Amy Hennig: People ask for linear Story-Based Games but aren’t necessarily buying them

[dralla]

What does that have to do with people not buying those games? Do you think that if the games had smaller budgets, people would suddenly buy them?

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If the budgets were smaller publishers wouldn't need to sell as many copies to turn a profit. So even if a game didn't sell as much as other types of games, it could still be profitable for the publisher. I think increasing budgets is definitely a big factor.

 

[Deleted member 11426]

I must be an exception. Most games I buy are linear story based games, or least single player games.

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There's different audiences. I have zero interest in multiplayer games like destiny, pubg, or battlefront, but they're all the focus because companies can lootbox a billion dollars out of them.

If the games I like go away, so will I.

 

[thediamondage]

Get control of your budgets and you wouldn't have to sell 5 million copies to break even. When the credits of a game take 20 minutes something is wrong and you need to change how you're making games.

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Totally this. Amy Hennig makes the case that a $100m game has a hard time being a linear story game but its totally ridiculous that you need to spend $100m to make a SP story game. Thats just really poor management. Sure, you can absolutely spend that kind of money to make a monster SP game, taking extra years to constantly tweak and refine, but thats really reserved for GTA, Uncharted, and one or two other things. Other games need to come in at $40-50m or less, and if your game is good you will make a profit. If your game isn't good you won't.

Uncharted 3 cost $25m to make and 1-2 were slightly less, while there are no public figures on UC4 its rumored to be under $50m and that was under a lot of development hell and pretty much a reboot in the last 2 years.

I would agree with Amy though that the ceiling for SP games is a lot lower now than it was a few years ago, because of twitch and competition and GAAS and open world games. Sale cycles also have a huge impact, while I'd want to play a multiplayer game at launch because friends are playing, for most SP games the calculus now is "... do I really wanna play right away, or wait a while and it'll be 50% on sale?" The fact that SP games launch many times in a bug ridden mess and need a few months of patches isn't doing them any help either.

For a long time the console gaming industry was growing at insane levels as more and more people kept buying in every year, that crazy growth has stopped and movies/TV and mobile gaming are now the heavy competition. Its a bummer, but the market is still pretty big and stuff like the switch shows it can have big breakout years, but just like mediocre movies no longer can sneak into profits, mediocre games will rarely do well anymore.

 

[Mr.Deadshot]

Agreed, yet anyone who plays COD SP campaigns would tell you that last year COD IW campaign is arguably the best COD campaign this gen. FWIW, IW is the worst selling COD game this gen.

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It's the best FPS-campaign this gen. I never even touched the MP of Infinity Warfare.

@topic: Good games will sell, no matter the genre. But sure, there will always be exceptions like Prey. But Prey was a.) not marketed very well and b.) overseen and underrated by the press. It's PS4-metascore is sitting at laughable 79%

 

[Kill3r7]

Again, how do you expect this to go down?

Sony and Naughty Dog aren't going to shrink their budgets and the scopes of games like Uncharted and The Last of Us. Do you think a lesser franchise game like Tomb Raider has a chance on the market when it's budget, scope, and offerings are smaller than Uncharted while being priced at the same 59.99 USD?

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Agreed. Also it is worth noting that first party games operate under different financial dynamics than third party publishers. Thus, they are poor examples to rebut third party examples.

 

[woolyninja]

Again, how do you expect this to go down?

Sony and Naughty Dog aren't going to shrink their budgets and the scopes of games like Uncharted and The Last of Us. Do you think a lesser franchise game like Tomb Raider has a chance on the market when it's budget, scope, and offerings are smaller than Uncharted while being priced at the same 59.99 USD?

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Their budgets are higher than Hollywood movies in a lot of cases now and their not paying millions of dollars to big name actors. So where is the money going? Game companies are run very inefficiently right now causing high budgets, high work hours, and high employee turnover. Fix the processes and games will be at least somewhat cheaper to make.

 

[808s & Villainy]

Again, how do you expect this to go down?

