Pachter Factor Questions Time!

Hi Pach, how does the Switch's dual modes, console and handheld, affect software developers' design decisions? Are developers designing for one or the other or trying to make both experiences work equally well to avoid limiting their audience? Have you heard anything from devs concerning this being an issue or has the difference between console and handheld design disappeared over time?

Hi Pach, how long do you think price drops on consoles will be delayed this generation due to the semiconductor constraints ? Thanks for still doing these, love hearing the insider insights.

Clint Kachnowski

Pach, Why is it so hard to make new IPs, AAAA games? The development tools getting better, faster and easier to use but the game budgets going up and up. Why is that? It seems that Nintendo and Microsoft struggling the most with creating new IPs.

Hi Pach, today rumours abound that Square Enix is for sale and buyers were looking. How does a company (Microsoft, Sony etc) learn of a Publisher/Developer for sale? Who approaches who?

Mr Wolf 15G

Hi Pach! It seems like the appetite for M&A in the video game industry is rising. Does Microsoft's larger war chest make a difference when assessing which company can do more in this space?

With the increasing visibility of bad working conditions for developers/voice actors/etc., is there going to be a market opportunity for 'fair-trade', 'sustainable' game development? Like a studio certification, so consumers can choose to support 'ethically sourced' games? Or is the abuse of employees something only games journalists know and care about, and the scandals will never reach mainstream media?

Tailen

Do you think the new deal with MLB The Show coming day 1 to Game Pass is going to set a precedent where games made by Sony studios could go over to Xbox or even Nintendo if the publisher wants to do so? Specifically, do you think Marvel ever decides to get Insomniac’s Spider-Man on all the platforms it can? I figure they already have a deal in place for games in the pipeline with PlayStation but do they reevaluate future deals going forward?

NeO JD

Dear Mr. Pach, This might sound crazy and risk, but please hear me out. Since Xbox is buying lots of developers and will make their games exclusive to game pass. Won't it be better for Playstion to have Game pass as a service like EA Play? Won't this kill the XBox consoles?

Ali Almutawa

Now that Amazon has launched their own game streaming service, do you think they will ever offer downloadable games through their own store? They already have an app store on Android where they sell apps and games, will they ever launch their own store for Windows and sell games like Epic or Valve? I hope Shane is doing well and hope you're good too. Take care guys.

Freshpo

Dear Patcher come next year what can we expect for big shows like E3, SD Comic Con, Tokyo Game Show ect. Do you see them making up for 2 years worth of missed opportunities? Will tickets go way up in price or the same? Or will things be down scaled curious minds want to know. Also Mr. Patcher thanks for being by Shane side and fight for his dream while he's been hit with health problems. One of the reasons I respect you. 👏