Video Game Development Costs Continue to Rise in Face of Nearly 12K Layoffs Since '08

hmmm. I wonder if this is a "gamers managing gamers that are trying to make games" issue.

failure shouldn't be running this rampant and costs shouldn't be inflating this badly.

Yes, computer graphics have continued to get "spiffier," and technology continues to march forward. Unfortunately, the quality of games has continued to slide downhill. No, that's not quite right. There are still good games released, but for every excellent game on the market, there are a slew of others that are boring, bug-ridden, painful-to-play wannabe's. Why? Because the factors which determine high-quality games are being stamped out by "Big Money."

The same disease which has permeated the movie and TV industry has now infected the computer gaming industry. As soon as there's one big hit, everyone wants to make a clone and ride that same wave of success. From a business standpoint, the desire to invest money in a successful "formula," and create a spin-off or copy-cat of what worked in the past seems like a solid idea. The problem is that we are dealing with an ART FORM. It is not the technology or materials used which determine success, it is how the audience embraces the attempt and takes ownership of the experience. The reason I conitnue to play Diablo 2, Neverwinter Nights, and Warcraft III is because fun gameplay trumps shiny graphics, new technology, gameplay options, and pretty much everything else.

The failure of businessmen to understand what makes good art is why the movies, TV, and computer gaming industries are throwing more and more money away to turn out weaker and weaker products. Now that I think about it, this has happened in every industry which has become a big money-maker. As potential returns have climbed higher and higher, businessmen have bought their way to the head of the creative process in an attempt to turn a profit. Their focus on making money while being blind and deaf to what makes good art has caused them to throw increasingly large piles of cash into production while stifling the artistic talent which makes the product worth buying.

This is why you see production values plummet as soon as things turn lucrative. Whether it is in literature, graphic novels, movies, TV, or computer games, as soon as investors take over the production of an art-form, art itself is handed a pink-slip. The result of that is more money spent to generate an inferior product.


-Khalaq

For an industry that is so large....it seems like studios are run like SHIT.

Are game studios really so unproductive?
No wonder Rockstar and EA crack the whip. Stop fucking around all day at work and maybe you can keep your job.

Shocking news: employees who are abusively overworked and perpetually exhausted are less efficient at producing quality work for a reasonable cost.

While layoffs are becoming more common obviously there is still money being made since they are increasing funding for projects. I think the only thing being changed about the business model is people matter less.

depressing times =(

Video games should be like the early days of Hollywood right now. There should be people seeing how much potential there is in games and everyone should be making a lot of money, not just the people at the top. There should be more companies popping up, not closing.

They're spending the money in all the wrong places.

For example, think about how much Bioware is paying to get the voice actors that they're using for the Mass Effect series.

Companies should focus on shorter 5-6 hour experiences in order to lower development risk. I'd rather pay $20 for a 5-6 hour game than $60 for a 20 hour game.

So, it costs more and they are trying to make games with less people...

as part of that 12k, i don't know whether to take solace that I am not alone, or cower in fear that there are 12k other people viaing for the same job I am. (well, more like ~4000, but still)

Development costs continue to rise? We're already at the point where it's not sustainable.

I thought of this article on joystiq.com that talks about how many copies Red Dead will need to sell to make back its costs. Ugly numbers.

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/12/sources-red-dead-redemption-development-in-trouble/#comments

I'm curious if this report factors in things like the flood of indie devs making iPhone games, web games, social games, and things of this nature that are not AAA blockbuster console titles.

I hate using the blanket term "good graphics" but I'm impressed with how much the "graphics" have improved with games. The textures, meshes, level of detail, mocap + hand-rigged animations... they've been getting better and better.

But I think (hopefully I am wrong) we are at a plateau. There comes a point of diminishing returns where adding X millions of dollars into a project only adds marginal gains in eh... "graphics." I think a good example of this is MGS4... totally amazing production values and a HUGE budget but it loses a lot of the things that made the series good in the first place. (in my mind, MGS3 is the peak) It's really just a "ooh-ahh" experience.

Maybe game developers will find a new mountain to climb when it comes to user-experience. I'm still waiting for physics to blow me away.

How hard is it just to have an actual full time job making games? Seems like people get fired immediately after a game is completed. This needs to come back and bite these companies in the ass at some point.