Sony and Naughty Dog aren't going to shrink their budgets and the scopes of games like Uncharted and The Last of Us. Do you think a lesser franchise game like Tomb Raider has a chance on the market when it's budget, scope, and offerings are smaller than Uncharted while being priced at the same 59.99 USD?

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Yeah, because every game doesn't need a crazy large budget. Didn't we just have Hellblade: Setsuna's Sacrifice release to success? Nier: Automata? Persona 5?

On the topic of Tomb Raider, that brings up another issue. Everyone keeps releasing these derivative games and then artificially inflate expectations for them. Instead of the TR reboot giving us a modern take on the classic Tomb Raider gameplay, they instead opted to go with a "Uncharted clone" meaning it would naturally be compared to Uncharted even if it did it's own things. And if you're being compared to a big name game, that necessitates a budget to match it.

 

[Asbsand]

I can't really argue with it. We always loved story-driven games, but the truth is in general gamers always liked competitive games and popular games more and they sell better. A game with a good story that sold well, like RDR for example also came with an experience that was popular and people didn't necessarily buy it because it was story-driven. In fact, most of my friends in high school talked exclusively about what they had found in the world as they had played it or what weapons they liked using. If you take those popular aspects and make a live-service game with it, or Games as a Service product, then of course that is going to be the big new blockbuster and storytelling in player-driven online games is troublesome to do, while in single-player games it provides a reason for whichever direction a game has the player going in. Unfortunately there are bigger wheels in motion than the good writing a lot of us dedicated players are looking for.

 

[ThreepQuest64]

Pretty much this, I see many people on social media saying I want to support X game with Day one or whatever, but they never ever do.

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But how do we know? How can we definitely say that those people saying they want and will support developers are the exact people eventually not buying the games?

I don't care for hours of gameplay, often stretched artificially by lengthy tedious grinds. I really want narrative focused games and I do really buy them. I don't buy sandbox games on the other hand. Just not my type. Oh, and I don't need high production values. The Cat Lady, for instance, is one of my favorite games. Of course this game isn't for anyone.

But it all comes down to why you develop games. If you want to make serious money you have to deliver Assassin's Creed style, and by that appeal to the mass audience. But it's your decision, games still work with low production values. Keep your budget tight, but nake a well-thought and well-designed game and enough people will buy it.

The demand, Hennig refers to, comes from the sector (and audience) these games WANT to be in.

 

[Phoenix RISING]

Well, there's also the extent to which they're buying them when they're on notable sale, but the issue is that a game sold for $20-$30 at a retail store in only fetching $3-$10 for the publisher due to the static licensing fee and the retailer margin.

Like Dishonored 2 has actually moved 1 million copies on Steam, but around 600-700K of that was around $20 or less, and the first 300-400K certainly was well below $60 on average.

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My steam library is 500 games. I still want my single player story based game, but I don't need to pay $60 for it.

If AAA wants to go GaaS, I'll just be playing in indies.

 

[Ænima]

There is also this trend now that, as much as people protest and say, "Why are you canceling a linear, story-based game? This is the kind of game we want," people aren't necessarily buying them. They're watching somebody else play them online.

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My experience with videogames is exactly the oposite. I only watch ppl play multiplayer games cuz if im interested in a singleplayer game i dont want to get the story spoiled by watching someone else play.

In 2017 i bought:

- Resident Evil 7 (Single Player)
- Gravity Rush 2 (Single Player)
- Yakuza 0 (Single Player)
- Yakuza Kiwami (Single Player)
- Nioh (Single Player with co-op mode)
- Nier: Automata (Single Player)
- Persona 5 (Single Player)
- Horizon Zero Dawn (Single Player)
- Uncharted Lost Legacy (Single Player)
- Valkyria Chronicles Remastered (Single Player)
- Life is Strange: Before the Storm (Single Player)
- Watch Dogs 2 (Single Player with Muiltiplayer modes)

Its also curious that Amy never had an issue with singleplayer games when she was working in Uncharted, but now that shes working for EA in a multiplayer game shes defending lootboxes.

She also forgot to mention that ppl that buy multiplayer games, usually stick with the same game for a long time and dont buy much else. I have ppl in my friendlist that i only see them play Destiny and now Destiny 2 for ages. While ppl that are into single player games buy much more games per year.

