It's still funny to me how the definition of AAA--which simply means a title that's expected to be a good investment for retailers--has been corrupted to mean massive budget.
Anyway, many games with big budgets will continue to make a lot of money, so I'm not really feeling the "doom" vibe on this one.
Many studios just need to work smarter and not go all-out on every release, especially new IPs. Personally, I think we're going to see more developers aim for efficiency this generation, resulting in one of the lowest next-gen development cost jumps in the history of the industry.
The most successful small developers will grow and become the new "middle", hopefully.
Personally, this particular doom watch reminds me of the restaurant industry. Restaurants go out of business every day. Does that mean the industry is dying? Absolutely not.
