Pachter Factor Questions September 2018

Hey Pach, with the news that Assassin's Creed Odyssey will be playable by streaming, is this a game changer for Nintendo? The weakness for Nintendo has been it's hardware, but now with streaming, it eliminates this. When streaming consoles come will Nintendo benefit the most?

Had this thought as I passed by Wed Bush on the 101 and thought of you Mr. Factor, now that Nintendo has their own online subsciption service alongside Sony and Microsoft, what would be the next strategical move to "upgrade" their services to a premium online subscription.Xbox is currently doing the Xbox Game Pass which is an additional add on to their Xbox subscription, will that be a viable option for Sony to pursue financially? And possibly Nintendo?

Dear Pach. If you were on the IOC which genres of games and games within those genres would you include in the Olympics? Thanks McWomble

Hello Pach, with the recent number of mergers and acquisitions happening in the games industry within the past year or two, what does that say for the long-term health of the games industry? I ask as there is the economic theory that mergers & acquisitions generally happen, when a market stops growing.

Hey Pach. For a large online game bringing in plenty of revenue like GTA Online. When it's time to release new paid content in the franchise like a sequel or expansion how can developers best avoid splitting the player base and convert as many players as possible to the new content?

Nick Kearney

Do you think in the next console generation games will cost $80 instead of 60$ ?

Kc Wright

Dear Pach, been a big fan since your GT days and delighted to hear you occasionally on the radio (it was an NPR piece). My question, do you know why publishers/developers are so secretive about their budgets? Isn't that stuff supposed to public knowledge when financial reports are released?

Dear Pach. Hope you enjoyed your vacation. Whilst you were away I saw 2 deals that I thought “I should ask Pach about.” 1 was for a 24 month phone contract for a new Sony Xperia and get a free PS4. The other was buy a Sony Bravia and surround sound system and get a free PS4. Are these deals agreed by Sony with the retailers where Sony see a more desirable or profitable product with an ongoing revenue potential supporting a ‘less profitable’ arm of Sony’s business?

I'm convinced we are heading into a 2019 recession. What is the gaming industry hedge in such times? Run, stay, best of breed?

Dear Pach. Unlike Activision Blizzard and 2K Games who have taken access to paid loot boxes away, EA are refusing to take paid Ultimate Team packs out of there games in Belgium. What do you think EA have to gain from taking on the Belgium government? How much could EA be making from sales in Belgium that would make court action against the Gaming Commission worthwhile?

Hey Pach! In the long run, is it better to have two $50 price drops separated by one year or a single $100 price drop? Two "price-drop" events versus one.

GraphtreonGuy

Hi Sempai, i got 2 question 1. psx is it happing again this year? is this event profitable or successful for them to put them on for us fan? i my self have been going since the 2nd one and beyond and i have a blast plus i love it cause i can demo games in 20 min or so vs e3 or pax weres its hours! question 2 who has the bigger impact on the gaming scene game journalism sites like gamespot, ign game informer or twich/youtube personalities like angry joe, Jim Sterling, Maximilian DOOD? it seems since a lot of games sites come and go that youtube stars have a bigger impact but from a business who are they listening to or take seriously. thank you for your time i love to here from you cause u speak truth and back it up with numbers vs opinions and what they think rather then what they know.

Pach! How was your vacation? There’s been some stellar games so far this year and more on the way both this holiday season and forward, I wanted to know what game are you most excited to play?

NeO JD

Hi Pach -- Do you think Amazon or any other large corporate player would ever come in and disrupt the video game space with a big acquisition? (Thinking of Amazon and Whole Foods).