Xbox Co-Creator: "The Industry Is Undefeatable"

[Atmos Duality]

Gaming will persist as long as computers and (now) the internet remain affordable.
But that doesn't mean the INDUSTRY is "invincible" (to use a more appropriate word; one that actually exists); it has crashed before. It has suffered before.

Independent game developers have seen a boom directly at the expense of the AAA market; one or two big games here might break sales records but the rest of the industry burns around them.
Consolidation. It only looks big because of a few games, but those are mere cardboard cutouts standing in front of a growing ghost town.

As for the "Word on the street" report: I cannot remember a time when confidence in the AAA market has ever been so low.

 

[matrix3509]

It' not as bad right now as it was in 1983 but I am starting to see a lot more saturation of low quality AAA games that have made me lose confidence in big companies.

The difference between 1983 and now is that low quality back then was broken Atari 2600 shit made on no budget by one guy who barely knew how to have the A button make a block move, and low quality today is objectively decent games that we're just really mad about.

In other words, the state of the industry is pretty much all in our heads right now, and it's way more likely that EA and whoever else will recover from their losses than that we'll have another crash.

Your comment just makes me think you've never actually played an Atari 2600 game. Also, your comment basically laid out why the AAA industry is in more trouble now than ever before. Atari 2600 games had basically no budget. As such they could afford two finance tons of games. If one game fail to sell, no big deal because a game with a small budget failing is a small risk whereas now the big publisher have abso-fucking-lutely no idea how to actually make a game that sells (just like back then), except now the risk of making a game is through the roof.

Let me spell it out for you: When your game is the best selling game during the month of April, and you are still shut down by your publisher because you couldn't meet expectations, something is VERY fucking wrong. Almost everyone working within the industry acknowledges this now. AAA studios are in utter fucking chaos. I honestly can't believe people thought it would end any other way. The publishers are pulling a $50 million slot machine. If they win, they scratch their heads and wonder why, if they lose, they close a studio and try again. Developers work in an endless crunch, afraid to speak up because they know they will be replaced by some nameless worker drone the game design colleges endlessly pump out, all of whom are basically willing to cut off a body part to get a job. How again is the AAA industry doing just fine?

 

[Evil Smurf]

It's true, the gaming industry IS it's own worst enemy.

Oh if only they were smart enough to read your comment, and understand what it means.

maybe "they" should be members of the escapist?

 

[Antari]

It's true, the gaming industry IS it's own worst enemy.

Oh if only they were smart enough to read your comment, and understand what it means.

maybe "they" should be members of the escapist?

If only we were that lucky we wouldn't all be suffering as we do. Which is why I said ... smart enough. They don't appear to be. They only send lackey's to argue useless points from time to time. They stopped listening somewhere around 1985. And people wonder why I've gone crazy at this point. The AAA games industry is the real zombie apocalypse.

 

[crystalsnow]

This is coming from a guy who refuses to move out of a shattered glass house and examine his own living quarters.

 

[Volstag9]

This man is just asking for a fiery nuclear apocalypse.

 

[Secret world leader (shhh)]

"We are undefeatable"

Has there been a movie villain that has said that and NOT been crushed immediately? See, he's jinxed it now.

No no no no no; villains say "I am undefeatable". You see, Seamus said "we". He has invoked the power of teamwork so it counters it.

When the industry crashes, i'm still blaming this guy. Enitrely.

 

[Porecomesis]

"We are undefeatable"

Has there been a movie villain that has said that and NOT been crushed immediately? See, he's jinxed it now.

No no no no no; villains say "I am undefeatable". You see, Seamus said "we". He has invoked the power of teamwork so it counters it.

When the industry crashes, i'm still blaming this guy. Enitrely.

Well, that wasn't funny.

 

[Techno Squidgy]

As long as Valve doesn't close, everything will be just fine. I hope they take on DICE. I want more Battlefield and I want it for free! Just no hats... I'm already upset enough that I can't get the hat I want in TF2, I don't need the same disappointment in BF3.

 

[GAunderrated]

It' not as bad right now as it was in 1983 but I am starting to see a lot more saturation of low quality AAA games that have made me lose confidence in big companies.

The difference between 1983 and now is that low quality back then was broken Atari 2600 shit made on no budget by one guy who barely knew how to have the A button make a block move, and low quality today is objectively decent games that we're just really mad about.

In other words, the state of the industry is pretty much all in our heads right now, and it's way more likely that EA and whoever else will recover from their losses than that we'll have another crash.

Your comment just makes me think you've never actually played an Atari 2600 game. Also, your comment basically laid out why the AAA industry is in more trouble now than ever before. Atari 2600 games had basically no budget. As such they could afford two finance tons of games. If one game fail to sell, no big deal because a game with a small budget failing is a small risk whereas now the big publisher have abso-fucking-lutely no idea how to actually make a game that sells (just like back then), except now the risk of making a game is through the roof.

Let me spell it out for you: When your game is the best selling game during the month of April, and you are still shut down by your publisher because you couldn't meet expectations, something is VERY fucking wrong. Almost everyone working within the industry acknowledges this now. AAA studios are in utter fucking chaos. I honestly can't believe people thought it would end any other way. The publishers are pulling a $50 million slot machine. If they win, they scratch their heads and wonder why, if they lose, they close a studio and try again. Developers work in an endless crunch, afraid to speak up because they know they will be replaced by some nameless worker drone the game design colleges endlessly pump out, all of whom are basically willing to cut off a body part to get a job. How again is the AAA industry doing just fine?

This is pretty much one of the best responses I have seen countering the 1983 crash nay sayers and its very true. I can't see things continuing like this. Sure there are maybe a few games breaking records but as you have said majority of games all around it are burning and closing studios fast.