Numbers, MTx, and Fiscal sales discussion thread

[roun90]

Another problem is Epic is also not launching their own store. They are using Google Play Store and Apple iOS Store and ripping off Google and Apple. In Apple's case competing stores cannot exist - since the platform itself belongs to Apple. So it's their right to kick Epic off.

 

In Android's case, you cannot use the Play Store to make people download Epic Store or Fortnite and re-route only the payments to a 3rd party, bypassing the store itself and all security associated with it and go sell 3rd party stuff. It's neither good for the customer nor for the company. When a product appears on Play Store, there is a certain quality guarantee - the product is not a scam, money will not be taken for fraud etc. Epic bypassed all that when they linked their own site to Play Store. Now, Epic is a big name, and might not rob customers. But when you allow 1 such program, you open the floodgates and allow for all. So even very small phising studios will list their stuff on Play Store, link details to 3rd party sites and take customers CC Details away. That "listing" will be allowed - because an exception was already made in Epic's case. That's how rights laws work. So in the entire process, Google's name would have been damaged.

 

It's like ordering KFC burger in a MCDonalds. It's not allowed. And worse, it can also lead to allowing a poisoned street burger on McDonalds, and when a person gets sick eating that - blame will be on McDonalds.

 

What Epic should have done was open their own store, list it prominently in Google Search, so it's API could be downloaded by whoever was interested. Plus, make deals with all prominent mobile manufacturers (Samsung etc.) so Epic Store is loaded by default on their custom Android OS. Unfortunately, they are finding out that mobile users are the most greatest casuals of all, and won't step out beyond Google Play and iOS Store. So they are trying to rip off both Apple and Google, and when confronted - filed a court case to waste time and money, in the hopes that Apple and Google will just give up. Just like defaulting tenants do here in India, when they don't have money and don't want to vacate premises as well.

Edited September 7, 2020 by roun90

[Right]

2 hours ago, roun90 said:

Another problem is Epic is also not launching their own store. They are using Google Play Store and Apple iOS Store and ripping off Google and Apple. In Apple's case competing stores cannot exist - since the platform itself belongs to Apple. So it's their right to kick Epic off.

 

The biggest point which still doesn't understand is that hosting the game on GooglePlay or Appstore gives visibility which can only be measured wrto User Acquisition cost.

In the US, where UA is one of the highest and crosses even 20$ per user for certain demography and certain genres, people get it for free when hosted on Gplay/AppStore.

One still needs to spend on acquisition but amount of free organic downloads devs get on these stores are phenomenal, can never be topped no matter how good you are with SEO.

 

Game which gets featured on Appstore Homepage,  get flux of organic downloads. Now that Epic has screwed their relations with these folks, even they go back after making amends they would never get a place on Homepage.

 

[VelivolusDas]

Uh oh...

 

 

In Apple's September 8 court filing, the tech company is now seeking damages from Epic over breach of contract. "Although Epic portrays itself as a modern corporate Robin Hood, in reality it is a multi-billion dollar enterprise that simply wants to pay nothing for the tremendous value it derives from the App store," the company stated in the filing.

 

In addition to wanting Epic's external payment system permanently stopped and removed, Apple wants all earnings and profits generated as a result of Epic making it possible for players to bypass the App store's payment system. Apple also claimed that it has been "injured in its business and has suffered damages, loss of goodwill and product image, and other harm."

[Guest]

 

[dylanjosh]

Epic had to know all this was coming 

[Guest]

 

[Right]

On 9/9/2020 at 9:34 PM, adity said:

What a mess! 

Although gotta give them credit for the ballsy move. 

If you have read the timeline you would know it was dickmove.

 

They planned it all along, apparently Sweeny sent an email to Apple that it is activating its Trojan to bypass Apple’s IAP.

It was activated at 2AM.

Not only that, Epic misused  a protocol that is only for developers to Hotfix their app quickly, w/o waiting long for usual Approval, in order to avoid getting caught.

 

None of the big developers have supported them on this, because they are in wrong.

