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Why is this on HN? The author of this article does not know anything about the game industry. The reason most developers of $60 games sign with publishers is
by jblow 15y ago
Why is this on HN? The author of this article does not know anything about the game industry.
The reason most developers of $60 games sign with publishers is because they do not have the money to develop games of that size themselves.
Whether it is a good idea for them to be doing this is really a different question (and it is complex to answer).
- waterlesscloud 15y agoWhat do games cost to produce these days? Obviously it's quite a range, but what are some benchmarks? What does a low-end iphone game cost to develop? Angry Birds? What would a Modern Warfare clone cost? World of Warcraft? I have no clue what the cost neighborhoods even are for any of those things...
- joeconway 15y agohttp://frictionalgames.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/perception-of-000.html http://frictionalgames.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/perception-of-... There's a reasonable introductory answer
- forrestthewoods 15y agoHigh end Modern Warfare is on the order of 100 million which includes 30 to 40 million in marketing. You're looking at least 40 million in just game development costs for high quality AAA titles. Smaller $15 downloadable titles of high quality vary but are on the order of 3-5 million. Tim Schafer was recently quoted as saying a proper Psychonauts sequel would cost $20 million which sounds about right. Mobile games are a bit of a wild card. High end iOS games can easily break a couple of million dollars. Other mobile games can also be done with a 2 man team living off ramen. The minimum entry fee however is rising every day.
- hythloday 15y agoSW:TOR, which you can compare to WoW, has been estimated to have cost $500 million(sic) to produce[0]. [0] http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/17/analyst-believes-star-wars-the-old-republic-had-a-500-million/ http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/17/analyst-believes-sta...