By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Sony - People are never going to see LBP as a success

Cypher1980 on 22 December 2008

I think the game has done OK...No more no less.

Its fallen between the two stools Flop and Run away success.

Problem was the hopes pinned to it were never going to be realised.

Also it will inevitably compared to its contempories as a console seller ie Gears of War and Mario Kart / Galaxy



Around the Network
Gatorgamer88 on 22 December 2008

Very astute observation



noname2200 on 22 December 2008
Comrade Tovya said:

 

What is "QFT"?

"Quoted for Truth", i.e. "you're right on the money!"

 



Comrade Tovya on 22 December 2008
noname2200 said:
Comrade Tovya said:

 

What is "QFT"?

"Quoted for Truth", i.e. "you're right on the money!"

 

 

Oh, haha, I thought it meant, "Quit eff'n talking"

I was like, wow, how rude! LOL



MarioKart:

Wii Code:

2278-0348-4368

1697-4391-7093-9431
XBOX LIVE: Comrade Tovya 2
PSN ID:

Comrade_Tovya
S.T.A.G.E. on 22 December 2008
Comrade Tovya said:
S.T.A.G.E. said:
Comrade Tovya said:
FishyJoe said:
If you are going to constantly call it huge, then it better damn well be one of the best selling games of the year. Whatever your actual intentions were, you contributed to the hype by using these phrases. You reap what you sow, now you must live with it. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

 

That's pretty much the way I feel about it.

If you hype a game as the messiah of the PS3, it better well deliver on its promise of redemption (which it hasn't).

I think the problem with the game, is that the marketing doesn't really explain what the game is... and really, when I would ask my clan-mates about the game, they couldn't describe it... they would say, "just buy it, and you'll see".

I think most gamers won't buy a game unless they actually understand what the game is.. and Sony has never really marketed the purpose behind the game very well.

 

QFT

 

What is "QFT"?

 

Quoted for truth.



Around the Network
FishyJoe on 22 December 2008
Lingyis said:
LBP was in development for... what, 4 years? so a reasonable estimate of development cost has is $40 million. (100 man-year * 4 * 100,000.) so assuming $40 revenue before dev cost (probably a high estimate, since they probably sell to retailers for $45, another $5 for misc costs) for sony for each LBP sold, 1 million needs to be sold to be profitable. at its current sales, LBP should turn a profit, disregarding the ROI for the moment. we'll also disregard downloadable content sales for now, which is likely not to be siginificant in any case.

profitable is different from being successful, unless you want to look at things in a vacuum. video game industry is heavily dependent on home-runs (this aspect is much like the pharmaceutical industry), which subsidizes much of the dev cost for the lesser games. so question #1: is LBP considered a home-run game by sony? certainly. question #2: given that, is LBP going to provide enough subsidy? this is something a very deep analysis is necessary, and possibly something only sony knows. maybe not even they do, since there are so many ways to measure revenue and expenses and what-nots.

for LBP to be a success, it needs to do more than just provide sufficient subsidy. it needs to be profitable after accounting for subsidies and return on investment. looking in a vacuum, for LBP to have a respetable ROI, i'd say about 1.75 million copies need to be sold. to satisfy the subsidizing aspect and ROI for the subsidized investment, i'd put another 1 million copies need be sold. overall, i'll say that when LBP reaches over 2.75 million copies sold you can start calling it a success.

 

I think it goes beyond just the devleopment costs. There is a significant amount of network resources and ongoing maintenance and support/moderation required for this game. I know there is paid content, but whether it's enough to cover all the ongoing costs remains to be seen.



Usul on 22 December 2008

This game is awesome and incredibly fun. It goes beyond in terms of sharing. And yes, it has been critically aclaimed.



Play my LittleBigPlanet level: Mystic Runner. Thanks!

