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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Should more GaaS titles take the "Splatoon 2" approach regarding length

Whether you like it or not, Games-as-a-Service is not going away anytime soon. The ability to keep players for multiplayer games engaged through ongoing content updates over a long period of time, is just too lucrative for developers and publishers. When done right, GaaS can be a great thing. But a lot of publishers seem to make the mistake of trying to support a game for as long as it prints money. Now unless your game is incredibly popular and versatile like Minecraft or Fortnite, that's not going to happen. It's a reason why many GaaS titles die in popularity within a year or so. Nintendo seems to have found a pretty tasteful approach to its multiplayer and service titles, particularly regarding Splatoon 2. Like its predecessor on the Wii U, Splatoon 2 started out with only modest amounts of content, before more weapons, arenas, and gear were made available for free, along with Free Splatfest events and a $20 single-player game called "Octo-Expansion" which added Octolings to the mix upon completion. Nintendo supported the game with new content for 2 years up until last weekend, where the game held its final Splatfest, with Team Chaos coming out as the Victor, and a "Thank You" Video giving the game a heartfelt send-off. While we won't see any more updates for Splatoon 2 (aside from minor balance updates), the game's servers will still be up and available. If your going to end content support for a live service title, you may as well end it with a bang.

The point is that Nintendo supports their multiplayer titles for only a couple years before ending them, and moving on to something else. I'd say it's a rather tasteful way to approach most GaaS titles. It keeps the game fresh for a few years after release, but it also makes sure the game has a proper conclusion, making sure the game feels honest, and non-exploitative. It also frees the player from loot boxes and aggressive micro-transactions, while also freeing the developers up to eventually work on other projects like a sequel or something completely different. I think more Service games should take notes from Splatoon 2 regarding length and handling of support. Extending the life of a game just enough to keep people playing for a few more years, but also knowing when the game has truly finished, and giving it a proper conclusion.



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Wow, that's some amazing mental gymnastics. Advocating for games not being supported anymore.

I guess I'll go back to my gambling infested Rocket League that still gets regular updates after 4 years.



If you demand respect or gratitude for your volunteer work, you're doing volunteering wrong.

This is the oddest in your "things Nintendo should get credit for" series so far, to be honest.



The point of GaaS is to use a carrot and stick method to keep players playing for as long as possible. This is done by continually introducing new gear that is stupidly hard to get, so that players are forced to grind forever for said new gear. Splatoon doesn't really have this though. New weapons aren't that hard to unlock, and aren't completely overpowered compared to older weapons.

Now compare this to games like the Division 2 where there's a Sniper Rifle so OP that it makes being the Sniper Class completely pointless. Oh, and to get said OP rifle, you need to do several different raids that are only available at random for a week's time. Or something like that. I forget. My boss was telling me about it the other day.

Anyway as Rol said above, Splatoon 2 is not GaaS. It doesn't have extreme grind, power creep, or lootboxes.