Given the financial situation, will gaming developers make smaller budget games?

[Nameless 24]

I wanted to add more in the title but...

Given how the whole industry aren't producing AAA games bar AssCreed and COD, is it possible that Devs such as SEGA, Konami and Capcom are using XBLA/PSN/iOS as a platform to try risky games on a smaller budget?

I've recently bought Dust: An Elysian Tale (made by Microsft Game Studios), which despite being a sort of big Dev Studio, referenced Indie Characters such as Meat Boy and Fez.

The game itself is very well made for a small budget game but I recognise some VAs along the way.

I would say that this would have been akin to SOTN if it were released at the start of XBLA, which isn't a bad thing at all!

Would Devs going for this route be more suitable until the economy starts growing again or should they continue releasing their innovative efforts in the boxed format?

[max_cady]

Weird, I thought Dust: An Elysian Tale was an indie game developed by one guy. But to answer your question... It's a toughie. On one hand, developers are playin' it very safe by having at least two or three major flagship IPs to produce, but on the other hand, said franchises will eventually tire out gamers.

A new IP has to something of a game changer in order to succeed and not many have done so, there's a huge list of games that did not get sequels, solely based on lackluster performance (2008's Prince of Persia, Enslaved, Binary Domain, Alan Wake to name a few).

Here's my take on it: If you produce racing and sports titles, it's perhaps safer to simply release updates via XBLA/STEAM/PSN, namely the FIFA series. Their resale value is pretty much worthless after the next year. Now, with flagship titles, on the other hand... If they continue to sell well as boxed titles, stay the course.  If not, drop 'em.

[Nameless 24]

Weird, I thought Dust: An Elysian Tale was an indie game developed by one guy. But to answer your question... It's a toughie. On one hand, developers are playin' it very safe by having at least two or three major flagship IPs to produce, but on the other hand, said franchises will eventually tire out gamers.

A new IP has to something of a game changer in order to succeed and not many have done so, there's a huge list of games that did not get sequels, solely based on lackluster performance (2008's Prince of Persia, Enslaved, Binary Domain, Alan Wake to name a few).

Here's my take on it: If you produce racing and sports titles, it's perhaps safer to simply release updates via XBLA/STEAM/PSN, namely the FIFA series. Their resale value is pretty much worthless after the next year. Now, with flagship titles, on the other hand... If they continue to sell well as boxed titles, stay the course.  If not, drop 'em.

You're right. MGS only assisted in his case with the VA, music and UI apparently.

Yeah, I think FIFA games need to use the digital model now, it is ridiculous how these fans are paying through the nose for minimum updates to the games...it's also a waste of Cd plastic due to the resale value.

I also agree on dropping franchises that don't work...but perhaps they should reduce the sale price on those that don't sell as much to try and get the money back.

[Happy Cat]

We are already seeing smaller games, i think we will just continue that path. More smaller games on digital services, with AAA games from the devs that have the money to do them.

I also think we will be seeing an increase in Free to play games. Epic Games has talked about stuff like AAA Free to play games. lol

[ungibbed]

You're right. MGS only assisted in his case with the VA, music and UI apparently.

Yeah, I think FIFA games need to use the digital model now, it is ridiculous how these fans are paying through the nose for minimum updates to the games...it's also a waste of Cd plastic due to the resale value.

I also agree on dropping franchises that don't work...but perhaps they should reduce the sale price on those that don't sell as much to try and get the money back.

Sports titles for me really never made much sense. Early on it was a technical marvel to see how realistic you could make a game to it's real life counterpart.

Before the regurgitated madness of yearly rehashed titles from EA, I had bought the first Madden Football for the Genesis. I thought it was rather fun and easy to get into but as the years went by, the magic really faded. The game looked the same years later on the Genesis with different menus etc. The field still was the same as it was in much earlier titles. The Super NES version of Madden used the mode 7 feature so the field had a bit more color and detail, but the game felt rather sluggish compared to the Genesis. I even picked up the TurboGrafx version which is rather rare now. John Madden Duo Football CD. It was ambitious but a bit too much for either the hardware or a lack of development time.

Developers have stuck with franchises that are guaranteed a sale these days due to the bad economy and less potential sales of new product. One example of a great game that failed was Beyond Good & Evil. Ubisoft had made quite a gamble on this new IP but for some odd reason it failed in sales despite great reviews. I bought it new back in the day for the Gamecube and loved it. The music, graphics, well written dialog (as well as spoken).

It still baffles me to this day why it failed back then, was it the players wanting something different? It was somewhat of a loose Zelda clone but gamers just didn't bite either due to bad marketing or just too macho to really connect with the games characters. I have since bought the digital HD release and still love the game.

People sometimes don't understand change... If anyone remembers the days when Nintendo was planning a 3D version of metroid licensed out to a new studio in Texas, the doomsayers flocked to bash Nintendo and sold their consoles.

They all had a large serving of humble pie once pictures and videos of Metroid Prime surfaced. What eventually became the best game for the Gamecube.

Smaller budgets are eventually going to be the norm with more mobile games to grab your money and still leave you with a poorly made game.

Perhaps Nintendo was smart by keeping the Wii U hardware more budget minded than making a complete new system. Sure the controller is a neat idea but how much can be pulled out of the Wii U in the long run? They did well and made loads of cash on the Wii despite the incremental design.

With new consoles coming soon and gamers expecting more from what the PS3 and 360 provide, it's a risky situation with a unstable economy at the moment. Very tough to predict but still on the horizon.

I'd love to see new IP's that came to be in this generation. Mass effect, Dead Space, and others. I do have a feeling that more past HD bundles may come to be like Sony has been pushing and the sure to sell GTA5. One thing I would like Sega to revive is Ristar... Just don't trash the core game like the various Sonic titles over the years.

Bring us Shenmue "complete" (the first two games brought up to speed and finish the series with the third game) A bundle with extras would kick serious associated if Sega is careful with the game mechanics and tons of extras. I know tons of people who would shell out $100 for a collector's edition showing footage from the early Saturn roots to a full soundtrack cd or digital download via iTunes or other venue (Bandcamp is awesome for those who want true lossless alternative formats)

So much potential but it's tough to see what's ahead without knowing what may happen over the next year. I have high hopes for sure but game developers and publishers are the ones in the driver's seat.