The Uncomfortable Truth of Video Game Monopolies

You've been lied to. The truth of Video Game Monopolies is not what you've been told.
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[@ZenkaiGoose]

Subscribe for more Zenkai Goose!

[@charlietownsend4416]

It's crazy how fast people can go from "Xbox has no games!" to "Microsoft is gonna monopolize all the games!" when they clearly wouldn't do that

[@joeshmoe3710]

How is it 'clearly'? exactly? Elaborate. And do keep in mind that they have already nearly monopolized the PC OS market (75% to be precise). Why wouldn't they do it to video games too? What motivates them otherwise?

[@estoyboy]

That assumes Microsoft has gamers at heart first and foremost and not profits

[@francescopuddu9837]

just because they're acting good now that they're in last place and need our trust doesn't meant that they will keep it forever, it happens all the time

[@Timic83tc]

MS is pure evil

[@noah7008]

Damn a fan boy I hope you’re having fun with the shit games probably born in 2010 lol I guess that means we can’t blame you

[@verylongchannelhandle]

So well made yet so little subs and views, I'm honestly shocked that you have this level of production quality, keep it up! Your videos are awesome :D

[@racialslur]

I just watched your game pass video and then came to this one. The way you explain things has me excited for the future of gaming.

[@ZenkaiGoose]

Thanks man! That's amazing to hear!

[@sircamsta]

Monopolies do exist in gaming, just on a smaller scale, and generally with sports games. IE Madden, 2k, and MLB The Show.

[@TurboIsHome]

Underrated glad I found u

[@ZenkaiGoose]

Thanks razor! Glad you like the content

[@JmKrokY]

Yeah

[@HaveltheThot]

Even if Microsoft is becoming a monopoly I'd rather have them own these games rather than Nintendo or Sony. These games will be guaranteed to come to PC and Xbox and at least have a good chance of coming to others. If Sony or Nintendo get them they'll lock them to their platforms.

[@NickyBlueEyes]

Sony has also been releasing their games on PC. Just anything other than Nintendo.

[@HaveltheThot]

@@NickyBlueEyes years after with no guarantee. Where's the jak games, ratchet & clank and Bloodborne? They having been making better and better ports but Microsoft puts it's exclusives on PC day one.

[@NickyBlueEyes]

@@HaveltheThot I mean I'm still fine with the exclusives coming a bit later, that's why I don't complain about Microsoft owning Bethesda.

[@JmKrokY]

Yes

[@tmiyc]

But if Nintendo has a monopoly then there is no competitors to block they’re games from, what are you even saying???

[@nabilog16]

THE KING IS BACKKKK

[@kapothegod]

you would’ve been taken this channel somewhere with more uploads man! love the style and quality, just give us moreeeee🙏🏾❤️‍🔥

[@Yaboi-cs4je]

congrats on the growth man your videos are well done.

[@Ventus7777]

I thought I was watching 500k+ channel, your production quality is amazing!

[@pretnear21]

How do you only have 6k subs?! This video was so intricate. Amazing!

[@MrKasenom]

This is a really well made video I can't believe you have so few subscribers, keep it up!

[@Rickyspanish1]

I must say you know how to get the adds watched and the next vid watched very well done sir luv the content well thought out enjoyed the last 3 iv watched, keep doing what your doing and you will turn in to a big channel 👍🏻💥

[@Darthus]

Discovered you through your gamepass video, which I loved! You referenced this one, so just a bit of personal feedback, take it or leave it. You obviously have a lot of knowledge and some great video editing skills. I preferred your gamepass video because it was direct and to the point, with supporting videos and screenshots etc to emphasize your points which made it much easier to follow. This one with the two versions of your arguing over a game of Monopoly is a cool idea, but for me it distracted from your core points (which were much more complex and involved definitions of economic principles etc) to make the video a bit more confusing and just hard to digest. I couldn't really track what the $$ or houses on the screen represented and maybe would have preferred a more direct explanation. Also I feel like your delivery in the gamepass one was great, a bit goofy and entertaining but natural. This one felt a bit more like you were rushing through a script of details which again made it harder to capture the key points. But love your general material and can tell you have a deep understanding the game industry, going to sub!

[@Carter_The_Snake_Sage]

lovin' the content man, keep it up!