 

[Lupin]

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[IronicSonic]

despite people asking for more and more cinematic elements like voice acting, film writing, and incredible graphics

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Are those think what people really asking for OR they are how a megacorporation is trying to sell a game with poor ideas?

 

[Pargon]

So we've reached the apex, where do we go from here to keep costs down? If budgets keep going up and sales prices stay the same, what major steps can be taken for developer/publishers to maintain profits?

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Well that's why I said that the era of AAA linear single-player games with $100M+ budgets is likely coming to an end. They're unsustainable.

Again, how do you expect this to go down?

Sony and Naughty Dog aren't going to shrink their budgets and the scopes of games like Uncharted and The Last of Us. Do you think a lesser franchise game like Tomb Raider has a chance on the market when it's budget, scope, and offerings are smaller than Uncharted while being priced at the same 59.99 USD?

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The movie industry does just fine without every movie being a $100M+ blockbuster. There is space for both to exist.

 

[TheRagnCajun]

My own personal anecdote is that I have been playing less and less of these games. I still want single player games but I'd rather it focus on original and challenging gameplay instead of story-telling. Its getting harder and harder to make myself excited about yet another Metal Gear Solid, Uncharted, Assassin's Creed, Batman etc.

 

[Jaybe00]

So for all the chasing of GaaS and multiplayer money by the industry, only 42% of Ps4 console owners pay for Ps plus leaving a lot of single player only gamers.

https://mp1st.com/news/ps4-sales-nu...-units-ps-plus-subscribers-surpass-31-million

 

[Deleted member 29682]

Its also curious that Amy never had an issue with singleplayer games when she was working in Uncharted, but now that shes working for EA in a multiplayer game shes defending lootboxes.

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It's almost like it's been 7 years and industry standards have changed.

 

[Liam Allen-Miller]

Money doesn't solve all problems but you don't get to pull that card if the issues plaguing the development of the game have nothing to do with money.

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All I was saying is that money doesn't always work out and that article is of course one I've read and that helps demonstrate that money doesn't always work out. Shit happens, and the type of money behind a game like The Witcher in another groups' hands don't guarantee anything. That's a simple statement and not one your post contradicts. I don't know what you're getting at by accusing me of wanting to "pull that card" and frankly it's kind of rude. I'm not trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes or anything.

 

[Chindogg]

Are those think what people really asking for OR they are how a megacorporation is trying to sell a game with poor ideas?

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Read this forum and the old forum sometime. Especially in Zelda threads.

 

[Deleted member 3853]

If costs are rising they should charge more. I like (relatively) cheap games as much as the next guy, but if development isn't sustainable at that price point, do what you have to.

The publishers are all afraid of raising prices, but if The Last of Us Part 2 came out at $75, would people suddenly decide it's not worth it?

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I don't even like paying the $48 it costs with GCU for new games but make an exception for a few that I'm looking forward to. If it suddenly cost me $60 it'd be easier to just talk myself into just renting it for a couple days then maybe picking it up for $10 in a few years for a replay.

 

[RedSwirl]

Gamesindustry.biz had an interview with Remedy about this same subject and there's a quote in there I think explains what the biggest problem might actually be:

"And if you go back 10 years, you could still say the console market is roughly the same size. In the end, the audience you're selling to is relatively the same size but the cost of making the game is ten-fold these days. So that's an obvious problem."

Basically, story-based console games have failed to expand their audience to the same extent as more constant, online-focused games on PC and mobile. Whole new emerging markets in other markets in the world don't play them as much as mobile and PC games.

I think part of the problem with people watching such games on YouTube though is, in some of these games the story or cut scenes or graphics are more interesting to some people than the actual gameplay. At that point it's not really worth playing the game versus watching videos of it being played. That's an indictment of the game itself in my opinion. I'm not saying that's the case with Uncharted -- I love Uncharted, but in my opinion the story and such conveyed in The Last of Us doesn't need to be a video game to work. I could likely have watched a YouTube run of it and gotten the same impact because the gameplay wasn't the main reason I played it. This is what I ended up doing for Rise of the Tomb Raider because I was only interested in its graphics and story.

