jlauro on 05 June 2008
| starcraft said: It has to be remembered that a game that sells 3 million copies over the course of a year isn't nearly as profitable as a game that sells 5 million copies on day one. The most obvious reason is price drops, but the less noticeable reason is the loss of economies of scale as shipments get smaller, and the cost to retail of maintaining stock and shelf space over longer periods of time. It isn't the most important factor publishers consider (they'd much rather have legs where the option is NOT to have them), but it is a factor. |
You are forgetting other little factors such as development costs. One game might need to sell 4 million copies to break even, and the other might break even with 200,000.
