Best Business Model For Fighting Games

[KHTC Takgillo]

With Injustice 2 coming out soon and people talking about stopping the 2 years cycle for NRS game I've gotten curious about the business model usually used by Fighting Game publisher and noticed that 2 kind of business models were usually adopted outside of anomalies like Killer Instinct.

The Expansion model: Usually used by Japanese developer it consist of pulling an expansion after a period of 1-3 years.This business model is usually used by Japanese company such as Capcom in Sf4 and Arc Sys with GG and BB. It's main advantage is providing a long life to the games(7 years for SF4) but you need to buy the expansion If you plan on playing against your friend who have it and can be seen as a cash grab because of the small amount of changes those expansions provide to the game.

The bi-annual release: This model is used by western developer such as Netherrealm studios and consist of releasing a new game after 2 years. It's main advantage is that the new game cycle is friendly for casuals who don't feel rip off and that you don't need to buy an expansion to play the game you bought with your friends after a period of time. The biggest inconvenient that come with this kind of business model is the longevity of the game as people tend to always flock to the new game once it's release.

In a perfect world developers would all adopt the KI business model and support their game for a long period of time by only releasing DLC but companies have to make money and board members have to be happy. I personally hate the expansion model as it can feel like a scam If you didn't get in the game early but every model has it's advantage and inconvenient and I'm curious about your opinion and what you would like to see NRS adopt.

 

[Evil Canadian]

Honestly the sf5 system is fantastic, its just that everything about how they implemented it is a fucking disaster.

1) You don't pay for balance updates(looking at you anime fighters)
2) New characters at a steady drip(6 a year)
3) the ability to earn those characters without paying cash
4) bunch of fluff along the way (stages/costumes)

so on so forth.

Take that model, put a competent developer at the head of it and its something admirable.

 

[TrulyAmiracle]

Honestly the sf5 system is fantastic, its just that everything about how they implemented it is a fucking disaster.

1) You don't pay for balance updates(looking at you anime fighters)
2) New characters at a steady drip(6 a year)
3) the ability to earn those characters without paying cash
4) bunch of fluff along the way (stages/costumes)

so on so forth.

Take that model, put a competent developer at the head of it and its something admirable.

Thing is, that's the KI model and the only new thing through SFV is that you can earn fight money to get the characters/stages.

I don't mind this kind of model but I generally like what NRS is doing or what SNK does where they release a full game from the start with story, big roster and all the modes from the get-go. Makes it easier to enjoy the game for me as I don't have to wait months for a character I've known about since the beginning.

 

[FL Rushdown]

Depends on who you wanna please. The casual community is a huge fan of the NRS model, but I think the expansion style is better for a competitive game, I don't think we've ever seen an NRS game played at the highest level possible and I think the two year life cycle is the only reason why.

 

[kabelfritz]

Depends on who you wanna please. The casual community is a huge fan of the NRS model, but I think the expansion style is better for a competitive game, I don't think we've ever seen an NRS game played at the highest level possible and I think the two year life cycle is the only reason why.

also the random patches help this. i could say that NRS should make a patch plan (one every 6 months or so), but reality is, you should get your games' balance right from the start if you dont wanna kill the games momentum every couple months.

 

[FL Rushdown]

also the random patches help this. i could say that NRS should make a patch plan (one every 6 months or so), but reality is, you should get your games' balance right from the start if you dont wanna kill the games momentum every couple months.

They kinda go hand in hand, I feel the rushed/frequent patches are a result of them knowing they've only got so much time left supporting the game, it's easier for games like GG and SF to have a long stretch with no changes just because they know the games gonna be played for 5~ years. I don't think NRS can afford to be as laid back as other companies.

 

[TRVP6GXD]

I like what Capcom does with their games,even tho I hate capcom and SF, the company supports their games and ensures longevity. Its just that the games suck. IMO.

 

[KHTC Takgillo]

I like what Capcom does with their games,even tho I hate capcom and SF, the company supports their games and ensures longevity. Its just that the games suck. IMO.

The big drawback with that is having to pay for the expansions though for example I didn't pay for KP2 when I got my ps4 but I would have had to If it was SF4 or GG

 

[Azarashi Elder]

I don't see a problem with any model, to be honest. Games are expensive to make, patch and update, so I get the expansions, and players want new games, so I get the bi-annual thing that NRS has going.

I've said this a bunch of times, but I'll say it again: People act like they can't continue to play a game if there isn't a new character, or a new patch being released for it. The problem with that is: A) Eventually the player base is going to be so small that making new characters for a game is going to lead to diminishing returns. B) There is no need to patch something that isn't broken, and patches cost money.

We don't talk crap about Call of Duty coming out with a new game every year. And every year it comes out and sells. Whatever problems fans had with the old game are forgotten when the new one drops, and I'm sure every game is still worth playing, though no one does it.

