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I games are taking 5 years to make with 9 figure budgets, Devlopers need to change!

but consumers still want the best looking graphics right?...
You sure about that?
62ec9caeddd71bc6c44cefaac8c7186d.jpg


This is from 2008 Prince of Persia reboot and the timeless artstyle still looks great a decade later. I would take this over modern graphics that gets outdated in a year.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Well most people especially in GAF want high tech graphics and at the same time they want the game take less time make......sorry it just not how game development works.

My bigger problem is most developers like announce their game when they have literately nothing to show.......I rather see them wait and progress through the development and when they actually have something to show then announce it, like Capcom did with MH Wilds.
Graphics are important and always has been.

But I think the typical gamer now can live with good graphics and more importantly good gameplay, less bloat and cutscenes.

Probably all of the best selling and played games don’t even have the best graphics.

If visuals were the most important, games like Hellblade 1 and 2 would be top sellers.
 

Rodolink

Member
You sure about that?
62ec9caeddd71bc6c44cefaac8c7186d.jpg


This is from 2008 Prince of Persia reboot and the timeless artstyle still looks great a decade later. I would take this over modern graphics that gets outdated in a year.
exactly, that's what i meant, the majority of consumers want better graphics each time, so companies push to make things more and more detailed. ofc just my impression, would be good to have research backed up data.
if this is not the case then we consumers should stop buying those hyper high budget entries.
 

Toots

Gold Member
I am all god for playing a great hollyweird Blockbluster from time to time. With that said, some INDIE studios have been doing it better than the big publishers. Astrobot developers with it's staff of less than 100 proves that awesome games that make money can be done with much smaller teams.

I find games too long today. Give me a good entertaining 8-12 hour fun Campaign than the 20 or even worse 80 hour open world epics that take weeks to finish. A lost art was making games replayable. Maybe maybe alternate paths/upgrade skill trees/chocies/ paragon etc. There are plenty of ways to make a good "short" game replayable. The point is if the scale is scaled down that should lead to much less cost.

The expensive long development cycle of today is broken. Look how much money Micro$oft invested in acquisitions and so far very little to show for it because the games just take too damn long to make. This cannot continue because know what is happening is Company's can flat out go under with one unprofitable game.
kyqBQ0L.jpeg

Greetings young fellow,
Im the head of the board for western publishers,
As you brilliantly summed it up, the situation is dire so i wont mince my words.
We need people like you, quick on their feet mavericks who can think outside the box.
Goddamit, we cannot afford to lose any more time ! You're hired as head of every game studio ever (as soon as you stop drunkposting) !
 

jakinov

Member
And how many of those released in recent years has been successful? The GAAS market is way to crowded as it is.
There are successful games every year. Projects fail all the time in gaming whether it's a traditional SP or GaaS game. There's no evidence that the GaaS market is crowded or over-saturated. GaaS games appeal to much wider audiences and generate a ridiculous amount of money so even a small piece of the pie can make for a successful game. For the GaaS (or even traditional SP) games that fail, it's often because they simply aren't interested or don't enjoy the end-product; and not so much that there's too many options.
 

Fess

Member
I find games too long today. Give me a good entertaining 8-12 hour fun Campaign than the 20 or even worse 80 hour open world epics that take weeks to finish. A lost art was making games replayable.
Short linear games are fine, occasionally. But what are you going to do once you’ve finished them? As you say, replayability is a lost art. Don’t ask for shorter games until devs has showed that there is more to their games than plowing through them and getting all achievements.

I like Astro Bot, Hellblade 2, Scorn, MW3 campaign, but in about 2 weeks they’re just a memory and not something I’ll keep on playing .

Meanwhile I’m still playing Elden Ring that came out over 2 years ago, closing in on 700 hours right now. I want more games like that. But I’m not sure what other developer that could do it.
 

NecrosaroIII

Ultimate DQ Fan
Back in the 90s, it was viewed as a disaster that DQ7 took 5 years to make. Now it's the norm.

But times HAVE changed. I guess it's harder now to make games. But still, it's tough because tastes change so rapidly.
 

Gamer79

Predicts the worst decade for Sony starting 2022
you say this, but Astrobot wont sell in the 10's of millions, its primarily gamers' fault
That is my very point. Astrobot does not have to sell 10 million copies to be a success story. If it sells 5 it probably has doubled it's budget. The problem with these 5+ development cycle they may need to sell 10 million just to break even. There are plenty of times where a game sells 5-7 million copies and is not profitable due to the insane budget and puts the company under.
 

Puscifer

Member
Short linear games are fine, occasionally. But what are you going to do once you’ve finished them? As you say, replayability is a lost art. Don’t ask for shorter games until devs has showed that there is more to their games than plowing through them and getting all achievements.

I like Astro Bot, Hellblade 2, Scorn, MW3 campaign, but in about 2 weeks they’re just a memory and not something I’ll keep on playing .

