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posted by CoolHand on Friday January 25 2019, @04:01PM   Printer-friendly
from the would-you-like-to-play-a-game dept.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/us-video-game-sales-hit-43-billion-2018-1178345

Video game revenue reached a new high in the U.S. last year, soaring to $43.4 billion, according to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and The NPD Group. That figure represents an 18 percent increase from 2017.

Software sales — which posted an 18 percent growth in revenue year-over-year, up from $35.8 billion — were fueled by megahits such as Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption 2 (the year's top-selling game in the U.S.), Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Marvel's Spider-Man, God of War and Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Meanwhile, hardware sales also increased significantly from 2017 to 2018. Up 15 percent, hardware revenue (which includes peripherals such as controllers, VR headsets and plug-and-play consoles like the SNES Classic and PlayStation Classic) grossed $7.5 billion across all three major consoles, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.

[...] The gaming industry's 2018 total revenue eclipsed the record North American box office last year. Ticket sales for the year hit $11.9 billion, compared to the previous $11.4 billion record set in 2016. Meanwhile, music industry revenue in the U.S. for the first half of 2018 came in at $4.6 billion, according to an RIAA report in September, suggesting that when total year-end numbers are released, they will fall well short of the gaming industry's total.

The latest figures show that gaming is the top money-driving entertainment industry in the U.S., as well as globally. According to a report last week by Nielsen's SuperData Research division, global digital revenue (which doesn't include sales from consoles or physical copies of games) reached $109.8 billion in 2018 (up 11 percent year-over-year). That number was driven largely by the success of Epic Games' Fortnite, which alone made $2.4 billion last year and solidified itself as a cultural phenomenon worldwide. 


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  • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Friday January 25 2019, @09:25PM (3 children)

    by Freeman (732) on Friday January 25 2019, @09:25PM (#792019) Journal

    Please see GOG for examples of gaming done right. https://www.gog.com/ [gog.com] The current milking of suckers is more of an example of how slow the law is at identifying bad actions. Especially when those actions make some people, very wealthy.

    =======================================
    Great "New" games that don't involve the "Loot Box!" craze:
    =======================================
    Terraria
    (Kinda old, but graphics style ages well. Stupendously awesome free updates have transformed this game from a great game, into one of the top 5 of all time. Arcade kind of action, but so much awesomeness. 100% destructible environment. Specialized equipment required for some destruction.)

    Fallout 4 / Skyrim

    Mount and Blade: Warband
    (The best FPS Medieval action out there. Plus, you can have your own army. Theoretically could treat it like a strategy only game without playing in any of the battles. AI auto-resolve sucks horribly awfully bad, just like most games I've played.)

    Civilization V / Civilization VI
    (Wow shiny, plus cool things, but Civ IV is still king. Though, I'd probably still play Civ II, if it wasn't such a pain to get to function on a modern computer. I'm partial to the wonder videos on Civ II. They were and still are the best ever.)

    X-COM / X-COM 2

    Helldivers
    (Starship Troopers, 3rd Person, Squad base combat, short missions, More slapstic humor than Starship Troopers.)

    7 Days to Die
    (Not for everyone, it's still in Early Access, and their promotional material doesn't do much for promoting the actual game you get. Think, Survival, Construction, and 100% Destructible Environment with exception for protected land claims and small trader outposts.)

    Dungeon Defenders
    (TD/FPS/RPGish This might convince you that not all Tower Defense games are horrible ripoffs of awful Mobile games.)

    Sanctum
    (Another great TD/FPS game.)

    ===============================
    Deplorable games that have decided to milk you:
    ===============================
    Fortnite
    (Not sure, I avoid like the plague.)

    PUBG
    (Not sure, I avoid like the palgue.)

    Overwatch
    (Almost doesn't deserve to be on the list, except that you can buy loot boxes for a game you already purchased.)

    Diablo 3
    (Still leaves a bad taste in the mouth.)

    "Insert here" Pretty much any Free to Play game. Whether it's microtransactions or Loot Boxes, they're generally one in the same.

    ===========================
    On the Fence, but probably great anyway:
    ===========================
    Killing Floor 2
    (You have to pay for the game, but it's got microtransactions like CS:GO does. Not sure, but it might really deserve to be in the deplorable practices section.)

    Dungeon Defenders 2
    (FPS/TD FPS is more prevalent. Not on deplorable list, because it's mostly cosmetics and you don't have to pay for the game.)

    --
    Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
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  • (Score: 2) by Thexalon on Friday January 25 2019, @09:41PM (1 child)

    by Thexalon (636) on Friday January 25 2019, @09:41PM (#792030)

    Diablo 3
    (Still leaves a bad taste in the mouth.)

    And then there's the upcoming Diablo Immortal ...

    --
    The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
    • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Friday January 25 2019, @09:51PM

      by Freeman (732) on Friday January 25 2019, @09:51PM (#792040) Journal

      Yeah, that was definitely bad for the Diablo fans and the company. "Surprise! We've decided to fleece you for all your worth! You're welcome." Definitely was not what gaming fans had in mind. It would be like Valve holding a special event and introducing Half-life 3 designed for iPhone and Android. They'd deserve what they get.

      --
      Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Friday January 25 2019, @11:18PM

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Friday January 25 2019, @11:18PM (#792088) Journal

    Fortnite is free-to-play. Spending money gets you special skins, emotes, dances, and other cosmetic changes that don't affect gameplay.

    https://www.businessinsider.com/fortnite-price-free-to-play-2018-5 [businessinsider.com]

    This says you might be able to use emotes to dodge bullets, but good luck with that:

    https://www.quora.com/To-what-degree-is-Fortnite-pay-to-win [quora.com]

    Same story with PUBG AFAIK.

    --
    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]