Heavy Rain cost $21 million, made $131 million, Quantic Dream says

Quantic Dream's Guillaume de Fondaumiere says the Heavy Rain's strong return proves that new ideas can also be profitable.

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Heavy Rain was a showpiece for the PlayStation 3, and could have even been thought of as a vanity project. But the game actually did very well for Sony, according to Quantic Dream's producer Guillaume de Fondaumiere, reinforcing the studio's belief that new ideas can be financially successful.

Speaking at a conference in Poland reported by Eurogamer, Fondaumiere claimed that Heavy Rain took only 16.7 million euros (approximately $21 million) to make, but Sony earned more than 100 million euros (approximately $131 million) in return. He used the example to illustrate the point that game developers shouldn't think of innovation is always unprofitable.

He also pointed out that people traditionally outside the video game market, like wives and girlfriends, would play it with their partners. That might tempt those same people to go buy their own games with similar narrative strengths. "Creating new experiences is also a way to expand the market," he said.

Fondaumiere also noted that the perception of games is shifting. In 2004, he said he met with actor Leonardo DiCaprio about doing games, but he was hesitant. Beyond: Two Souls, by comparison, has snagged both Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe.

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