Do better graphics drive video game sales?

That's what the NYTimes examines in their feature today, "Video Games Can’t Afford to Look This Good."

Some key take aways:

👉 Millions are happy to play games with outdated graphics — including Roblox games and Minecraft. (“They essentially run on toasters”).

👉 What younger generations value in their video games: “Playing is an excuse for hanging out with other people.” [This rings true to me].

👉 Cinematic games are getting so expensive and time-consuming to make that the video game industry has started to acknowledge that investing in graphics is providing diminished financial returns.

👉 Optimizing cinematic games for a narrow group of consumers who have spent hundreds of dollars on a console or computer may no longer make financial sense.

👉 One hypothesis is that players got tired of seeing the same artistic style in major cinematic releases.

👉 Others speculate that cinematic graphics require so much time and money to develop that gameplay suffers, leaving customers with a hollow experience.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/26/arts/video-games-graphics-budgets.html?unlocked_article_code=1.kU4._CC0.Tqz9Ca66Beyo&smid=url-share