This definitely plays a huge part.

The problem with that argument is that any mod actually worth paying money for (as opposed to “Make X character killable” or something suitably ridiculous that could be accomplished with one console command) is one where the modder’s made an overwhelming portion of the content involved from scratch, like models,…

We call that system you’re describing “game development.” And if you’re talking about a place where there are a ton of people taking a core idea (the base game) and slightly changing it a bit in the hopes of becoming an overnight success, you’re thinking of the App Store.

it’ll be funny when somebody makes a free mod to remove the pop-ups from the free version of his mod. ^_^

Donations have worked on other platforms (it’s something you can do on the Nexus for example) without Bethesda stepping in.

So safe to say they’re just cutting all their ties to consoles and PC after this, and we’ll know them from now on as Konami Mobile.

Valve pretty much lost all respect in my eyes. No more spending money on Steam for me.

That cut is exactly what prevents it from BEING professional. The difference between amateurism and professional isn’t a matter of talent here. Plenty of modders out there doing work that could easily compete with professionals. But they’re not living off that work.

Horse before the cart.

As it stands, Valve still needs to overcome one major issue here.

There’s value in amateurism. Modders are free to work on something for as long and hard as they like. A professional developer has to be paid for his time. And there’s probably not enough money in mod-making even if this takes off to make it worth the effort for a lot of them.

Water and mods that turn Alduin into Randy Savage.

It is a slippery slope, good numbers this week doesn't mean those numbers will stay good in the future. That is why ALL companies try to obfuscate numbers on earnings reports and only give specifics when they are highlighting a positive, and never with regularity.

Well it’s not like the companies themselves don’t have access to the numbers. They know how many they sold on each marketplace because that’s how they get paid. So the issue is not telling the public, which is probably because both console companies don’t want to admit they’re losing (and they can’t be sure if they…

Yea, it’s weird for people like me who have bought almost exclusively digital since getting PS+ in 2011 - I got inFamous Second Son and NBA 2K14 on disc with my PS4. I know someone is getting my money, but it’s weird knowing you’re like a gamer without a Nielsen box, looking at numbers you had no affect on.

They don’t report because it would affect their bargaining power. Same reason why Netflix doesn’t report how many are watching any particular show or movie. To us it would make sense to report as for encouragement and whatnot, but to them it’s threatening.

It honestly blows my mind that companies don’t report on their digital sales. Would it not behoove them to tout such big digital numbers (if that’s what they are) in order to show to consumers and publishers alike that theirs is the digital marketplace to release content on?

Video games sales charts are problematic, especially with regard to all the things that they don’t take into account like digital sales. Kotaku UK takes a look at the British charts situation and talks to developers and fellow journalists about possible solutions.