LordBlodgett
Member
Ahhh, yeah, I can see that. Pokeman games have been pretty hit or miss for a while, and I agree are surviving on brand name.
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Insomniac comparing AAA titles to mid-sized games
- Thread starter Thick Thighs Save Lives
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TheAssist
Member
Can anyone explain why Spiderman 2 costs twice as much to make compared to Spiderman 1?
I haven't played 2 as of yet, but I cant imagine that absolutely everything (number of employees/or their wages, price of licenses, hardware, rent, etc. etc.) has doubled over the past 5 to 6 years. Especially considering that Spiderman 1 and MM layed some big groundwork in terms of technology, assets, gameplay, animations, codebase, etc.
Is the game that much more ambitious? Have prices gone up more than I thought? Or is it just questionable management (like too much marketing, inefficient spending)?
I haven't played 2 as of yet, but I cant imagine that absolutely everything (number of employees/or their wages, price of licenses, hardware, rent, etc. etc.) has doubled over the past 5 to 6 years. Especially considering that Spiderman 1 and MM layed some big groundwork in terms of technology, assets, gameplay, animations, codebase, etc.
Is the game that much more ambitious? Have prices gone up more than I thought? Or is it just questionable management (like too much marketing, inefficient spending)?
Shut0wen
Member
But no amount of money would make pokemon great though, gamefreak need time and stick to making the series like sword and shield instead of making the series like violet, they clearly can make 2 games at the same time but nothing on the scale of violet
TheAmazingSpiderMan
Member
I don’t understand where the money is going? What are they paying their staff? Spider-Man 2 for example costs according to these leaks 315 million or so, it’s basically copy and paste of SM1 With beefed up graphics, the game world has added a new borough okay.
I get marvel takes a chunk from that for the license but crazy to think a sequel which uses the same map and assets still costs another 300+ mill on top of what they’ve already created.
What’s SM3 budget looking like near enough 400 miillon??
I get marvel takes a chunk from that for the license but crazy to think a sequel which uses the same map and assets still costs another 300+ mill on top of what they’ve already created.
What’s SM3 budget looking like near enough 400 miillon??
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POKEYCLYDE
Member
To be honest, I'm not interested in Insomniac's idea of a mid sized game if it's basically DLC of their bigger title.
I wasn't into Miles Morales, and I probably won't be into their Venom game.
I think Obsidian does it right when they do smaller games. Pentiment and Grounded are way different from their bigger games. They're trying for different genres. Where as something like Miles Morales is safe and boring and more of the same. Same reason why I only get an Assassin's Creed every 5 years.
Rift Apart is at least different enough for a mid sized game, but it feels too safe. Established IP, genre within their wheelhouse.
Mid sized games, games with smaller budgets from AAA developers should experiment with ideas and new IP, rather than be safe, boring cash grabs.
I wasn't into Miles Morales, and I probably won't be into their Venom game.
I think Obsidian does it right when they do smaller games. Pentiment and Grounded are way different from their bigger games. They're trying for different genres. Where as something like Miles Morales is safe and boring and more of the same. Same reason why I only get an Assassin's Creed every 5 years.
Rift Apart is at least different enough for a mid sized game, but it feels too safe. Established IP, genre within their wheelhouse.
Mid sized games, games with smaller budgets from AAA developers should experiment with ideas and new IP, rather than be safe, boring cash grabs.
StealthGoblin
Banned
I've said for a long time that Sony should have some smaller teams with smaller ambitions making games.
They can be riskier and the quicker cadence provides more releases to bolster their PC and Subscription ambitions.
They can be riskier and the quicker cadence provides more releases to bolster their PC and Subscription ambitions.
StreetsofBeige
Gold Member
They do though. MM, Housemarque and Team Asobi do make smaller budget priced games. Maybe some more I missed.