 

[SolidSnakex]

Yes, but it's in context to the amount that were successful which is much less now than then.

She's commenting on a noticable trend in her industry.

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But i'd again say that really applies to any genre. There was a time shortly after GTA3 blew up that every publisher wanted a big open-world game. Some going as far as to just straight up license crime movies so they could skip the inspired-by movies that GTA goes for. There are simply fewer hugely successful games across the board for any genre. Everything is risky now. It's just kinda the nature of the beast.

 

[ThisThingIsUseful]

How many linear story-based game were released last year?
I can only recall Hellblade, and for what I read that game was a success.

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I get what you mean when you say Hellblade, so while not the exact same thing, Resident Evil 7 I'd say fits it because while you have some freedom to explore the mansion, similar to RE1, it's definitely not in the "open-world" sphere either, so it's more linear as a whole. Uncharted: Lost Legacy was also one with one area that was open.

 

[BioDigital Jazzman]

I don't think watching somebody play a game is a bad thing, but choosing to watch somebody play a game rather than purchase/play yourself is bizarre.

My 10 year old will watch people play games on YouTube (DanTDM and Squid are favourites), but he still wants to play the game. He watched Dan complete Hello Neighbor, but can't wait to buy the game so he can experience it himself.

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I mean it depends. I actively don't like souls games from what I played. But I find the story and lore interesting

Or I heard good things about the story in wolfenstein 2 but I'm not super interested in playing it. I'll watch it

 

[IronicSonic]

Read this forum and the old forum sometime. Especially in Zelda threads.

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Maybe I'm reading the wrong threads but I feel this forum is very "gameplay oriented"? I dont know If Zelda fans here or anywhare are asking for sky-high production values.

 

[ethanradd]

I used to hate on the idea of GAAS and online focused games, but I've found these days all I play is PUBG, R6 Siege, The Division and Fortnite, I guess things change. Even worse, and I've mentioned this before, I've reached a point where I'm more than happy to just watch a linear game playthrough on YouTube. Saves me energy, time and money when I just want to see the cinematic story unfold.

 

[ABEZ23]

The answer is simple:

Is all about the money guys. Move along.

These corps have data and they know where the money is, so if AAA SIngle Players experiences are not a thing now for some big companies, it cause there is no money for them or more importantly they do not know how to catter the needs of their markets (They are incompetent).

Now, there are companies that know how to tackle their markets and thats good. See bethesda, Nintendo, Sony, and Even MS.

So take this response

 

[Canucked]

I honesty think a well done story based Star Wars would do well. It wouldn't hit the numbers a monetized loot box game will but we've see that screwed up, so where does that leave Star Wars?

 

[DontHateTheBacon]

Since when is Call of Duty not a combination of single player and multiplayer? (Not counting oddball exceptions like CoD3 on Wii or CoD:BO3 on X360/PS3.) Heck, there are tons of people buying that series just for the campaign.

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Yeah, that was my bad. Editing the post.

All told though, the narrative of the best selling games in NPD doesn't really change.

 

[Hero]

Their budgets are higher than Hollywood movies in a lot of cases now and their not paying millions of dollars to big name actors. So where is the money going? Game companies are run very inefficiently right now causing high budgets, high work hours, and high employee turnover. Fix the processes and games will be at least somewhat cheaper to make.

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The money is going to the HUNDREDS of developers that need to get paid over multiple years before their product even gets released, if they're lucky. It costs a publisher/developer roughly 10,000 dollars to employ a full-time person for one month. Amy states that the Visceral team on her Star Wars game was 80 at its peak and that was before they could go full on production to complete the game. It's expensive as hell to make a video game.

Yeah, because every game doesn't need a crazy large budget. Didn't we just have Hellblade: Setsuna's Sacrifice release to success? Nier: Automata? Persona 5?

