Paradox: Next console generation will probably be "the last generation"

[HappySqurriel]

happydolphin said:

HappySqurriel said:
From my experience, game developers can make more money doing (just about) any other job they are qualified to do; possibly with substantially more time off and greater benefits. What motivates people to choose game development is that it is more interesting work, but what makes it more interesting is very different for everyone. I know just as many developers who loathe HD game development because they're an anonymous cog with little/no input as those who love HD development, and just as many developers who love doing "impossible" things on "underpowered" hardware as those who love working with the latest and greatest tech ... and yet, outside of switching jobs, none of them have any control over the platform they develop for

Outside of a few high profile development studios, what you're producing for which platform is decided by the management of the studio or the publisher who is funding the project.

But even then, the management decision can be swayed by the desires of its internal teams. Call them internal factors if you like.

Certainly, they do take the desires of the team into consideration ... Which is why countless "core" projects for the Wii were proposed to publishers only to be rejected.

The "golden rule" (he who has the gold makes the rules) is very powerful within the gaming industry, and the people with "the gold" (publishers) were never willing to put any significant funding into the development of core titles on the Wii. The reason for this is open to interpretation, but it had little to do with the lack of desire of developers to produce these games, or with gamers willingness to buy these games, and (because this contributed to many core gamers owning multiple consoles) I believe it was driven by publishers trying to force people to buy games they were already heavily invested in.