Edited September 18, 2020 by Right

[Guest]

Judge says Epic was 'not honest' when it bypassed Apple's payment system in Fortnite

 

 

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You did something, you lied about it by omission, by not being forthcoming. That's the security issue. That's the security issue!" she said. "There are a lot of people in the public who consider you guys heroes for what you guys did, but it's still not honest."

 

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The judge was also "not particularly persuaded" by Epic's argument that forcing developers to use Apple's in-app payment system amounts to illegal "tying," a form of bundling that requires customers who want to buy a particular product to also purchase something else. 

 

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Apple, meanwhile, characterized Epic CEO Tim Sweeney as "the Pied Piper of other developers," saying that he wants them to "cheat, breach [their] agreement, [and] sneak in software to bypass app review."

 

___

 

Epic’s lawyer comes back to the 63 percent figure, saying it represents 71 million people who only access Fortnite through iOS, saying there’s now no way for those people (absent switching phones or gaming devices) for them to play.

 

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Judge YGR: “Walled gardens have existed for decades.” Cites Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft. “It’s hard to ignore the economcis of the industry, which is what you’re asking me to do."

 

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Judge YGR to Epic: "There’s that old saying, ‘A rose by any other name is still a rose.’ You did it yourself. It’s self-help."

 

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We’re unlikely to see a trial in this case before July 2021, she said.

 

On the whole, it seems like a tough day for Epic. 

[Guest]

Activision Blizzard Made $1.2 Billion From Microtransactions In Just Three Months

 

Call of Duty microtransaction sales are four times higher this year compared to last year.

 

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For the latest reporting period, Activision Blizzard made $1.95 billion in revenue from all of its business combined, so the $1.2 billion figure from microtransactions represents more than half of the company's total revenue.

 

[VelivolusDas]

Well,

[Guest]

2020

 

[Guest]

Renamed to MTx and Fiscal sales discussion thread

This thread now covers interesting fiscal reports along with MTX news

Feel free to post fiscal reports of video game companies you have interest in

Keep the discussion civil 

Edited November 3, 2021 by Joe Cool

[Guest]

Take-Two Interactive FY 2022 Q2:

 

 

 

 

• ~5 million more GTA games sold since last report (August)
• Red Dead Redemption 2 has now sold-in over 39 million copies lifetime, up 1M since last quarter.
• Series reached almost 62M units lifetime globally to date, up from 60M.
• NBA 2K series reached over 118M units sold globally to date. Best-selling basketball simulation brand in the U.S. by dollars and units sold.
• Borderlands 3 is now close to 14M copies sold-in, up from 13M last quarter. 72M for entire series.

 

Net revenue rose 2% in Q2 to $858M. Digital at $779M. i.e. 91% of total.

 

Over the next two years, upcoming games are:

 

[Guest]

Electronic Arts FY 2022 Q2: "Strongest second quarter ever."

 

• Net bookings of $1.85B in Q2. $1.15B are Live Service.
• 100M players for EA Sports games in the last six months.
• FIFA 22 players up 16% YoY.
• Battlefield 2042 Beta had 7.7M players.
• Apex continues to grows.
• PGA Tour delayed.
• Expects Live Services to comprise 70% of all net bookings this year.

 

[Guest]

Ubisoft

• AC Valhalla is the 2nd largest profit-making game in company history.
• Far Cry 6 early sales "in-line" with AC Odyssey. Play time up 25% compared to Far Cry 5.
• Net bookings dropped 5% YoY in 1st half 2022. But its was Q2 above target.
• Operating profit down 61%.
• 80% of investments are focused on expanding its premium offering in the coming years.
• Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, Skull & Bones and "more exciting games" scheduled for next fiscal year.
• Prince of Persia Remake, Division Heartland and Rocksmith + are slated for 2022-2023 release
• Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot on why the company's free-to-play games have been getting delayed. Says players testing them like them, but "we have pushback sometimes on some elements, but that helps us to adapt.”

• Ubisoft expects new-gen console installed base to exceed the prior gen. Says its cross-gen releases are showing higher sales on new-gen consoles than old.

