Pachter Factor Questions February 2018

Where can one start, if you want to become a stock market analysis (specifically for gaming) like you.

Hey Pach! What do you think about ImaxVR and Starbreeze working with the Emaar for a 7 000 Squaremeter big VR Park. Is this the best way to make money on VR right now ? Which Swedish gaming Company do you follow that are independant ?

old fashioned whiskey or bourbon

Kc Wright

Hey Pach! Xbox One first party games were already "play anywhere" and now they are included in the Game Pass day one. Is this addition to the Game Pass' library the next step to a console-free future? If Microsoft has their way, will I be using Game Pass to play the next iterations of Halo or Gears directly from my smart TV a few years from now? Thanks for all your opinions and insight.

Brandon

Hey there Mr. Pachtor who has all all his facts intact, thanks for answering my question sir! My question for today, how much do rumors affect a company's public perception? Although not ideal, I imagine it would just be free advertisement for them especially during E3 season coming up.

Hi Pach, Do you think Rockstar is intentionally delaying Red Dead 2, in order for GTA V to keep continuing generating returns? Do you think the shareholders want Take-Two to release as early as possible? Could it always have been Take-Two's intention to release the game during the busy release window of late 2018, since it will hurt their competitors.

(I've submitted a variant of this question before, but I'm about three episodes behind. I think I was too late last time. If you've already answered this, I apologize. I'll catch up soon) You say you mainly use Switch in portable mode, and this is popular among game journalists too. I think it's because you travel a lot. But of the three people I know IRL who have Switches, they use them like consoles, always docked. If I had one, that's what I would do too. Do you think Nintendo would release a screen-less Switch for less price? How much of the price could that knock off? I'd like to play the new Mario and Zelda, but can't justify $300 for a machine I use for a handful of games.

Dear Pach. With your experience of many E3s you decided to launch PachCon. Where would you hold it, which guests would you have on a Q&A panel and what would your key note be about - whiskey, the perfect roast turkey, video game sales forecasting or something else?

Hey Mr Pachter, with the delay of Read Dead Redemption 2 to October, do you think that there will be other delays in autumn to avoid a simultaneous release with Read Dead Redemption 2? Greetings from Germany!

SmallTurtle1985

Dear Pach do you think the games industry could be moving into a 'boom or bust' type model. Reason being, Ninja Theory 's success with Hellblade is great but poor sales may have put them in financial difficulty. Also rumours are that Bioware could be in trouble if Anthem isnt a hit, whatever that means to EA. Do you see a situation where studios shut down more often if games don't sell to expectation? 1 And Done? Or does the success of Hellblade and potential for Vampire to do the same suggest we are looking at having more scale to games production rather than just ‘AAA’ and indie?

Hi Mr Pach. Been watching since PachAttack and subscribed to sifted Patreon for this reason. Why don't console manufacturers offer a subscription and upgrade plan like Apple and Mobile networks do? <a href="https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/iphone/iphone-upgrade-program" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/iphone/iphone-upgrade-program</a> Could I pay $75-$100 a month and get a PlayStation 4, PlayStation +, a PSVR headset when it launched, PS Games included like Knack2 and an upgrade to PS4 Pro potentially for a discounted trade in deal for my old console. It would keep me in the eco system. And drive hardware penetration. Id pay the extra per month (vs ps+) if I knew I was getting all the upgrades and PSVR etc which would make me more likely to invest in software and stick around for the PS5

Hey Pach, Regarding the recent rumours that Microsoft are going to buy EA. I know you think there's little chance Microsoft will buy EA and I agree with that. But I was wondering what is the likelihood that Microsoft might buy some recognisable older IP like Burnout, Need For Speed, Simcity or Command &amp; Conquer from EA to boost their first party lineup?

Nick Kearney

Dear Pach, How did Rockstar sell 90 million copies of GTA V? How do you expect RDR2 to do? As you may have heard there is leaked info on the online modes it sounds like they are coping the battle royale modes like PUBG and Fortnite have, is that legal?

Aaron Grimshaw

Name: iboshow Hello Farger, License video games. How much money/cut does Disney get for every Star Wars/Marvel game sold. Is it different deals for digital sales. What other agreements are in place apart from money. Is Battlefront 2 under performed according to EA or Disney. How much more copies does a license game need to sell compared to your own IP. Thank You.

Ibrahim Sozer

All Hail the Pachnasticator! In your many years of involvement with the various markets, what kinds of warning signs do you watch out for to know if the markets are changing from bull to bear and vice versa?

Aaron Grimshaw

Hello Mr. Pach, Rockstar has delayed Red Dead Redemption 2 to October, would it be wise for other game companies to delay or rush their flagship titles to avoid competing with Rockstar, or is that late year period too important to give up? (Also, even though we still don't know much about the game, do you have any guess on how much RDR2 is gonna sell this year?)

It seems as though we’ve reached a conflict in what the market will bare for the price of a AAA game and what is sustainable/profitable for game publishers. I realize that not everyone has the same expendable income, but the $60 price point has held on so long because gamers freak out at the thought of more. Season Passes, DLC, Loot Boxes/Micro transactions are all attempts to offset this disparity, but again gamers still feel they’re being fleeced and I fear they will kill that which they love because casual games are more profitable . Now that opinion is out of the way, here’s the question(s). Do you see a new standard AAA price in the near future, are there new pricing models that will take over (subscription, hourly, etc...), or some strange combination of both?

With the craze in bitcoin mining, video cards are in high demand causing their prices to go way too high. Nvidia said they would make a special card just for bitcoin mining in order to reserve the video game cards for actual gamers. Do you know how long it would take nvidia to produce these cards? Is there any other way to keep these bitcoin miners from soaking up all the inventory?

Hey Pach, with governments all over the world increasingly making inquiries into whether loot boxes are gambling, could there be a danger they could ban micro transactions for kids under 18?

hey Mr. P, would it make sense for Nintendo to launch a table top only swicth? Considering the switch costs around 250 with battery and screen maybe the table top version could be launch for 150-180 and a lot of gamers (like me) would considering having it to play Nintendo exclusives.

Xbox recently announced they are including the next 3 of their first party IPs will be available at launch for members with the Xbox game pass. This has caused a bit of a store with some smaller game retailers. Microsoft is selling this as a convenience for Xbox users but it feels like more of a hedged bet for Microsoft, in case the games don't perform well at release. What's your take? Do you think that Sony would ever follow suit? My guess is that it doesn't seem lucrative since their first party games are consistent top sellers. Thanks Mr. Pachter.

Julian Watkins

Hey Pach! I‘m working on my Master-Thesis on economics of Blockchain at the moment. Do you think blockchain-technology will become relevant for gaming? Could decentralized gaming become a thing (e.g. crypto kitties)? With CS:GO skins trading for thousand of dollars, do you think items could be tokenized?

With the landmark change for Xbox Game Pass recently announced in mind, does hypothetically 6-10 million Game Pass subscribers portend greater revenue for publishers who participate than (hypothetically) selling 1-2 million people at $60 dollars? Is this subscription model the way to combat used games and games as service?

Hey Pach! How are share prices and economic performance actually related? How is it not all just speculation, when paying a dividend is not mandatory, as demonstrated by Apple for years? Cheers, Volker

Volker Bach