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If you want to read what Warren Spector and others think what's wrong with the industry...
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Let us be lazy in everything, except in loving and drinking, except in being lazy – Lessing -
I should have called it: when failed game developpers get back at the industry!
Let us be lazy in everything, except in loving and drinking, except in being lazy – Lessing -
But this is a valid point:
Is the gaming industry doesn't get more channels to push their products, then eventually you'll prices going up, or quality going down. The internet is of course a major sales channel for games, but besides stores, what else have you got?? Good point, Warren.Look at the movie industry, for example: After the domestic box office, movies are then sold overseas, then they go to Pay-Per-View, then to the cable companies, then they're sold to the rental places, and eventually maybe to Network TV. A movie has a million channels through which consumers might pay for it. But games? They appear on store shelves, and then within two months they disappear due to limited retail space. That's the ignominious end of up to four years of development!
AsmodeanIm not sure what Baruk Khazad is , but if they speak Judeo-Dwarvish, that would be "blessed are the dwarves" - lord of the markComment
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I despair at quality games, especially console games, that just disappear never to be seen again.
Two PC games that I've been trying to get a hold of are Planescape Torment and Grim Fandango. It would be nice to not have to resort to ebay.Voluntary Human Extinction Movement http://www.vhemt.org/Comment
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You used to be able to get Grim Fandango on the LucasArts Classic label. Worth checking out.Comment
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Yes, Asmodean, he makes good point. For those of you who are too lazy to click on the link, here's what Warren has to say:
Games cost too much, and there's not enough outlets to sell them.
Look at the movie industry, for example: After the domestic box office, movies are then sold overseas, then they go to Pay-Per-View, then to the cable companies, then they're sold to the rental places, and eventually maybe to Network TV. A movie has a million channels through which consumers might pay for it. But games? They appear on store shelves, and then within two months they disappear due to limited retail space. That's the ignominious end of up to four years of development!
As a result, games have to hit big and they have to hit quick. "Every game has to be a blockbuster or a student film," grumbles Spector. In such a climate, Wal-Mart ends up making design decisions. "We have a flawed funding and distribution model!" he called out, thumping the podium. He asked the audience to support online distribution, any mechanism that'll work alongside of retail to get games out to people.
Spector says that he was once told that 4 out of 5 games lose money. This is despite all the ridiculous focus-testing and market research. With those odds, he says, can we do any worse if we trusted the creatives?
Ideally, game publishers would ask more than one question. They wouldn't ask which products would "generate maximum profit." The movie industry, with distributors like Miramax or Fox Searchlight, has found ways to be experimental. The games industry needs to do the same.Let us be lazy in everything, except in loving and drinking, except in being lazy – LessingComment
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You can buy Planescape: torment from Amazon.com and Chips and bits. Its, like, 3 bucks.I despair at quality games, especially console games, that just disappear never to be seen again.
Two PC games that I've been trying to get a hold of are Planescape Torment and Grim Fandango. It would be nice to not have to resort to ebay.Let us be lazy in everything, except in loving and drinking, except in being lazy – LessingComment
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