Epic Games: Videogame Industry is really scary right now

[ssj12]

greenmedic88 said:

BenVTrigger said:

 

Tell ya what go take a look real quick and see just how many copies of Angry Birds have sold.  Then go look at how many copies Infamous, God of War, and Killzone have sold.

Here's a hint Angry Birds has been downloaded over 50 million times.

You would be a fool if your a game developer and you didn't recognize the vastly growing trend of quick, casual, cheap games.

The thing is there is one Angry Birds and by any reasonable count anywhere between 10,000-20,000 iOS/Android games that probably haven't been downloaded even 1,000 times.

None of these games generate the kind of revenue Infamous, God of War or Killzone have, and frankly, none of them were even trying.

Even at 50 million downloads (at $.99), Angry Birds generated less revenue than any $60 retail game that sold 1 million, of which there have been many (anyone care to count them this generation, be my guest). It's not uncommon.

And before anyone tries to bring up the budget/profit point; you can stop. That's not the point here. Everyone knows Angry Birds has been one of the most profitable games released in recent memory.

So if any developer on a minimal budget can reproduce the success of Angry Birds, I think they would if they could. But like catching lighting in a bottle, it's an extremely rare occurrence.

The point here is never use one example as proof of a trend.

Angry Birds isn't shovelware. Roxio took a simple, original concept with likeable design and executed it pretty much perfectly which is why it sold as well as it did. Next to no portable app developers are capable of doing this without simply trying to copy or be derivative.

Most full priced apps whether they're $30-40 portable games or $60 retail console/PC games aren't even capable of doing this.

Let us not forget about Facebook games. Or should I more specifically mention Zynga's social media games.... flash games that are making them rich beyond what anyone ever imagined they would.

Also, I do want to point out the most of the android Angry Birds games are free, they are supported by ad revenue which actually brings in more cash flow than selling it for $.99.

Simply put, small time developers are making small games that are enjoyed by million of people who would rather spend a dollar, nothing, or $5s on ingame money than buying console games that cost $40 - $60. Cost is the factor, which is why Steam sales are so very effective for PC games.