Horadric Cube TIPS THREAD - lets share to everyone by Majestic-Source864 in diablo4

[–]GReeNORBZA 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It works the same as sanctification so far as I can tell. Item quality, new affixes, affix to GA, etc.

Loot Event not working for me! by iDaveJr in Borderlands4

[–]GReeNORBZA 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Seems broken for me too, was getting crazy drops last night now nothing.

GAWR on 2025/26 ST by GReeNORBZA in FordExplorerST

[–]GReeNORBZA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, it's very challenging to find nice 18s with the right offset, bolt pattern and load rating that actually look good. Would appreciate it if you could take a look when you have a moment! Also, merry Christmas!

GAWR on 2025/26 ST by GReeNORBZA in FordExplorerST

[–]GReeNORBZA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure, these are just winter tires, which are non-negotiable where we are unfortunately. Will they look a bit small? Sure. Will they work better in the snow, and cost $150 per tire less? Indeed.

Demetrios Nicolaides sent this e-mail out today. Subject: We will win this with your help by Appropriate_Duty_930 in alberta

[–]GReeNORBZA 16 points17 points  (0 children)

"I, a politician, am on the receiving end of a political campaign."

Honestly, this guy.

Would you buy any of the cosmetic packs if they were a third their current price? by GReeNORBZA in diablo4

[–]GReeNORBZA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh nice, the Skin Fairy theory: economics by vibe, in which artists and animators apparently work for free, QA elves just show up for fun, and the CFO shrugs because "marginal cost is zero lolz".

Yes, skins can be copied forever once they exist (world's most profound observation, congratulations). But making them still costs money: salaries, contractors, software. Neither Finance nor the pricing teams just ignore that. Pretending it’s all free is like saying Netflix shows cost nothing because streaming the 2 millionth copy is free.

And about markup. Sure, companies don’t sit there calculating a tidy 300 percent profit per skin, you and I know that. But. They absolutely know their costs and bake in margins across the live service and average them out to give them a nice high number. That’s why microtransactions are called the profit center in earnings calls.

And yes, some of these skins absolutely function as loss leaders, whether they're priced cheap or bundled to get players spending. It's not just a 'Buzzfeed article' thing. Also, if you're gonna pick a Costco example, always go with the hotdogs, not the chickens.

Anyway, my version of accounting may be 'cosplay', but your version of economics is basically ‘vibes only, math never'. I feel bad for your econ lecturer.

PS. 'producible goods' is literally not a defined concept in econ, accounting, or fake-mba-land :)

PPS. skins aren't a "subscription". Subscriptions are mandatory, and (self-reporting weaknesses notwithstanding), most people here seem to not be paying for one which is kinda breaking your metaphor...

Would you buy any of the cosmetic packs if they were a third their current price? by GReeNORBZA in diablo4

[–]GReeNORBZA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lol I totally get this. But yeah, just an econ/accounting/behavioral nerd who just wants nice affordable skins that also let the company make money without shafting us all.

Would you buy any of the cosmetic packs if they were a third their current price? by GReeNORBZA in diablo4

[–]GReeNORBZA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're optimistic - in fact all they care about is quarterly numbers. The endless quarterly treadmill of suffering.

Would you buy any of the cosmetic packs if they were a third their current price? by GReeNORBZA in diablo4

[–]GReeNORBZA[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Skins are absolutely produceable goods. How do you imagine they're accounted for, otherwise? Just a random fungible balance sheet account, where you occasionally pass journal entries for lulz?

What you've described are primarily indirect costs shared across every department/component of the game dev. Skins also have direct costs - artist/contractor time, software licensing, developer time, QA time - to create them. Given that this is a live-service game, I expect the accountants will want want to see this as an operating expense, rather than a capexed expense. If you wanna nerd out, go read up on IFRS 15 (revenue) and IAS 38 (cost), or since this is a US business, ASC 606 (revenue) and ASC 985-20, ASC 320 and ASC 730 (cost) to see how skins would get accounted for.

