[OTHER] 'Less than 3 out of 10 games recover costs,' says EI
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4me2




Posts: 5434

PostPosted: Tue, 12th Aug 2008 13:21    Post subject: [OTHER] 'Less than 3 out of 10 games recover costs,' says EI
Edinburgh Interactive Festival chairman Chris Deering has warned the games industry that it must look for new revenue sources as development costs rise and software sales fall.

In a speech opening this year's EIF, Deering said, "Traditional revenue sources will not be sufficient to fund games development. If you look at the very narrow definition of the gaming market, people are saying the software business will be down 20 per cent by 2011 versus this year.

"Something is going to have to be there to make up the difference and take us beyond that threshold," Deering continued. He observed that major games can now cost more than USD 10 million to develop - and up to USD 100 million in the case of titles such as Grand Theft Auto IV.

"My guess and analysis shows that less than 3 out of 10 games recover their development and marketing costs with boxed goods sales," said Deering. "So what's going to have to happen? Creative use of hybrid online and offline advertising revenues, online offline transactions with consumers - these business models must be explored."

According to Deering, the big trends of the next decade will include the growth of internet-served video, the expansion of fanbases into new communities, increased remote data storage and the emergence of global virtual currencies. He also predicted the growth of mobile social networks, TV, GPS and advertising - all of which present the games industry with new opportunities to create games and seek out revenues.


http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/less-than-3-out-of-10-games-recover-costs-says-eif-boss
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sabin1981
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Posts: 87805

PostPosted: Tue, 12th Aug 2008 13:28    Post subject:
Bullshit. The reason why games are selling less, yet costing more, is because of two things;

1. This constant battle to release games that are better looking than everything else.
2. The sheer amount of SHITE games on the market that people just don't want to pay £40 for.

Final Fantasy VII cost $45m to make and has taken TEN times that in revenue. Why? Because it was a legendary game and everyone loved it! Make better games, you'll take better revenue.

"Online and offline transactions with customers" O-ho. Read between the lines there, what he basically means is more micro-transactions within games. Ah yes, I can picture it now! Final Fantasy XIV --- you get to a boss and suddenly a popup window obscures your view; "This boss battle can be yours for the low, low price of $9.99! Please enter your credit-card details now to enjoy the rest of the game"

Rolling Eyes
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4me2




Posts: 5434

PostPosted: Tue, 12th Aug 2008 13:31    Post subject:
I remember a while ago reading about plans to put adverts in games.
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sabin1981
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PostPosted: Tue, 12th Aug 2008 13:33    Post subject:
There are a number of Ubisoft games you can download, for free, that include advertising during loading sections and sometimes on billboards in the gameworld.
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liansk




Posts: 1460

PostPosted: Tue, 12th Aug 2008 14:58    Post subject:
Once upon a time there was a pretty GOOD game that was called Grand Theft Auto IV. Everybody tried to steal and pirate poor GTA, even before it got out to stores but alas, GTA had a good heart and so she started selling copies despite the evil pirates efforts. It sold and sold until eventually it broke the Guinness World Records for "Highest grossing video game in 24 hours" and "Highest Revenue Generated by an Entertainment Product in 24 Hours" and lived happily ever after. The End.

Buttom line - Good games sell and shit games don't.


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sabin1981
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PostPosted: Tue, 12th Aug 2008 14:59    Post subject:
Precisely. Even with the rampant, pre-release, piracy -- GTAIV has now got entries into the Guinness Book of WORLD records for fastest, most, selling game.

Yeah, piracy is killing the industry. Honest. Serious.
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Flowmo




Posts: 627

PostPosted: Tue, 12th Aug 2008 15:00    Post subject:
liansk wrote:
Buttom line - Good games sell and shit games don't.

Some people in the entertainment bizz are just too blind to read just that one line and realise it's true.
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NuclearShadow
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Posts: 1948

PostPosted: Tue, 12th Aug 2008 15:40    Post subject:
I don't believe its as simple as good games = sales. while its certainly a big factor there are other many others things that can and will affect the sale of a game. Heres some in no specific order.

1: Who made the game. Lets face it we all like certain developers and formed trust with them when it comes to quality.

2: Marketing and Hype. If no one knows the game is coming and if it doesn't get people excited even a great game can slip through the cracks. Sadly marketing and Hype can make bad games even sell well.

3: Cost. How many of us can really afford every single game recently released that interests you? Sometimes you have to choose one game over another simply because you can't afford both. As prices keep rising this will become more and more of a burden on people.

4: Genre. How many will choose the shiny new FPS over the new strategy game?

5: Reviews. You wouldn't believe how many people won't touch a game because of someone else's opinion.

6: Graphics. Face it theres no doubt that many people will buy a game simply because its pretty even if the game itself is overall bad. These types of people also tend to avoid non highly graphical games no matter how good the game is.

And the list can go on I'm sure.
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bringiton




Posts: 3715

PostPosted: Tue, 12th Aug 2008 15:53    Post subject:
It's like sabin1981 said:
When the 10th GTA and 10000th 3DShooter Clone comes out, who the fuck is interested in it and will pay the full price for a game that only copies old ideas?


“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”
- Albert Camus
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sabin1981
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PostPosted: Tue, 12th Aug 2008 16:07    Post subject:
Lol, I did?
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bringiton




Posts: 3715

PostPosted: Tue, 12th Aug 2008 20:34    Post subject:
Quote:
2. The sheer amount of SHITE games on the market that people just don't want to pay £40 for.
Well, I thought you meant what I wrote down


“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”
- Albert Camus
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GeorgeIvanovich




Posts: 361

PostPosted: Wed, 13th Aug 2008 00:24    Post subject:
o c´mon im living doing 3d stuff, that money dosen´t go to salaries Sad
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sabin1981
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Posts: 87805

PostPosted: Thu, 14th Aug 2008 01:29    Post subject:
bringiton wrote:
Quote:
2. The sheer amount of SHITE games on the market that people just don't want to pay £40 for.
Well, I thought you meant what I wrote down


Oh! LOL!

I thought you meant a quote from me, not a context, heh. Yeah, I'm with you 100%
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cnZ
Banned



Posts: 3091

PostPosted: Thu, 14th Aug 2008 03:01    Post subject:
the thing with consoles is easier for devs as not so many ppl want to buy modchips or bs like that, then there's the burning process - dl a game, burn it on a dvd and insert it in ur modded console

though i agree that piracy should exist. if there wasn't any, devs would start making completely shit games as they know ppl still buy it as they want to play something. thanks to piracy there are many ppl who choose games based on a gameplay test on a downloaded clone and/or cracked variant, and after that decide whether to buy it or not (but let's be honest, this is the minor group). and then there's the majority who just leech and finish the product. but why devs should consider them as a potential threat, too? because this majority can give reviews based on the game to other friends who in fact would buy the game.

and piracy affects sales. that's absolutely correct. the question is should these mainstream publisher companies make a 50x income from a product(s) that wasnt worth the cost of production? it's more of a ethical speaking

the REAL bad thing for publishers (let's say dev company already got their cash from publisher) is pre-releases - it may take a VERY BIG profit away from the product. as ppl who play it and feel negative about it will say to others and others and others, and all that before the game has hit shelves. it affects a lot.

so, good copy protections are needed - so that the product would be unplayable for some months in a pirate way - to give a publisher or developer (if they're publishing too) money boost. or sometimes, most of the income. it's what keeping them alive, it's what gives them motivation to finance/build a next product.


yes
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