Pachter Factor Questions April 2019

What scotch are you drinking these days. It's been a while since we've had a scotch check-in!

Hi Pach, With Google's entry into the gaming platform market through streaming, do you think that there will be a tier system to console gaming? Those without the bandwidth will be on standalone machines and those with will be streaming? Or will streaming just be another alternative to play the same (or considerably the same) content? Any scuttlebutt on what big publishers like EA and Rockstar plan on developing for?

Hey Pach with a Microsoft exclusive appearing on the Switch (cuphead) what would you say is the likelihood that Nintendo IP could appear on Xbox? Could this mean that if Nintendo pick up the rights to Scalebound and finishes development we could still see it on Xbox?

Pachman, I'm a borderlands fan (Original game, B2 was ok, and I've not been drawn into pre-sequel...)). At PAX, the new B3 wasn't announced for any specific platforms, and the game looks VERY similar to previous iterations. Will B3 be released on all platforms, including switch? Why wouldn't it, especially given its visual style? B2 was on Vita FFS. (and yeah - it's GAF). :)

How much do Sony and Microsoft know about each others next-gen systems. Do they actively try to find out what specs and features their competitors console will have?

Hi Pach, I heard a rumor that due to the poor reception of Fallout 76, Bethesda now has to release the next Elder Scrolls this (fiscal) year, to keep investors happy. This would probably mean a half-baked (more than usual) Elder Scrolls game that would disappoint the fans. Do you believe this rumor? Is Bethesda in such a dire situation that they have to sacrifice the quality and reputation of the Elder Scrolls series, for the sake of financial numbers?

Tailen

Hi Pach, let's say Nintendo makes an alliance with Sony or Microsoft. They will keep making the switch as a handle but also selling Mario/Zelda etc on Playstation/Xbox. Would that be the factor to Sony or Microsoft to win the console war? Would it be a good deal to Nintendo?

Hi Michael, now that Epic is being very aggressive gathering third party games and making them exclusive to their store for one year what do you think Valve will do with Steam? Moneyhat games as well, lower the percentage to what Epic is offering, make more of their own games? Or tell Epic they can have Half Life 3 for one year and ask for 1 BILLION dollars (Dr. Evil laugh).

Hello Pach! With disc drives seemingly either vanishing from consoles (new Xbox One S model), or presumably becoming a "premium" feature in future consoles (i.e. only available on pricier models), what do you think the impact will be on games retail?

Hey Dr. Patcher, I used to watch WoW tournaments, but when I finally stopped playing the game, successive patches and expansions made it impossible for me to understand what was going on during the tournaments. Do you think frequent updates to games are problematic for eSport to reach the same status as other sports? While simple or recognizable games might be able capture the casual audience (sports games, shooter,...) it seems that games that thrive the most as eSport are complex games with a strong core audience. (MOBA, strategy)

Jérôme Archambault

Hey Pach! Any bold M&A predictions?

Hey Pach. I imagine racing games like Gran Turismo, Forza Motorsport, Project Cars and Dirt don't sell as well as the heyday of Gran Turismo on the PS1? How well do these types of titles actually sell in 2019?

Nick Kearney

With the announcement of Stadia how much will this push ISPs to improve infrastructure along with take away data caps? Thanks for a great show!

Eric S

What is the likelihood of FromSoftware being bought by the likes of Sony, Microsoft, or Activision?

NeO JD

With rumors of Microsoft and Nintendo both having 2 different versions of their consoles coming, do you think Sony follows suit with the PS5? Do you think the PS5 will launch with a Pro model or will it come later down the line?

NeO JD

Hi Pachattack it seems that everyone is trying to break in to the game industry thinks streaming is the future, why? Sony is semi successful but u have to remember in the beginning it was everything Sony, there phones, ps3,ps TV, vita, TVs ect. Then they cut it down to just a few units to support it. My main problem with streaming consoles or games is u need a good internet connection plus the other problem is latency. Single player games are ok but fighting racing fps anything competitive are going to be hurt. I feel these companies are going to fail hard. Steam tryed and it went no were. What do u think? Do they have a shot? God knows they have the money to fail and not hurt them.

Given the media industry’s consolidation, do you expect the same for video games? If so, which publishers are the most likely to merge or being acquired and by who?

Greetings Mr. Pachter, I been a listener since the days of Game Trailers. I remember in one of your episodes you once said you had an interesting story how you met your wife, would you mind sharing that with us? Thanks

What kind of audience do you see for Stadia? I personally don't see PC gamers using the platform because the quality just isnt there yet (artifacts, latency)

Dominik Gygax

Crackdown 3 didn’t chart in the top 20 for last month’s NPD. Meanwhile other new releases (Anthem, Jump Force, Metro, Far Cry New Dawn) all did. Did this game really flop this hard? Or is GamePass really that popular and the bulk of the playerbase? If so, with the flop it was with poor critical reception and review scores, would’ve been better for Microsoft to just cut their costs years ago and killed it? (Like Nintendo did with metroid prime 4- Using sunken cost fallacy as described with your discussion on Metroid Prime 4 restarting development) Love you Pach

Colton Berry

Why do some publishers not report Digital sales for the NPDs? Wouldn’t this only bolster their reporting?

Colton Berry

How does Microsoft benefit by putting Cuphead on Switch rather than keeping it exclusive? At that point, why not put everything everywhere and not have any true exclusives? How do you think they determine what to keep exclusive and what not to?

Colton Berry

What could Epic possibly be offering if they can convince a publisher to switch their release from Steam to the Epic Store?

Colton Berry

Hey Mr. Pech. I remember an explanation back in the days of Pach-Attack about how digital copies are cheaper than physical ones, if my memory serves me right Mr. Pech said stuff like manufacturing costs were around 10 dollars/physical copy and so on...nowadays I can get a physical copy of a game on its release date significantly cheaper than the digital version, e.g. Sekiro:Shadows Die Twice`s physical copy is £49.85 on Amazon and the digital version is £59.99 on the PS4 store.... How? Is there such huge decline in physical copies that they have to decrease it`s price? Thanks for the answer, love the show, always watch it first thing... Sorry, I know its not current stuff but this is just really grinding my gears....