• AC Infinity not free to play, will have "lots of narrative" and other things from the series people are familiar with.

 

 

[CarbonCore]

 

Animal Crossing is the only one without any MTX

[Guest]

Square Enix FY22 H1 Earnings

• Revenue -2.2%
• Operating income -7.9%
• HD Games segement down YoY due to FFVIIRE and Avengers release last year
• MMO Segement rose due to sharp increase in paying month FFXIV Online members
• Mobile segment down due to lackluster performance of catalog
• 92% of entertainment revenue is digital
• Sold 17.22m units of software in the first half of FY22 compared to 30.30m in FY21
• "Contemplating robust entry into blockchain games"

 

[Guest]

Nintendo

• 90 million Switch sell-thru lifetime. (Shipments at 92.87M.)
• 79M "annual playing users" in 1st half ending Sept. 87M during highs of last year.
• Seeking 6th year of growth driven by OLED & evergreen titles.
• Switch Online has over 32 million members as of September. It was around 26 million this time last year.

 

 

 

[Guest]

October 2021 consumer spending across video game hardware, content and accessories grew 16% vs YA, reaching an October record $4.4 billion.

Year-to-date consumer spending reached $46.7 billion, gaining 12% when compared to the same period in 2020.

 

 

• October video game hardware dollar sales increased 82% when compared to October 2020, to $472 million.
• Switch was the best-selling hardware platform of October in both units and dollars, aided by the launch of the Nintendo Switch - OLED Model.
• PlayStation 5 remains the best-selling hardware platform of 2021 year-to-date in dollars, while Nintendo Switch leads in units.
• Far Cry 6 debuted as October's best-selling game, instantly becoming the 8th best-selling game of 2021 to date. Far Cry 6 ranked 1st on both PlayStation and Xbox platforms in October.
• Back 4 Blood was October's #2 best-selling game, also ranking 2nd on both PlayStation and Xbox platforms.
• Metroid: Dread debuted as October's #3 best-selling game, while also ranking 1st on Switch. Metroid: Dread achieved the highest launch month sales of any Metroid franchise release in tracked history.
• October was the eighth consecutive month of U.S. consumer spending on mobile games in excess of $2 billion, while spend has surpassed that mark in nine out of 10 months so far in 2021.
• Top U.S. mobile games by revenue in October 2021 included Candy Crush Saga, Garena Free Fire, Roblox, Coin Master, Pokémon GO, Call of Duty: Mobile, Homescapes, Lords Mobile, Clash Royale, and Genshin Impact.
• Gamepads remain the best-selling accessory segment year-to-date, with growth of 7% when compared to the same period a year ago.
• The Xbox Elite Series 2 Wireless Controller was the best-selling accessory of October, while the PS5 DualSense Wireless Controller White remains the best-selling accessory of the year.

[Guest]

November 2021 US NPD

 

 

• Switch was the best-selling hardware platform in both units and dollars for both November 2021 as well as 2021 year-to-date.
• Call of Duty: Vanguard debuted as November's best-selling game, instantly becoming the 2nd best-selling game of 2021 to date. This is the 14th consecutive year a Call of Duty game has ranked as the best-selling game of its release month.
• Battlefield 2042 launched as the #2 best-selling game of November, ranking as the 6th best-selling game year to date. Battlefield 2042 was the 2nd best-selling game of November on both PlayStation and Xbox platforms.
• Forza Horizon 5 set a new Forza franchise launch month sales record (including both Forza Horizon and Forza Motorsport titles) while ranking as the 4th best selling game of November 2021. Forza Horizon 5 was the #3 best-selling game on Xbox platforms in the month.
• Shin Megani Tensei V achieved the highest launch month dollar sales of any Shin Megami Tensei title in history. Shin Megami Tensei V ranked as the 16th best-selling game of November 2021 while also ranking 6th on Nintendo platforms.
• US Mobile - November saw year-over-year spending grow close to 11%, in line with October's performance, and was the ninth consecutive month where U.S. consumer expenditure in mobile games was greater than $2 billion.