BioWare Co-Founder: Consoles Are "The Past"
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
- Start date
I'm really not sure why these comments have so many up in arms. He's just telling the truth.
First off, he's talking at a developer's conference so his comments are likely to be, oh I don't know, things focused on game development and not on speaking to gamers themselves.
Second, AAA Blockbusters are to some extent killing the industry.. or at least themselves. A single AAA game costs hundreds of millions of dollars to create and only a handful of them a year make anything close to their money back. This leaves the rest as just being extremely expensive time sinks for, in some cases, very creative people who could likely create something just as good if working on other projects. The rise of the every title being a AAA title is also what has driven the price of games up recently. If your game costs hundreds of millions of dollars to make, there's no way you're going to look at anything other than a $60 dollar price point with nickel and dime DLC post launch when examining the price point. The game industry, just as the movie industry, needs to grow to be more open to a wide range of titles from AAA blockbusters to smaller titles. If everyone is doing nothing but trying to make AAA titles they are just going to bankrupt themselves.
Finally, consoles are something of a thing of the past. Not in the sense that no one likes them or uses them anymore, but in the sense that gaming is hitting such a diverse player base now, and that player base is gaming using a large variety of platforms. If you're a developer now (and remember, that's who he's talking to) you need to explore all of the different game spaces as some are going to be a lot better for the design ideas you have in mind, both in terms of suitability as well as in terms of money making potential.
First off, he's talking at a developer's conference so his comments are likely to be, oh I don't know, things focused on game development and not on speaking to gamers themselves.
Second, AAA Blockbusters are to some extent killing the industry.. or at least themselves. A single AAA game costs hundreds of millions of dollars to create and only a handful of them a year make anything close to their money back. This leaves the rest as just being extremely expensive time sinks for, in some cases, very creative people who could likely create something just as good if working on other projects. The rise of the every title being a AAA title is also what has driven the price of games up recently. If your game costs hundreds of millions of dollars to make, there's no way you're going to look at anything other than a $60 dollar price point with nickel and dime DLC post launch when examining the price point. The game industry, just as the movie industry, needs to grow to be more open to a wide range of titles from AAA blockbusters to smaller titles. If everyone is doing nothing but trying to make AAA titles they are just going to bankrupt themselves.
Finally, consoles are something of a thing of the past. Not in the sense that no one likes them or uses them anymore, but in the sense that gaming is hitting such a diverse player base now, and that player base is gaming using a large variety of platforms. If you're a developer now (and remember, that's who he's talking to) you need to explore all of the different game spaces as some are going to be a lot better for the design ideas you have in mind, both in terms of suitability as well as in terms of money making potential.
Don't argue with BioWare fans, you're never gonna win because you can't possibly be right.s69-5 said:
Forget the fact that FF XIII sold better than Dragon Age and ME2 combined, those facts are trivial.
Seriously BioWare, why don't you try writing some new characters instead of wrapping new skins around the same seven party members. Also, shut the fuck up, you're starting to look like Sony circa 2006.
Bahahahahaha. What an outlandish statement, the most expensive game ever made was GTA IV and that didn't even come close to "hundreds of millions" to produce and market. Most AAA titles have a budget of around 20 million and you only have to sell 2 million copies or so to make back what you spent.StriderShinryu said:
Since current gen consoles are basically PC's....hmm I wonder where gaming will go next?JourneyThroughHell said:
Oh yeah ToR is PC exclusive, no consoles at the moment.
Dragon Age, and Mass Effect 2 are the last major releases I can think of that were actually made for PC, can't say I have had any problems with games crashing on any of my last three systems, mind you I built those, store bought or mail order your asking for trouble regardless of the hype or spec.DJmagma said:
I've had more game crashes and lockups on my PS3 in the last 2 years, than my last two computers over the 7 years.
is that because 3/4 of PC games are crappy console ports?FloodOne said:
wait...what? so pc gaming was doomed because of console gaming (so they said) and now console gaming will die? so this leaves us with.....casual gaming and hand held..mmmkay
also its fairly obvious to try and build aaa games...why go for building mediocre games when you can make better and earn (more) money?
i do like console games for one reason and one...no three reasons!: 1. they dont fucking chrash or dont work because of hardware, 2. controllers, 3. couch (albeit i solved that with a laptop)
in short: oh noes gaming is doooomed what do we do now!
also its fairly obvious to try and build aaa games...why go for building mediocre games when you can make better and earn (more) money?
i do like console games for one reason and one...no three reasons!: 1. they dont fucking chrash or dont work because of hardware, 2. controllers, 3. couch (albeit i solved that with a laptop)
in short: oh noes gaming is doooomed what do we do now!
RAGE
im concerned about my DAO2 and ME3 now.
does it sound like 'we are running out of money so must make cheap shit mini games.' because this doesn't seem like what you'd expect from bioware. i mean kid games. what was there last non 18 title? perhaps they are getting bored of using the same formula for their rpg's? o well i hope this is all forgotten and their future games dont go down hill.
im concerned about my DAO2 and ME3 now.
does it sound like 'we are running out of money so must make cheap shit mini games.' because this doesn't seem like what you'd expect from bioware. i mean kid games. what was there last non 18 title? perhaps they are getting bored of using the same formula for their rpg's? o well i hope this is all forgotten and their future games dont go down hill.
