The specter of a GTA 6 delay haunts the games industry: 'Some companies are going to tank' if they guess wrong, says analyst
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And only on PC
That's going to be a long wait my friend.
I'd rather wait than buy a console for a single game that will barely hit 720p/30.
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If your game can't even complete with a game nobody knows anything about and doesn't even have a set release date, maybe your game just fucking sucks?
"Just make good games" doesn't really work in the age where we've got tens of thousands of game releases per year compared to the age of a few hundred games per year.
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controversial take, but I hope they do delay it. Better a good game late than a bad game early. As big as this release is, it HAS to be good.
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Fun facts incoming!
Cost of "Mario 64" on release = $59.99
Development budget for Mario 64 = ~$1.56milInflation adjusted Mario 64 cost in 2022 = $111.91
Inflation adjusted Mario 64 budget in 2022 = ~$2.91milCost of "Elden Ring" on release = $59.99
Estimated dev. budget for Elder Ring = $100mil-200milMario 64 units sold = ~12mil
Elder Ring units sold = ~28milThese details are provided without comment. You do the math and decide whether the fact that prices haven't changed since 1996 might be the reason for some of the enshitification we continue to see.
And now for the comment:
Consumers are horrifyingly resistant to price increases for games. It is directly responsible for many of the shitty monetization models we've seen. Development budget continue to rise, even on indie games, while consumers pay less and less in "real money value" over time.
It's completely unsustainable and the very reason the "business types" get involved, forcing unpopular monetization schemes
You're very conveniently and likely deliberately leaving out that more than 1/2 the cost for Mario 64 was manufacturing the cartridge...
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And yet, these days I am finding better games, made by smaller teams, for lower prices (usually between $30-40) from indie devs.
This is where it's at now, 'smaller' teams that actually care about the thing they're making.
We don't need games made by teams of 19,000 people like AC:Shadows, it's bloat. Skyrim was made with a team of less than 300.
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"Just make good games" doesn't really work in the age where we've got tens of thousands of game releases per year compared to the age of a few hundred games per year.
Well making bad games isn't working so well either is it...
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Huh? For £70 I’m getting
Based on what? You don't actually know until it gets released. Sure, past history and reputation are certainly things to factor in, but we've seen plenty of major gaming companies shit the bed, despite their reputations.
Wait until it launches and the reviews come in.
I'm responding to a comment assuming it'll be nothing but a "pay to win" game, despite any real evidence of that - I'm pointing out the expectations of GTA VI.
This sub is like Reddit on steroids. Just a bunch of contrarian kids trying to start arguments on the internet. Bizarre.
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controversial take, but I hope they do delay it. Better a good game late than a bad game early. As big as this release is, it HAS to be good.
Yeah, the Witcher 3 release should have taught the game publishers this. CDPR delayed the launch by several months because the game wasn’t ready to ship yet. And the game was phenomenal, and received rave reviews pretty much across the board. Gamers were disappointed about the launch, but basically went “this game will be worth the wait.”
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Take your console exclusive bullshit and shove it up your ass. I'll play it when it's on PC. And only on PC.
K. You do that.
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You're very conveniently and likely deliberately leaving out that more than 1/2 the cost for Mario 64 was manufacturing the cartridge...
We're still talking about ~3 mil to ~150 mil. If the software dev costs for Mario 64 were closer to ~1.5 mil, what does that have to do with the argument being made?
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And only on PC
That's going to be a long wait my friend.
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meh, I don't think that the reason AAA games are bad is because they cost less. I think it's just greed and rushing the developers.
You realize that costing more does satiate the greed a little bit, right?
Like, yeah, we all know that line-goes-up capitalism isn't sustainable, but there are still other reasons call of duty has loot boxes and battle passes now.
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Yeah, the Witcher 3 release should have taught the game publishers this. CDPR delayed the launch by several months because the game wasn’t ready to ship yet. And the game was phenomenal, and received rave reviews pretty much across the board. Gamers were disappointed about the launch, but basically went “this game will be worth the wait.”
Funny how CDPR themselves then had a major fuck up with Cyberpunk
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Yeah, the Witcher 3 release should have taught the game publishers this. CDPR delayed the launch by several months because the game wasn’t ready to ship yet. And the game was phenomenal, and received rave reviews pretty much across the board. Gamers were disappointed about the launch, but basically went “this game will be worth the wait.”
...and they followed it with Cyberpunk 2077's disastrous launch but ultimate success. So I wouldn't hold CDPR as a high standard.
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We're still talking about ~3 mil to ~150 mil. If the software dev costs for Mario 64 were closer to ~1.5 mil, what does that have to do with the argument being made?
I almost replied from my inbox; glad someone said it before I even got to it haha
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Well making bad games isn't working so well either is it...
The failure of a game doesn't come hand in hand with it being bad. Lots of studios are struggling right now, because there's just so much out there, and no one wants to compete with GTA.
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This will probably be the last time it ever happens. They're trying to get people to double dip, and plenty will, but the console install base isn't what it was when GTA V came out at the end of a generation. Plus we all know full well that the PC version will happen, whereas in yesteryear, we weren't sure.
the console install base isn't what it was when GTA V came out at the end of a generation.
At had a look to check the figures.
From the PlayStation perspective February 2025 estimates put the PS5 at 74.9m, while January 2013 estimates put the PS3 at 77m.
However Xbox is really letting their numbers lag with 28.3m Series consoles sold by September 2024 vs 77.2m 360 consoles by April 2013.
If we were just talking PlayStation I would say 97% is near enough to make no difference but if we compare both platforms together its only 67% and that is enough to influence strategy. A console only release in 2025 is unlikely to eclipse GTA5's position as "fastest-selling entertainment product in history".
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meh, I don't think that the reason AAA games are bad is because they cost less. I think it's just greed and rushing the developers.
I never said anything about the quality of the games. I'm speaking specifically to the monetization bullshit.
As I said elsewhere: budget boat happens in a lot of places. Greedy executive and publishers is one place. Overambitious design goals that get scrapped is another. There's also bad tools workflows, mismanagement, and any number of other contributing factors.
But even indie devs are getting screwed on pricing and making far less than they deserve to be in many cases.
If people keep buying CoD and Assassins Creed, devs will keep making them. And if they can't increase retail price to cover the budget they will find other ways to do it.
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the console install base isn't what it was when GTA V came out at the end of a generation.
At had a look to check the figures.
From the PlayStation perspective February 2025 estimates put the PS5 at 74.9m, while January 2013 estimates put the PS3 at 77m.
However Xbox is really letting their numbers lag with 28.3m Series consoles sold by September 2024 vs 77.2m 360 consoles by April 2013.
If we were just talking PlayStation I would say 97% is near enough to make no difference but if we compare both platforms together its only 67% and that is enough to influence strategy. A console only release in 2025 is unlikely to eclipse GTA5's position as "fastest-selling entertainment product in history".
A game like GTA is likely to drive console sales, but not enough to make up that deficit.
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It did. I've been a GTA player since the first one kn PS1.
I've bought every GTA game.
I have zero interest in GTA6.
not to mention they decided to block Linux users back in October. I had very little interest in it in the last 6 or 7 years, but I decided when a friend played it I would try to join, just to be met with performance issues and getting kicked offline due to their anticheat. So stupid. It worked for years in Linux, then they just decide to boot it.
I lost what little interest period in anything GTA from that.
