Let The AAA Game Companies Collapse.

[Itchi_da_killa]

Why would I say such a thing? Just curious what the community will say.

So... what do you think?

My opinion:
I haven't really liked many of the games the so called "AAA" publishers have been releasing. They're too easy, bloated with cut scenes, etcetra. Many of these companies treat employees and consumers like shit. The high costs seem to strangle creativity and forces a bait and switch style tactic. On the same note the producers and developers start to sew genres together to the point of making a "same soup" type of game with each release. I'm pretty sure because of these things, finding interesting "fun" games are difficult. I would like to see the talented people/ studios involved with the big publishers try to form their own publishing strategies.

Jim has a good video here
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/7121-Dark-Souls-and-Dark-Sales

Here is an interesting article.
http://www.polygon.com/2012/10/1/3439738/the-state-of-games-state-of-aaa

 

[Z of the Na'vi]

So basically what you are saying is...let the indie game revolution commence?

I don't know, there are quite a few AAA games that I enjoyed wholeheartedly, thank you very much. Personally, I'm more of the opposite. Don't get me wrong, it's great that indie developers are getting a bit more of the spotlight as of lately, but they'll never make a big of a splash as a AAA game does.

[sub]Minecraft notwithstanding.[/sub]

 

[generals3]

Why would I say such a thing? Just something I have been pondering. What do you think?

I haven't really liked any of the games they put out anyways. They're too easy, bloated with cut scenes, etcetra. Many of these companies treat employees and consumers like shit. The high costs seem to strangle creativity and forces a bait and switch style tactic. On the same note the producers and developers start to sew genres together to the point of making a "same soup" type of game with each release. I'm pretty sure because of these things, finding interesting "fun" games are difficult. I would like to see the talented people involved with the big companies leave to form their own indie studios.

The reason why AAA games are actually AAA is because they're so popular. The day the most popular games crash... well... i don't think that would be a good sign for gaming. And while AAA gaming suffers from certain flaws there are many gems out there which no indie game could ever come close to.

 

[krazykidd]

Let me get this streaight, you haven't liked ANY AAA game that's come out in the latest couple of years? Like, at all? Any?

The Last of us
Bioshock: Infinite
Far Cry 3
Tomb Raider
Dishonored
Spec Ops: The line
Assassin's Creed 1 & 2
Red Dead redemption
Skyrim
Bioshock
Mass Effect 1, 2 & 3
Darkness 1 & 2
Saint's Row the Third
Uncharted 1, 2 & 3
Batman: Arkham Asylum & City
Deus ex: Human revolution
Infamous 1 & 2
Prototype
Witcher 2
LA Noire
Portal 1 & 2
God of War 3
Demon's Souls
Dark souls
Call of Duty: Modern warfare
Half Life 2

Et fucking cetera. Do you despise every single on of these games with a burnign compassion? So much so that you wish the entire companies that makes these games to crash and burn?

Would. Any of these game worst if they were simply A or AA titles? Plus the developpers wouldn't " die" , only the publishers . There will always be developpers around to make games.

Also , demons/dark souls are not AAA titles ( from what i heard).

 

[Emmenia]

That's an awful lot of people to put out of work. Why don't you just buy the games that you like, enjoy them and leave it at that? You can quite easily not buy games that don't interest you but there are people who DO enjoy AAA games so why deny them their fun? I don't really understand the point you are making. I don't like some genres of game so I just don't play them. Their existence doesn't offend me.

As for finding games you do like, it's pretty easy with the power of the internet. If you can't find any games you like maybe you just don't like games?

Out of interest, what was the last game you played that you enjoyed?

 

[shrekfan246]

Plus the developpers wouldn't " die" , only the publishers . There will always be developpers around to make games.

That's incredibly naive.

Yes, there will always be developers around. But Irrational Games wouldn't be around were it not for 2K Games. Kojima wouldn't be making Metal Gear Solid were it not for Konami. Game Freak wouldn't be making Pokemon if it weren't for Nintendo. If Namco Bandai went under? Say goodbye to the Tales of games, the Souls games, and if they had gone under years ago there never would've been Xenosaga or Ni No Kuni. With Atlus' parent company declaring bankruptcy, do you think nothing is going to happen to some of the people working there in the translation if they need to move under a different company's name? Hell, if Square Enix went under then the people who made Deus Ex: Human Revolution would be out of their jobs.

None of these people would combine together into the same teams. Whether that's good or bad is completely speculative, so I don't really care to postulate any theories, but if publishers went down, a whole lot of the developers we know and love would go down with them.

