00:00What are you doing up there?
00:01I'm just fixing some leaks.
00:03Seriously, dude, you got some time on your hands.
00:05I got some properties with paying tenants.
00:08Welcome to Mojo Plays, and today we're going in-depth into the aftershocks that GTA 6's release will most likely
00:15bring.
00:16I think you heard before.
00:18You might have.
00:19Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest
00:25videos.
00:28Normalizing the Starving Effect
00:30Experience has taught me that a man like you can be very loyal for the right price.
00:35The sixth console generation saw GTA 3, Vice City, San Andreas, Liberty City Stories, and Vice City Stories all within
00:42a year or two of each other.
00:44The following had GTA 4 and its expansions before a four-year wait for GTA 5.
00:49Since then, an entire generation has passed by without any new GTA title.
00:54Fans will have waited a whole 13 years between GTA 5 and GTA 6.
00:59Budgets have ballooned astronomically with more ambitious releases, going from $50 to $150 million a decade ago,
01:05to a mind-boggling reported $1 to $2 billion for GTA 6.
01:10Games in general have become more expensive, with the average AAA title now costing well over $200 million.
01:17This has led to publishers increasingly relying on established franchises to justify those investments.
01:22Another trickle-down effect has been the scarcity of indie titles as publishers are more likely to seek out guaranteed
01:29profits than cater to a niche audience.
01:31We've already seen this with various other franchises like The Last of Us, Red Dead Redemption, and God of War,
01:37which also leaves fans hanging for several years before dropping a new release.
01:41With the definite success of GTA 6, the idea of starving the consumer might not just remain a theory,
01:47but could end up becoming the norm across the board.
01:50Pressuring studios to push open world in every genre.
01:55However, alongside all of this leisure, people also have to take care of business.
02:00The GTA series is widely credited as one of the titles that shot the open world design into mainstream success.
02:06By today, though, the majority of AAA franchises have adopted it as their primary template.
02:12Linear, story-driven games are more of an acquired taste,
02:15with Resident Evil perhaps the only remaining high-profile series to avoid adopting open world for good.
02:21While studios push the idea of maintaining story quality alongside gameplay,
02:25diminishing returns have made fans skeptical.
02:28Franchises like Assassin's Creed have been largely criticized in recent years
02:31for pushing open world as the primary selling point,
02:34sacrificing the overarching narrative that had gripped fans in the first place.
02:38This also contributed to the death of story-driven series like Prince of Persia,
02:43along with several other titles that were dropped due to torrid development schedules.
02:47GTA 6's vast, diverse world is pretty much guaranteed to be its greatest yet,
02:51and it's only natural to consider other publishers following the same path down the road.
02:56Unfortunately, this might be at the expense of linear, but genuinely moving stories.
03:00As games like Alan Wake 2, Stray, and Silent Hill 2 have shown,
03:04there's still a lot of equity left in this art form.
03:07I thought I'd be a dad like all the other dads.
03:10My kids?
03:12They'd be like the kids on TV.
03:14We'd fall and sit in the sun, but, well, you know how it is.
03:19Expanding paywalls beyond microtransactions.
03:22That's why you came by?
03:24Just go get me my checks!
03:26See you, Brian.
03:28Love you, Jason.
03:29There was more than just a rumble online after Rockstar announced two distinct tiers for GTA 6.
03:36Standard Edition, priced at $80, provides the base game and story mode.
03:40Meanwhile, the $100 Ultimate Edition offers far more exclusive content,
03:45including new weapons, special vehicles,
03:47and entire businesses and interior locations reserved for Ultimate Edition owners.
03:52Microtransactions in general have been arguably the most polarizing talking point in the current gaming generation,
03:57but by overlooking this hotly debated topic,
04:00GTA 6 has indirectly acknowledged that its dedicated user base will still be there,
04:05no matter the controversy.
04:06After all, plenty are willing to shell out a few extra dollars if it means getting what is promoted as
04:11the superior version.
04:13However, this will set the benchmark for what highly anticipated AAA titles can get away with.
04:17While titles like Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League crashed,
04:21simple pushback isn't likely to affect franchises with a huge built-in user base like Call of Duty.
