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sTo0z
[Moderator] Babysitter
Posts: 7449
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Posted: Tue, 19th Nov 2013 19:33 Post subject: Why do you think companies fall? |
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Just curious of your opinions really.. Why do you think companies fall? For example: Blizzard used to be UNTOUCHABLE. Everything they did was pure gold. Diablo II, StarCraft II, WarCraft II/III. World of Warcraft (at release, no idea about now). AAA stuff right there. Blizzard could do NO wrong. Now it's like everywhere I turn I see people shitting all over what they're up to. What do you think made them "fall" in your opinion?
Then we have cases like Westwood. Sure, it's easy to blame EA here, EA bought them and took over and fired the team and fucked the franchise up. But, let's remember, SOMEONE at Westwood had to agree to this. Why did they do this? Westwood was doing fine, weren't they? Why sellout?
And if EA is such a monster, always snatching up properties and studios, only to see them collapse, why would ANYONE in their right mind accept any acquisition from EA EVER AGAIN?
Is it simple greed? Does too much creativity ride on the shoulders of too few?
What do you think? Why do companies that were once held so high in our minds fall before us?
What was one company/franchise in your memory that you were sad to see go/change? What do you think happened?

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Posted: Tue, 19th Nov 2013 19:36 Post subject: |
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Any one working in a big company finds out very fast that the only ones who call the shots is the finance department. If the say the company needs to cut down on spending you as a employ or manager don't have a anything to say. Because at the end it's all about stocks and money.
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Posted: Tue, 19th Nov 2013 19:36 Post subject: |
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Because company X from 15 years ago is not the same as company X now?
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Posted: Tue, 19th Nov 2013 19:37 Post subject: |
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blizzard is still untouchable.
not because they are godlike, it just because the other are crap.
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no9999
Posts: 3437
Location: Behind you...
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Posted: Tue, 19th Nov 2013 19:44 Post subject: |
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Posted: Tue, 19th Nov 2013 19:46 Post subject: |
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Blizzard quite literally sold out.
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Posted: Tue, 19th Nov 2013 19:49 Post subject: |
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because they're greedy assholes
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sTo0z
[Moderator] Babysitter
Posts: 7449
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Posted: Tue, 19th Nov 2013 19:55 Post subject: |
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bogo24dk wrote: | Any one working in a big company finds out very fast that the only ones who call the shots is the finance department. If the say the company needs to cut down on spending you as a employ or manager don't have a anything to say. Because at the end it's all about stocks and money. |
But again, in the case of so many companies (like Westwood), they appear to be doing fine. Why would they risk it?
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Posted: Tue, 19th Nov 2013 20:03 Post subject: |
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sTo0z wrote: | bogo24dk wrote: | Any one working in a big company finds out very fast that the only ones who call the shots is the finance department. If the say the company needs to cut down on spending you as a employ or manager don't have a anything to say. Because at the end it's all about stocks and money. |
But again, in the case of so many companies (like Westwood), they appear to be doing fine. Why would they risk it? |
probably because their creativity was over, and they had nothing to work for their standards.
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Posted: Tue, 19th Nov 2013 20:06 Post subject: |
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Capitalistic inertia and creative fatigue.
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CraweN
Posts: 719
Location: Upside down in chair
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Posted: Tue, 19th Nov 2013 20:07 Post subject: |
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sTo0z wrote: | bogo24dk wrote: | Any one working in a big company finds out very fast that the only ones who call the shots is the finance department. If the say the company needs to cut down on spending you as a employ or manager don't have a anything to say. Because at the end it's all about stocks and money. |
But again, in the case of so many companies (like Westwood), they appear to be doing fine. Why would they risk it? |
I thought their old games was awesome. But then their later games like Lands of lore 2 was ok, which when it was made by Westwood was the the same as crap.
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Morphineus
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Posted: Tue, 19th Nov 2013 20:10 Post subject: |
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Blizzard got too big for the hipsters so there's a lot of heat coming from them. For me the whole dumbing down made me lose interest in their games/expansions. Yet they still deliver very polished games compared to the rest. So nope not hating them, just lost interest in what they produce atm. Can change in a heartbeat tho.
On the EA thing, they really do throw a lot of cash around so for a lot of people that is enough to say: screw this I'm done with working and they sell it of.