On the topic of Tomb Raider, that brings up another issue. Everyone keeps releasing these derivative games and then artificially inflate expectations for them. Instead of the TR reboot giving us a modern take on the classic Tomb Raider gameplay, they instead opted to go with a "Uncharted clone" meaning it would naturally be compared to Uncharted even if it did it's own things. And if you're being compared to a big name game, that necessitates a budget to match it.

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Hellblade is an exception to the rule and the developers even said that what they did was extremely risky. Nier is an example of a AA game but again, is that the normal or was that game just lucky, especially considering how the original Nier did? Not to mention that was Square-Enix contracting Platinum Games to do the grunt work of making the game.

Well that's why I said that the era of AAA linear single-player games with $100M+ budgets is likely coming to an end. They're unsustainable.

The movie industry does just fine without every movie being a $100M+ blockbuster. There is space for both to exist.

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Right, that is why indies exist. But companies like Activision and EA are in the business to make blockbuster games to make blockbuster profits.

 

[Lupin]

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[ShinUltramanJ]

Maybe the people watching the streams can't afford to buy them.

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All of them? I don't think so.

The last thing I want to hear from someone that watches streams is to raise prices.

 

[Driver]

My experience with videogames is exactly the oposite. I only watch ppl play multiplayer games cuz if im interested in a singleplayer game i dont want to get the story spoiled by watching someone else play....

...Its also curious that Amy never had an issue with singleplayer games when she was working in Uncharted, but now that shes working for EA in a multiplayer game shes defending lootboxes.

She also forgot to mention that ppl that buy multiplayer games, usually stick with the same game for a long time and dont buy much else. I have ppl in my friendlist that i only see them play Destiny and now Destiny 2 for ages. While ppl that are into single player games buy much more games per year.

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I thought the same thing when reading this. I don't know the whole UC4 story but it seems she left the game when it was in a pretty bad state. Then she goes to EA and works on this Star Wars game that gets shut down. Now she is saying companies can't make single player games profitable without loot boxes. Her track record at this point isn't great and now she is going to bat for loot boxes and DLC all the while saying nobody can make single player games without shitty practices even though single player gaming has had one of its best years in memory to this point. Seems like her credibility is waning.

 

[ThreepQuest64]

Why would a studio want to risk that? I personally only play SP games (except sports games and Nintendo games) but if I'm running a business.

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That's a company's mentality, do I solely exist to make huge amount of profits or can I sacrifice or balance that for a more artistic vision and risky but innovative approaches?

Surely Ubisoft and EA won't do that and thank God they're not the only ones producing video games. Gaming landscape would be pretty boring.

 

[Deleted member 11413]

That's a company's mentality, do I solely exist to make huge amount of profits or can I sacrifice or balance that for a more artistic vision and risky but innovative approaches?

Surely Ubisoft and EA won't do that and thank God they're not the only ones producing video games. Gaming landscape would be pretty boring.

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Ubisoft takes plenty of risks and makes many single player games. They really aren't the problem here.

 

[modsbox]

My experience with videogames is exactly the oposite. I only watch ppl play multiplayer games cuz if im interested in a singleplayer game i dont want to get the story spoiled by watching someone else play.

In 2017 i bought:

- Resident Evil 7 (Single Player)
- Gravity Rush 2 (Single Player)
- Yakuza 0 (Single Player)
- Yakuza Kiwami (Single Player)
- Nioh (Single Player with co-op mode)
- Nier: Automata (Single Player)
- Persona 5 (Single Player)
- Horizon Zero Dawn (Single Player)
- Uncharted Lost Legacy (Single Player)
- Valkyria Chronicles Remastered (Single Player)
- Life is Strange: Before the Storm (Single Player)
- Watch Dogs 2 (Single Player with Muiltiplayer modes)

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This post is interesting. I think it's an example of why ps4 has crushed Xbox, and why Switch has done so well so far. Awesome single player experiences.

I think publishers are making a mistake going all in on GaaS. Sure the smash hits (GTAV, Overwatch) print money, but for every one of those we have like 5 that bombed. Further, unless you have one of those unicorns in your portfolio, multiplayer games that do well but not amazing aren't something you can sell for years— there aren't enough people online at once to play it anymore. Meanwhile Capcom has sold RE4 on like 13 platforms, and they'll be able to sell it again to another several hundred thousand folks at least on PS5 and XB2. SE can sell every Final Fantasy on every platform from now until the end of time.

