Sometimes being logged out on YouTube has its perks. Long story short I went travelling through the default algorithm and stumbled upon some videos discussing the topic. It sparked a thought in my mind: Why would Microsoft etc. be charging so much in the current economy?
Are they perhaps in need of extra money to funnel into deepstate projects? Cash drying up so fleece the customers? I wonder what other sorts of products will be seeing unexpected price hikes.
Are videogames, especially digital purchases (aka no hard copy), another way to launder money? Like art? Get someone to buy 100 digital copies of a $100 game, you make $10,000 and no actual product was shipped anywhere...and let's not forget "micro-transactions" where you buy in-game content such as game currency, player skins, weapons etc. Sounds like a most excellent money laundering scheme to me.
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Your 'guy' makes an account on whichever videogame.
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He purchases $50,000 of in-game content. (not that hard, you can literally tick up the number to whatever you want)
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Your high-level contact at Microsoft makes sure that a chunk of that money goes back to you or your project fund, and perhaps takes a bit for himself.
Money has been transferred without a trace, all through a videogame. The only witnesses are Microsoft and your guy. The bank only sees a large purchase from Microsoft. Ah, your guy is just a rich gamer nerd! Or maybe he did it through an educational NGO. Yeah, those students needed new laptops!
The more I think on it the more I'm convinced: Digital purchases are one of the best methods of laundering money. You could run this same script with software, online movie rentals, porn, digital music downloads, NFTs, you name it.
I think that's a definite possibility but I wanted to get more information out on this.
What's happening: Nintendo has announced their newest console, the Switch 2, which will retail for $450. This has already caused an uproar for gamers, because they feel the Switch 2 is too behind graphically and performance-wise to be worth the cost.
Then they announced their games will cost $80. Even games that are just being rereleased on the new console. Also, unlike literally any other game, Nintendo games almost never go down in cost over time. Nintendo keeps them as close to their launch price as possible, even 5+ years later.
There's already been pushback against $70 games, but not as much as you'd hope. And there have been strong rumors that Grand Theft Auto 6 could cost $100 to recoup dev costs. So, 1), people don't want to pay $80-$100 for a single game, and 2), people feel that $80 is a slippery slope to $100 and beyond.
Plus, while Nintendo does very well financially, frankly their games aren't worth that much.
Nintendo is also being extra greedy with the tech demo game they're releasing alongside the console, as it won't be free. But Playstation released Astro's Playroom, a full (but short) game in its own right 100% free, and that led to a massively popular full game created by popular demand. Meanwhile the SteamDeck by Valve also put out a free tech demo.
Another point to consider: Some game and console updates allegedly be locked behind yet another paywall, requiring a subscription to Nintendo's online services ($50/year).
All media has been making a big push to all digital content for a while now. It started with streaming and has been steadily getting worse, with the industry heads wanting to not deal with the costs of manufacturing and shipping, touting convenience for the consumer, and consumers seeing that this can be abused by these companies pulling your rights to content that you purchased whenever they want - without giving you a refund. This has huge implications on digital content ownership and consumer rights.
It's also created a movement "If buying digital content doesn't mean you own it, pirating digital content doesn't mean you stole it".
You could be totally right about this being a slick form of money laundering, but I really think a bunch of it is greed too. I think Nintendo is trying to capitalize on their own IP as well as use the new tariffs to get away with it. "B-But we HAVE to, because the big bad orange man made things so much more expensive for us!"
Finally, the game scene is super shaky for AAA developers right now. There's been so much DEI that legacy dev teams have been wiped out and replaced with opinionated, woke-agenda pushing lefties that it seems every huge new release is controversial because people are sick of woke crap. One big dev, Ubisoft, is falling apart over a historical Japanese game featuring a black samurai, and to stabilize themselves they sold out a bunch of their company to Tencent, a gigantic Chinese company notorious for its Chinese censorship.
At the end of the day I think this is mostly just a mix of greed and pushing boundaries to see just how stupid consumers can be.
You're pretty spot on,
Laughs in 1983 Atari....
The cheapest game was like $49.99 and it was some black and white bs called "Night Driver" and then, you had to drop $79.99 on paddles because it wouldn't work with the regular joystick setup.
These were the days before Activision came out with cheaper and better games...there was no discount NUTHIN...full retail or hit the bricks. You had to pay to play...
Now you can get online and get whatever you want in like a day...or instantly download.
Some remember: Send a SASE and $10 to the address. Allow 8-10 weeks for processing, shipping and handling Sometimes you forgot what you ordered and one day months later, you'd get it.
Well, glad I don't play video games, lol.
My kids and I played one video game so much it left a "ghost" on the 19" B&W TV. It was a new game at the time named "Pong". That was the last video game I ever played.
DAMN you're old school!
Do you still use Windows 98? /(no seriously do you actually own an old PC?)
