tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6093379.post114859189320979005..comments2023-11-02T15:47:29.001+00:00Comments on particleblog: A question for those who work in publishingTadhghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14763670950211297013noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6093379.post-1150818406670631192006-06-20T15:46:00.000+00:002006-06-20T15:46:00.000+00:00When you say 'publishers', you're talking about pu...When you say 'publishers', you're talking about publishers of big budget, highly visible home console games. The reason they're willing (to a greater or lesser extent - they didn't take to the N64 or Dreamcast very enthusiastically for instance) to put up with conditions set by the hardware manufacturers is that subsidised video game console hardware facilitates the type of games that they prefer to develop.<BR/><BR/>It may sound corny, but if Sony et al didn't put up the megabucks to get the Playstation to critical mass, we might still be playing those sort of games in the arcade.<BR/><BR/>And no, there isn't much room for small independent developers on home consoles any more (outside of things like XBLA). Making an original franchise is always going to be a significant investment. I'm not sure how these observations would lead to the likes of EA and Activision (well placed to capitalise on the cultivation of IP) railing against the hardware companies.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6093379.post-1148684371131657822006-05-26T22:59:00.000+00:002006-05-26T22:59:00.000+00:001. Correct to a point. The supermarket industry in...1. Correct to a point. The supermarket industry in Britain is currently being investigated because its oligopolistic practises have had a disastrous effect on small businesses. <BR/><BR/>2. Incorrect. The MPAA is not illegal, nor is the RIAA. <BR/><BR/>3. Huh?<BR/><BR/>4. Oh if only. I agree with what you're saying about companies drifting into the slippery slope, but we're not just talking about shooting for the stars releases here. 95% of console games, great and small, fail to make money. It costs comparatively more for a third party to develop original franchises because of the license fees to manufacturers, which is slowly strangling them. <BR/><BR/>And with the bar of entry being so high, there really isn't that much room for the smaller more dynamic guy in console-land.Tadhghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14763670950211297013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6093379.post-1148657461434246312006-05-26T15:31:00.000+00:002006-05-26T15:31:00.000+00:00Er, the answer to your question is fairly simple:1...Er, the answer to your question is fairly simple:<BR/><BR/>1: Oligopolies aren't illegal so long as they do not partake in certain illegal activities (like price fixing).<BR/><BR/>2: The industry banning together to fight said oligopolies IS illegal.<BR/><BR/>3: The PC hasn't yet made the same level of jump that the console world has, so the entire thing is somewhat invalid, unless you're a next-gen console developer.<BR/><BR/>4: The publishing companies like EA and Activision got themselves into this mess by trying to appeal to a slippery slope market, while other 'smaller' publishers have created a market of gamers who don't care about such things. The end result will probably be the Atari effect- despite Atari making billions of dollars in gross revenue, they went out of business. A smaller more dynamic company will be able to get by with only millions in sales and still pay everyone. They just have to make games that are going to meet their sales quotas rather than make games that are shooting for the stars.<BR/><BR/>Simple.<BR/><BR/>-Joe Lieberman<BR/>Owner, VGSmart MarketingVGsmarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04350654330247036990noreply@blogger.com