An interesting look at the fates of developers in a hit based business
moultano
Creator of ns_shiva. Join Date: 2002-12-14 Member: 10806Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor, Constellation, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Gold, NS2 Community Developer, Pistachionauts
Creator of ns_shiva. Join Date: 2002-12-14 Member: 10806Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor, Constellation, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Gold, NS2 Community Developer, Pistachionauts
<div class="IPBDescription">or "Why I don't just charge 99c for Triple Town"</div><a href="https://plus.google.com/105363132599081141035/posts/Lce7wEJApEr" target="_blank">https://plus.google.com/1053631325990811410...sts/Lce7wEJApEr</a>
I thought this was interesting, especially as it relates to UWE. I really don't want to see our guys depending on another hit to keep the studio open.
I thought this was interesting, especially as it relates to UWE. I really don't want to see our guys depending on another hit to keep the studio open.
Comments
Personally, I think the gaming industry needs something equivalent to concerts and merchandise in the music industries. Bands follow a similar hit based business model with albums providing the short and trailing revenue spike. However, they use concerts and sales of other merchandise (think t-shirts, stickers, etc) to provide the steady sales needed between hits.
UWE has already gone down this path a bit by using a kickstarter-like system to gain early funding in exchange for alpha/beta access and digital goodies on release (deluxe edition stuff). Also, many gamers don't like in-game purchases, even for aesthetic changes (see tf2 hats), but there are lots of out-of-game merchandise many in the community would both enjoy and have been clamoring for. Gorge plushies, NS2/UWE t-shirts, concept art, wallpapers, posters, or even NS-universe novels are all things I could see selling well to the community.
Take Apple for example, they make premium product (very well actually, as they know it is as much about content - or more so - than the product itself) and charge a high price for it. People buy it. They have their own focus and ideas, and lead the market with their design and thinking.
Companies with less 'standing' see the word SUCCESS and then tailor it into their products. Whatever your opinion on the Samsung Apple wars, it is clear that Apple UI and tech has not changed all the much over the years, and a lot of companies have adopted the same UI into their products to gain sales on Apple.
But all the good stuff that actually makes Apple products what they are is some pitiful watered down version, with poor future support and content. Therefore it does not make for better product because they have not done their homework beyond 'if we look like them, we can sell like them'.
UWE are using a great model. People instantly have to buy in which secures funding for developing this game further than 1.0 (which has probably been in Charlies mind, despite it being called 1.0) and are being promised a lot of future support.
When you buy into this game you are buying into the company, where as if I buy some EA title I am probably just buying into a product that will go unsupported.
Valve are a good example too, you really feel your money is going far.
Good companies just do what they want to do, have good focus and drive and are always aspirational and looking for new horizons. E.g. UWE.
The guy has a good point. Valve isn't still around from their game releases (see Episode 3), but because they own and operate the top online game distribution program. From what I can tell, Steam provides roughly <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/oliverchiang/2011/02/15/valve-and-steam-worth-billions/" target="_blank">half of Valve's revenue stream</a> and its likely more steady than game releases. It looks exceedingly rare for a game company to exist only on game releases in the long term.
if you work for a construction company and the work dries up, you're likely not going to be around for long...
A company that keeps dumping manpower into a product that no longer produces any revenue won't last long. Continued development of NS2 can't last that long once sales drop low enough. They don't have deep pockets like Valve.
There's a reason generally why the movie and game industries are full of behemoth publishers putting out timid new products. Making games and movies is very risky and expensive.
Introversion has another fascinating story about this: <a href="http://forums.introversion.co.uk/defcon/introversion/viewtopic.php?t=2512" target="_blank">http://forums.introversion.co.uk/defcon/in...opic.php?t=2512</a>
Except with that particular company Zynga, there's an undeniable case of them being downright dirty plagiarizers. What they got is what was coming to them.
you pay £3 and you get a 'rare' skin with a very tiny chance of a MEGA RARE skin. that keeps people buying, because if you play the game a lot it takes a lot of will power to resist spending money to find a 'mega rare' skin and feel special.
but it's essential that you don't give people any 'gameplay' advantage through spending money. that just pisses people off.
it doesn't have to look out of place or humourous/piss take like tf2 stuff... just a serious marine face with an eye patch, or robotic eye, or big scar etc. i can see a demand for that simple stuff just to make a very subtle difference to your player character.