A lot of those games make money by time-gating content with the option to buy your way past that. I don't think hardcore gamers like games with pay-to-play features. How can that be competitive if people can purchase their way past things?

If they aren't building the game platform that way (time gated content w/pay-to-play) then its hard to even compare against companies that make a fortune that way.

Also, hardcore gamers like to be in control. Mobile platforms don't have fine controls since they are touch based. Accidentally swipe or touch the screen the wrong way and game over.

> Mobile platforms don't have fine controls since they are touch based. Accidentally swipe or touch the screen the wrong way and game over.

There are a number of accessories on the market combating this problem. This one was showcased at a gaming convention I visited this past weekend: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HKPB2VC/A/gamevice-contro...

It's officially supported by Apple (for iPhones and iPads), and Android production is in the works. I was able to play GTA: Vice City on an iPhone with virtually no issues. Phone-based gaming is getting closer than you think.

edit: formatting.

> I don't think hardcore gamers like games with pay-to-play features.

Does _anyone_ really like playing pay-to-play features?

> Also, hardcore gamers like to be in control.

Which is why none of the hardcore gamers flock to mobile apps for real competition. Even with PS4, Xbox, etc in the mix, the largest eSports tournaments (Dota, CSGO, LoL, anything blizzard, etc) are still on a PC. I don't see any justification why this would change any time soon.

Lastly, most games that are popular in eSports drive a ton of value for the game itself via "skins" (e.g. dota, lol, csgo). I'm curious if hardcore gamers would want to buy skins on a mobile game platform. It feels way to ephemeral to me personally.

> I don't think hardcore gamers like games with pay-to-play features

They do not. They really do not. I, along with several of my friends, would easily be considered part of the "hardcore gaming" audience and everything I know of the people on the forums I frequent and the games I play points to the fact that dumping cash into a game in order to progress is just about the most despised trend in video games among that section of the gaming community. A lot of people will happily pay for cosmetic purchases to support the developers and have some extra fun, but anything affecting the balance of the game is a strict no-no.

One counterexample is Hearthstone. Players buy packs to have access to cards that otherwise would take them weeks to unlock. AFAIK, professional & hardcore players actually spend a lot of money buying these packs so that they can unlock the cards ASAP and study & test them for competitive play.

I feel like CCGs tend to get a weird pass because of games like Magic making it a common occurrence while managing to appeal to hardcore gamers.

Games like Fifa generate lots of money from selling "packs" in their ultimate team mode. When you buy a player pack, they have a guarantee of containing a fixed number of gold, silver, or bronze players but since the gold, silver, and bronze players can have vastly different ratings, it doesn't disturb the balance of the game.

People spend hundreds of dollars buying packs in that game and end up winning not a single useful player while someone can win the best player of the whole game through a free pack they received from an in-game tournament

I appreciate your reply, because sports games are actually something I have little to no experience with. I wasn't aware of the current trends in that area.

Aren't there a ton of people that play Clash of Clans pretty seriously?

I'm somewhat surprised there's no demo/preview/marketing for any game yet. Seems like it would be hard to approach YC with "we want to make a game that makes tons of money", because there are a crazy amount of variables involved in that. Perhaps they applied with more info, but it's not public yet?

They don't have any games on their website currently but as far as I remember, they published their first game in January this year and generated a good amount of revenue

Their original goal of online microtransaction boardgames is a far cry from very popular eSport.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Oed9nM7MFA

This is their more recent pitch, but still no eSports: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6GWa2NyEKw

I'm guessing this is a pivot they've made recently- surprised they pitched it when so early: doesn't look like they are even at proof of concept yet with this new idea.

This is a great business, but typically game companies don't make good startups. They are typically about cultivating teams that can create compelling content, and not defensible technology. They typically don't need capital as much as they need talent.