 

[Da Orky Man]

Indie games are all well and good, but something like Skyrim, Bioshock: Infinite and Assassin's Creed take resources that just aren't available to an indie studio to make. The death of AAA devs would do a lot of collateral damage.

 

[doomed89]

I agree with Itchi_da_killa. The industry shouldn't go out of it's way to cater to people who can't budget. They either need to learn how to budget accordingly or die, instead of trying to drag the industry down with this no used game and other crap.

Let me get this streaight, you haven't liked ANY AAA game that's come out in the latest couple of years? Like, at all? Any?

The Last of us
Bioshock: Infinite
Far Cry 3
Tomb Raider
Dishonored
Spec Ops: The line
Assassin's Creed 1 & 2
Red Dead redemption
Skyrim
Bioshock
Mass Effect 1, 2 & 3
Darkness 1 & 2
Saint's Row the Third
Uncharted 1, 2 & 3
Batman: Arkham Asylum & City
Deus ex: Human revolution
Infamous 1 & 2
Prototype
Witcher 2
LA Noire
Portal 1 & 2
God of War 3
Demon's Souls
Dark souls
Call of Duty: Modern warfare
Half Life 2

Et fucking cetera. Do you despise every single on of these games with a burnign compassion? So much so that you wish the entire companies that makes these games to crash and burn?

Um several of those games aren't AAA. By AAA of course I'm talking about the budget, because that's all AAA means it has nothing to do with quality. Portal, Demon Souls, Dark Souls, Prototype ect. I know for a fact aren't AAA not sure about alot of the others but you get my point. Also didn't Half Life 2 come out like 10 years ago?

 

[doomed89]

Alright, scrape off like five or so games, the point still stands.

More like half...

 

[Itchi_da_killa]

Let me get this streaight, you haven't liked ANY AAA game that's come out in the latest couple of years? Like, at all? Any?

The Last of us (haven't played)
Bioshock: Infinite (Couldn't finish, didn't like)
Far Cry 3 (Havent played because I didn't like the first two.)
Tomb Raider
Dishonored (Finished it and forgot it and don't care.)
Spec Ops: The line (Lost interest towards the end.)
Assassin's Creed 1 & 2 ( 1 was not even the hype part 2 was easy and I have no after thoughts for it.)
Red Dead redemption ( could have been good if they would have kept it simple.)
Skyrim (Haven't played but I like Bethesda even though they think it's okay to release broken games. I have played Oblivien, Fallout3 and New Vegas)
Bioshock (This was a great game.)
Mass Effect 1, 2 & 3 ( Played 1 & 2 but didn't finish because I got bored)
Darkness 1 & 2 (Played 2 but didn't finish because this game sucks really bad.)
Saint's Row the Third ( Didn't like 1 and 2)
Uncharted 1, 2 & 3 ( The uncharted games are okay.)
Batman: Arkham Asylum & City (Arkham Asylum was amazing)
Deus ex: Human revolution ( I love this game.)
Infamous 1 & 2 (Some good ideas here but the games are boring and easy as hellz.)
Prototype (Never played)
Witcher 2 ( I loved the first one.)
LA Noire (Never played. I don't like Rock Star.)
Portal 1 & 2 (Awesome!)
God of War 3 (Not very good.)
Demon's Souls (Amazing!)
Dark souls (Even more Amazing!)
Call of Duty: Modern warfare (It had some great parts but I thought part 2 was a little better "all around".)
Half Life 2 (Good games.)

Et fucking cetera. Do you despise every single on of these games with a burnign compassion? So much so that you wish the entire companies that makes these games to crash and burn?

!!NOTE: Messages in parentheses next to game titles are mine
Wow, I never said I despised all AAA type of titles. I have become dis-enchanted with the gaming pallet of late is what I'm saying. Anyway, many of the ones on your list are not in the bloated AAA basket.

 

[Andy Shandy]

Yeah, I'll pass on that idea, thanks.

Ignoring the fact that it would put loads of people out of jobs if it happened, I actually enjoy a lot of AAA games. Oh, and as much as I enjoy the odd indie title here and there, I don't particularly want the entire gaming scene to be mostly comprised of puzzle-platformers, with one quirk and/or distinct art style.

 

[Itchi_da_killa]

Yeah, I'll pass on that idea, thanks.

Ignoring the fact that it would put loads of people out of jobs if it happened, I actually enjoy a lot of AAA games. Oh, and as much as I enjoy the odd indie title here and there, I don't particularly want the entire gaming scene to be mostly comprised of puzzle-platformers, with one quirk and/or distinct art style.

It seems like you think I'm talking about mobile gaming. Indie developers have been getting more popular these days because of mobile gaming but the spectrum is actually larger. I'm also speaking of smaller developers as well. As far as employment goes; I read an article about big game companies like Rock Star laying off many of their people when a game is done not too mention a lot of the staff are interns which don't get paid at all and don't get into the credits.

