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Forums - Microsoft - Crackdown broke even

matt247 on 16 July 2009
dbot said:
Dark Chaos said:
kowenicki said:
makes you wonder how much some big exclusives of this gen have lost...

*cough*Killzone 2*cough*

I guess this is where a PS3 fan should post something about Too Human and its 10 year development/80 million dollar budget?  Then we will have the inevitable long winded 360 posts about sony defense force, etc...  Why don't you guys stop deflecting criticism by bringing up Lair, Heavenly Sword, or even Killzone 2 and remain on topic.  

Why would a company invest millions of dollars in game development if they can only break even at 1.5 million units?  This is why publishers are going to push digital distribution upon us despite the limitations of that model.  


Didn't Too Human start off as a playstation exclusive? I'm not sure who took the blunt of the loses, if it did lose any money. Investing money is always taking a gamble, just look at the movie industry, some movies have millions of dollars invested in it and some of them bomb, some break even, and some make a profit.

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outlawauron on 16 July 2009
kiefer23 said:
Cypher1980 said:
Guys not all the POS take goes back to the DEV

For instance in the UK Games are 40 GBP on average. But the shop gets them for around 32 GBP.

Distribution and packaging 5 GBP.

Royalties to medium provider 5 GBP.

So the 22 GBP or half of the games POS take is all that makes it back to the DEV.

A game costing 22 million to make therefore must sell a million to break even.

Not many games ever hit GBP22 million.

Gears of War 1 only cost $10 million. I would assume its quite cheap though because the engine is already made etc etc.

Halo 3 cost a rumored $30 million. Payed off for Microsoft since they have made around half a billion dollars off of it.

This still makes me laugh!



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Jereel Hunter on 16 July 2009
KungKras said:
Jereel Hunter said:
KungKras said:
Blaming the used games market is pathetic.

Seriously, that's like PC developers blaming rampant piracy. Blaming things that straight up steal 50%+ of your sales is pathetic. Just like those peopel who blame cancer for stealing the rest of their lives... whiners....

If people sell the game then they didn't like it. Is that their fault for not liking the "incredible art" that the developer made? Blaming the used games market is utterly pathetic because good games and appealing games are kept and not sold. Blaming the used game market is just lazy and shows that the developer doesn't believe in their product.

Or they played it and finished it? There's probably not even one game a year that I feel like I need to keep forever. All the rest, I play them and i'm done. That's how most games are, for most people.

That said, there's plenty of reason to hate the secondhand market - the dev gets 0% share of half its sales. Whereas people who like to try the game without buying it can rent, and this generates revenue for everyone involved. So does waiting for the game to drop in price.



heruamon on 16 July 2009

Maybe that's why M$ didn't go with them...



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kiefer23 on 16 July 2009
outlawauron said:
kiefer23 said:
Cypher1980 said:
Guys not all the POS take goes back to the DEV

For instance in the UK Games are 40 GBP on average. But the shop gets them for around 32 GBP.

Distribution and packaging 5 GBP.

Royalties to medium provider 5 GBP.

So the 22 GBP or half of the games POS take is all that makes it back to the DEV.

A game costing 22 million to make therefore must sell a million to break even.

Not many games ever hit GBP22 million.

Gears of War 1 only cost $10 million. I would assume its quite cheap though because the engine is already made etc etc.

Halo 3 cost a rumored $30 million. Payed off for Microsoft since they have made around half a billion dollars off of it.

This still makes me laugh!


What that Gears of War cost Microsoft/Epic the kind of money you find hidden in the back of your sofa?



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dbot on 16 July 2009
matt247 said:
dbot said:
Dark Chaos said:
kowenicki said:
makes you wonder how much some big exclusives of this gen have lost...

*cough*Killzone 2*cough*

I guess this is where a PS3 fan should post something about Too Human and its 10 year development/80 million dollar budget?  Then we will have the inevitable long winded 360 posts about sony defense force, etc...  Why don't you guys stop deflecting criticism by bringing up Lair, Heavenly Sword, or even Killzone 2 and remain on topic.  

Why would a company invest millions of dollars in game development if they can only break even at 1.5 million units?  This is why publishers are going to push digital distribution upon us despite the limitations of that model.  

Didn't Too Human start off as a playstation exclusive? I'm not sure who took the blunt of the loses, if it did lose any money. Investing money is always taking a gamble, just look at the movie industry, some movies have millions of dollars invested in it and some of them bomb, some break even, and some make a profit.

No comprende?



Thanks for the input, Jeff.

 

 

MrBubbles on 16 July 2009

i wonder if he is just trying to be whiny because ruffian is making the second one



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Kasz216 on 16 July 2009
dbot said:
Dark Chaos said:
kowenicki said:
makes you wonder how much some big exclusives of this gen have lost...

*cough*Killzone 2*cough*

I guess this is where a PS3 fan should post something about Too Human and its 10 year development/80 million dollar budget?  Then we will have the inevitable long winded 360 posts about sony defense force, etc...  Why don't you guys stop deflecting criticism by bringing up Lair, Heavenly Sword, or even Killzone 2 and remain on topic.  

Why would a company invest millions of dollars in game development if they can only break even at 1.5 million units?  This is why publishers are going to push digital distribution upon us despite the limitations of that model.  

Because they don't want to make only Wii games.

1.5 million for crackdown isn't that far off the line of your average.



dbot on 16 July 2009
Kasz216 said:
dbot said:
Dark Chaos said:
kowenicki said:
makes you wonder how much some big exclusives of this gen have lost...

*cough*Killzone 2*cough*

I guess this is where a PS3 fan should post something about Too Human and its 10 year development/80 million dollar budget?  Then we will have the inevitable long winded 360 posts about sony defense force, etc...  Why don't you guys stop deflecting criticism by bringing up Lair, Heavenly Sword, or even Killzone 2 and remain on topic.  

Why would a company invest millions of dollars in game development if they can only break even at 1.5 million units?  This is why publishers are going to push digital distribution upon us despite the limitations of that model.  

Because they don't want to make only Wii games.

1.5 million for crackdown isn't that far off the line of your average.

I don't think I properly expressed myself.  First, 1.5 million for Crackdown is a tremendous accomplishment.  Aside from the Halo beta code, there was no hype for the game.    

My point is if a game like Crackdown can only break even at 1.5 million then I don't see many developers in the future taking the risk.  If the problem is truly game rentals and used game sales, publishers are going to change the way they distribute games.  I don't know if they will go to a full digital distribution model, but they will institute mechanisms to make used games and rentals far less desirable.  I think you will see a lot of games shipping with vouchers for their multiplayer or other gimics that will prevent resale/rentals.



Thanks for the input, Jeff.

 

 

MrBubbles on 16 July 2009

if a game is good, more people will buy the sequel new. i think the next crackdown will quickly outpace sales of the first.



"I like my steaks how i like my women.  Bloody and all over my face"

"Its like sex, but with a winner!"

MrBubbles Review Threads: Bill Gates, Jak II, Kingdom Hearts II, The Strangers, Sly 2, Crackdown, Zohan, Quarantine, Klungo Sssavesss Teh World, MS@E3'08, WATCHMEN(movie), Shadow of the Colossus, The Saboteur