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Forums - Sales Discussion - Famitsu Sales: Week 4, 2023 (16 Jan - 22 Jan)

Farsala on 30 January 2023
curl-6 said:
Farsala said:

Neither am I. But we can listen to what the developers themselves have to say. Eiyuden Chronicles is one example. Talking about rewriting entire code and basically making a 2nd game. Most people develop games on a Windows PC.

In this article a pro-Arm developer lists some details for why Arm is difficult on Windows PC.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/op-ed-windows-isnt-ready-for-arm-developers/

But I think the most important reason why it is difficult is because PC/XB/PS are all x86, while only one console is ARM. So naturally a port between those 3 will be easier than the single ARM console.

But if it's so difficult, how come smaller devs manage to do it all the time, especially in Japan? Non-AAA games get simultaneous releases all the time.

Like I said, publishers want simultaneous releases most of the time. A worldwide simultaneous release on multiple platforms is ideal for sales. Delaying versions of the game that is already ready is often worth it, especially in Japan as you say. Most prefer that strategy, but some like to release the game when it is ready.



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curl-6 on 30 January 2023
Farsala said:
curl-6 said:

But if it's so difficult, how come smaller devs manage to do it all the time, especially in Japan? Non-AAA games get simultaneous releases all the time.

Like I said, publishers want simultaneous releases most of the time. A worldwide simultaneous release on multiple platforms is ideal for sales. Delaying versions of the game that is already ready is often worth it, especially in Japan as you say. Most prefer that strategy, but some like to release the game when it is ready.

It still sounds like an issue of building to PS spec first, which makes perfect sense for a AAA game but somewhat less so for a mid tier Japanese release, but I feel like we've come full circle now so probably best to agree to disagree. Good discussion though. :)



Farsala on 31 January 2023
curl-6 said:
Farsala said:

Like I said, publishers want simultaneous releases most of the time. A worldwide simultaneous release on multiple platforms is ideal for sales. Delaying versions of the game that is already ready is often worth it, especially in Japan as you say. Most prefer that strategy, but some like to release the game when it is ready.

It still sounds like an issue of building to PS spec first, which makes perfect sense for a AAA game but somewhat less so for a mid tier Japanese release, but I feel like we've come full circle now so probably best to agree to disagree. Good discussion though. :)

I just want people to realize that making a game for 2 systems like PS and Switch is no walk in the park. So people shouldn't flame the developers so much, they get enough flak as it is and often work thankless jobs. Of course we should always ask for more, but we should celebrate the amazing developers that bring the games to as many consoles as possible.



CosmicSex on 31 January 2023

With the news of the XSX price increase in Japan I wonder if it will have any effect or a sum zero change in Xbox sales.



Kakadu18 on 31 January 2023
CosmicSex said:

With the news of the XSX price increase in Japan I wonder if it will have any effect or a sum zero change in Xbox sales.

You mean a change to zero?



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AJNShelton on 31 January 2023
Farsala said:

Eiyuden Chronicles is one example. Talking about rewriting entire code and basically making a 2nd game.

Yeah but it's a terrible example.

You have tools for easily port a game to another system, especially with popular engines (Unity or Unreal for eg, but same applies for Snowdrop from Ubisoft).

It is pretty common to have a Switch release on the same day as the other platforms, it's starting to get weirder and weirder when the Switch release is delayed.



Mar1217 on 31 January 2023
Kneetos said:

Wouldn't it make more sense to then make the game for switch and port up to playstation/pc and have everything release at the same time?
Playstation owners don't seem to care about switch ports to playstation from what I've seen, and just want to play the games on their system.

Or maybe delay the game for 6 months, Japanese games are doing better on switch then their playstation equivalent more now then ever, even if it's just the switch brute forcing higher sales because of the shear amount of console sales, but because of that the switch games sales should offset any extra development times, rather then releasing the game late and having maybe 1/3 of the total sales it could have had

Case in point, Dragon Quest XI S on PS4, Xbone, etc ... Was an upgrade of the previously build Switch version. 

So it is more than a feasible avenue for devs when you've got engines that are common between these platforms.



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Farsala on 01 February 2023
Mar1217 said:
Kneetos said:

Wouldn't it make more sense to then make the game for switch and port up to playstation/pc and have everything release at the same time?
Playstation owners don't seem to care about switch ports to playstation from what I've seen, and just want to play the games on their system.

Or maybe delay the game for 6 months, Japanese games are doing better on switch then their playstation equivalent more now then ever, even if it's just the switch brute forcing higher sales because of the shear amount of console sales, but because of that the switch games sales should offset any extra development times, rather then releasing the game late and having maybe 1/3 of the total sales it could have had

Case in point, Dragon Quest XI S on PS4, Xbone, etc ... Was an upgrade of the previously build Switch version. 

So it is more than a feasible avenue for devs when you've got engines that are common between these platforms.

It was a certainly interesting strategy from SE.

Development start- 2013

3DS and PS4- July 2017- ~4 years development

S version for Switch- September 2019 ~2 years development

for PS4,PC and XB1- December 2020 ~1 year development

SE specifically detailed issues with the Switch version and decided it was best to release the PS4 and PC version when it was ready, instead of delaying them for a simultaneous launch with the Switch. Sound familiar?



AJNShelton on 01 February 2023
Farsala said:

SE specifically detailed issues with the Switch version and decided it was best to release the PS4 and PC version when it was ready, instead of delaying them for a simultaneous launch with the Switch. Sound familiar?

Yes, that's what happened the first 3 years of the console's life. Since then, devs make the effort to release everything on the same date.