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[Monk]

"Iwata indicated that the next-generation is a risky business for all hardware manufacturers and not just Nintendo. "Already publishers are not hesitant in disclosing their concerns over next generation gaming platforms, and development costs are rising. Publishers are afraid... of whether [the next-gen] consoles can appeal to people who are not the avid game fans of today."

http://cube.ign.com/articles/593/593733p1.html?fromint=1

Current development budgets for an A-list title average around $5 million, Doak said. For the upcoming consoles, "I expect the minimum will be two to three times the current costs," he said.

http://news.com.com/Game+publishers...1.html?part=rss&tag=5377871&subj=news.1043.10

Rumors of $25m development budgets on next-gen console titles may already be a reality as this talk is presented. And that's before marketing cost! The burning question: how can anyone make money in this scenario? In this talk Kathy reviews an actual next-gen title budget, tweaks parameters that affect title profitability, and (hopefully) suggests ways for all industry parties to get through this morass.

http://www.cmpevents.com/GD05/a.asp?option=C&V=11&SessID=4639



If those costs are going to increase by that much, a $10 increase is quite generous from game makers next gen. As a fan of niche titles, this scares the fuck out of me, they may have to sell 3x more than the normal 100k to break even which probably means an end to those titles.


EDIT: Ah shit, it should have been "they are".

 

[pj]

XNA to the rescue!!

 

[LakeEarth]

Some developers will just have to not put too much emphasis on the graphics, that should bring down costs somewhat. Yes it'll hurt sales a bit but if it's a niche title, chances are it won't make a huge dent in their sales. Look at Animal Crossing.

 

[Bebpo]

...and meanwhile Nippon Ichi and Idea Factory will keep making games for probably a quarter of a million (or $50 in IF's case) and will keep selling enough to make profit.