Meanwhile I’m still playing Elden Ring that came out over 2 years ago, closing in on 700 hours right now. I want more games like that. But I’m not sure what other developer that could do it.
I've played Max Payne 1 and 2 over more times than any big name "exclusive" in the past 10 years. Hell, I know those games so good that I remember finishing them both 3 days leading up to Max Payne 3 at once point. Hasn't stopped hundreds of JRPGs from being replayable, 2D games have aged incredibly well and the majority of them are point a to b.

If the games good, a linear experience doesn't stop you from replaying it.

Uncharted? Played em all once, once the set pieces are memorized there's no fun.

Never new game plused the GoW reboots

One and done the first Horizon, bored with the second one and I'm not playing games for the purpose of photo mode

If there was one design still I wish would come back are sandbox style games like Witcher and Witcher 2. Every area has just enough content to feel "full" but it's not overwhelming but you're more than welcome to spend just as much time as you want exploring till you're ready for the next one.
 

tmlDan

Member
That is my very point. Astrobot does not have to sell 10 million copies to be a success story. If it sells 5 it probably has doubled it's budget. The problem with these 5+ development cycle they may need to sell 10 million just to break even. There are plenty of times where a game sells 5-7 million copies and is not profitable due to the insane budget and puts the company under.
but it doesn't make nearly as much as the games you complain about, the margins are much larger in these big budget triple A games despite the increased risk that goes alongside it. 5-7 million always turns a profit, not sure what example you're trying to use with that. The only company that says its not is someone like Sqaure.
 

Raven77

Member
Two words:

Stock market

Nothing will change because the game developers that make most games that people have heard of are all publicly traded. Because of that they have to go after whatever will make them the most money.

Sad fact.

This is why prior to the Xbox 360 and PS3 there was a lot more variety of commercially released games being developed. Snowboard games, party games, ecco the dolphin, blast corpse, Iggy's wrecking balls, jumping flash, etc etc - insert any number of unique games that used to come out and now are all relegated to Indy releases.
 
Dev teams have exploded for what seems like no reason.

Stop hiring 'diversity managers' and focus on a core team only.

It seems like Eastern European and Asian developers are much more lean. Resident Evil 4 Remake is probably the best game I've played in 2023. I wonder how much that cost to make.
 

rm082e

Member
Last edited:
Wukong is an AAA with a budget of 70 million, made in 5 years. There are many examples of top-tier games made with "restrained" budgets in a reasonable time frame.

Stop the big budget fallacy. There is a managerial problem, but of course, studio directors won't tell investors that
 

Gamer79

Predicts the worst decade for Sony starting 2022
Thats a unique case because they pay large licensing fee's you can't apply that to all games. Nice try tho.
"Meanwhile, a $100 million AAA game would need to sell 8-10 million copies just to break even."

Btw GTA 5 cost $250 million back in 2012

 
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tmlDan

Member
"Meanwhile, a $100 million AAA game would need to sell 8-10 million copies just to break even."

I don't see any proof of that in the article, id like some real numbers.

that's just a line in a very weird website. The math makes no sense. Also, this is a blog.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
Meanwhile I’m still playing Elden Ring that came out over 2 years ago, closing in on 700 hours right now. I want more games like that. But I’m not sure what other developer that could do it.
Monster Hunter series has that same effect. To this day people still playing Monster Hunter World and that game came out in 2018.
 

Sooner

Member
I've been playing Horizon Forbidden West for over 100 hours and saw that I'm only at 54% and having fun all the time. So I like that there are massive games like it, but not all games need that length.

I'd very much like to have more games in the style and size of Sly Cooper 2.
What the hell are you doing in Horizon? The game is nowhere near that long, even taking your time.
 

Trilobit

Member
What the hell are you doing in Horizon? The game is nowhere near that long, even taking your time.

I'm running around doing sidequests, following the main story, upgrading my gear and doing some other stuff. Walking pretty much and looking around at the environments. I felt like I had been playing it too hurriedly.

I thought I'd have played it through before it disappeared from PS Plus, so now I have to cheaply buy the disc used to finish the game lol.

HdB54zQ.jpeg
 
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A.Romero

Member
I don't care about that. There are studios producing lower cost games and studios producing high end shit. I think we need both so we can chose as consumers.

Do we really miss anything because Insomniac is no making a AA game so they can focus on AAA? IMO no.
 
Nah! I like the smaller indie games too, don't get me wrong but give me epic 60h+ adventures EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK!

