Graphics Quality Is Useless ? This Inconvenient Truth About Video Games

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In 2023, Insomniac Games, Sony's studio impressed everyone with its Marvel's Spider-Man 2 released on PlayStation 5. Ultra realistic and visually stunning, this game sold 11 million copies. A fair result, but not enough for this title that cost $300 million to produce.

“What is my 7-year-old son playing?”

The Japanese video game giant decided to lay off 900 employees last February. Far from being an isolated case, this is a major trend in the industry. In a fascinating article, the New York Times questioned this phenomenon.

Quoted by our colleagues, Jacob Navok, a former Square Enix executive, sums up the situation perfectly: “It's pretty clear that high-fidelity graphics are only going to make a difference for a 40- and 50-year-old gamer. But what does my 7-year-old play?? Minecraft. Roblox. Fortnite.”

Indeed, many studios are starting to wonder whether spending big bucks on an ever-shrinking consumer base is a financial nonsense. Some people therefore prefer increasingly basic graphics that can be viewed on smartphones.

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Matthew Ball, entrepreneur and video game analyst, does not beat around the bush when discussing the cases of Roblox and League of Legends games: “They basically run on toasters. Developers aren't chasing graphics, they're chasing social connections that players have built over time.”

No model works 100%

Here, the specialist puts his finger on what's currently worrying the industry giants. It's all about betting on the social experience of video games, much more than on visual realism. However, it's not an exact science. For example, Warner Bros and Sony have paid the price following the launches of their multiplayer games: Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and Concord.

Conversely, another example is provided by Nintendo. With its Switch, the Japanese firm is not banking on spectacular renderings, but its know-how, single-player games and its big licenses always make the difference. The launch of the Switch 2 is already shaping up to be a next hit.

What to remember:

• Games that offer high-quality graphics are less and less popular in the video game industry
• They cost too much money and don't bring in enough
• Studios now prefer multiplayer games that can be played on much less demanding devices

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