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[ProtoByte]

Yeah, no.

I do think gamers have to get comfortable with paying more than 70 dollars per game in the coming generation(s), but a guy from Xbox and Blizzard saying this isn't the way to signal that.

US devs are making 6 figures a year sitting down in state of the art offices or rolling our of bed to work at home and getting benefits out the wazoo. It's high skilled labor where your job prospects and connections are fantastic if you capitalize. Tipping wasn't made for this stuff.

 

[nush]

If I’m playing a free to play game a lot I’ll make sure to buy the battle pass or a skin or two to support it.

I've put a lot of time into a FTP game, I supported level one and level two of "Player support" payments but you can only make those once. Level 3 was half the price of a full priced game, get fucked you whale hunters. I would have been OK giving them $5 on the regular which on this game would have been more than $100. Except no, they wanted whales.

I still play that game, for free.

 

[nosoynadie22]

Hey, it sounds bad, but if you think about it, this gives companies a reason to make a quality product if they can get a tip.

 

[ProtoByte]

You must have missed the part where the majority of these sp games are coming from multi billion dollar companies. They don't need more money. Period.

What an inane and silly comment.

You must've missed the part that these billion dollar companies are posting figures where they're making more revenue and profit off of microtransactions from F2P garbage than actual game sales. You must've missed the part where companies will only invest in projects if they see profit potential. Out of all businesses, video games are least beholden to "need". Grow up.

Like, EA will make 100x more money on NotFifa Ultimate Team than the do on the high quality Deadspace Remake (or any of the DS games before it), and be surprised that EA doesn't plan on doing anymore Deadspace.

But you get dumbasses like Ybarra saying stuff like this, and even the supposed gaming enthusiasts get whipped up into such a rage that common sense leaves the room.

 

[SmokedMeat]

So wealthy guy who doesn’t have to pay for his games thinks we should tip creators on top of the money we paid.

Maybe the CEO can donate some of their pay towards bonuses for their hard workers?

 

[OmegaSupreme]

What an inane and silly comment.

You must've missed the part that these billion dollar companies are posting figures where they're making more revenue and profit off of microtransactions from F2P garbage than actual game sales. You must've missed the part where companies will only invest in projects if they see profit potential. Out of all businesses, video games are least beholden to "need". Grow up.

Like, EA will make 100x more money on NotFifa Ultimate Team than the do on the high quality Deadspace Remake (or any of the DS games before it), and be surprised that EA doesn't plan on doing anymore Deadspace.

But you get dumbasses like Ybarra saying stuff like this, and even the supposed gaming enthusiasts get whipped up into such a rage that common sense leaves the room.

You're completely ignoring Nintendo in your thought process. I'm not surprised. You're ignorant as hell. These companies were were making billions in profit long before gaas and mtx. Try again. If you want to give these billion/trillion dollar companies more money go ahead. The rest of us have some sense.

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

That’s a terrible idea. Let’s say realistically only 1% of customers tip these games. As a game dev would you want 1% tip on a blockbuster AAA game that sells 5 million in a month or a hit indie that sells 500k in a month . . .

All the talent would congregate to the biggest selling games.

 

[Hudo]

How about no.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

 

[Killer8]

I'm not convinced anyone has ever actually said this.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

I'm not convinced anyone has ever actually said this.

We literally have had a thread recently where some idiots were arguing games should cost more.

 

[ProtoByte]

You're completely ignoring Nintendo in your thought process. I'm not surprised.

You shouldn't be because we're not talking about Nintendo. The exception only proves the rule.

You're ignorant as hell. These companies were were making billions in profit long before gaas and mtx. Try again. If you want to give these billion/trillion dollar companies more money go ahead. The rest of us have some sense.

No, they were expressly not. What the hell are you talking about?

 

[OmegaSupreme]

You shouldn't be because we're not talking about Nintendo. The exception only proves the rule.


No, they were expressly not. What the hell are you talking about?

