Which publisher could be next on the chopping block?

[Saucycarpdog]

With THQ dissolved, it makes me wonder who could be the next publisher to fail. My lead contender is Sega since they don't seem to have any huge games in the works and they can only make so many sonic games.

What do you guys think?

 

[Keoul]

EA
Sure they're relatively riding high right now in pools full of money but you can clearly see their slow decline, they're gunna die out the only question is when.

 

[ohnoitsabear]

I have to go with EA too. Low stock prices, low consumer confidence, and very, very few efforts to make new ips over the years make EA the industry giant most likely to fall next. Basically, they need one large fuckup and they're done for. Of course, there isn't really anything on the horizon that could potentially turn into a massive fuckup for EA, so they may still be around a while.

 

[Saucycarpdog]

EA
Sure they're relatively riding high right now in pools full of money but you can clearly see their slow decline, they're gunna die out the only question is when.

Really? EA may have a lot of failures but I think they have enough successful franchises to stay a float.

 

[Keoul]

Really? EA may have a lot of failures but I think they have enough successful franchises to stay a float.

True but they've lost a LOT of money recently.
What with the SWTOR flop, Mass effect 3 fiasco, and now the Sim City Beta problems. A lot of people have lost faith in that company and that's gunna show in a the form of lost sales.

Which inevitably will lead to their downfall.

 

[ComradeJim270]

I haven't been following the numbers on EA, but I can see it happening if their competitors play their cards right and EA can't keep up. They're very fond of playing it safe, which can actually be dangerous in an industry that sometimes offers huge rewards for innovation and in which many customers can be quite fickle. Their behavior could also scare off potential partners. If they keep it up I can easily see devs in the future looking at what EA's done with some of its studios and going "Yeah, we're going to talk to Activision/Blizzard, Valve, Microsoft, Sony, Bethesda, Square Enix, Ubisoft and a few others first. We'll get back to you on that."

 

[Nouw]

SEGA have over 2 billion dollars, don't count on them closing down any time soon. They're also doing quite well on the PC with Total War, Football Manager and soon Company of Heroes.

 

[TrevHead]

Ubisoft possibly, Assasin's Creed seems to be getting abit long in the tooth, plus they are much more dependent on the fortunes of Nintendo consoles than everybody else.

SEGA have already gone bust, been bought out and restructured. Due to nostalgic brand valve they won't ever be broken down like THQ has.

As for other Japanese companies I can't say, as most of those could still survive with a successful domestic market.

Personally I'd love for the FPS bubble to burst and EA and Activision to take a beating.

 

[MammothBlade]

Ubisoft and/or Square-Enix are probably next. High development costs, recent risky investments. Their IPs are flagging somewhat, and don't have the same power they did before.

 

[thesilentman]

I'm thinking EA as well. I just don't see those guys getting what they want in the industry. Not gonna miss them if they go.

 

[xshadowscreamx]

well since the wii U was a surprise fail (for Nintendo).. i think it will be the last console from them. there spot will be replaced by the steam box from valve. cuz there is always 3 competitors in this kind of race.

 

[Vivi22]

I have to go with EA too. Low stock prices, low consumer confidence, and very, very few efforts to make new ips over the years make EA the industry giant most likely to fall next. Basically, they need one large fuckup and they're done for. Of course, there isn't really anything on the horizon that could potentially turn into a massive fuckup for EA, so they may still be around a while.

I think the biggest irony of EA's slow, but very apparent decline is that they were actually turning things around 4-5 years ago with stuff like Dead Space and Mirror's Edge. At least in so far as building customer good will and taking risks on new franchises. The stuff they've been doing since is like a complete 180 from then, and it's showing in their stock price frankly.

 

[dmv]

Capcom. RE6 was projected to sell 7.5m copies or somewhere around there. It sold around 5million which wasn't really a loss.
The new DmC was originally predicted to sell 5m, then downscaled to 2million. It's sold about half of it's predecessor, moving about 450k copies in it's launch week. It won't make it to two, but it might be able to break even eventually.
More to the point, I don't see any companies in the same finacial sinkhole that THQ was in.

Captcha: Keep More Money

 

[jebara]

I have to go with EA too. Low stock prices, low consumer confidence, and very, very few efforts to make new ips over the years make EA the industry giant most likely to fall next. Basically, they need one large fuckup and they're done for. Of course, there isn't really anything on the horizon that could potentially turn into a massive fuckup for EA, so they may still be around a while.

They say their games have too bloated budgets so I'm going with you.
Dead Space supposedly needs to sell 5 million copies, and we all know that's going to happen.
I wonder how they are gonna be next gen,since every one doesn't like em and all.

 

[Signa]

I was going to say Square-Enix, but Capcom was a good suggestion too. I just wish it was EA. They are too powerful to fail any time soon though.

 

[The Goat Tsar]

well since the wii U was a surprise fail (for Nintendo).. i think it will be the last console from them. there spot will be replaced by the steam box from valve. cuz there is always 3 competitors in this kind of race.

Actually, the seventh generation of consoles was the only generation to have 3 consoles. All the others had 4 or 5.

As for myself, I'm gonna have to go with EA as well due to all the recent troubles they've been having.

EDIT: Isn't Zynga still around? Are they a publisher or just a developer? Last I heard of them their stocks had plummeted and they were facing a pretty hefty lawsuit from EA.

 

[themyrmidon]

I'm going to be wrong and say Nintendo. EA, Ubisoft, Activision and the gang are all financially secure, as fer as we know. We might not like them, but they have franchises that print money, no matter how stale they are.

Nintendo has more of these franchises than anyone, but they don't know how to make a new console anymore. The Wii was a buffed up Gamecube and the Wii U, while all new, uses antiquated hardware and costs a lot more than it,s tech justifies while losing money on each unit. Personally, I think after the next (post Wii U) generation occurs Nintendo will truly be a dead company walking, and instead of playing it smart like SEGA they'll give it one last Atari-like hurrah, killing the company in all but name.

Of course I could be wrong about Nintendo's next console, and will almost certainly be wrong about them being next. Another publisher will fall between then and now, but no one can know who that will be.

 

[NightmareExpress]

Would be nice to see EA's neck get the axe.
They aren't strangers to financial strain, they had a recovery period back in 2007-2009 (while releasing new IPs) before becoming the monster we know today.

Since they've become horrid in terms of business practice and customer appreciation, it's only logical to imagine that they're heading towards the dirt again. However gradual is for the future to decide. I'll just say to beat out the Bank of America as America's most hated company in a user voted poll, you have to be pretty bad.

 

[dmv]

I'm going to be wrong and say Nintendo. EA, Ubisoft, Activision and the gang are all financially secure, as fer as we know. We might not like them, but they have franchises that print money, no matter how stale they are.

Nintendo has more of these franchises than anyone, but they don't know how to make a new console anymore. The Wii was a buffed up Gamecube and the Wii U, while all new, uses antiquated hardware and costs a lot more than it,s tech justifies while losing money on each unit. Personally, I think after the next (post Wii U) generation occurs Nintendo will truly be a dead company walking, and instead of playing it smart like SEGA they'll give it one last Atari-like hurrah, killing the company in all but name.

Of course I could be wrong about Nintendo's next console, and will almost certainly be wrong about them being next. Another publisher will fall between then and now, but no one can know who that will be.

I'd argue that nintendo would never have to worry about bankrupcy as they could always fall back out of the console market and sell zelda/mario/metroid titles multiplatform.