[@justanotheraccounthere2014]

Nice video, just discovered your channel. I personally don't think Microsoft is going to monopolize the gaming industry, but still I would like to present a few counterarguments on why gaming monopolies can happen and will at least lead to a more painful experience to gamers. 1. Yes game studios can be hard to monopolized and a small group of people can make really awesome games, but game publishers can be monopolized and it can bad for many gamers. Thousands of games are being released every year and even good indie games can be drown out in the crowd. Game studios, especially indie studios, usually cannot do the marketing themselves due to either a lack of proper skills (developing a game and marketing a game are two very very different things) or a lack of resources/connections/audience (advertisements and marketing campaigns are expensive). Therefore, a game publisher can be vital to the birth of the next Terraria/Factorio. If game publishers are monopolized, many hidden-gem indie games might never see the light of day due to the risk aversion nature of many large and successful business. Hypothetically, if EA were to be the only publisher exist, do you think It Takes Two would be so successful and reach almost every gamer on the planet? I don't think so. Why spent money investing in fear of potentially loss when monopolized publishers can just make sure the majority of gamers will never hear about any alternatives. 2. Store front monopolization is a problem, to both the devs and consumers. They can easily screw over game devs. Steam has quite a lot of problems. It can do the 70-30 revenue split just because it has the majority of market share, which was only changed after Epic challenged them in 2018. It lacks quality control and has many asset flips (watch some of the older Jim Stirling videos, he spoke out a lot on this and even got sued by one of those asset flippers). The store could also just stop improving, knowing there is no true alternatives. I would say none of the "competitors" of Steam has reached the level to really compete with Steam. Epic launched its game store without a shopping cart even during its first store-wide holiday sales. Not to mention Steam Community and Workshop can provide an easy albeit a little bit to simplistic solution for map sharing and game modding. I don't think any other stores provide a similar service. If a store were to challenge Steam with a store and supporting service on par with Steam and have a few good games, many PC gamers would not really mind supporting a real competitor to Steam. Heck it might even force Valve to develop the next game, which is a win in my book. Will Microsoft be a monopoly in gaming? No, not by a looooooooong shot. But will monopoly ruin gaming? It's hard to say but I am inclined to say yes.

[@TheMeanJoeGreen]

I’ve met plenty of people that simply won’t buy a game if it’s not on steam and have no willingness to go anywhere else because they have thousands of games on steam. So even healthy competition would take a new generation of gamers to use anything but steam at this point.

[@pandjalu6]

This seem pretty clever explanation about what happen in the future of gaming.

[@TheJroddude]

Sent by feds to subdue our concerns… video game feds.. or something like that 😂

[@kbcat]

this video deserves so many more views

[@CommissionerLofi]

The thing is the board keeps growing... In real life.

[@WeightBender]

Good editing bro, keep it up!

[@brucejamison183]

Good content, its goosetastic... I like... And subscribe...

[@slottedpig2253]

Just like how GameStop did a monopoly on the game stores. The mom and pop just cannot compete.

[@Chris0nF1re]

What an amazing channel.

[@ZenkaiGoose]

Thank you so much Chris! You're too nice!😭

[@Chris0nF1re]

@@ZenkaiGoose ❤️

[@blvdes]

i agree with a lot of your points but the main issue is that the vast majority of gamers play the AAA titles that are made by the developers Msoft bought out, so if they decide to make those games exclusive, that majority has no choice but to get an xbox just to play the games they already enjoy. i almost exclusively play indie games and it's such a niche corner of the market that expecting indie devs to take on activision as a replacement is impossible

[@jimmythegamer2231]

Not exactly, if Microsoft bought every gaming company in existence (not that I'd want that to happen), their exclusives would still be on PC and mobile (via the cloud). Ergo, an Xbox is not required to experience Microsoft's first-party lineup. After all, their primary goal this generation is choice. Well, choice in being able to play on virtually anything with a screen except for Playstation.

[@joeshmoe3710]

@@jimmythegamer2231 They're doing exactly what Microsoft has always done. Stifle competition and then buy the market. They only keep games on PC so they can sew doubt that they are creating a monopolized marketplace when it almost inevitably comes to a court battle. They've done this same strategy with Apple except they made a slight slip when they sold the shares they had but only after they created an OS that would run on Apple PCs... Then enter Google who is trying their best to compete with an OS of their own but is not gaining enough traction due to social norms and other market factors that prevent them from really taking off.

[@SandroCartoons]

nice stuff!