Jesus Christ. How ignorant. A quick Google search on EA for example showed they passed over a billion in revenue in 2011. Three billion actually. That's just one example. Maybe do even the slightest bit of research next time before you pretend like you know something.

 

[poppabk]

Doesn't seem that horrendous, kinda like shareware back in the day as long as it's completely optional and unobtrusive.
Of course Ubisoft would run with it and require $20 to get back to the menu after completing the game. And then later add a $10 proceed to the final boss fee.

 

[ProtoByte]

Jesus Christ. How ignorant. A quick Google search on EA for example showed they passed over a billion in profits in 2011. That's just one example. Maybe do even the slightest bit of research next time before you pretend like you know something.

EA was doing MTX in 2009, genius. Loot boxes, even. Again: Ultimate team.

 

[MiguelItUp]

Just pay game devs better, and that's it. Most software companies offer similar positions at least $15K-25K more than what the industry usually does. If not more so. Especially in "AAA". Though some studios seem to be actually coming around. But tipping is.... very unnecessary.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

EA was doing MTX in 2009, genius. Loot boxes, even. Again: Ultimate team.

Rockstar made over a billion in games sales on GTA 5. That was as the game launched. So it had nothing to do with mtx. I can do this all day . Keep trying.

 

[TheShocker]

Fuck off with that. They start putting out quality made stuff day one and I will consider simply paying full price. At this point we are paying $70+ for game previews.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Please can you explain what you mean?

Tears of the Kingdom sold 20m copies. If you average that at out at $70 a copy they’ve already made over $1.4b.

It was actually over 20m copies as of December 2023.

How much profit do you think these companies actually need?

It's foolish to choose one of the most profitable examples in modern times and attempt to paint the entire field with that same brush. The single player space does not pump out Tears of the Kingdom size hits very often.

To answer your question...these companies need to make enough profit to invest further into these types of games.

It's harder and harder to do that when the gamers they're going after bauk at every new revenue stream idea they come up with. Single player gamers are becoming the high school prom queen who just turned 35 with two baby daddies. You overvalue yourselves. You're not as hot as you used to be.

 

[Kilau]

The reason why the industry is headed in the direction it is, is because of the attitude in this very thread.

When SP gamers are asked to spend more money they riot.

MP gamers like spending $20 dollars on a new skin.

Do not be confused as to why you're no longer being catered to SP gamers.

Go huff some more GASS.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

You must have missed the part where the majority of these sp games are coming from multi billion dollar companies. They don't need more money. Period.

This mentality leads to rot, decay, and death. Thank God no one at these companies thinks this way.

 

[Osaka_Boss]

This is already a reality on stream. Thats why companies put the ost,.artbooks and photoshoots as DLC there

 

[Killer8]

We literally have had a thread recently where some idiots were arguing games should cost more.

There is an economic argument to do it as gaming has been very resistant to inflation. But that's for bean counters at the publishers to decide, and if price increases happen, it has traditionally been met with major opposition and even boycotts from gamers. That thread was probably gamers playing armchair publisher for a minute. I don't think i've ever heard the following though: "When I beat a game, there are some that just leave me in awe of how amazing the experience was. At the end of the game, I've often thought 'I wish I could give these folks another $10 or $20 because it was worth more than my initial $70 and they didn't try to nickel and dime me every second.'" That sounds more like gamers will willingly be more charitable out the goodness of their hearts and the fondness for the products, which I think is very unlikely.

 

[Banjo64]

It's foolish to choose one of the most profitable examples in modern times and attempt to paint the entire field with that same brush. The single player space does not pump out Tears of the Kingdom size hits very often.

… but you’re painting the entire field with the same brush when you talk about MP games being more profitable due to $20 skins.

For every Fortnite there’s 100 absolute failures like Halo Infinite’s multiplayer.

The multiplayer scene is dominated by long standing games like Rocket League, Fortnite, Apex Legends, Destiny, Sea of Thieves, Counter Strike and the only giant annual multiplayer games are FIFA and CoD.