Yes, Bioware. The Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and the Wii are so outdated. NOBODY plays them. EVERYBODY wants to play games on the iphone. You guys know everything, and you don't make ANY money off consoles. You guys are the best game developers in the history of eternity and should be worshipped as gods. Hail Bioware, the mighty lords of knowledge!
Not only that, but they make games for kids too!
Not only that, but they make games for kids too!
Well like it or not, there is some truth in his words.
Without going into the whole idiotic console vs PCs, which is absolutely irrelevant the the topic, there is a huge market of casual entertainment, more and more phones and widgets like iPad are being advertised as gaming platforms among their other functions. They are constantly improving their tech at much faster rate than current consoles/PCs. Granted they started at lower level to begin with, but it is still something amazing for the old people (as in above 30 years mark).
The todays 'kids' as the man was kind enough to state, are going to be adults in few years. The sooner you start to create products for them, the larger audience you will have in years to come. Business is about getting your customers used to your brand, it makes perfect sense.
Personally, after over 20 years of gaming i find most of the todays AAA titles boring, repetitive or simply unappealing to me. I buy less games with each year and it is not because i get bored of gaming, i just find less games i would like to play and prefer to re-play the ones i did enjoy.
Gaming blockbusters are for me pretty same as movie ones, i cant see much of difference between one and other production. Every time i see another shooter or action game i just see the same thing that was released 3-4 months ago.
Without going into the whole idiotic console vs PCs, which is absolutely irrelevant the the topic, there is a huge market of casual entertainment, more and more phones and widgets like iPad are being advertised as gaming platforms among their other functions. They are constantly improving their tech at much faster rate than current consoles/PCs. Granted they started at lower level to begin with, but it is still something amazing for the old people (as in above 30 years mark).
The todays 'kids' as the man was kind enough to state, are going to be adults in few years. The sooner you start to create products for them, the larger audience you will have in years to come. Business is about getting your customers used to your brand, it makes perfect sense.
Personally, after over 20 years of gaming i find most of the todays AAA titles boring, repetitive or simply unappealing to me. I buy less games with each year and it is not because i get bored of gaming, i just find less games i would like to play and prefer to re-play the ones i did enjoy.
Gaming blockbusters are for me pretty same as movie ones, i cant see much of difference between one and other production. Every time i see another shooter or action game i just see the same thing that was released 3-4 months ago.
Knights Of The Old Republic, but your a young'en, you were probably 10 when that came out.JoshGod said:
Man, people are really reading this the wrong way. With AAA game costs skyrocketing, you need to sell a large number of copies to even make your money back, let alone make a profit. And for most new development studios, or even small ones, that's an extremely lofty and unlikely goal. Not impossible, but given the realities of the industry it's not something everyone should look to do right away. You have to be one of the top sellers to succeed, and the reality is that if you have a large number of teams working on AAA games, then a very good chunk of them won't recoup costs, and that's basically a death sentence for a studio.
Given the rise of casual, social network-based gaming, there are a lot of industry figures looking into that as a viable source of income. It doesn't mean AAA is going to go away, nor does it mean that we'll be doomed to solely playing games on iDevices from here on out. Obviously BioWare is going to continue to do AAA releases. But it does mean that when you take the collective industry as a whole, there's a vastly increasing number of people working on smaller projects than AAA ones. We as gamers who frequent gaming sites and read gaming news often don't pay attention to things like that, but it's collectively turned the heads of the industry. To freak out over a comment basically stating such is foolish.
Given the rise of casual, social network-based gaming, there are a lot of industry figures looking into that as a viable source of income. It doesn't mean AAA is going to go away, nor does it mean that we'll be doomed to solely playing games on iDevices from here on out. Obviously BioWare is going to continue to do AAA releases. But it does mean that when you take the collective industry as a whole, there's a vastly increasing number of people working on smaller projects than AAA ones. We as gamers who frequent gaming sites and read gaming news often don't pay attention to things like that, but it's collectively turned the heads of the industry. To freak out over a comment basically stating such is foolish.
what do you mean? Course in my opinion most console games stink, however, several of my favorite PC games have console versions *sidestepping rant on comparing versions*FloodOne said:
Iv played a few games on the console, Gears Of War, Resistance Fall of man+ Resistance 2, Ace Combat (whole series, i actually liked that one alot and would be the only reason i would by a console), Ratchet and clank (about 80% of the series, another one i like), however if i really wanted to play them, either i would go to a friend or play them on an emulator on the PC (have not reasearched PS3/Xbox360 emulators, though id be fairly confident they exist). Long rant short, anything a console can do, a computer can do better.
*sidenote*
motion controls/detection are intersting (kinetic, WII, etc), wonder when they will become more popular on the PC
gah my rants are getting longer, sry
EDIT: oh, and ill never seriously look into the consoles until they figure out how to do an RTS well, i know there are a small handful out there, but i have never heard of a good one.
EDIT2: did see one good point, bugs in console games, due to the difficutly of patching a game released on a console, and the fact that they KNOW the system config of the console, their games tend released bug free, but with the consoles more and more needing internet (meaning easier patching) and onboard storage on the consoles (downloading games) patching becomes easier and they can afford to release a game with a potentially horrid bug then release a patch to make it playable, i expect that is what will happen as console approach PC games, i could be wrong and if i am, kudos
That is a missleading headline I think. Most people will read that and equate it to "Consoles are dead", which is far from what he is saying.