[@iurigrang]

I don't like how all throughout this video he uses the most stringent interpretation of "monopolize gaming". No one genuinely thinks it will be impossible to make games if you're not microsoft, but monopolizing publishing, store fronts, consoles, are all problems. I feel like what most people mean by "monopolize gaming" is to monopolize one, maybe two of those, rarely three, and never game development itself. And even then, I think very few people think of "monopolize" as stringent as you do on these categories, there can be competitors, but if the number one spot is the most relevant player by a huge margin, I'd still call that a monopoly, as it comes with not all, but definitely most of the disadvantages of a true monopoly.

[@iurigrang]

Also, his idea that gaming can't be monopolized because it is art, and ideas are free just sounds weird to me. People can have ideas all they want, but if the only way they can have their voice heard is by publishing through microsoft, on the microsoft store, for the xbox and PC, do you really think ideas will speak louder than that? Think of how many musicians you listen to that don't publish on your preferred streaming service really hard before answering that, because if other artistic media has anything to teach us, is that more often than not, convenience speaks louder than ideas, not the other way around.

[@loogie_sp]

This is an awesome video but bro you need a new microphone or tweak the settings or something. Because it's a great video, I'm subscribing. The videos you're making are high quality and great but the microphone sounds really weird to me

[@shalalameowmeow3601]

Steam is the real monopoly nothing can beat the power of steam sales lol

[@runti-3236]

You’re a really likable guy

[@fenix849]

I think largely you're correct, but imo the focus on ideas is misguided, an idea is nought without the will to execute on it.

[@eastcoasteric]

Yeah…it’s impossible to argue that any kind of monopoly is good for the industry. And to even utter the words ‘open marketplace’ in tandem with it…is a (literal) oxymoron. You can tell that he grew up in Canada, given that he sees rational in corporate monopolies…and thinks that the ‘government’ will step in and save the people.

[@Maelstromme]

I thought Canadians hate corporatism, damn.

[@sirsquid577]

Ah yes it's not so bad, we only have an Oligarchy not a Dictatorship!

[@aayushbabu5818]

I'll always prefer the epic game store above steam. Always. The UI is comfortable, no pay to make friends etc restrictions. And the offers.... Weekly free games. Another thing is I have a really big library of games in epic games because it launched some games for free like ghostrunner, tomb raider Trilogy, Guardians of the galaxy game. It even put up GTA 5 for free in 2020. I have tried steam, I still do use steam but if the item is in both stores, I'll buy it on epic store even if it's more expensive because of the ease. It has saved me about 20000 INR (maybe the 20K number is dramatic but I did save more than 5k for sure.)

[@marshallmxtakeslzz]

Crazy how it's not a monopoly when Playstation gets all the good exclusives....

[@Gamer-pi4od]

Now, while the main question and conversation were important, im just wondering what the house rules were on that game of monopoly.

[@markfitzurka9995]

This one might be a little over my head as a guy in his mid 40s who just bought a switch for my kid and has a xbox series X still new in the box we won in a Halloween carnival. Because it doesn’t have a disc slot I just keep my other xbox plugged in. I do pay for a Nintendo pass as well as the Xbox game pass. Right now I’m thinking I will plug in the new system when the GTA comes out. I would like to pre order it from a game-stop but the system doesn’t have a disc drive so I guess thats out of the question. I don’t see a monopoly seems like everyone takes my money and after helping my kid with his homework the last thing I have time to do is play a game. I have enjoyed your videos went back to back on 6 so far but this is the second one that I’ve left a comment on because I don’t think I had anything to add as as far as AI or movies remakes. Great production value on your videos you got my subscribe. Good luck in the future.

[@jiggerypokery2962]

The barrier to making a game is low but Microsoft bought Minecraft for example where the little guy won. That little guy is a part of Microsoft now. Microsoft literally has the money to buy the gaming industry itself outright. You may never be able to completely rid newcomers to video games but you can make it so 2 or 3 companies own 90%+ of the industry. That is still a very unhealthy market. What happens if there is a monopoly but a game comes out that is so great the monopoly can't withstand it? It buys the game and the developer.

[@Slytzel]

I do not fully agree. The monopoly in Microsoft's case comes from having the best games possibly exclusive for their plattforms. If they would, at some point, decide to make all of these games exclusive to PC and Xbox, like CoD, Minecraft, Elder Scrolls, etc, Playstation especially would be in big trouble. How many would leave PS for Xbox to play CoD?