That being said, those 60h games that I crave don't have to have to fanciest graphics, just great gameplay
 

Gamer79

Predicts the worst decade for Sony starting 2022
*If the game was priced at $10.
You do not understand. Publishers do not get the $70 unless it's digital and even then there is cost for maintaining and keeping servers. I do not know what the actual proftt is of a $70 game but I bet it's less than half when all the cost factors are considered.
 

bitbydeath

Gold Member
You do not understand. Publishers do not get the $70 unless it's digital and even then there is cost for maintaining and keeping servers. I do not know what the actual proftt is of a $70 game but I bet it's less than half when all the cost factors are considered.
Probably between $10-$20 then.
Making $200M will absolutely lead to profit for a $100M game.
 
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Holammer

Member
No, I disagree.
Expensive and time consuming games have a place in the market. If you have the time and money, go nuts and enjoy the risk vs rewards.
Is anyone telling Disney to stop doing blockbusters movies and start doing auteur Blumhouse movies. I don't think so.
 

peronmls

Member
Veteran developers are moving on. Not even Valve makes actual games anymore. They don’t even remake/remaster their games. They just let modders do it with their blessing. It’s the new generation of developers that are out of touch. Videos games are main stream. Not anything new and inventive anymore.
 

Fess

Member
I've played Max Payne 1 and 2 over more times than any big name "exclusive" in the past 10 years. Hell, I know those games so good that I remember finishing them both 3 days leading up to Max Payne 3 at once point. Hasn't stopped hundreds of JRPGs from being replayable, 2D games have aged incredibly well and the majority of them are point a to b.

If the games good, a linear experience doesn't stop you from replaying it.

Uncharted? Played em all once, once the set pieces are memorized there's no fun.

Never new game plused the GoW reboots

One and done the first Horizon, bored with the second one and I'm not playing games for the purpose of photo mode

If there was one design still I wish would come back are sandbox style games like Witcher and Witcher 2. Every area has just enough content to feel "full" but it's not overwhelming but you're more than welcome to spend just as much time as you want exploring till you're ready for the next one.
Older games are different, but I can’t put my finger on what modern games actually do wrong to be honest. I play almost everything only one time now. I enjoyed Hellblade 2 a ton, first movie game that actually pulled off the movie part for me, but playing it again? Nope. And even in fantastic GOTY games like Astro Bot I sigh if I have to replay a level one time too many to find a lost galaxy warp.

In old arcade games all you did was replaying them. Can’t just be because you had to. I still enjoy playing old arcade games.
What’s the magic ingredient that was lost? Challenge? Music? Game mechanic simplicity? Constant action and no dead areas?
🤷‍♂️

I agree on the open sandbox style, if it’s done well with content as exploration reward. Elden Ring, Breath of the Wild. And Skyrim, Oblivion. Having high hopes for the handcrafted Starfield expansion. Haven’t actually played Witcher 1 and 2, I started on 3 but never finished it. Have 1 and 2 aged well?
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
Haven’t played a single Monster Hunter 🫣
The upcoming one looked nice, maybe I should give it a try.
You still have time, I HIGLY recommend you play either Monster Hunter World or Rise.

It gives you time to get used combat and its gameplay loop and you can choose which weapons you enjoy the most and practice with it until Wilds comes out.
 

Puscifer

Member
Older games are different, but I can’t put my finger on what modern games actually do wrong to be honest. I play almost everything only one time now. I enjoyed Hellblade 2 a ton, first movie game that actually pulled off the movie part for me, but playing it again? Nope. And even in fantastic GOTY games like Astro Bot I sigh if I have to replay a level one time too many to find a lost galaxy warp.

In old arcade games all you did was replaying them. Can’t just be because you had to. I still enjoy playing old arcade games.
What’s the magic ingredient that was lost? Challenge? Music? Game mechanic simplicity? Constant action and no dead areas?
🤷‍♂️

I agree on the open sandbox style, if it’s done well with content as exploration reward. Elden Ring, Breath of the Wild. And Skyrim, Oblivion. Having high hopes for the handcrafted Starfield expansion. Haven’t actually played Witcher 1 and 2, I started on 3 but never finished it. Have 1 and 2 aged well?
1 is supposedly being remade

2 is better than 3 IMO but that's fighting words on the internet
 

Fess

Member
1 is supposedly being remade

2 is better than 3 IMO but that's fighting words on the internet
Cool, I’m used to enjoying games the internet don’t like so not scared away by that. I just saw that I have 2 on Steam, probably bought it on some sale and forgot about it, no playtime, shame on me. Says partial Xbox controller support. Is it better played with keyboard and mouse?
 

Puscifer

Member
Cool, I’m used to enjoying games the internet don’t like so not scared away by that. I just saw that I have 2 on Steam, probably bought it on some sale and forgot about it, no playtime, shame on me. Says partial Xbox controller support. Is it better played with keyboard and mouse?
That's hilarious

Xbox controller isn't bad either, but for RPGs like this I just prefer KB/M
 

nemiroff

Gold Member
Tell that to creators and fans of Skyrim, Elden Ring, Witcher 3 and many other best selling open world games.. I don't think any of them will listen tho, and for good reasons.
 
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