I'm telling you, it's the consumer. They want new. You may want "support", but there isn't enough of those fans to make it worth it. Personally, I think if they stopped updating KI, and tried to pitch a KI 2 in two years, it wouldn't sell very well. That franchise doesn't have a huge following, imo, and they're milking it for as long as they can.

 

[Roy Arkon]

Here is the thing about the NRS/WB model. The reason that they release a new game every 2 years (or 4 years for each series), is only because that's what WB wants, they wanna get the money ASAP. It doesn't have anything to do with the casuals or the frequency. You can go for either a backwards compatible update like NRS/WB or a traditional expansion like Capcom and you can still go for do it every 2-3 years or every 4-6 years, and if you go for 4-6 years, you can still add more content via the backwards compatible format, so that people who already bought the game won't have to buy it again, but only the content that they want, for the next 4-6 years.

Overall, you should go to one of the those 2 formats: Either the NRS/WB backwards compatibility format or the Iron Galaxy/Double Helix/Microsoft slow extension format. NRS/WB doing that format right by not only making the updates backwards compatible, but also adding a HUGE amount of content from the start, so even if you don't buy any of the DLC, you can pay for the game and get a great experience, and if someone else did buy any of the DLC, you both can face each other online with no problems at all. IG/MS do their format right by starting with a very low amount of content but also charging you the right amount of it while adding tiny amount of content each time until the product become much bigger at the end.

What Capcom and Arcs System do doesn't feat into today's era. Even back then, Capcom expansion format was done wrong due to how many expansions they gave to their games, and now it's even more false do to the fact that you can add DLC and backwards compatible update which allow each and every single player to get EXACTLY what they want and how much they want. Then Capcom tried to jump to the IG/MS format with SF5, but even though the game did had more content at launch in comparison to KI at launch, they still charged the players full price of 60$ and they released the game that fast to meet their Tournament schedule, without thinking about what the casuals and maybe even some of the pro players want, because they just wanted to get as many tournies as they could and as fast they could to get the sweet sponsors revenue. If SF5 was charged between 20-30$, then that would fit the slow extension format introduced by IG/DH/MS.

And as for getting DLC via in-game money, that's also false at the long run. That's because that since the DLC is supposed to be paid, any company who o this must make sure that it won't be too easy for you. So in SF5, you had to go online to get the fight money even if you don't wanna be a pro or even if you don't like to go online at all, and that's the case for a lot of people. So they go online to get the fight money, and they see that the grind is too much, and then they feel bad for trying so hard to get all of the DLC for free by doing both the single player and online, and they realize they have to pay real money anyway at the end, due to false hope. You can't give your player base any false hope, because it can only shrink the player base in the long run. Of course if you want just a couple of DLC parts, that format is excellent for you, but what if you want 60%, 70%, 80& or even all of it? In that case, you have no choice but to buy the DLC, or at least most of it, which makes this format nearly useless. That was another part of Capcom's plan to entice players become pro players. By making them playing online to get the DLC for free, they could've potentially become pro players or at least regular tourney streams viewers so Capcom can make more tournies and get more views for them, which once again, results in Capcom getting more sponsors.

I prefer the NRS/WB format, because you have to pay full price, but then you get a huge amount of content from the get go, so you can have a great experience no matter what. And you might have to buy most of the DLC and you can't get the paid parts of the DLC for free by playing the game, but at least you also won't get any false hope, which can only help you enjoy the game. And even though NRS/WB wanna increase their tourney scene (just look at the ESL MKX pro league) they don't force people to become pros just to get more cash and they care about all players, including the casuals who don't wanna become pro no matter what. So are IG/MS for that matter.

 

[TRVP6GXD]

The big drawback with that is having to pay for the expansions though for example I didn't pay for KP2 when I got my ps4 but I would have had to If it was SF4 or GG

True, but if I like the game..genuinely, then I'll support it to ensure it has long life for other people who are also fans of the game. I think also by doing this you will support a longer tournament scene for the game. But, im just an mk fanboy and have dumped thousands into the franchise

 

[KHTC Takgillo]

True, but if I like the game..genuinely, then I'll support it to ensure it has long life for other people who are also fans of the game. I think also by doing this you will support a longer tournament scene for the game. But, im just an mk fanboy and have dumped thousands into the franchise

Your money and that of the community won't be enough 20$ from a few people isn't going to keep the light on for any studios they need money to operate

 

[TRVP6GXD]

Your money and that of the community won't be enough 20$ from a few people isn't going to keep the light on for any studios they need money to operate

I understand but why is it you think that capcom has success with that model? Bigger fanbase?

 

[KHTC Takgillo]

I understand but why is it you think that capcom has success with that model? Bigger fanbase?

yes they have a bigger fanbase and more brand recognition