel's back.

While you can draw mild parallels between then and now, it's an entirely different market and I don't think the current market would allow for a crash. Too many consumers are way too invested into gaming as a serious hobby and that's before you even get into the whole Let's Plays/Twitch streamers/eSports.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

This is actually the reason 1985's Nintendo "Entertainment System" was marketed as such and looked more like a VCR than a console.

archizzy posted...

1983 and circumstances were very different then.

I was still pretty young back then. Didn't realize that was an actual "crash".

It's worth pointing out a few things:

There was only a crash in the NA console space.

Circumstances were different.

The industry was new and people weren't sure it was a fad.

There's no benefit to an industry wide crash, and in any case, it's going to happen to certain publishers that keep pushing live service crap no one cares about.

ItsNotA2Mer posted...

I was still pretty young back then. Didn't realize that was an actual "crash".

I was 7 and remember it pretty well. I had already been gaming pretty regularly for a few years.

No. The market is too insular to benefit from a crash.

Why are we talking about a crash in hypotheticals? It's already happened. A third of all game devs have been fired in the last year. Big games are getting cancelled left and right and a few studios are shut down every week. The only reason it's not being called a crash yet is because it hasn't hit the stock prices or the c-suite executives yet, but they can't eat their own flesh forever.

archizzy posted...

I was 7 and remember it pretty well. I had already been gaming pretty regularly for a few years.

I benefited from it, as it made everything affordable.

I clicked maybe but i regret not clicking partial. We'd benefit from Life service shit crashing so hard they never consider that nonsense again. Likewise games with bloated budgets that follow the same stupid formulas

To be honest, I stopped buying games when everything became about compulsively completing a collection of useless additional shit. I don't have shares in anybody except for Tencent, so honestly I couldn't care less if there's a crash or not.

Asherlee10 posted...

I guess I didn't know there was a crash before

Only in America. Everywhere else was thriving.

AAA do need to get budgets under control or just do it properly.

Wandering__Hero posted...

I clicked maybe but i regret not clicking partial. We'd benefit from Life service shit crashing so hard they never consider that nonsense again. Likewise games with bloated budgets that follow the same stupid formulas

These are not the games that would be crashing.

So wipe out all the independent developers, while the corporate behemoths lumber on?

No thanks.

uh, no?

unless you want every indie dev to close and most regular employees to be fired while executives still collect their million dollar bonuses

IceCreamOnStero posted...

These are not the games that would be crashing.

I dunno about that, I think Kill The Justice League did some harm to the live service formula.

They aren't the ONLY games that could be crashing, but a few more KTJL type failures (or even underperfomances like Avengers) could finish off or at least heavily reduce the model.

I almost entirely play indie games and older games so I don't have a massive amount of skin in the game

I'm going to say no

Just wanted to point out how insane the 80s video game crash was. Total estimated video game revenue did not return to the level of 1982 until about the year 2000.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/4/4ce2affe.png

el_cheato posted...

A third of all game devs have been fired in the last year.

For real? I did a quick search and this came up.

https://www.ign.com/articles/one-third-of-game-developers-say-their-company-was-hit-by-layoffs-last-year

In 2023, it also asked about layoffs. 35% of developers said their company had been impacted by layoffs in 2023, and 7% were laid off themselves.

It sounds like the 33% only refers to companies doing layoffs with about 7% of developers being laid off. That's still a lot, but no where near 33% of the workforce being laid off.

You do know a crash would be worse for the developers than it would be the corporate side of things, right?

No, we would not benefit from another crash. It'd lead to one company once again dominating things. But I think the market is crash proof at this point.

look how much people are outraged by the yearly cyclical earnings-season layoffs at these companies; cutting less than 10% of staff. Imagine a crash. People would be out there with tiki torches and pitchforks in the streets!

I would rather not have another crash since it would screw over devs alot more then it would the execs

But the budgets do need to be brought down, the stupid need for BETTER and more REALISTIC graphics needs to stop, focus on Art styles, also not every damn game needs to be a AAA game

Industry-wide probably not. But if we could get this live service GAAS bubble to pop that'd be great. Hopefully Suicide Squad is a sign of things to come

Partial crash as AAA needs to go back to the drawing board.

Kim_Seong-a posted... Industry-wide probably not. But if we could get this live service GAAS bubble to pop that'd be great. Hopefully Suicide Squad is a sign of things to come

ForsakenHermit posted...

Partial crash as AAA needs to go back to the drawing board.

These, if indies are making really great games then these AAA game studios can make waaaay cooler games than they are now with the amount of money and people they use to make them... if they can stop making the same slop over and over and over again and actually tried to make something new and good instead of relying on & killing off old IPs or using scummy tactics just to make money.

YellowSUV posted...

Just wanted to point out how insane the 80s video game crash was. Total estimated video game revenue did not return to the level of 1982 until about the year 2000.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/4/4ce2affe.png

There are a LOT of interesting data points here, but the one that surprised me the most is where overall revenue actually declines after the release of the 2600.

just avoid AAA games and buy games like Helldivers and Palworld

nothing needs to crash except the bank account of Bobby Kotick

RetuenOfDevsman posted...

There are a LOT of interesting data points here, but the one that surprised me the most is where overall revenue actually declines after the release of the 2600.

My guess is that since the 2600 was the first console that was considered really good, it unexpectedly "siphoned" some revenue off of arcades the next year because people now had a true viable alternative to arcades. Less coins were being put in arcades because people were playing games at home.

I have no proof of any of this, just my intuition.

YellowSUV posted...

Just wanted to point out how insane the 80s video game crash was. Total estimated video game revenue did not return to the level of 1982 until about the year 2000.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/4/4ce2affe.png

handhelds dying that slow death at the behest of mobile gaming is sad to see.

i miss the days where NDS was basically the #1 video gaming device on the planet.

Absolutely. We need to get rid of those who just see the industry as a cash cow. Yes money is the driving principle but the suits actively suppress creativity and soul.

I said no, the indie scene is better than ever it's just producing great graphics is more costly than ever. So companies can play it safe and there is little room for creativity in the 2.5A realm. I think Whitestone may be o e of the worst games I ever played on a technical level. But it was made and they had an idea.

It wasn't slopped out as triple a stuff just to make a deadline.

I think Whitestone is better than Redfall.....
Though Redfall has a good premise there were many many ppl behind that.

What perceived issues do you have with the industry and how would a crash solve them?

The AAA section, absolutely. The indies are the best they've ever been.

archizzy posted...

1983 and circumstances were very different then.

Ya, but did you really feel it?
From a gamer POV nothing really changed.

SiO4 posted...

Ya, but did you really feel it?
From a gamer POV nothing really changed.

Video games and the Video game industry in 1983 and 2024 are vastly different. They are like two different worlds.

I think we could just benefit from less laissez-faire capitalism and the unregulated bullshit.

Wandering__Hero posted...

I dunno about that, I think Kill The Justice League did some harm to the live service formula.

They aren't the ONLY games that could be crashing, but a few more KTJL type failures (or even underperfomances like Avengers) could finish off or at least heavily reduce the model.

I almost entirely play indie games and older games so I don't have a massive amount of skin in the game

Live service games would be the last things to go in the event of a crash. If you think a corporation would prioritise the smaller, more creative studios over the self-propagating cash cow slop, you are deluded.

YellowSUV posted...

Video games and the Video game industry in 1983 and 2024 are vastly different. They are like two different worlds.

Being an industry insider and a gamer are two totally different things.