[@dangerodin09]

Why are people only targeting Microsoft? Embracer Group owns more video game studios that anyone else

[@fishblade2]

What about when a company buys out enough of the other companies that they own them majority of all the assets game engines and tools needed to easily make a game so only can they regulate the prices on that knocking out smaller companies keeping only competitors that can afford it going then we could be at a monopoly.

[@Rickyspanish1]

Microsoft will be big shit look what they own now a good deal for the console players which most young kids play and grow up on i personally think there heading in the right direction 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@adinlucena7047]

Someone didn’t pay attention in English class. 😂

[@randomguyse7e719]

Just wondering how many tries for the snake eyes and double 6 rolls.

[@ZenkaiGoose]

Soooo many 😭

[@screamingslave99]

then they just started closing studio's... even the ones making profitable games. it makes no sense.... :(

[@d_ruggs]

I would argue that console markets, especially xbox, are closer to a monopolies, but pc will never come close to that.

[@TarunTijo]

games may not be monopolized but the console market is soon going to be

[@Jason-uz5mj]

Microsoft doesn't own Activision yet (even to this day 4 months after this video was posted) they are trying to buy it, however some governments are looking into it and appears that a British agency is trying to delay if not stop the acquisition and Sony is also spearheading this and their go to line is "Call of Duty is the biggest franchise and Xbox could easily decide to make it platform exclusive in a few years and nothing else can compare to it"

[@KeepingitReal4]

At the very end of the video, was he about to say that "ps5 will be completely useless"?

[@Moxzot]

The is microsoft a monopoly can be won in one argument, They buy everyone that is successful.

[@rafaelgarcia1435]

But intelectual property and governmets can help monopolizing technologies and systems that could be used in games, that no loger can be used, unless you buy the property, and clearly lots of games are unfinished, with lots of lootsboxes and marketplaces to take as much money as they can. But i believe that there are devs still makong grate games, even if they end up selling their property to tencent, the owner of everything

[@rodrigoferreiramaciel4815]

The problem is that the point of being a monopoly in the traditional sense isnt where the the damage starts, it's where it lands. The fact is that when microsoft buys a studio they are basically in control of its future and it's microsoft who says how they're gonna use these resources. In other words, they lose their independency. Microsoft can literally just finish any smaller studios and put those teams to work on the money maker AAA games if they see it as a good strategy. Im not saying that it is a good stratagy, but the point is, again, they lose their independency. Further more, even if they don do it, owning so much of the industry oposes a threat to playstation, who is a big company that is only capable of creating these amazing exclusive titles because they are still able to compete with microsoft and have the money to spend, but microsoft has MUCH more money than sony and can afford to buy that many studios and make their games day 1 on game pass and win all the marketshare with the time by having better offers. "Who's gonna buy a playstation if xbox has >that many games< in game pass?" One might ask. And THAT'S the point. They need not to be the only company on the market to be able to control the industry. And they do have the resources to back up these kinds of practices.

[@xBINARYGODx]

oh, poor Sony, who will somehow stop making great games people cannot shut up about because the Xbox might sell somewhat more in some possible future. If your only problem is what happens to Sony, I would love to see you be a bothered by a future without MS, but I doubt you or nearly anyone are - which requires post-fact-based bias and/or just a bad understanding of gaming history (far too common).

[@Hund335]

i would really love it if microsoft bought epic AND Steam and gave me all my games from epic to use on steam

[@helderoliveira2994]

bro why do all your videos end suddenly?

[@Hazztech]

Yes.

[@kuba12to]

Polskie ogórki. The Best.

[@xBINARYGODx]

Mostly no one cared about this till MS got out their checkbook, and when they slow down or stop for a while, people will go back to not caring. This is not about what people say it's about, it's about people wanted Sony on top (and pretending Ninty doesn't exist when its convenient to do that) and no change to the status quo of the past 10-15 years. If Nintendo disrupts things, that's fine, but if MS does it (and they have already, many times) and it might be "bad" for Sony ("bad" only needs to mean selling less than other wise in this case), people are 'bothered'. They don't actually have history on their side for this biased take, but whatever, Fox News is not popular because 1/3 the country is crazy, they are popular because EVERYONE, actually, is post-truth. Sony running away with a generation more then once is fine, anything that threatens that is bad - funny how that works (and it wouldn't matter if they were spending differently and hoovering up a bunch of devs "organically", ya'll would whine about the talent hole that left other platforms with and claim it wasn't fair).

