Get That Bread: Economics 101

I had mentioned wanting to discuss more of the culture and news involved with the gaming industry for awhile now, partly because I enjoy the coming and goings within the realm, but also so I don’t have to start a new game I then low key lament wanting to then finish in it’s entirety once I’ve previewed it.


“Let me just preview this one and then blow through it real quick
for a review, I’m sure it won’t take long at all…”

Once I remembered Gamescom was about to pop off, I breathed a sigh of relief as I realized there should be no shortage of things to discuss during the events time frame, so keeping ears and eyes out for such happenings would take little effort. I also don’t always have an amazing amount of time in which to balance recreational activities, of which I am including game journaling, so any interesting ideas or quick concepts I can shoot the shit about are par excellence in my world.


Especially if the subject matter is legendary of it’s own accord

One interesting nugget that came across my dashboard in the past day was this brief exchange Phil Spencer had at Gamescom involving Microsoft’s lineup, including the fact that Indiana Jones and the Great Circle had been announced for the PS5. That sentence perhaps doesn’t come off as either head scratching or shocking to some of you reading this, so I take this moment now as a reminder that Microsoft acquired Bethesda awhile back, meaning they own the intellectual property holders of such series as DOOM, Wolfenstein, Fallout, The Elder Scrolls series, and Commander Keen, just to name a few of the juggernauts they’ve got on their side.


The Commander having such a legendary pedigree, his progeny
would go on to destroy both the Nazis and the hordes of hell themselves

To that point, and perhaps speaking redundantly so, the traditional school of thought involved with such an arrangement would be platform exclusivity, for many obvious reasons. There has been a long standing historical precedent within the gaming realm of exclusivity being a real but understandable evil in terms of console wars and there relevant ups and downs over the years. The needle has moved considerably from generation to generation in many different regards, and Spencer reminds us that it will continue to forge ahead with innovations and trying new things with the Indiana Jones brand moving forward.


Which, you know, hasn’t historically always worked out for
the best, but I think we good this time

Which all in all, felt like a bizarre but noteworthy share in terms of gaming news relevancy, as I mean…obviously that is going to happen. It is currently happening already with many of the previously mentioned game franchises on other consoles. But, much like Spencer felt the need to make a statement on the reality of the situation, I too felt the need to chime in on the happening, as gaming is continuing to evolve, and what once was just can’t be anymore. As much as Microsoft wants people to buy an Xbox for their games, some consumers will just never be sold on that system ecosystem, and with the Playstation brand being such a massive seller, MS would be dumb to just leave money on the table like that, especially when they’ve already played nice with both Sony and Nintendo in the recent past about collaborating on shared value in terms of content and reaching across the virtual aisle in doing so.


With smashing results, I may add

With others like Square even dwelling in possible regret about part 2 to the FF7 remake underselling due to it’s exclusivity on the PS5, I’m simply amazed we haven’t already heard of a “demake” of sorts coming to at least the PS4, if not downright porting it to the Xbox family to recoup losses on the development side. Console exclusives were always divisive, and represented a different time in gaming that didn’t have to deal with all of the realities that modern day gaming does, and in most cases make absolutely no viable business sense in placating a smaller group of would be buyers in such a modern cut throat market. If the massive layoffs of this year in the gaming industry is any indication, then making sure as many people get their hands on a game as possible is a win/win/win for both gamer, developer, and publisher a like, and will continue to be the reasonable way forward.

If a mode of thought has no practical application or sustainability to it’s premise, what value remains attached to the premise at hand?

~Pashford