I mean, I do think games come and go, but I think Wordle is some really solid design. It's paced and measured and feel like a mature experience, even though it's new.
NYT could absolutely clone the gameplay - it would be easy - but I think they would rightly be hounded by people attacking them for stealing the game. Instead, they settle on a reasonable (but low) purchase price that probably includes some consulting on how to expand the game, get the blessing of the original creator, and have a feel-good story about adopting and expanding a game people like.
Like, this is a good fit for the NYT "word game collection" brand, but because of the popularity they have to be careful about how they integrate it. I'm sure they paid a bit more than they wanted to, but not actually too much more than it would take to develop a clone, and what they really pay for is protecting against bad press. Seems fine to me.
I mean, I do think games come and go, but I think Wordle is some really solid design. It's paced and measured and feel like a mature experience, even though it's new.
NYT could absolutely clone the gameplay - it would be easy - but I think they would rightly be hounded by people attacking them for stealing the game. Instead, they settle on a reasonable (but low) purchase price that probably includes some consulting on how to expand the game, get the blessing of the original creator, and have a feel-good story about adopting and expanding a game people like.
Like, this is a good fit for the NYT "word game collection" brand, but because of the popularity they have to be careful about how they integrate it. I'm sure they paid a bit more than they wanted to, but not actually too much more than it would take to develop a clone, and what they really pay for is protecting against bad press. Seems fine to me.