That's a nice way of calling me old. lol
I'm still using Win95. /jk
I actually do have a desktop that has W98 loaded on it. I have another one I built running XP. Both are operational and are upstairs in my office. I have several laptops down here that I use most of the time. The laptops are all loaded with W10 Pro.
Edited to add: I lied in my original post. I was talking to my daughter a while ago and asked her if she still remembered playing Pong. I told her that was the only video game I'd played. She informed me that I had played Nintendo with them back in the 1980s. I didn't remember it so she sent me proof in an picture she had, IMAGE. So sorry for lying even though it wasn't intentional.
Only way to play Operation Flashpoint. One reason I kept apc with 98 OS
Is that a form of opium? 🤔😵💫
Nintendo lit the internet on fire yesterday upon the announcement of their Switch 2's initial sale prices:
Yeah I'm not surprised the console's gonna be $450 at launch, considering how many new features they put in it like 4K resolution support, improved joycon design, backwards compatibility, etc.
BUT the fact the game prices have been upped to $80 digital and $90 physical at launch is a BAD OMEN for the consumer market; The precedent is set for Sony, Microsoft, and AAA publishers to do the same for their new release games, Nobody wants to spend $100 or more on a new videogame without including extra stuff to justify the high purchase price (like a Collector's Edition bundle)
Also consider the # of Flops produced by AAA studios thanks to publishing firms like Sweet Baby Inc and DEI practices. Gamers are becoming aware of the woke intrusion into AAA publishing studios are burning through their budgets fast to cover hiring these firms to ensure they satisfy their demands, and as the old saying goes "Get Woke, Go Broke", and they chose to go broke.
Add it all together you see how AAA games are overpriced and underwhelming. We are due for another for another gaming market crash. With SteamOS out, there is hope the future of gaming will rightfully belong to the PC.
Nowadays, more people are going retro for their gaming entertainment that ever before; There has emerged an entire market dedicated to modernizing and upgrading their old obsolete console hardware to keep these relics of their childhood alive in the modern day.
Don't believe me? Research "Everdrives", "Wireless controller mods", "Optical drive emulators", "HDMI console mods", and so much more. Long live the analog!
So, it will cost more to waste your time.
It’s a possibility. Valves launched numerous crackdowns via Steam on just such individuals.
But most of the big Gaming Divisions for companies such as Microsoft have been going through their own Hollywood period. In that they can’t make much of a profit. If any. And are lucky if they break even on releases. The AAA Gaming industry isn’t doing exceptional right now. As Indie Studios and Privately held enterprises like Valve are eating their lunch.
So I’d imagine it’s an attempt to milk the Whales and the tryhard competitives. In order to stave off a complete collapse.
Though they might hold off to see how it works for Nintendo before they commit to it themselves. Despite drawing up plans. Get data and sales numbers etc. Because as far as I’m aware. Nintendo is the only one with ongoing plans for that price range. Part of the Switch 2 releases.
This is not a new trend despite the recent Switch 2 announcement.
PS5 retail physical new releases have been $70 plus tax for several years now.
Most AAA and highly anticipated games are upwards of $100+ depending on what version you purchase. I bought the BG3 Collectors Ed. for something like $200 shipped and immediately flipped it upon arrival for $1100.
Don't even get me started on vintage gaming.... you can literally spend thousands on one loose CiB copy of specific games. And, it's not just a handful of titles.
While you're correct in stating the market is good cover for money laundering.... so is any secondary market. Especially collectibles.
Personally I think there's nothing nefarious going on here except the push for digital products and subscription services. I think they are simply jacking up prices for physical release games so that they can say they sold poorly and switch over to digital download only. Simple as that.
Fixed that for you. Grayjay for videos/Youtube and uBlock Origin on Librewolf for everything else.
do you remember the days when video games were $20-$30? no matter how good or bad the economy, these companies will get around to charging $100 per game because that is how they are anyway...
I remember in the late 80s they were $50-60 for top of the line games. So 80/100 is not really that bad considering the cost increase of other things when comparring. Now the gaming systems themselves seem to have followed inflation.
My first shitty computer cost my pop 4K.
"The original Nintendo Entertainment System version of The Legend of Zelda was released in 1986 and retailed for $49.99 plus tax when it first came out."
I've got original price tags on my CiB NES games to prove otherwise. Retail high water mark was always $50-70, even back in the late 80s and all throughout the 90s fren.
Soon? LOL Man games have been $70-80 for a few years now
Having a quick look on Steam shows they still want $50 for COD Modern Warfare ; the first one ( 2011 btw ). Games have been way too high priced for way too long
I have recently been through this myself. I looked at getting a PS3 and was shocked at the price. The hardware required for next gen like gta6 will be very expensive. I’ve read several articles recently about the death of consoles as only PC’s now make financial sense to properly game with. Long story short, rebuilt my Pc from 2015 and I’m now playing Living Skyrim 4 which is incredible.
These "AAA" release companies shouldn't have been getting money from people even before any price raise. It is clear they are not on the good side of the fence and have been making people pay more and more to propagandize themselves.
Screw them.