Torillian on 22 December 2008

Lingyis said:
LBP was in development for... what, 4 years? so a reasonable estimate of development cost has is $40 million. (100 man-year * 4 * 100,000.) so assuming $40 revenue before dev cost (probably a high estimate, since they probably sell to retailers for $45, another $5 for misc costs) for sony for each LBP sold, 1 million needs to be sold to be profitable. at its current sales, LBP should turn a profit, disregarding the ROI for the moment. we'll also disregard downloadable content sales for now, which is likely not to be siginificant in any case.

profitable is different from being successful, unless you want to look at things in a vacuum. video game industry is heavily dependent on home-runs (this aspect is much like the pharmaceutical industry), which subsidizes much of the dev cost for the lesser games. so question #1: is LBP considered a home-run game by sony? certainly. question #2: given that, is LBP going to provide enough subsidy? this is something a very deep analysis is necessary, and possibly something only sony knows. maybe not even they do, since there are so many ways to measure revenue and expenses and what-nots.

for LBP to be a success, it needs to do more than just provide sufficient subsidy. it needs to be profitable after accounting for subsidies and return on investment. looking in a vacuum, for LBP to have a respetable ROI, i'd say about 1.75 million copies need to be sold. to satisfy the subsidizing aspect and ROI for the subsidized investment, i'd put another 1 million copies need be sold. overall, i'll say that when LBP reaches over 2.75 million copies sold you can start calling it a success.

Media Molecule was founded in January 2006 so how could they be paying people for 4 years worth of work?, and the only employee count I can find is 25.  Your development costs are grossly overestimated.

 



...

senortaco on 22 December 2008

I said from the begining that LBP success could not be measured by the first few weeks of sales but what it is doing in like week 6 or so.

...The thing I find disaapointing is that Sony had to Bundle/reduce price on LBP in order for sales to increase.

For Sony to want Sackboy to be there Mascot, and to make the system more attactive to casual buyers, it hasn't lived up to the EXPANSION that Sony view it would bring.

It's a great game, good sales, but for what Analyst, and Sony fans thought it would do it hasn't come through yet.



The Interweb is about overreaction, this is what makes it great!

...Imagine how boring the interweb would be if everyone thought logically?

dbot on 22 December 2008
FishyJoe said:
Lingyis said:
LBP was in development for... what, 4 years? so a reasonable estimate of development cost has is $40 million. (100 man-year * 4 * 100,000.) so assuming $40 revenue before dev cost (probably a high estimate, since they probably sell to retailers for $45, another $5 for misc costs) for sony for each LBP sold, 1 million needs to be sold to be profitable. at its current sales, LBP should turn a profit, disregarding the ROI for the moment. we'll also disregard downloadable content sales for now, which is likely not to be siginificant in any case.

profitable is different from being successful, unless you want to look at things in a vacuum. video game industry is heavily dependent on home-runs (this aspect is much like the pharmaceutical industry), which subsidizes much of the dev cost for the lesser games. so question #1: is LBP considered a home-run game by sony? certainly. question #2: given that, is LBP going to provide enough subsidy? this is something a very deep analysis is necessary, and possibly something only sony knows. maybe not even they do, since there are so many ways to measure revenue and expenses and what-nots.

for LBP to be a success, it needs to do more than just provide sufficient subsidy. it needs to be profitable after accounting for subsidies and return on investment. looking in a vacuum, for LBP to have a respetable ROI, i'd say about 1.75 million copies need to be sold. to satisfy the subsidizing aspect and ROI for the subsidized investment, i'd put another 1 million copies need be sold. overall, i'll say that when LBP reaches over 2.75 million copies sold you can start calling it a success.

 

I think it goes beyond just the devleopment costs. There is a significant amount of network resources and ongoing maintenance and support/moderation required for this game. I know there is paid content, but whether it's enough to cover all the ongoing costs remains to be seen.

@Lingyis - LBP was in development for less than 2 years.  The development team maxed out at 30 developers.  As far as full retail games, LBP was probably one of the cheapest to make.

@Fishy - The moderation and network resources are no more than any other PS3 game.

 

 

 

 



Thanks for the input, Jeff.