Epic Games: Videogame Industry is really scary right now

[ssj12]

greenmedic88 said:

ssj12 said:

 

Let us not forget about Facebook games. Or should I more specifically mention Zynga's social media games.... flash games that are making them rich beyond what anyone ever imagined they would.

Also, I do want to point out the most of the android Angry Birds games are free, they are supported by ad revenue which actually brings in more cash flow than selling it for $.99.

Simply put, small time developers are making small games that are enjoyed by million of people who would rather spend a dollar, nothing, or $5s on ingame money than buying console games that cost $40 - $60. Cost is the factor, which is why Steam sales are so very effective for PC games. 

Free to play, ad supported and pay as you go games are an entirely different can of worms, but in the end, whatever produces enough revenue for developers to keep making games or supporting the games they have already published is viable.

Free to play and ad supported apps do bring a new level of accessibility to anyone with network access though. Additionally, while this aspect is rarely brought up, it also completely circumvents the entire issue of piracy as game sales aren't the source of revenue.

Personally, I won't bother to play anything by Zynga, even for free, but their products do cover a pretty wide demographic. Whether any of those fall into the category of those who would have been playing the next Halo, Call of Duty and just converted to Farmville "because it was cheaper" is highly debatable though.

Remember there are free FPS and F2P FPS MMO titles. Those tend to be what those crowds would go to.