Activision to Spend $500 Million to Develop and Market Destiny

[Sanunes]

Somehow I suspect I'm not the only one getting flashbacks to Star Wars: The Old Republic right now... And I think we know how that one has been panning out.

Also, (though it's been said): $500 million, and you couldn't get a PC version out? If they really need 15 million units to break even... This is a bad position to be in. A cross-platform game, even one from Bungie, seems unlikely to tickle the fancy of those who are [still] looking to justify their early purchase of the latest generation of hardware. Releasing for PC these days is more than stretching into one more market; it's voicing a measure of confidence that your game will look good on the most powerful hardware out there.

I don't know. I usually want to believe the minds behind things like this know what they're doing, to some extent; that they aren't just blowing the GDP of Dominica on hubris and swagger. But it seems like they're betting on Bungie's name to deliver Halo and then some, and I don't know that such confidence is entirely warranted. Especially as Destiny looks to be online-only, thus immediately cutting into their potential customer base.

At least for $500 million, they have absolutely no excuses for server issues on day one...

The thing also is that one person reported that it cost $300 million to make The Old Republic which EA denied (which of course nobody will believe because its an EA employee saying that). So this game will be at least twice the cost of The Old Republic and basically feel like a FPS. So somewhere I think this is someone pulling another EA (and Microsoft now) by saying something that is completely blown out of context or outright wrong because they wanted to sound important or generate this kind of buzz around their title.

Now if they did spend that obscene amount of money on a project I don't see why they decided to leave out a PC release, at least with GTA you know it has an established console market, but with a new franchise there is no guarantee what platform would generate the most interest.

 

[draigodragon]

clearly they are the next atari and the game is the next E.T extra terrestrials

"Bombing incoming everyone nail down your gaming systems gaming industry in imminent danger"

 

[laggyteabag]

HOLY MOTHER OF... wow.

I mean, Destiny looks okay, but $500 mil to develop a game that looks merely "okay"? I mean, damn. Activision really does have a lot of faith in Bungie if they're gonna give them a budget of $500 million.

But damn, that is a lot of money.

A LOT OF MONEY.

*skim-reads again* 15-16 million units?! WHAT?! That is ambitious for a pre-existing franchise, but for a new IP?

 

[azurine]

This is not going to work.

I expect a Jimquisition on this lol.

I'm laughing so damn hard already.

Actually concerning the Jimquisition...
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/7340-Guns-Blazing
This comes pretty close.

There was also another episode, (can't remember which), where Jim explains that just asking for millions of sales isn't going to get millions of sales.

 

[dragongit]

Ummm... quick question. That isn't necessarily 500 million... right now. Maybe it is. but what if it's simply 500 million over the course of the game's lifespan. Bungie did say they wanted the game to last 10 years or something silly. Maybe it's a hefty 200 million investment now, and over the next 5-10 years they sprinkle that other 300 on content patches, DLC, ect. Then again maybe it is all upfront, but that could still mean a lot of content that we'll be able to experience out of the box. Let's try not to knock it before we try it. We've already seen that games can sell ridiculous numbers.

 

[Random Argument Man]

After all those years, the Activision I know is back. I was not 100% sure it left. But, with EA doing dumb things, they were pretty quiet. Anyway, if Activision hopes that 15 millions units will be sold, I expect Destiny will be Jesus on ice? Although, it probably won't be.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

I think it's only a matter of time before the following phrase is uttered without the slightest bit of humor:

"We have invested one billion dollars into this game. We will only consider it a success if everyone on Earth buys a copy on launch day."

 

[Shamanic Rhythm]

Lol. Is it even a full-fledged MMO? Everything I've read suggests it's more like Borderlands crossed with Halo.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

holy shit, I'll be impressed if they break even within the first 6 months, let alone getting anywhere near 15 million units sold across the 4 platforms. (I feel like they are shooting themselves in the foot here, this probably could've been a good game to push people into the next gen but spending all that extra money to make it compatible for last gen I don't think will give them the units they need)


This is a hell of a risk to put on an unproven IP, especially an MMO on consoles, but hey, if it ends up being THAT good, then sweet.

 

[Scorpid]

Destiny looks meh. It's got a neat artistic design but its multiplayer doesn't look at all original and its a new IP. I mean even Titanfall thats been covered from top to bottom and is also a new IP the buzz on it quickly puttered out because of that exact reason. This has all the makings of disaster. I'm not gonna buy it I imagine and I don't hear anyone else excitedly whispering about it.

 

[Revolutionary]

Were gonna' sell 15 million copies without releasing to the pc.

