Bad news for the industry

[The Mullinator]

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1621&Itemid=2

Only 80 games to even turn a profit for a whole year? That is really bad considering publishers are already not trying new things. If this turns out to be true we are really not going to be seeing much except for sequals in the future.

 

[VirusType2]

Thats a damn shame. As if creativity hasn't been stifled enough. As much as I don't like the idea, it sounds as if advertisements in games are going to be required to keep the video game industry alive. It's already died once, and nintendo revived it, now it looks like nintendo itself is having some very stiff comepetition.

However there are some Video game programers who do it as a hobby (ME) and get paid nothing to do it, so video games themselves will never die. I think they need to streamline their expenses. Fire people that aren't productive, etc.

And I don't understand why entertainment such as movies which have similar budgets don't seem to be having such a problem with bankruptcy.

 

[The Mullinator]

I hate to be a fanboy but this in my opinion really is why I am loving Nintendo so far for this generation. They are actually trying (or at least it appears they are trying) to reverse this potential problem by doing what they can to keep development costs down. Development costs for the PS3 and 360 are only going to cause these problems to occur.

The cheaper it is to make games generally means more budget titles but it also means bigger risks are taken and it also means developers can spend more effort ensuring a game is actually very good instead of just trying to push it out the door and hope that because of hype the game turns a profit.

 

[VirusType2]

True True.

And when are publishers going to realize that just becuase they improve the graphics of a game and a few game play modes and slap a higher number on it doesn't mean so much.

You see how Resident evil evolved? RE 4 is so ****ing fresh. You take a game that is one of the best selling games ever-- just keep improving it slightly )RE 0, etc. Sure sales are going to do good.

.. but then you completely change the way the game plays and you've got another blockbuster winner. IF RE 4 didn't change the way it was played, it would just be another RE game.

People want to see and do something new.

Thats what makes me sick about most new games. Yea publishers are scared to do anything new but, they should be scared not to in my opinion,.

Granted certain types of games like FPS shouldn't be left, but im saying they can still evolve.

How tired I am that doorknobs magicaly turn when i press the button and doors magically open and close.
Why not- in your First person view- show your arm going down and turning the knob?
How about kicking the door open like the latest Wolfenstien! Shit like that is F N cool.

I agree, i think the Nintendo Revolution is going to be a breath of fresh air for video games. Swinging the control like a light saber and it showing your character on-screen swinging it in the unlimited ways is going to rock hard

 

[Last One In]

Reinnovation and innovation FTMother****ingGlacticConquest. There are so many rehashes that it makes me sick. What developers need is a memory eraser that they can wipe their brains with. That way, when they make a good game, they can erase their memories and perhaps create something entirely new.

 

[Xune]

The entire industry, developers, publishers and gamers alike are setting up for massive fall. I expect it will come sooner rather than later.

 

[VirusType2]

The entire industry, developers, publishers and gamers alike are setting up for massive fall. I expect it will come sooner rather than later.

what do you mean? another video game industry crash?

and off topic: i see your avatar and signature and wanted to say that Blade Runner is my favorite movie ever made. How they could do special effects and suggest what the future would be like so realistically for a movie so ancient is incredible. but im also partial to Vangelis and dark, moody movies where it rains the whole time. lots of rain. chinatown ruled

"dont walk... don't walk... don't walk. walk now...walk now.." Memories

 

[VictimOfScience]

We've known this for a while now. It shouldn't come as that big a surprise to anyone. It also shouldn't worry everyone too much.

Look at Lucasarts for example: They haven't put out a decent adventure game in years despite that being the genre that really put them on the map in the 80s. They are so focused now on milking their franchises for all their worth (which, admittedly, is A LOT) that they forget about what it means to be creative. Thus, many of their best people have gone on to smaller and better things, like Dave Grossman and co. at Telltale games, Tim Schafer and co. at Double Fine, Mike Kirchoff and co. at Autumn Moon Entertainment. Its to these small companies and many more like them that aren't necessarily guided by the almighty bottom line that we must look for creativity and innovation in the gaming world.

With digital ditribution looking better and better thanks to much more money going where it should (i.e. in the pockets of the developers), these smaller development houses now have a vastly superior alternative to trying to convince a large videogame publisher to take a chance on something other than a sports game or a shooter.

I don't think the industry is in any more trouble than it ever has been. There are too many amazingly intelligent, creative and stubborn people in the industry to let anything too bad happen. Just as the ones I mentioned above have already done, when big publishers do what they do best and want nothing to do with new IPs and "risky" creative ideas, these people and more just like them will forge a new path through the big bu$ine$$ of videogame developing/publishing.

The videogame industry is at a crossroads of sorts and a paradigm shift is about to occur that will change gaming as we know it. It may take a few years, but its coming and the big publishers will be forced to recognize and adapt to it. Look at what downloading has done for the music industry--its perfectly commonplace now, with big companies even getting in on the trend. Its cheaper for us, but the big companies can still make a profit from it. There's a place in the middle where two divergent schools of thought can meet and decide upon a mutually beneficial agreement--it just takes time to see where that middle ground is. I predict that the same thing will happen with gaming, it'll just take some time.

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

This is exactly where concepts like Steam come in - providing an alternative publishing route for the more innovative (i.e. "risky" in the traditional publishing sense) games.