The Cost of Entry
An article posted on cnet | News.com this morning, Game publishers sweat console change, discussed the upcoming 3rd generation of the big three gaming consoles. The next iterations of the Playstation 2, Xbox, and Gamecube are each set to launch in the next 18 months or so and with that upgrade, game developers must also upgrade their capabilities, processes and budgets. The estimate in the article is that the cost of game development—already over $5 million for many “A” titles— could triple with the upcoming change.
Naturally, game developers will have to find new ways to meeting the demands of these graphics thirsty systems while working with perhaps less resources. For my point of view, I can only see two results of this crunch and I’m not excited about either:
- Game developers are forced to cut back in terms of story, talent, cutscenes, and design in favor of horsepower and graphics. The sad reality is that above all, graphics sell games, but gameplay is what makes them fun. When push comes to shove, I’m afraid that sales will win when a publisher has $15 million on the line. This is already an issue today and only looks to get worse. I fear that we will see an increase of games based on licensed properties, which are not now known for their quality.
- The other senario is could be dubbed the Brittany Spears Effect, as game publishers will only choose the games that will sell the best. If a publisher has to turn 10 million copies of a game to make a profit, then only the games that will appeal to an audience that wide will be made. Much like brilliant, original musicians are passed over every day because they could never appeal to a wide audience like Brittany and other pop stars can. The end result is less choice, and arguably, less quality, innovation and creativity in games.
This kind of destruction of the creative, independent artist is a real concern for me in gaming, in music, on the web, in everything around us. Gone are the days when a single developer with a personal computer and a great idea could turn out a state-of-the-art video game. When a great idea for a game never sees the light of day because it only appeals to a niche market, we lose. Likewise when a talented band is passed over for yet another 17 year old model lip-syncing songs created by a record company “team”. Even more so when a product cannot make it to market because Wal*Mart refuses to stock it. That is the end of choice and of the power to create.