I do think most of it is all down to greed, few cases people becoming complacent and another group just being unrealistic. Just look at the people around you and then think of the same behaviour on higher places.
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Posted: Wed, 20th Nov 2013 01:32 Post subject: |
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sTo0z
[Moderator] Babysitter
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Posted: Wed, 20th Nov 2013 04:17 Post subject: |
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Always the money eh? If that is always the case, then that is truly sad. 
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Posted: Wed, 20th Nov 2013 04:54 Post subject: |
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Well yes, anyone can be bought. Everyone wants something, and money is usually always the solution to get that something. Except maybe true love. Even if you feel you've enough cash and you're simply in it for the creative side of it, you can just take the money and go start fresh somewhere else.
It's not the only reason companies fall though. Sometimes it's because they lose key personnel. It's surprising just how much influence a single competent and dedicated guy with vision can have on the quality of a product. Sometimes they lose him to another company, other times the guy himself changes and loses what made him special in the first place. Or maybe you had a team dynamic which was excellent, but falls apart when one of them leave.
For my own part, the ones I miss the most are probably SSI, Black Isle, Troika, Bullfrog and maybe a few others.
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LMLM
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Posted: Wed, 20th Nov 2013 05:36 Post subject: |
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IMO some answers above are overly simplistic to the point of being wrong. There are many reasons why Game developers fail or close doors. Sometimes it's the boom & bust cycle created by failed central planning of the authorities. That's not a capitalist reason. Sometimes the owner might want a different career so he/she sells the business. Sometimes they run out of creative steam, as was said. Sometimes there is internal drama that corrodes the studio from the inside. Sometimes they make so much money that the employees can quit and start their own business and do their own thing. Sometimes their games suck and fail in the marketplace and so they are forced to close. Games are fad & fashion and sometimes a studio closes because they fail to keep up with it.
Btw, I don't believe there's anything wrong with selling your business for (what seems like) a good or reasonable price. I suppose there are predatory businesses who scoop up smaller ones and not just EA has done that. I don't necessarily think that's all bad, but some has been destructive. I don't think the EU/US are capitalist but more socialist with central planning and so my tendency is to blame failed central economic planning since that's what we suffer under. Perverted market economics, yes. Capitalist, no.
edit: another reason may include bad PR from forcing DRM on paying customers.
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Posted: Wed, 20th Nov 2013 10:07 Post subject: |
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I find Blizzard's case rather simple. Their games, while being extremely polished in terms of gameplay, are pure copycat products. 10+ years ago, that wasn't such a problem due to medieval fantasy and SF genres not being such mainstream. But there were a hell out exploiting those genres in the last decade, and you simply can't impress anyone anymore with generic plots, stereotype characters and nice cinematics.
Also, the cartoonish style. Their games went from cartoonish look (which I have no problem with) to childish vibe, due to consumers they attracted meanwhile. There's no quality when you worry about pleasing kids with parents' credit cards.
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RatKing
Posts: 1212
Location: Nondescript cave in the land of the polar bears, Finland
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Posted: Wed, 20th Nov 2013 11:42 Post subject: |
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sTo0z wrote: | Always the money eh? If that is always the case, then that is truly sad.  |
"When I was young I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old I know that it is."
-Oscar Wilde
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Posted: Wed, 20th Nov 2013 12:43 Post subject: |
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Gamedev is a very unstable business in general.
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Posted: Wed, 20th Nov 2013 13:37 Post subject: |
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its like this Developers make games and publishers sell them ... then thing is most of the time game studios fall because of publishers that will not pay up for games they shipped to the devs , explaining to them "ÿou don't grasp the real meaning of money"
Devs make a pitch alpha and they lure with it publishers so they can back them up ,
Publishers from they own side finance the game , create adverts that suck and pay for printing/storing/shipping medias to store
what is left is given to the devs = 10% or 15% of total profit
the rest goes to the publisher to cover his costs
so to answerer is simple :
Why do you think companies fall?
Publishers and Shareholders that finance the game , they influence the vision , place adds ect..
oh and Stooz , BLIZZARD DOES NOT EXIST NOT MORE same with SIERRA , they are now ActiBlizzard aka Activision Blizzard ...
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Posted: Fri, 22nd Nov 2013 15:50 Post subject: |
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no9999 wrote: | Shareholders. |
You beat me to it.
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