Too Human Dev Predicts Social Gaming Crash

Logan Westbrook

Transform, Roll Out, Etc
Feb 21, 2008
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Too Human Dev Predicts Social Gaming Crash

The Silicon Knights boss says that social games are more like marketing than "real games."

Denis Dyack, founder of Silicon Knights and creator of Too Human, isn't really a fan of social gaming, and thinks that it's only a matter of time before the bubble bursts and the social gaming industry comes crashing down to earth.

Dyack said that he didn't think that there was a sustainable, long-term market for social gaming. Although social gaming developers were attracting a lot of funding and venture capital at the moment, he said that when the excitement had died down and the companies had to start showing that they were making money, the funding would dry up, and take social gaming with it. "I think Zynga's valuated more than some traditional publishers right now that have been in the industry for decades," he said. "I'm sorry, but I just don't see it. It seems imaginary to me ... it doesn't look long-term healthy to me."

He said that he was not the only person in the industry to think like this, and that a lot of companies were hesitant about taking the plunge into social gaming. "I think there are a lot of publishers out there that don't agree with it and they just haven't spoken about it," he said. "I don't see Nintendo going into that space, as an example. There are a lot of publishers that I don't see going into that space."

What's interesting about Dyack's comments, however, is that he doesn't seem to be able to understand why some might find social games appealing. He said that social games looked more like marketing than "real gaming" and that he didn't think that they were a good use of his time. Dyack sounds incredulous about the success of social gaming, and his predictions of doom seem to be based on this gut feeling, rather than any hard data.

It's not impossible that there will be a crash in the social gaming market - no industry or market is immune to that - but the free-to-play model has been proven to work, and the fact that it's working incredibly well for social gaming does not mean that it's not sustainable. As a new, emerging market, social gaming will inevitably shift and change, but it's very hard to believe it's going to go away any time soon.

Source: Industry Gamers [http://www.industrygamers.com/news/facebook-gaming-will-crash-very-hard-says-dyack/]


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squid5580

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Feb 20, 2008
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Uhh the new Subway sandwich missions in Cafeworld sure look like marketing to me. And the American Express windmill in Farmville.
 

CpnChaos

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Sep 20, 2010
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Yeah, let's take the word from the man that thought Too Human was a good idea. That sounds legit enough!
 

Wuggy

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Jan 14, 2010
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Even though he has no data to back up his claims, I'd like to think he's right. If the social gaming market would plunge to their deaths, maybe companies like Microsoft would stop trying to take advantage of the 'social gaming'.
 

exampleAccount

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May 2, 2011
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I don't understand social gaming either, at least not when you have access to other games. Most of them just aren't fun.
 

epikAXE

Save the planet: It has beer!
Oct 26, 2009
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Meh if it prospers, good for them. I dont care for social gaming, but if poeple are enjoying it, I hope the market dosnt crash, because that would mean many unhappy people (my sister included). And you are right the 'free to play model' is an extremley effective one.
 

CrazyCapnMorgan

Is not insane, just crazy >:)
Jan 5, 2011
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CpnChaos said:
Yeah, let's take the word from the man that thought Too Human was a good idea. That sounds legit enough!
This. Although I do think social gaming is another trend that will, hopefully, fade in time. However, this particular dev has no place in saying what is crap and what is good.
 

IAmTheVoid

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Apr 26, 2009
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CpnChaos said:
Yeah, let's take the word from the man that thought Too Human was a good idea. That sounds legit enough!
But everyone forgets the awesomeness that was Eternal Darkness. :(
 

CpnChaos

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Sep 20, 2010
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IAmTheVoid said:
CpnChaos said:
Yeah, let's take the word from the man that thought Too Human was a good idea. That sounds legit enough!
But everyone forgets the awesomeness that was Eternal Darkness. :(
That's true, but when someone backs a project as vehemently as Too Human, and is too stubborn to admit he was wrong, then credability does tend to be tarnished a bit...
 

IAmTheVoid

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Apr 26, 2009
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CpnChaos said:
IAmTheVoid said:
CpnChaos said:
Yeah, let's take the word from the man that thought Too Human was a good idea. That sounds legit enough!
But everyone forgets the awesomeness that was Eternal Darkness. :(
That's true, but when someone backs a project as vehemently as Too Human, and is too stubborn to admit he was wrong, then credability does tend to be tarnished a bit...
Did they never actually admit that Too Human was crap? Christ. Silicon Knights are one of those developers you just want to scream at. They have the talent, and they have an epic IP which they could do wonders with, and yet they just seem to sit around whining about everything.
 

A Weary Exile

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Aug 24, 2009
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If anyone is unqualified to comment on what will and will not be successful in the gaming industry it's the guys at Silicon Knights. While I personally don't care for this type of game they are very popular and I don't see them going anywhere anytime soon.
 

Im Nightmare

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Mar 16, 2010
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I don't care,I want to know when Too Human 2 is coming out! If Two World 2 got developed no reason not to give Too Human another go!
 

iLikeHippos

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Jan 19, 2010
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Wait, how the fuck can an adult be more naive than myself? That's just embarassing, and that is coming from a
thinks-he-is-aware-of-shit-but-really-isn't teenager.

NO, social games won't crash. Such a theory do not apply to practical realistic terms. It's just fantasy.
However, something COULD take its place.
 

Lucifus

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Dec 3, 2008
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"I don't see Nintendo going into that space, as an example. There are a lot of publishers that I don't see going into that space.

Animal Crossing?
 

Exterminas

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Sep 22, 2009
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There won't be a crash in the sense that people will suddenly stop playing FarmVille

However there might very well be an investment-bubble in place, meaning that people dump huge amounts of money into new social games, that present Farmville as reference to their investors and promise huge amount of profit.

But you can't jump on a bandwagon that late. It is what happened with the Zune and with every other product attempting to get a piece of the cake that late.
 
Feb 13, 2008
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The big problem with "social" gaming is that it's not social at all. It's anti-social if anything.

Farmville is just like WoW. The crash is coming soon, and WoW is already seeing it happen.

Also see: Guitar Hero.

Look out for: the 3DS.
 

gundamrx101

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Nov 19, 2010
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Social gaming claims the end of console gaming. Console gaming claims the end of social gaming. Can't we all just get along and make games for the people? And then piss eachother off in online multiplayer?