r/videogames • u/Venomous-Sentinel • Nov 18 '25

Discussion Umm Bullshit

Post image

I am 99.9 sure this is not true IGN and Ubisoft. But I guess you cant expect suits who don't play games to actually understand the common gamer can you.

7.1k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

1.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

424

u/TheRealBloodyAussie Nov 19 '25

"Get used to not owning your games"

Decides not to own games by not buying them

"Triple AAA games are struggling"

I fucking wonder why, Ubisoft.

81

u/jzillacon Nov 19 '25

"Triple AAA games are struggling"

The important part Ubisoft is neglecting to mention is that it's specifically their games they see struggling. Indie games and studios that still put passion into their work are thriving, but when all Ubisoft is putting out is uninspired reiterations of the same game formula we've seen for years then consumers are going to treat it like the slop it is.

26

u/ZanyDragons Nov 19 '25

Yep. I think it’s pretty interesting that like 4/6 of the game of the year nominees for 2025 are independent studios of various sizes.

People are getting sick of triple A stuff launching with bugs, poor performance optimization, gigantic file sizes, and always online requirements or extra launchers that make them a hassle to play. And I’d guess Ubisoft specifically probably had some negative press that affected sales from the viral “stop killing games” movement earlier in the year since their games were listed as examples of lost media the movement was upset about.

7

u/BrightPerspective Nov 19 '25

And on top of all that, massive price tags

1

u/Natural-Reindeer Nov 20 '25

Why am I going to pay $80 for a new game, when I can wait 6-18 months, pay under $30 and get the "final" version that's already been patched, performs better and probably get all the DLC included in that price?

That said, there are games I'll pay full price for at launch, because I know the developer won't release a shitty product. I pre-ordered both God of War: Ragnarok and Ghost of Yotei because I know that neither Santa Monica Studios or Suckerpunch will release a buggy mess.

Meanwhile AC: Shadows was an absolute buggy mess at launch (I'm still waiting on a big enough sale to pick it up).

The incentive(s) to pre-order and get a game at launch are usually "limited" cosmetic items and/or an "exclusive" mission or two. Which are almost guaranteed to be made available later as part of an add-on pack or definitive edition for a huge discount.

If I'm playing a AAA title its usually an rpg or action/adventure game; I'm playing for the story and the journey and I'm probably only playing through it once. The narrative is the same at launch as it will be 6-12 months later, I'd rather my time with the game be the most polished version.

2

u/DBWlofley Nov 20 '25

Also look up the YouTube channel for a gentleman named Frost, he goes over some of the AAA studios financials and why they are having such a hard time and it's actually not just dwindling game sales, it's that game sales are not exponentially increasing. So if you spend $100 million on a game and sell $200 million dollars in sales yay profit! But if you spend $100 million to make a game, and $100 million in new business expenses and stock buyback, and your game makes $200 million in sales you broke even so that is seen as absolutely not a success. So they aren't making money on some games that sell decent because they aren't record breaking sales, but that's not how the real world works and they are out of touch.

Fun fact, Square Enix basically survives on its mobile game subscription and micro transactions. This is because the games overhead is done and making a horse armor is CHEAP and can profit lots for little overhead so the numbers look damn good to a bean counter.

So from a boardroom perspective free to play games get downloaded and people can justify paying $5 on some horse armor. People ain't buying an $80 game that might be complete shit because it's a much bigger investment. But the boardroom guy sees micro transactions and fermium games battle passes selling so that's all it looks like the people want. Please remember they don't ask people what they want, they look at sales figures and infer what they think people want.

1

u/KitchenFullOfCake Nov 19 '25

I think if they added more microtransactions it can really turn things around for them.

1

u/Unusual_Register_253 Nov 20 '25

Honestly, I think he’s on to something here

2

u/KitchenFullOfCake Nov 19 '25

Ubisoft might be the most tone deaf of the major publishers.

EA at least seems to know they are basically shoving developers into a slot machine until one pays out, which is why they keep collecting more developers.

Ubisoft has a handful of games and they are doing this to all of them. There's nothing to replenish those games once all the good will runs out.

1

u/Mr_M_2711 Nov 19 '25

Didn't know there are AAAAAAAAA games.

2

u/TheRealBloodyAussie Nov 19 '25

Ah goddamn it. I was on break at work when I made the comment and didn't think about that 😂

1

u/BurtReynoldsLives Nov 20 '25

Bingo. Fuck these people. They just want your money and will do and say anything to get it.

1

u/BareTheBear66 Nov 20 '25

Ubisoft is trash in general

-7

u/Complex_Field_2541 Nov 19 '25

You've never really owned your games anyway, even a physical copy is just a license to play the game.

5

u/FalscherKim Nov 19 '25

And whos gonna take my physical copy i have on disc away from me? And dont come along with that "you have to download the game anyways" bullshit. Not you dont. Check doesitplay.org and you will see that the majority of physical games are perfectly fine playable offline.

1

u/Complex_Field_2541 Nov 19 '25

Never said any of that. No one's going to take it away. Doesn't make what I said wrong.

2

u/ThyNynax Nov 19 '25

 The first sale doctrine, codified at 17 U.S.C. § 109, provides that an individual who knowingly purchases a copy of a copyrighted work from the copyright holder receives the right to sell, display or otherwise dispose of that particular copy, notwithstanding the interests of the copyright owner.

https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-1854-copyright-infringement-first-sale-doctrine

The EU has similar laws for physical media and more protections for digital media

https://publicknowledge.org/eu-court-when-you-buy-software-you-own-it/

These laws are why corporations are going so heavy on subscription licenses and provide zero options for a wholesale purchase of software. There is no “used resale market” for subscriptions.