To answer your question...these companies need to make enough profit to invest further into these types of games.

And $70 single player games are more than capable of this if the quality is there.

It's harder and harder to do that when the gamers they're going after bauk at every new revenue stream idea they come up with. Single player gamers are becoming the high school prom queen who just turned 35 with two baby daddies. You overvalue yourselves. You're not as hot as you used to be.

These companies are more profitable than ever despite their own inability to control costs and development times.

You sound nutty loco.

 

[KXVXII9X]

Sure... Right when people are even getting tired at tipping at Restaurants and other businesses. I'm sure they would love to with games. It is also such a great feeling when you want to support studio you like and buy their games only for them to be like "sike!", we just released an even better version that you will have to pay full price for, and you are left with the "broken" version. That shit is for the birds.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

Do what Grim Dawn does, they have little supporter skin packs for like $7.99 or something. The problem is the negative perception of being “encouraged” to tip for something like this does more harm than good. It always makes it feel like there is a huge disconnect between the customer and the product/service when you get prompted to tip out of the blue.

I like this model where they have a small # of cosmetic items you can buy just to support the game. I’ve bought a few things like this if it’s a game I really like.

But don’t shove it in our faces, don’t plaster that shit all over the start screen. And not if it’s some big budget AAA $70 game. If that type of game requires our donations then there’s something seriously fucked with their business model.

 

[GHG]

The reason why the industry is headed in the direction it is, is because of the attitude in this very thread.

When SP gamers are asked to spend more money they riot.

MP gamers like spending $20 dollars on a new skin.

Do not be confused as to why you're no longer being catered to SP gamers.

Tag checks out.

 

[midnightAI]

I think it's a great idea so long as I can get money back at the end of the game if I don't think it was worth $70

 

[Astral Dog]

If i really like a game, im just happy to support the publisher knowing most people won't even pay full price for it

 

[vagabond-]

tip deez nuts fucking dummy

 

[mdkirby]

I quite like the idea. Particularly as we play so many games “for free” within our subscriptions these days. Not sure about any of the mega corp big funded aaa games he mentioned tho. But certainly for indie and AA games that really deliver, I could see myself shooting them 10-20$ on completion.

 

[Three]

It's funny that he didn't mention a single ABK/MS game, being his former employer and all. the article based on his tweet still tried to include a pic of overwatch 2 though (pic of the new non binary character) and hashtag blizzard ABK. Does an Activison Blizzard game that doesn't try to nickel and dime you even exist at this point?
Seems like Ybarra is finally speaking his mind independently about what he likes to see in games. Ybarra also already knew you wouldn't like the idea:

because it was worth more than my initial $70 and they didn't try to nickel and dime me every second". Games like HZD, GoW, RDR2, BG3, Elden Ring, etc. I know $70 is already a lot, but it's an option at the end of the game I wish I had at times. Some games are that special.

I know most will dislike this idea. BTW, I realize we are tired of "tipping" in everything else - but I view this different from a pressure to tip type scenario many face and give feedback on.

It would be like those donation pages that ask you to enter your own amount. Not exactly against them but really it might slightly cheapen the ending of a brilliant game.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Tipping is something that's cultural for only some countries in the world, and it's typically for low end jobs or ones which involve slaving away like a servant (restaurant worker, bellboy, hair cutters, taxi etc...). Buying a video game and tipping is no different than buying an income tax program from H&R Block. No thanks.

You open up tip options and you'll get this which are at some fast food joints now.

 

[P:axMagellanic]

Multi billion dollar industry constantly with their begging bowls is a pathetic sight.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Multi billion dollar industry constantly with their begging bowls is a pathetic sight.

Some people and companies have no ethics. Give Ybarra credit. He's probably the guy in school who'd trade him stepping in dogshit if you gave him half your chocolate bar.

Anything for a buck.

