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rover on 08 May 2009
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S.T.A.G.E. said:
rover said:
S.T.A.G.E. said:
This is all companies like Microsoft and Sony need to do. Buying devs are all they can do because they don't make games. As I've always said, variety will make them stronger.

Good game development houses are rare, so grabbing a bunch of really talented people with industry experience to take up writing some (hopefully) top-quality games in the top-tier universes of Halo or Age is one of the better things MS can do.

I can't get a bead on whether you're saying this is good or bad. 

Personally, I think having a competent group of people to execute on a steady stream of new titles in both existing and new MS-owned IPs makes tremendous sense for the long-term viability of the platform.

As has been echoed throughout most of these forums, exclusive content is generally what drives people to one platform over another, so all three companies need in-house devs to make things happen.

What I'm saying is good. It's just that nothing Microsoft or Sony does in the business scheme really surprises me.If they want solid titles from within they need to swallow up the sea of third party devs. Imagine if Sony and MS took only the most competitive brands, what would be left in between?

The third-party devs swimming around in the sea are really at risk.  It's only the EPICs and some others who have the consistent stream of income to make themselves long-term viable entities.

One bomb can hollow out all of their resources; if they aren't getting royalties from their previous games, enough royalties to keep the entire company afloat, then they dissolve.  I think of poor, startlingly creative Looking Glass Studios.  Their absence is a huge loss, at least to me in a 'they made some kick-ass stuff' sort of way.

So, while big companies are sometimes ham-fisted, they can help to ensure a longer-term survival of a studio.  In the best cases, studios like Bungie thrive and re-enter the waters better able to weather problems. 

However, and this is important to remember, game companies oftentimes tear themselves apart from within due to ego.  Ensemble has part of this in their story, and the head of Ensemble alluded to this in post-dissolution interviews. 

The Carmack-Romero feuds are another example. 

These guys are rock stars with rock star egos.  At some point it's not worth the drama or the cost.

In any case, if MS and Sony bought up all the most competitive brands... new ones would spring up, as they always do, in the hinterlands.  And once the scent of money was on the air, the twin eyes of Sauron would be looking down at them, offering millions.  And... we'd have some rich new rock stars we'd either love or hate a few years hence.

Oh, and hopefully some good new games.