04:26With pre-orders breaking records across the charts,
04:29GTA 6 has already proven its hold on the consumer is far too strong,
04:34even if it means slashing the overall gameplay experience.
04:36The End of Physical Media
04:43The internet nearly broke with the news that GTA 6 would ship boxed copies with a download code instead of
04:50a physical disc.
04:51When the biggest game launch in history goes all in on a disc-less model,
04:54it sends a powerful message to the consumer.
04:57Fans were already reeling from this development when Sony announced that
05:00all new PlayStation releases will cease shipping physical discs from 2028.
05:04Those who took GTA 6's decision as a prelude to a wider industry shift were proven right,
05:10as the console market itself seems to be heading straight into digital distribution as the future.
05:14While Sony has received significant backlash,
05:17the company has cited its decision due to reportedly 80% of the sales coming from digital.
05:22As GTA 6's projected success comes with little resistance,
05:26publishers will have even fewer reasons to support physical media.
05:30And with no reverse course in sight,
05:31GTA 6 really might leave us dependent on licensing agreements and digital storefronts.
05:37Who knows?
05:38Physical media collection may become a niche hobby,
05:41much like the way vinyl is today.
05:52Causing a cascading delay of titles.
05:55I know why you're here.
05:58You want to talk about them.
06:01Nobody wants to go up against the big fish.
06:04This is particularly true when it's set to break records,
06:07not just in the gaming landscape,
06:08but in the entire entertainment industry.
06:10GTA 6's numerous delays have also seen multiple other titles being moved around.
06:16While companies haven't explicitly confirmed this,
06:18it doesn't take much to notice the suspicious absence of any major titles this November.
06:23Games once expected but are now delayed or pushed earlier include Fable,
06:27Forza Horizon 6 on the PS5,
06:29Crimson Desert,
06:30NBA 2K27,
06:32and Marvel's Wolverine.
06:33This might create a long-term domino effect,
06:36one where AAA titles dictate which release month belongs to them.
06:40As studios look to clear out their schedules,
06:42we might be looking at a future where dozens of games compete for fans in the same month,
06:46while several others lie bare for a feast or famine situation.
06:50The result would be an artificial bottleneck that hurts everyone except the industry's biggest player.
06:56With smaller titles and indie studios having little breathing room,
06:59game developers could end up dictating yearly schedules rather than publishers.
07:04Some folks can't wait to die.
07:10Taking control away from the consumer.
07:12There's two ways I see of doing this.
07:14We go in smart.
07:15Let's go.
07:18Or we go in loud and dumb.
07:20Let's go.
07:23The biggest concern from all this is the precedent the GTA 6 will set.
07:27Everything from the 13-year wait, withholding content,
07:31strangling the release schedule,
07:32and normalizing digital distribution
07:34shows just how much leverage Rockstar holds over the average customer.
07:38Although we have seen cases where consumers have pushed back,
07:42this is one hill too steep.
07:44At the end of the day,
07:45GTA 6's success will send a message that is easy to understand,
07:48but difficult to answer.
07:50If one game can control the entire system upon which the industry is built,
07:54what's stopping anyone else from following suit?
07:56It took a historic disaster of E.T. the extraterrestrial
07:59to alter the industry back in the 80s.
08:02But with GTA 6 set to be just as widely celebrated by critics as its predecessors,
08:06a similar revolution doesn't seem possible.
08:09And so, instead of companies competing to offer better value,
08:12we might just have to adapt to whatever they have in store.
08:15Whether that means giving up ownership rights,
08:17accepting sky-high prices,
08:18or increasingly longer waits before releases,
08:21GTA 6 could serve as an epoch moment that,
08:24at present, seems to offer more bad than good.
08:27You know, you're a real asshole!
08:29What did you just say to me?
08:30Stop it! You're ruining my yoga!
08:32Are there any other concerns you can think of?
08:34Let us know in the comments!
08:36Did you enjoy this video?
08:38Check out these other clips from Mojo Plays,
08:40and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell
08:42to be notified about our latest videos.
08:44All right, let's go to Mojo Plays!
08:44Let's go.
08:44Let's go.qu
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