Problem is those games dont sell a ton despite good reviews because the typical Sony gamer focuses on their AAA first party games since they set up a benchmark for their games ---> which is go big with big budgets or Marvel licenses.
mckmas8808
Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
Well.......I'd say they don't sell great because their isn't a HUGE demand for those type of games. But the average PS gamer loves Housemarque's games. They love Team Asobi. They love Media Molecule. Nobody loves them more than the Playstation gamer.
There's just isn't enough of them out there to make those games sell more than 10 million copies.
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Thirty7ven
Banned
They have to persist because it’s by persisting that From Software gets to Elden Ring.
mckmas8808
Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
I agree with this 1 billion percent. Sadly that's not up to those dev houses, but Sony. And what they did to Japan Studio, Media Molecule, Team ICO, and Evolution Studios says to me that Sony gets rid of companies a game or two too early sometimes.
Thirty7ven
Banned
Media Molecule was a shit show, Sony should’ve never greenlit Dreams. Team Ico, I mean… the creative director left and he doesn’t produce shit fast enough look at how long it’s taking him. But yeah, Sony has been making decisions based on their market position, care free almost.
sachos
Member
Wow i've been championing for something like this for years! Its so cool to finally get to see some official numbers on the matter. I've always wondered what it would look like for every team to have smaller teams focused on "PS2 era but modern" style of games, something akin to Hi-Fi Rush, imagine 2 teams like this per 1st party studio.
My hope is that generative AI wil help teams reach these goals and we will be back to the 2-3 year dev cycle so we get full trilogies in the span of a console gen again.
My hope is that generative AI wil help teams reach these goals and we will be back to the 2-3 year dev cycle so we get full trilogies in the span of a console gen again.
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Feel Like I'm On 42
Member
Would those hypothetical mid sized games cost $70? Of course.
Exactly this is Sony they'd charge $100 if they could
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
All companies would. Bet.
Video Game Prices Are ‘Very, Very Low’ For What They Offer, Says GTA 6 Publisher Take-Two
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has said during the publishing powerhouse’s latest earnings call that he feels video game prices are generally too low for what consumers get out of them. The executive offered insight into how Take-Two calculates video game prices, and reckons as a whole the...
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Barakov
Gold Member
One of the main reasons we need to call them on their bullshit every chance we get.All companies would. Bet.
Video Game Prices Are ‘Very, Very Low’ For What They Offer, Says GTA 6 Publisher Take-Two
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has said during the publishing powerhouse’s latest earnings call that he feels video game prices are generally too low for what consumers get out of them. The executive offered insight into how Take-Two calculates video game prices, and reckons as a whole the...www.neogaf.com
Thirty7ven
Banned
Shouldn’t games just overall be very differently priced from one another?
The way pricing works in games is a bit weird. Games are entertainment sure but they are software too, they are interactive, so it doesn’t make much sense to me that say RDR2 and say Psychonauts 2 cost the same. It just doesn’t.
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DeepEnigma
Gold Member
Used to be this way back in the cartridge days. Various prices based on product.
Varteras
Gold Member
I know people will want to hang me by my testicles for saying this, but I am fully on board with a greater variation in game prices.
DeepEnigma
Gold Member
I mean, the market does dictate that now, in a way. Based on when games go on sale and the like. But I know you're meaning from the get go.
Drizzlehell
Banned
The fact that they would consider these "mid-sized games" goes to show how out of control triple-A game budgets are these days.
Seriously, they should just scale this shit back by cutting off 40% of their workforce, particularly the people who do nothing all day but eating chia salads and picking their asses. Either that or split them into smaller teams who can actually collaborate like normal people instead of rolling assets out of an assembly line without even knowing that they're gonna end up in the hands of some hackneyed woke writers. Maybe then they'll be able to create some video games that have some fucking soul to them.
Seriously, they should just scale this shit back by cutting off 40% of their workforce, particularly the people who do nothing all day but eating chia salads and picking their asses. Either that or split them into smaller teams who can actually collaborate like normal people instead of rolling assets out of an assembly line without even knowing that they're gonna end up in the hands of some hackneyed woke writers. Maybe then they'll be able to create some video games that have some fucking soul to them.
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