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HappySqurriel on 28 January 2009
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rocketpig said:
Noobie said:

Microsoft: Microsoft currently only has to deal with one platform, the Xbox 360. With one console, they have to work on games for that console as well as bring out firmware updates. They also need to manage the production of the console and keep up with marketing. Now with Microsoft’s games, without a doubt they have amazing titles but do you think they are working to build developers or build companies? No, they are not. What they do is go to a company and tell them they will pay a certain amount of money to make their game exclusive. All this requires is money and all they are doing is buying games that are either going to be multiplatform now or be on that one console. With all this free time on their hands, what is taking so long to fix the Red Ring of Death and the newly discovered E74 hardware issues?

Yeah, your post is fanboyism. I'll discount the Nintendo bit because it's not worth discussing.

Haven't you noticed MS's trend? They don't "buy" exclusives, they fucking pay a quality developer to create a title. How is that different than a "first party title"? If anything, I give them a bit of credit for creating a new model how to run this business. Thus far, it's worked pretty well. As MS closes their first party houses (or lets them go, eg. Bungie), they decided to start paying for third party developers to work for them.

That has to be a cheaper alternative than housing a development team. Instead of paying a full-time staff 12 months a year, you offer up a few million bucks to make sure their staff is paid and then publish the title.

Yeah, MS paid money to companies like Rockstar (actually, they just loaned them the money IIRC) but you can't argue the rewards they've received with their attitude toward Rockstar, Bethesda, and others. Instead of using the "Sony" method of funding developers, they're downsizing and using their resources to draw in third party devs who need the money.

If you don't like it and you're a Sony fan, I think you need a history check.

 

 

Actually, all three console manufacturers pay third party developers to create games for them primarily because its a more reliable way to get high quality games and it is lower risk relationship ... Nintendo and Sony tend to be much more quiet about their relationships with other companies though, after all how (before TMNT was announced) how many people knew Game Arts developed Super Smash Bros Brawl?

Why this type of relationship is more reliable is ... If Nintendo decided that they needed a really big FPS game to start off the next generation there are dozens of developers they could approach who have a long history of making good FPS games, and they could fund 2 or 3 projects to ensure that one of the games turned out well. In contrast, a company like Nintendo doesn't have much experience developing FPS titles and even their best studio's effort might turn out to be a very polished game that doesn't hit the mark of what FPS players want ...

The lower risk part is easy to explain ... After you complete a project that turns out awful and doesn't sell well you don't have to continue funding the developer to produce more projects, or to eat the loss of starting up (or buying) the developer.