I dont get it how can a game like FFXIII cost $70m. to make(I know FFXII costed $56m.) so it needs to sell 3m. to break even, while other games like The Last Remnant, Persona, Saga, Suikoden, White Knight Chronicles can sell 600-700k copies worldwide and that already would justify a sequel?

I mean an FF game cant cost that much more than every other RPG out there, can it? I do realize that it has the best designers, the best artists, the best composers, the best programmers, but that much of a differense? How?

This makes me think that all these announced games budgets - like $100m. for GTA IV and $56m. for FFXII do include marketing and promotion costs.

Well I am thankful we will see a Gran Turismo 6, question is if it will be on PS3 or PS4. GT6 being a PS4 launch game would be something special.

@RPG

it will definetely be on PS3 if the GT5 release in xmas 09 rumor is true

I think WKC is a pretty high budget game, I assume much more than TLR and IU.

If there is a mentioned budget, then it MUST include ALL expenses, otherwise it's not a budget, is it? I don't think any company would say "this game had 50 million budget" but then seperately talk about marketing or whatever. Massive budget games would have died a long ass time ago if they weren't making money. There is a reason why there isn't a new Shenmue after all. :D

Other factors include the expenses included in one game that will lessen spending on a later game. Like new equipment factored into one game will be used later. And also development on a game engine will massively reduce the spend on any later game based on the engine.

Gears of War isn't a corridor shooter. You know creating a virtual world takes a lot of time no matter if it's a shooter or a RPG. If I say Epic is more efficient it's because they most likely will have released 3 Gears of War in the time Square Enix only released Final Fantasy XIII and FFVXIII. Square Enix is taking forever to make its games. If you don't want me to compare Epic to Square Enix. Let's compare Konami and Square Enix. Metal Gear Solid 4 was released this June as a PS3 exclusive. It only took 1 year and a half after the release of the PS3 for them to release the game while Square Enix are relasing the game God only knows when.

@ godot, while Gears is not a corridor shooter, Epic basically have the engine already made (and their are making huge amounts of money from that) which does help them, but SE are still really pissing me off with how long it is taking for them to make XIII, and it will inevitably be rubbish

If I remember correctly, Epic outsourced a large portion of the production of Gears of War to China where it costs 10% to 20% as much to employ someone as it does in the western world. This is not a bad stategy, but it can only survive so long ... Eventually their economy will be strong enough that developers can demand higher wages, and (much like what happened with companies in Japan in the 1960s and 1970s) eventually the companies that operate in a country like China will realize that they don't really need their western counterparts to make games and will produce their own games for profit.

They even have a website:

http://www.epicgameschina.com/about.php

Your understanding of anything pertaining to this thread is pretty weak. Firstly FF XIII probably has far more depth than Gears 1 & 2 put together like others have said the amount of cinemtatics , diaglogue , maps , quests , intracies  involved ina game like FF dwarfs anything with the name "Gears on it"