It's okay, you don't have to tack an "IMO" onto calling adventure games a iche genre. It's pretty true.

It's true that traditionally it's a genre with long legs, too, but I wonder how soon QD will need that return-on-investment.

I'd like to point out that Haze and Lair were fully funded by their publisher (Sony). Factor 5 and FR apparently have just been unable to sell another IP to *any* publisher -- thus they are going under.

It has nothing to do with Sony, or the PS3... except that the games underperformed early on (which worries publishers, who are very finicky). If F5 and FR were clever businesses, they just wouldn't pitch such high-end titles to publishers, and would secure themselves a deal -- maybe several.

Bad business on their end.  They just couldn't roll with the punches.  Lair/Haze kept them in business for a long while.  That whole time they should have been selling other ideas to other publishers.  If they didn't... well.. belly up.

Lair received quite a bit of prime-time advertising, which isn't cheap and isn't common for video games. Sony did their part with the title, and let's not pretend otherwise. And yes, Factor 5 and Free Radicals' respective demises are due primarily to themselves rather than to Sony, but their mistake was in making a very-expensive game that didn't sell well enough to keep them adrift until their next project. I'm sure you can take it from here.

I agree. But ONLY over the years. High budget games like Heavy Rain. From a developer thats mostly lived of their technology. They can't afford a 100 k worldwide opening. 

And LAIR and  HAZE even though still selling. Did not help Factor 5 and Free Radical either.

Like I said above, both F5 and FR should have had publishers paying for other projects before Lair and Haze even shipped.  Honestly this doesn't have much to do with Sony or the PS3 at all.  It has to do with bad business decisions on the part of F5 and FR.

If they needed to find other deals to survive. Then obviously Lair or Haze did not sell that well either. (compared to it's costs ) Else you would atleast have some breathing space.

@CGI-Quality: Lair's advertising was awe-inspiring and had nothing to do with its failure.

Euhm.. I never said anything about this going to be a Anti Sony/PS3 thread. But that Quantic Dream could go the same direction. Just because Sony wont be able to help them if things go wrong.

It is VERY rare for a development studio to earn more than a pittance, in royalties, on any title, unless it is downright phenominal.  The performance of Lair and Haze should have nothing to do with F5 and FR's demise, since they should have had other projects in the works well before those games even shipped.

You two need to synchronize so you're having one conversation instead of two, sheesh.