 

[doomed89]

Yeah, I'll pass on that idea, thanks.

Ignoring the fact that it would put loads of people out of jobs if it happened, I actually enjoy a lot of AAA games. Oh, and as much as I enjoy the odd indie title here and there, I don't particularly want the entire gaming scene to be mostly comprised of puzzle-platformers, with one quirk and/or distinct art style.

You do realize there's a difference from letting die and causing them to die. If a studio can budget and make good games they aren't going to die no matter the scope, but the companies that complain when they sell over 3 million they need to learn to budget or die, not get hand outs from the industry to keep them afloat to do the same stupid thing again.

 

[Itchi_da_killa]

Plus the developpers wouldn't " die" , only the publishers . There will always be developpers around to make games.

That's incredibly naive.

Yes, there will always be developers around. But Irrational Games wouldn't be around were it not for 2K Games. Kojima wouldn't be making Metal Gear Solid were it not for Konami. Game Freak wouldn't be making Pokemon if it weren't for Nintendo. If Namco Bandai went under? Say goodbye to the Tales of games, the Souls games, and if they had gone under years ago there never would've been Xenosaga or Ni No Kuni. With Atlus' parent company declaring bankruptcy, do you think nothing is going to happen to some of the people working there in the translation if they need to move under a different company's name? Hell, if Square Enix went under then the people who made Deus Ex: Human Revolution would be out of their jobs.

None of these people would combine together into the same teams. Whether that's good or bad is completely speculative, so I don't really care to postulate any theories, but if publishers went down, a whole lot of the developers we know and love would go down with them.

Yeah, I'll pass on that idea, thanks.

Ignoring the fact that it would put loads of people out of jobs if it happened, I actually enjoy a lot of AAA games. Oh, and as much as I enjoy the odd indie title here and there, I don't particularly want the entire gaming scene to be mostly comprised of puzzle-platformers, with one quirk and/or distinct art style.

You do realize there's a difference from letting die and causing them to die. If a studio can budget and make good games they are going to die no matter the scope, but the companies that complain when they sell over 3 million they need to learn to budget or die, not get hand outs from the industry to keep the afloat to do the same stupid thing again.

I agree totally. Here is a link to a really good point Jim makes on the subject. He uses Fromsoft's sales of Dark Souls as an example. Ah Dark Souls, now that is a good game. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/7121-Dark-Souls-and-Dark-Sales

 

[Lightknight]

"Let" the large companies collapse who have mostly made it to that size by providing beloved titles that gave them the cash necessary to get into the AAA market? That's crap.

Let the crappy AAA companies live or die on their product. Remember, behind every game is a development studio that may have very little to do with the AAA publisher itself. If they do good work, they deserve recognition. Yes, you may argue that if they were their own seperate studio that they'd get more recognition and more money, but they wouldn't have the upfront cash to do any of these projects.

AAA publishers have a purpose. Sometimes they suck and yes, those companies deserve to slowly lose business and eventually have to sell their IPs to other more competent AAA publishers.

As long as we continue to reward successes and punish failures, things will get sorted accordingly. Just avoid preording all but the most trusted titles. Stop giving them money for season passes and all that nonsense before you see the product and people you trust can vouch for it. The way things are now, bad companies are getting all the money they need up front and putting out crap (Aliens Colonial Marines sold pretty well early on...). That needs to stop. If we can stop giving money for bad work then we'll see AAA games landing in capable hands that deserve our money. Those will be the AAA publishers worthy of sticking around. We already have a few of those.

 

[FalloutJack]

I have a better perspective on the matter: Let the AAA companies that are [i[shit[/i]die.

I don't hear anyone complaining en masse for my personal fave, Atlus, so you leave the good people out of this.

 

[Kenbo Slice]

Man these indie game or bust people just remind me of those indie movie or bust kids. Seriously, I like both. Why can't we have both?

 

[TrevHead]

The problem with wishing AAAs to collapse is that it all the best niche/ fringe devs and publishers are the first to fall with the most popular and bland games the last to go.

Just look at the publishers and IPs that have failed this gen, THQ, SEGA, Altus, CAVE etc who imo have released some of the best games this gen are either bust or in the shit, while EA and Activition can take multiple failures but will never sink due to IPs like FIFA, WoW & CoD racking in the money.

All you can do as a gamer is ignore that part of the industry that makes soulless games and to support niche devs by giving them your cold hard cash, and buy near launch at full RRP not when the game hits the bargin bucket like all niche console games do very quickly.