My biggest takeaway from what she said was that 100M is a ton of money and that's more of the issue. That said the single player Star Wars she was making would have easily made 100M back and several times over had EA not given up on it and it had been even decent (which it of course would have been given how fantastic games Amy has been in charge of have turned out). Instead they went all in on Battlefront. How's that working out?

 

[litebrite]

But i'd again say that really applies to any genre. There was a time shortly after GTA3 blew up that every publisher wanted a big open-world game. Some going as far as to just straight up license crime movies so they could skip the inspired-by movies that GTA goes for. There are simply fewer hugely successful games across the board for any genre. Everything is risky now. It's just kinda the nature of the beast.

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I can't say your wrong. Look how many games struck out trying to be the next big hero shooter like Overwatch.

 

[Solid Shake]

Linear games can totally succeed. The thing is that you have to make a very, very good game. No ones going to buy a mediocre 7 hour single player game, but if it's a terrific 10-15 hour game then you'll do fine. The issue is that most of these games coming out are very mediocre, usually with stories that felt like they were written by teenagers when the story itself is supposed to be the thing drawing people into these games.

 

[StallionDan]

I don't want linear story based games. TLoU is boring as shit to replay. When your game (I know TLoU not her) is too movie like, can you blame people for just watching it instead?

I want gameplay led SP games. They can have a story but it shouldn't be the meat and potatoes.

 

[ThreepQuest64]

Ubisoft takes plenty of risks and makes many single player games. They really aren't the problem here.

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Some new IPs like Steep or For Honor or two more isn't "plenty" for me (compared of how many games with the same concept they have released) . They play it pretty safe with Assassin's Creed and FarCry.I wasn't even mentioning single player, and maybe Ubisoft isn't the problem, but still: not every studio exist solely to make huge ass profits.

 

[Hero]

I thought the same thing when reading this. I don't know the whole UC4 story but it seems she left the game when it was in a pretty bad state. Then she goes to EA and works on this Star Wars game that gets shut down. Now she is saying companies can't make single player games profitable without loot boxes. Her track record at this point isn't great and now she is going to bat for loot boxes and DLC all the while saying nobody can make single player games without shitty practices even though single player gaming has had one of its best years in memory to this point. Seems like her credibility is waning.

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December 2017 NPD Top Ten

1. Call of Duty: WWII
2. Star Wars: Battlefront II 2017*
3. Super Mario Odyssey**
4. NBA 2K18
5. Mario Kart 8**
6. Madden NFL 18
7. PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds*
8. Assassin's Creed: Origins
9. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild**
10. Grand Theft Auto V

By far and large people are okay with microtransactions and loot boxes.

 

[Deleted member 11413]

Some new IPs like Steep or For Honor or two more isn't "plenty" for me (compared of how many games with the same concept they have released) . They play it pretty safe with Assassin's Creed and FarCry.I wasn't even mentioning single player, and maybe Ubisoft isn't the problem, but still: not every studio exist solely to make huge ass profits.

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I mean...they are businesses, they all want to make huge ass profits.

 

[Kill3r7]

This post is interesting. I think it's an example of why ps4 has crushed Xbox, and why Switch has done so well so far. Awesome single player experiences.

I think publishers are making a mistake going all in on GaaS. Sure the smash hits (GTAV, Overwatch) print money, but for every one of those we have like 5 that bombed. Further, unless you have one of those unicorns in your portfolio, multiplayer games that do well but not amazing aren't something you can sell for years— there aren't enough people online at once to play it anymore. Meanwhile Capcom has sold RE4 on like 13 platforms, and they'll be able to sell it again to another several hundred thousand folks at least on PS5 and XB2. SE can sell every Final Fantasy on every platform from now until the end of time.

My biggest takeaway from what she said was that 100M is a ton of money and that's more of the issue. That said the single player Star Wars she was making would have easily made 100M back and several times over had EA not given up on it and it had been even decent (which it of course would have been given how fantastic games Amy has been in charge of have turned out). Instead they went all in on Battlefront. How's that working out?