 

[StereoVsn]

There is an economic argument to do it as gaming has been very resistant to inflation. But that's for bean counters at the publishers to decide, and if price increases happen, it has traditionally been met with major opposition and even boycotts from gamers. That thread was probably gamers playing armchair publisher for a minute. I don't think i've ever heard the following though: "When I beat a game, there are some that just leave me in awe of how amazing the experience was. At the end of the game, I've often thought 'I wish I could give these folks another $10 or $20 because it was worth more than my initial $70 and they didn't try to nickel and dime me every second.'" That sounds more like gamers will willingly be more charitable out the goodness of their hearts and the fondness for the products, which I think is very unlikely.

Who are you giving money to though? It’s not the developers or the artists. It’s a giant $multi-billion corporation (or $multi-trillion) since we are talking about $70 games, so the money will go to the corpo.

The whole concept is dumb. Indie devs already have DLC for audio or artwork or even support DLCs on Steam as pointed about above.

The whole concept is dumb and people thinking that it’s a good idea are half the reason gaming is laden with MTX, F2P shit and loot boxes.

 

[MayauMiao]

..and I thought Phil Spencer was bad.

 

[reinking]

No thanks. If someone feels that way after playing a game, they should reach out to see if the dev has a patreon available or leave a positive review to lead to more sales. We do not need this to be the norm and we do not need to be blasted with begger popups.

Even if this was a brilliant idea, which it is not, who gets the tip? What if I just really like the artwork but not the story? I might want to tip the artists but not the writers. Who is responsible for dividing the tip? We know that any tip that goes into a general fund is not going to make it to the people that do the actual grind. At least not the majority of it. I believe I will pass on this idea.

 

[Three]

The whole concept is dumb and people thinking that it’s a good idea are half the reason gaming is laden with MTX, F2P shit and loot boxes.

If you read his post he's actually saying it as a way to reward the studios that don't nickel and dime you with MTX and lootboxes. A way to say thanks for a good game that didn't do these things. I'm not sure it will have the intended effect though.

 

[apocaliptic]

This actually sounds like a good idea. I'd rather drop an extra $20 at the end of a really well crafted game by my choice than get nickel and dimed with half-assed battle passes, unfinished endgames, and pre order cosmetics. I don't want that crap, but I would love to reinforce that I enjoy a well crafted, finished game.

There were a few times with HD2 that I wished I could tip the developers. I could see this working with live service games that really lean into the live aspects.

You know where to go both you and Ybarra

 

[gothmog]

You know where to go both you and Ybarra

Strip club? They appreciate tips there.

 

[adamsapple]

Not exactly against them but really it might slightly cheapen the ending of a brilliant game.

 

[Megatron]

I like how everyone is so against this. Tips are optional! Who cares if they were to put it in? You don’t have to do it. I personally think tipping YouTube creators is stupid and I will never do it, but I don’t care that the feature is there.

 

[SlimySnake]

Yeah, they are called bonuses, Mr. CEO. try handing them out every now and then instead of begging for tips.

 

[Hrk69]

I'm 100% sure they are going to implement some kid of in-game reward when you tip a certain amount. It's a given.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Well, Ybarra is a video game worker so of course he'll grift for any money that can be sent over.

On the other hand, I'm sure if anyone brought up if a good movie studio, book writer, or toaster manufacturer should be tipped he'd say forget it.

When it comes to messages and social media, always pay equal attention to both the message AND who wrote it.

 

[killatopak]

Fuck that. Buying a game at full price is already tipping you or else I would have waited for a price drop.

 

[balls of snow]

Put the exclusive shit you get from whatever edition on sale and people will buy.

 

[Kenpachii]

Deluxe editions are just that.

 

[Evolved1]

Please can you explain what you mean?

Tears of the Kingdom sold 20m copies. If you average that at out at $70 a copy they’ve already made over $1.4b.

It was actually over 20m copies as of December 2023.

How much profit do you think these companies actually need?

Bro, this person is a joke character. And it's been a tired act for awhile now. I remember when gaf used to ban dipshits whose act lacked any nuance.