[@Doktario_Mystario]

well it would probebly affect the creativety in AAA games (at least) if what you're saying is true

[@HairyHarpy]

Big brain time

[@francescopuddu9837]

you're using your alter ego as a strawman that uses only simple and silly sentences while positioning yourself as the voice of reason without really having an antithesis to what you're saying... other than the fact that you're defending the idea of a monopoly which is really silly. if you had someone else to counter your points fairly it would have been an interesting video... but this is just you explaining your thoughts and presenting them in an arrogant way while also giving yourself a pat in the back.

[@neondanmods]

The PC gaming market has the biggest monopoly and it's called steam ,PC gaming barely have a choice now where to buy games

[@ForOne814]

Only because no one even bothered to create anything that would compete with Steam. And, as a consumer, Steam is awesome.

[@neondanmods]

@@ForOne814 steam is great l know but that doesn't change the fact that it's a monopoly

[@ForOne814]

@@neondanmods it's not a monopoly by definition.

[@neondanmods]

@@ForOne814 Okay would you not consider Microsoft windows a monopoly for PC?

[@ForOne814]

@@neondanmods digital monopolies are impossible in general IMO.

[@FurryestX]

Yes

[@Bustermachine]

The only game service other than steam that can remotely justify itself is GoG. And that's because the provide a specific service to tinfoil hat wearing weirdos like myself to buy games that I can then download and archive locally. And then be left the heck alone.

[@shocknaw]

If it ever becomes a monopoly I’m happy it’s Microsoft who owns most of the companies now

[@controladortv]

Monopoly is never good at all

[@Timic83tc]

One tango shut down later. Yeah this video is BS

[@jmacracken]

naive

[@goosewautier]

Microsoft cannot and will not ever win while nintendo makes consoles. They may have good access to games but in the end all you need is a pc and a switch because sony is porting their games to pc and game pass exists.

[@Ziaphy]

That whole point about a monopoly being easily disrupted just doesn’t really work when you realize that Microsoft is constantly getting timed or complete exclusivity on a lot of indie games like ori, cuphead or ark II

[@ForOne814]

Only because the devs decide to sell out, Microsoft has no way to force them to do it.

[@odedsayar4345]

disagree: established studios have far more resources than independent creatives. The latter may do some good marketing work, but ultimately have to rely on word of mouth, players caring enough about the game to review it or share on socials. The monopoly has the power to buy anything after it establishes itself and have far more power to promote its own games within its own platform. While Minecraft may have succeeded even in a monopolized market, so many other great games would have remained in the shadows, as many do even today.

[@ForOne814]

And it's not a monopoly by definition if you can just enter the market freely, lol. A monopoly in gaming is simply impossible. You can just create alternatives and even the biggest competitors can't do anything about that, they don't control the internet.

[@mikeymacaque]

This was one long video describing network monopolies

[@mikeymacaque]

As in monopolies do matter in creative industries. Disney owns all Marvel content and sets the agenda for all blockbusters. LiveNation + Ticketmaster control a near monopoly of all live music and they turn around and jack up prices artificially because you can’t see live music elsewhere. Quality of streaming platforms has gone DOWN now that platforms lock down IPs. Monopolies are especially bad in creative platforms

[@greivous3456]

soon microsoft will own nintendo lol, most likley not but who knows.

[@roux6715]

They already tried to do that in the early 2000’s, nintendo just laughed at them

[@toasterbath1795]

Don't worry bro Microsoft will reconize you some day

[@bridge2499]

Talk about monopolies.. Have xbox in the cover. Cute. How false and cute.

[@ZenkaiGoose]

I always keep it cute

[@Rufiothelost]

Microsoft kills everything it touches unfortunately.

[@desertranger3199]

Your thinking of EA

[@Rufiothelost]

@@desertranger3199 them too,

[@jimmythegamer2231]

Yeah right.

[@bc4645]

FIRST COMMENT LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@shrimpfry880]

i've just found out about your channel and no offense but you sound like a shill. no competition->no innovation. compare a 6th gen i5 to a 7th gen i5 and then an 11th gen i5 to a 12th gen one. without AMD becoming a worthy opponent to intel, they'd still release crappy 4 core 14nm processors in the "mid range". but monopoly is way worse in creative industries like movies, video games, and music. they can literally end someone's carrier by shadowbanning/removing their content if they want to. a creative monopoly has a total control over pop culture, and over the mind of the consumers

[@andyxboxbackup]

Does this guy work for Microsoft?

[@ZenkaiGoose]

nope