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They produced the much maligned, predatory and poorly received BFII which will very likely end up being second best selling SW game ever.

 

[Driver]

December 2017 NPD Top Ten

1. Call of Duty: WWII
2. Star Wars: Battlefront II 2017*
3. Super Mario Odyssey**
4. NBA 2K18
5. Mario Kart 8**
6. Madden NFL 18
7. PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds*
8. Assassin's Creed: Origins
9. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild**
10. Grand Theft Auto V

By far and large people are okay with microtransactions and loot boxes.

Click to shrink...

I didn't say anything about people being OK with lootboxes in my post. I was trying to point out how well single player games are doing despite what Amy Henning is saying in defense of predatory lootbox practices. NPD doesn't say anything about microtransactions as far as I know and didn't Battlefront 2 have a huge backlash against the micro transactions? Didn't they completely remove them from the game?

Anyway - my point is, Amy Hennings track record is kind of bad right now and she is working for EA, the largest proponent of lootbox/microtransaction practices, and all of a sudden she is saying how single player games can't exist without them. Maybe we don't need to take her word for it when we can see single player gaming is kicking ass right now.

 

[Animal Liberation Ⓥ]

Well, I exclusively buy single player games these days but I know I'm in the minority. I don't really play or spend money on multiplayer games at all.

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I am the exact same way. As I get older, the less I want to deal with the multiplayer culture/balancing/p2w issues as well.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

I think more-so than ever the key to games nowadays to be profitable is efficiency. Efficiency is easier said than done. You need to make the right decisions, i.e. square outsourcing the development of Nier Automata to Platinum, and you need to have a REALLY good pulse on the user base or your fanbase. Which I think is also much easier said than done. I use Nier as an example because I feel like they completely understood those things. Costs have gone way up yet the user base hasn't really, so you have to be a lot more surgical in the types of games you make, types of risks you take, etc.. You can't just go balls out and do an ambitious massively budgeted single player experience.

I mean you can but the risk is really high.

 

[Kill3r7]

I am the exact same way. As I get older, the less I want to deal with the multiplayer culture/balancing/p2w issues as well.

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I have had the opposite experience, as I have gotten older, married with kids, I have less time to game and hang out with friends. So MP games are a great way to spend time with friends who live in other states/coast. Destiny really was godsend for this purpose.

 

[BlackManLovesKUF]

Again, how do you expect this to go down?

Sony and Naughty Dog aren't going to shrink their budgets and the scopes of games like Uncharted and The Last of Us. Do you think a lesser franchise game like Tomb Raider has a chance on the market when it's budget, scope, and offerings are smaller than Uncharted while being priced at the same 59.99 USD?

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I've been saying it for a decade now, but in my opinion the only way costs are going to go down is a serious investment in development of tools, processes and AI. Games are getting bigger but the games industry has pivoted to tools and processes that are getting more complex to meet those needs and throwing manpower (thus more costs) at it instead of finding solutions to simplify and democratize workflow. Credit where it's due, it's easier than ever to prototype games but the industry doesn't seem interested in moving past that phase and thinking long term as it relates to bigger projects.

 

[Mass_Pincup]

That's a company's mentality, do I solely exist to make huge amount of profits or can I sacrifice or balance that for a more artistic vision and risky but innovative approaches?

Surely Ubisoft and EA won't do that and thank God they're not the only ones producing video games. Gaming landscape would be pretty boring.

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There's a difference between wanting to make huge profits and wanting to stay afloat.

Tango Gameworks, Machine Games and Arkane Studio would all be in serious trouble if not for the fact that they're owned by Bethesda.

That's not a sustainable strategy.

Also Ubisoft and EA do balance their output with more artistic and risky games so I don't see why you picked them up here.

 

[Animal Liberation Ⓥ]

I have had the opposite experience, as I have gotten older, married with kids, I have less time to game and hang out with friends. So MP games are a great way to spend time with friends who live in other states/coast. Destiny really was godsend for this purpose.

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I can definitely see that as well.