Spoiler: MFW

Yet games like Grant Theft Auto 5 did just fine without the PC. So... that's a thing.

The difference being that Destiny is a new IP, and GTA is one of the most successful franchises in the industry, so apples and oranges there mate.

 

[gamegod25]

So basically it's typical corporate strategy of "throw a fuckton of money at it and it will have to be a hit!"

Don't get me wrong I'm eager to play Destiny but...damn that feels excessive. Wonder how many copies they will have to sell just to break even :/

 

[Something Amyss]

While I have no doubt it will be popular, I am not so certain it will be that popular. I wouldn't be entirely surprised if this was the game that made publishers realise that games are getting far too expensive and are not cost effective with their current model.

Their current model is to sell a partial game and then sell you pieces and it works.

But I take your meaning. Personally, I would think Titanfall would be that game, but....

 

[Alexei F. Karamazov]

I'm getting Borderland-y vibes, am I right in thinking so?

That's exactly what I was going to mention! It looks like Borderlands without the character and humor. That, and it seems that the enemies are all stolen from other sci-fi genres: basically Batarians, more or less Tau, Geth with warp technology, and Necron who are actually still alive.

That being said, that line up does seem interesting all in one game, and though it doesn't have the character that Borderlands, if it captures its quick and fun gameplay and combine it with an interesting story, I'd probably look into the game... if I had an XBone...

 

[Something Amyss]

FIFTEEN MILLION UNITS!? Jesus Christ guys! I think Destiny looks really good, but FIFTEEN MILLION!? Maybe make your expectations a little more fucking reasonable!

You know, it's funny how this didn't register with me at first. But that means they'd have to sell more than any one Halo game just to break even.

 

[Metadigital]

It's a myth that games are costing more than ever before. In fact, due to digital distribution, games are actually getting quite cheap to produce. This isn't the first game that's cost half a billion to produce, especially if you take into account inflation. Nor will it be the last.

Here's a list of the most expensive games ever made: http://vgsales.wikia.com/wiki/Most_expensive_video_games

You may notice how few of them were made in the past 10 years.

It's worth noting that MMO's aren't on the list because it's not really possible to estimate their cost since not all that information is publicly available. In fact, a lot of games are missing for this reason.

 

[Sanunes]

FIFTEEN MILLION UNITS!? Jesus Christ guys! I think Destiny looks really good, but FIFTEEN MILLION!? Maybe make your expectations a little more fucking reasonable!

You know, it's funny how this didn't register with me at first. But that means they'd have to sell more than any one Halo game just to break even.

Halo 3 sold between 14 and 15 million copies, so its hard to say. The catch is I think they had them bundled with 360's for awhile too and that seems to be a trend with a lot of the really big selling games.

What I find interesting is according to Wikipedia there are 40 games that have sold 15million + copies and half of them over the years are Nintendo exclusive titles. Now I question the list when they list Diablo 3 and not Diablo 2, but that could be my personal bias kicking in.

Most of the games on this list are sequels and franchises appear multiple times such as GTA (4 titles) and CoD (7 titles), I just think its a little much to expect a new franchise to match what Call of Duty (and Bungie) has done in the past because it has brand loyalty.

Link [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_video_games]

(of course that list probably isn't very accurate).

 

[RiseUp]

Now I actively hope it fails in a spectacular fashion that sends Activision reeling.

Yeah, and screw the developers too, huh? They don't need to get paid at all. And screw other players as well because if I'm not happy about a game, then no one should be.

It's more a case of breaking a few eggs to make an omelette. Naturally if larger publishers wise up and realize that these kinds of hype-mongering and sky-high sales predictions aren't realistic, let alone sustainable, there will be downsizing. It's sort of unavoidable, and I would love it if there were a better solution to the industry's bloat (as you implied, I'd rather not see any developer out of a job), but as I see it, I don't think there is.

 

[Something Amyss]

Halo 3 sold between 14 and 15 million copies, so its hard to say. The catch is I think they had them bundled with 360's for awhile too and that seems to be a trend with a lot of the really big selling games.
.

I don't count pack-ins, and normally they aren't counted. Alan Wake sold poorly for example, unless you counted the pack-ins, which they didn't. They touted Halo 3 Pack-ins, however.

I mean, if they bundled in Destiny, that would probably help them reach their goal. But then, I'm not sure those numbers put quite as much money in Activision's pockets, so it may still increase the number needed.

 

[Something Amyss]

Yeah, and screw the developers too, huh? They don't need to get paid at all.

The developers get paid for making the game. This is completely irrelevant.