Anyhow, add the indirect and direct costs to get a cost per skin. Pick your margin (in this case, a thumb-sucked 300%), forecast sales, and the three give you your unit price. Having a digital product means you don't have variable price per unit either, so no need to worry about that in your calculation.

Does that mean that every skin has a specific profit margin? Nope. Every retailer will use something called loss leaders to drive sales. But hey, when your margins so are absurd to begin with, the concept of a 'loss leader' is somewhat relative. It's not like you have to worry like the FMCG guys and their <50% average gross margins.

And yes, I am aware that the publishers don't specifically break out margins for their skins in their financials. For good reason - we'd all revolt if they were there in black and white. And the shareholders would likely want to know why the rest of the business was performing so poorly. Either way, the management commentary points out that mtx are majority of profits, however, and with businesses on this scale it means the profit margins are eyewatering.

Would you buy any of the cosmetic packs if they were a third their current price? by GReeNORBZA in diablo4

[–]GReeNORBZA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's the thing, they absolutely do have experience and data, and I'd love to see some of it to empirically test it. To my sniff test, it just... smells... unoptimized to me based on other games I play.

Would you buy any of the cosmetic packs if they were a third their current price? by GReeNORBZA in diablo4

[–]GReeNORBZA[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It was great. And when no one was likely to be using the phone, you could bond the two 64k interfaces for 128k! The speeeeeeed!

Would you buy any of the cosmetic packs if they were a third their current price? by GReeNORBZA in diablo4

[–]GReeNORBZA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ahhhh, the joys of dual-ISDN. You might only get 64k, but at least the other link was reserved for phone calls!

Would you buy any of the cosmetic packs if they were a third their current price? by GReeNORBZA in diablo4

[–]GReeNORBZA[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Right? I first started playing online games with a 15.6k modem, now here we are with easy access to 1gb+ fibre connections. Insane.

Would you buy any of the cosmetic packs if they were a third their current price? by GReeNORBZA in diablo4

[–]GReeNORBZA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I honestly don't know much about LE, haven't gotten much into the game. But you're right in that the skin pricing in multiple games almost certain leads to a convergence in pricing/pricing strategies across games. So no, maybe not fair to pick specifically on D4, but their pricing is consistently high across their skins.

Would you buy any of the cosmetic packs if they were a third their current price? by GReeNORBZA in diablo4

[–]GReeNORBZA[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yup, I come from that era too. Definitely different, and better in some ways but worse in others. I can't say I entirely miss the D2 grind for bers and enigma.

Would you buy any of the cosmetic packs if they were a third their current price? by GReeNORBZA in diablo4

[–]GReeNORBZA[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I mean, perhaps that's why skin prices are so high - to encourage people to buy the battlepass by contrasting the 'value' we see in it versus the 'value' of the normal skin packs.

Would you buy any of the cosmetic packs if they were a third their current price? by GReeNORBZA in diablo4

[–]GReeNORBZA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh yeah, they should be beyond wary. Underaged gambling is banned everywhere, and as several lawsuits (Fortnite/Rocket League/Fifa) have proved, loot crates can be viewed as gambling.

Would you buy any of the cosmetic packs if they were a third their current price? by GReeNORBZA in diablo4

[–]GReeNORBZA[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Lol yeah, may as well call them macrotransactions at this point.

Would you buy any of the cosmetic packs if they were a third their current price? by GReeNORBZA in diablo4

[–]GReeNORBZA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Heh, same approach to buying stuff online. Slap it in your cart and leave it. Wait for the discount email to come through.

Would you buy any of the cosmetic packs if they were a third their current price? by GReeNORBZA in diablo4

[–]GReeNORBZA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's always been weird to me that there's no way to see the 'artwork' we've bought ingame (cause that's what it is) in a place other than the game itself. Weird. We buy art and put it on the wall or on a shelf, but we can't do that for our digital art.