CNet On Uneasy Developers

[mister_slim]

CNet News (news.com.com) has an article (http://news.com.com/Developers+uneasy+about+new+game+consoles/2100-1043_3-5704069.html) covering developers worrying about the costs of next-gen development, with commentary from Spector and Costikyan. There are also quotes from Microsoft trying to lessen those fears.Allard also touted a new "marketplace" feature of the Xbox system, in which developers will be able to post downloadable content ranging from trailers to demos to rub-on tattoos. That will help developers and publishers make extra money for their games and could provide publishers with a way to experiment with new ideas cheaply, a little bit like pilot shows on television, Allard said.

"People say publishers are going to make fewer bets," Allard said. "I want them to make bigger bets."
Optimistic? Cynical? I'm going with cynical.

[Citizen Philip]

Of course no one wants to talk about this. It's big, it's ugly and it's coming.

I for one look forward to "How to make an American movie" style of future computer gaming:

Insert lone tough person anti-hero "Who doesn't play by the rules"
Insert supportinig cast with no depth
Insert Evil Leader
Insert Evil Mini-bosses
Insert Mindless Evil Troops for anti-hero to practice moves and get powerups.
Insert 1 Scene involving dinosaurs/flying or driving/space

Optional:
Love Interest
Love Triangle
Supporting cast traitor
Anti-hero with dark past

Graphics and Sound:
Newer, better, mind-blowing, (insert your choice of verbage)

Playtime: 10-15 hours. With 5 hours of optional "unlockables"

Cost: $50-70. Registration: Online with credit card and account information.

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Non-mainstream titles will become like foreign movies, found in the equivalent of the back column of your free downtown newspaper.

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I'm very glad a Microsoft Takling Head can see the silver in the lining.

GG

[bobbler]

Bigger bets aren't necessarily a replacement for more bets... thats, actually, the entire problem. Bigger bets sort of implies fewer bets.

Allard should keep his mouth shut sometimes.

[Zurik]

Its all nice and good until the want to nickel and dime you to death with these small downloads. Then developers can release games with a small amount of multiplayer maps and charge you extra for more over time.

[Spigot]

I agree with you Citizen Philip. I'm worried that the innovation and fun factor of games is already in a sorry enough state. With those rising costs of development for the next gen consoles (and PC games) it's going to be harder and harder for the suits to go ahead and let the devs take risks.

I just hope that the growing trend for localizing more and more obscure Japanese games continues. Games like Disgaea and Katamari Damacy have really been popular here and that seems to have kept the door open, if not opened it further with regards to what is sent over here. I just wish that North American design houses would be as willing to think outside the box.

Granted, I think there's just something in the water over there, so maybe that's why the games are so weird and so good :)

[RMan]

Yea, they keep drawing comparisons between Hollywood and games, and the way games are moving towards that in terms of budgets. They invariably fail to understand that there will need to be a shift in pricing and overall release strategy for that model to work for games. The simple fact is that the movie watcher will experience far more movies than a gamer, simply because games take much longer to play and are more expensive. Movies also have more outlets, since they have the theater, sales, rentals, and television, while games only have sales and rentals (used to have arcades, but not really anymore). For these reasons, games will be less diverse, since you’re going to have a few major titles in each genre fighting to be the one out of five games that the average player buys per console. This lack of diversity will lead to less players being attracted to games, to what degree will never be calculable, but the effect will clearly be there. It’s kinda like crop rotation, the industry needs a constant influx of new/different ideas to change things up, or it will not produce well.

Another rather tough problem with the comparison between movies and games is that movies have no strong technical reason why they should do sequels, they do so primarily because sequels have greater awareness. Games, however, can and do reuse assets between sequels, so the more sequels you have the less likely they will change, and the less likely the developer will do something different. Since multiple games will be fighting to steal players from their competitors, they’re likely to increase in features and complexity to do so, further alienating casual gamers. This is unfortunately an inherit disadvantage for games that will never be fixed.

I question deeply the current 100% drive for aesthetics, but the powers that be want greater market share, so there’s no other obvious way to get it. In the long run, though, I feel this is not the right approach to generate a more profitable and stable market. If you think about it, does anyone really think that the better graphics thing is really going to attract a bunch of new gamers? I mean, are there really a bunch of potential gamers out there not buying games and console systems because PS2 and Xbox games are not pretty enough? I certainly don’t think so, Microsoft is trying to take a greater share of an existing market, and so is Sony (more accurately, Sony is primarily trying to keep it), and both have forced eachother to release systems likely a year or two early, as well as raise expectations to a point where far fewer projects can afford to be funded. In the end I think you’ll get individual games that are slightly more fun because of the aesthetic improvements, but an overall market that’s less fun because of a lack of diversity.

[Kelegacy]

Good, maybe developers will jump ship and go back to the PC!!!! yeah, i fuckin' wish.

[mister_slim]

The economics of the next gen are scary, but they're not as scary as they look. Take-Two actually made money on ESPN NFL 2K5, despite a $20 pricepoint. Majesco seems to be doing quite well with $20 & $30 games as well. Basically, some publishers are smarter than others. EA is just focused entirely on short-term profit, so they want to push prices as high as possible.

[bobbler]

There is some flaw to this whole worry inducing situation. The fact is, the quirky games that everyone is afraid will disappear usually aren't the most graphically intense -- katamari damacy is a prime example. Now... the reason most for the hikes in cost of development is primarily because of graphics/engine/animating/etc which aren't a main concern of the 'quirky' games.

I doubt we'll see much negative effect of it this generation, ways of funding games may end up changing throughout this generation, but we'll still end up with our quirky gems here 'n there.

[mister_slim]

There is some flaw to this whole worry inducing situation. The fact is, the quirky games that everyone is afraid will disappear usually aren't the most graphically intense -- katamari damacy is a prime example. Now... the reason most for the hikes in cost of development is primarily because of graphics/engine/animating/etc which aren't a main concern of the 'quirky' games.
Not to mention the DS will welcome all those quirky low budget games with open arms.

[bobbler]

If the DS gets the quirky games in full force, I'll get my grubby hands on one of them before I touch one of the next gen consoles. Likewise with the PSP.

[Spigot]

Good, maybe developers will jump ship and go back to the PC!!!! yeah, i fuckin' wish.

The one reason this will never happen is ease of use. The average Joe out there wants a system where they can just drop the game in, turn it on and start playing.

I'd almost stopped gaming on my PC earlier last year because there just weren't that many games that I wanted to play on my PC and those that I did, I'd have had to upgrade to play. Granted, I also had a newborn baby to look after and I think my brain turned into Average Joe brain for a few months.

Thankfully with WoW, Guild Wars and a few singleplayer games (Freedom Force 2, Thief 3, Beyond Divinity) that I've unearthed and started playing again, I've come back to the PC. I also go in phases where I'll be using one console or platform more than the others, depending on what games are out and what I'm playing.

But I still think that until you've got games that you can just drop into the PC and play, you're not going to get the mindshare away from the consoles.