Ubisoft: Triple-A Costs Will "Stifle" Innovation

[Adon Cabre]

Yeah, I think the future is still software, and that there will be an explosion of titles in 2015-2016 -- possibly reminiscent of the Playstation 2. I can even see Microsoft and SONY's exclusive studios doubling because of slashed costs.

i've actually be doing some late night reading reading on the PS4 side of things (i <3 my PS2s but did't have a PS3 and i'm being tempted by the prospect of both the Witcher 3 and Elder Scrolls Online "in the living room" and a low cost of entry a hardware revision or two in) and supposedly there are as many as 140 titles in development atm, sony has sent out hundreds of free dev kits and they are courting the formerly PC only F2P games that can easily transition some of which are giving figures as low as just two months to get a PS4 beta client up and running...there are actually a few hushed whispers about a potential new PS2 like era...its a very nice consumer electronics PC box running an Unix front end and devs should find a piece of piss to make games for...[small]still nothing on a new Shutok&#333; Battle game tho which is what i was actually searching for news on [/small]

Yeah it must be really exciting for all of these PC developers to get their hands on some dev-kits; that's awesomely professional by SONY. Wish I could say the same for the other guy.

This will probably be the console generation where a lot of people will jump on board. But because neither SONY or Microsoft have yet to make their marketing blitz, it leaves me skeptical about all of those promises.

It's like they've been relying, thus far, on the internet to sell their cause; but at some point, we'll need some actual in-game footage from all of these in-development productions -- and even small stuff, like Kingdom Hearts 3's sneak peak.

The hype I felt for that video juxtaposed my disappointment in Final Fantasy XV.

PRODUCER: hey guys, this new and real world final fantasy is about crystals.
FANS: Oh wow, what else is new! World of Pulse turns into a crystal in Final Fantasy XIII. The characters freakin' enter A Great Crystal in XII!

excuse the rant. that said, I'll probably buy it anyhow -- sucker that I am.​

 

[Infernal Lawyer]

Am I the only one who thinks that publishers see the word 'innovation' as 'not a COD-clone'?

Celebrities get paid the same amount of money that regular voice actors do. In fact is most video games studios do not use celebrities, they use either in-house staff or regular voice actors. Marketing is usually paid by the publisher, but it works. A great marketing campaign pays for itself. Marketing is vital.

I know this is unpopular, but bottom line if consumers want more innovation, they need to pay their fair share for games. Games need to cost more.

Even if publishers are the ones paying for the advertising, I think it's safe to say that they still want to make their money back and then some. And I have SERIOUS doubts that Celebrities are going to be paid as much as regular voice actors: When you have that level of fame, you're not going to work for the same as any old actor (though feel free to prove otherwise).

Regardless, there is often still a lot of pointless crap AAA studios put in that unnecessarily eats up money, like brand new game engines, hair physics, pointlessly extreme rendering (do I REALLY need to see every blade of grass in the middle of a raging battlefield?) and 'cinematic' cut scenes.

If people are willing to pay more money for needless stuff that doesn't do anything for a game, fine! That's great! But it's not our job to pay even more than we already do for games. I live in New Zealand where games can cost up to NZ$120 or US$100, even on online stores where they don't even have the decency to overcharge us in our own fucking currency (looking at you, Steam) so I don't exactly like being told I 'need' to pay even more than that for innovation.

Oh, and then there's the fact that plenty of Indie, medium budget and even high budget games like Dark Souls manage to innovate and be happy with the sales without having to needlessly throw stacks money at the development.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

But by 2015, I'm convinced that even the most hardcore PC enthusiasts will own a PS4 or Xbox One.

At this point with the switch to digital TV this year I'm not even sure my flat will have a TV for even a previous gen console to use (besides it just collects dust these days because everyone watches crap online).

Even if you had a monster LCD, with the PS4 and MS's spy-box both using x86 architecture means that porting between them and a PC will be fairly simple.

As for Ubi's statement, I would be more sympathetic if they weren't using seven different dev studios to ensure Black Flag continues the yearly Assassins Creed franchise.

 

[Somebloke]

So this is why we have no conclusion to the Beyond Good And Evil series yet -- Please Jade; escape from that management job and break the camera out of storage - the children miss you.

:B

 

[Teoes]

As for Ubi's statement, I would be more sympathetic if they weren't using seven different dev studios to ensure Black Flag continues the yearly Assassins Creed franchise.

Yeah but, but, AssCree has an ending! They said so. So they totally plan to put that series down and move on to other more innovative franchises. Yes, you can play that JJJ video again.

That makes me think actually - has anyone called it yet that one day when AC is finally put to bed, that there'll be a round of layoffs coincidentally at those dev studios?

 

[Metalrocks]

just amazing. money seams to be the only thing they see now instead thinking logically.

keep it up and i might cancel my pre order for AC4 as well. already canceled watch dogs because i dont want to buy every year the next title to know whats going to happen.

 

[rednightmare]

This is why we need more women in the gaming industry: They are actually talking sense. Right now, publishers and developers need to focus on cutting down costs, instead of complaining about their game not selling CoD numbers.

 

[Adon Cabre]

But by 2015, I'm convinced that even the most hardcore PC enthusiasts will own a PS4 or Xbox One.

At this point with the switch to digital TV this year I'm not even sure my flat will have a TV for even a previous gen console to use (besides it just collects dust these days because everyone watches crap online).

Even if you had a monster LCD, with the PS4 and MS's spy-box both using x86 architecture means that porting between them and a PC will be fairly simple.

As for Ubi's statement, I would be more sympathetic if they weren't using seven different dev studios to ensure Black Flag continues the yearly Assassins Creed franchise.

Ubisoft is using so many resources for both of these two titles -- this could be a major, company crushing gamble.

I think that it will be too irresistible. Next Gen exclusives are almost always too cautionary and same-old in the first year. But by 2015, SONY and Microsoft's studios will be rolling Last of Us grade content, so maybe that dusty LCD just might come in handy.

I feel bad for people upgrading to a $250 graphics card as many of the best "game of the year" nomination titles come 2015 will be SONY & Microsoft exclusives.

Something tells me that 2013's "Game of the Year" might go to Last of Us or Beyond: Two Souls -- both exclusive to SONY. But maybe Bioshock Infinite has enough steam.

 

[Arkaijn]

It's a new week and that means yet another dumb statement from Ubisoft

 

[Roxor]

Maybe a move to procedural content could cut costs? It would certainly cut the download sizes and disk space used by the game.