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Slimebeast on 23 January 2009
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RPG said:
Slimebeast said:
RPG said:
Slimebeast said:

MS first party game production is already weak compared to Sony and Nindendo, and they're shrinking 1st party development - so it can only mean that 1st party studios cost too much money and don't bring any profit.

And that must mean that Sony is losing tons of money making all their big IPs now that they're just a 60 million consoles maker instead of a 120 million console maker (because a halved install base must be reflected in game sales).

I wonder how long Sony can keep his over-sized 1st party development at this size with so many big budget IPs they have.

 

Doubt that, pretty sure most if not all Sony's first party games have made profit. With that said the ones which will definitely sell well ala GT5, GOW III and KZ2 have not even released yet so nope, cant see the first parties being a burden for Sony.

 

 But then why don't MS go that route if it's really profitable?

And unlike a comparison to Nintendo, MS and Sony are very comparable in their gaming business - same size of console sales, same ambitions and target audience.

I think you're just hoping Sony's big budget titles are making money. But MS is one of the smartest software guys on the planet - if they saw there's money in having their own studios they would invest in it, not downsize.

I dont have to hope, if the numbers of this site are correct the first party games are making money. MS have kept Lionhead and Rare whom make games which sell, they know first party games are still important. Also Turn 10, the guys who make Forza have remained.

 

You still don't know. Let me remind you that most game publishers have a very hard time making a steady profit of more than 5% - for example Ubisoft, EA, and Take Two - despite being multiplatform.

What conclusions you draw from this? Well, one must be that many games published by Ubisoft, EA, TT lost money.
(and another that video game developing is a very competitive market and hard to make money in)

Whenever you read publisher press-releases like "Assassin's Creed was a huge success, but games like Prince of Persia failed to meet expecations" it's very likely that PoP lost money. Or "Madden had impressive sales, but Mirrors Edge sold a lot less than EA had projected" it's very likely that Mirrors Edge lost money.

Now, these kind of games still sell in the millions. But they also cost a lot to develop.

So I can only imagine that new IP from Sony like Resistance, Uncharted, Motostorm, Lair and Heavenly Sword and games like Ratchet - games that sell on average less than 1.5 mill - lost a lot of money.

Btw, Rare is a bad example of proof that 1st party is beneficial. Rare is a disaster for MS, not just because it cost insane amunt of money to aquire, but because it's a big ass studio (300 guys or so?) who don't have a clue about what the market and gamers want. I bet MS would get rid of Rare tomorrow if anyone just wanted to buy them.