Title: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Fabricated on June 15, 2012, 04:46:30 PM http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/06/15/dead-space-needs-around-five-million-fans-to-survive-according-to-ea/
Quote A president Frank Gibeau says that Dead Space needs a number of players roughly equivalent to the entire population of Norway to justify its continued existence. “In general, we’re thinking about how we make this a more broadly appealing franchise, because ultimately you need to get to audience sizes of around five million to really continue to invest in an IP like Dead Space,” he told CVG in a recent interview. What a nice IP you have there...shame if something would...happen to it.“Anything less than that and it becomes quite difficult financially given how expensive it is to make games and market them,” he continued. While firm sales numbers are not readily available, EA did say back in February that Dead Space 2 was selling about twice as well as the franchise’s first entry had. Yet, even given that, they feel that Dead Space 3 needs to be more “broadly appealing” without alienating current fans of the series. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Nebu on June 15, 2012, 05:47:23 PM Makes you wonder if EA suddenly got an education about IP expenditures from another recent title.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: HaemishM on June 15, 2012, 06:19:34 PM EA is heading into the same territory as the movie industry. They don't know how to make games on a budget. If your video game has to sell 5 million copies to break even, you are doing it wrong.
And the guys who made Amnesia? They are laughing in your face. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Kageru on June 15, 2012, 07:46:16 PM They don't want to either. Their model is based on substantial and reliable revenues from iterations on a franchise. As per this interview (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-06-06-david-demartini-origin-wants-to-be-the-hub) with the origin manager. Quote Q: One of the things that Steam does is this random deep-discounting of software, and it works well for them. Do you see that as something you want to do? David DeMartini: We won't be doing that. Obviously they think it's the right thing to do after a certain amount of time. I just think it cheapens your intellectual property. I know both sides of it, I understand it. If you want to sell a whole bunch of units, that is certainly a way to do that, to sell a whole bunch of stuff at a low price. The gamemakers work incredibly hard to make this intellectual property, and we're not trying to be Target. We're trying to be Nordstrom. When I say that, I mean good value - we're trying to give you a fair price point, and occasionally there will be things that are on sale you could look for a discount, just don't look for 75 percent off going-out-of-business sales. Really, they are a perfect image of the soulless mega-corp that wants to reduce gaming to a generic, reliable, recurring, product. Hopefully the alternatives (http://www.gamestm.co.uk/discuss/pc-not-consoles-the-platform-of-freedom-and-innovation-says-cd-projekt-reds-marcin-iwinski) continue to develop. (Random articles found while looking for the pulled "Star-wars going f2p" article incidentally, but seemed appropriate). Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Paelos on June 15, 2012, 08:36:52 PM They are also wrong. They are a corporation that's refusing to adapt, and their financials are paying for their screw-ups.
I mean shit, their stock is dangerously close to hitting the same price point they had in 1999. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Rokal on June 15, 2012, 09:55:21 PM EA is heading into the same territory as the movie industry. They don't know how to make games on a budget. If your video game has to sell 5 million copies to break even, you are doing it wrong. It's not "5 million to break even" it's "5 million to be worth it". They're talking about opportunity costs. When they can pull in 5 million+ from franchises like Battlefield 3, FIFA, or the Sims, investing $40 million into another Dead Space game is money that could have gone into a more profitable project. Remember that with SWTOR, the subscription numbers to be 'worthwhile' and the subscription numbers to be 'profitable' were very different. Merely being profitable and cultivating a dedicated following is evidently not enough for massive publishers. Sad news, but at least we got two pretty decent games out of the series. Dead Space 1 is one of my top 5 games from the last decade. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: jakonovski on June 16, 2012, 01:34:17 AM Err, so EA is trying to get 5 million sales for DS3 by alienating the 2 million customers they already have for the franchise? Lemme know how that works out for you.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: UnSub on June 16, 2012, 01:55:54 AM And the guys who made Amnesia? They are laughing in your face. Amnesia sold roughly 400k units in its first year (http://frictionalgames.blogspot.com.au/2011/09/amnesia-one-year-later.html). Dead Space 2 apparently sold 2m+ units in the first week. EA is playing in a different space. They spend big budgets on big IPs. They aren't into niche any more. Amnesia is also mostly successful on PC through DD, while EA's console titles are sold through retail. Again, it's a different thought process for each channel and platform. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Goumindong on June 16, 2012, 07:57:12 AM EA is heading into the same territory as the movie industry. They don't know how to make games on a budget. If your video game has to sell 5 million copies to break even, you are doing it wrong. It's not "5 million to break even" it's "5 million to be worth it". They're talking about opportunity costs. When they can pull in 5 million+ from franchises like Battlefield 3, FIFA, or the Sims, investing $40 million into another Dead Space game is money that could have gone into a more profitable project. Remember that with SWTOR, the subscription numbers to be 'worthwhile' and the subscription numbers to be 'profitable' were very different. Merely being profitable and cultivating a dedicated following is evidently not enough for massive publishers. Sad news, but at least we got two pretty decent games out of the series. Dead Space 1 is one of my top 5 games from the last decade. They would still be wrong then. Opportunity cost on making a game like that is going to be interest rate on a bond that you could float the money on instead. So you're talking 15-25% over 3 years of development [does it take that long for them to make a deadspace game?] depending on your cost structure. They can't "just make another FIFA/Sims/Battlefield" because they already have those projects going and by their nature they can't expect to release battlefield 4 and battlefield 5 3 months later and expect to make the same money on each as battlefield 3. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: HaemishM on June 16, 2012, 10:31:33 AM And the guys who made Amnesia? They are laughing in your face. Amnesia sold roughly 400k units in its first year (http://frictionalgames.blogspot.com.au/2011/09/amnesia-one-year-later.html). Dead Space 2 apparently sold 2m+ units in the first week. EA is playing in a different space. They spend big budgets on big IPs. They aren't into niche any more. Amnesia is also mostly successful on PC through DD, while EA's console titles are sold through retail. Again, it's a different thought process for each channel and platform. Ok, now how much money did it cost to make Amnesia? I can't find those figures. Either way, it's certainly not a game that needs 5 million sales to be "worthwhile." I realize that worthwhile for EA means it makes back like what... 5-10% over its operational costs? But therein lies the problem. EA doesn't know how to make cheap (or cheaper) games but still have respect for making a quality game. Thus they say that a game isn't worthwhile unless it can generate that many sales, which is just an insane number. It's an insane number because 4 guys in Norway made a game that is a hundred times more interesting than Dead Space AND has made back all the development costs AND has made funding their next game a done deal, in addition to allowing them to all get bigger salaries. It is two different schools of thought on how to run a video game business. One works, is profitable and produces great games. The other is an ever-increasing death spiral of rising costs that feeds a negative cycle of requiring more sales than anyone should expect AND causes the development company to stagnate creatively. One is functional, the other is broken. I'll leave you to decide which is which. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Paelos on June 16, 2012, 11:33:11 AM Not only can EA not make games cheaper, they have no idea what made their games popular in the first place.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Ironwood on June 16, 2012, 11:55:08 AM This is sounding familiar.
The comparison here is apples to oranges anyway. I'm with the monkey : These guys are just too big to make the hard decisions on cost control. Frictional ? Not so much. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Merusk on June 16, 2012, 11:57:53 AM As others have pointed out, they don't care what made them popular with their model.
"That one didn't do well enough. Toss the funding at another franchise and see if that sticks, this one didn't." Does it make sense? Not totally, no, but games haven't developed focus groups and the like yet. That'll come with the next generation of execs. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: LK on June 16, 2012, 12:06:20 PM It's always fun to watch business and art collide.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Ratman_tf on June 16, 2012, 12:27:07 PM How can they have a wildly successful game if you jerks don't buy millions of copies? :oh_i_see:
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Fabricated on June 16, 2012, 06:13:18 PM Also Max Payne 3 sold "only" 440,000 copies in its first week so analysts are calling it a "flop".
The gaming industry is literally the shittiest its ever been. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Kageru on June 16, 2012, 06:43:47 PM But gaming is great. Watching an old, staid, deadly serious military simulator topping the steam sales is just hilarious. I really appreciate Origin, I don't even have to notice that EA exists anymore. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Margalis on June 16, 2012, 07:14:51 PM Also Max Payne 3 sold "only" 440,000 copies in its first week so analysts are calling it a "flop". The game had been completely rebooted multiple times and was in development for like 7 or 8 years. 400k copies is a flop. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Rokal on June 16, 2012, 07:37:04 PM They can't "just make another FIFA/Sims/Battlefield" because they already have those projects going and by their nature they can't expect to release battlefield 4 and battlefield 5 3 months later and expect to make the same money on each as battlefield 3. Activision would disagree with you. Seems like the majority of their studios are working on COD products at this point. However, the point isn't really "they could make another FIFA/Battlefield game with that money" it's that they could use that money to work on another franchise that could potentially reach FIFA/Battlefield numbers. If Dead Space isn't that franchise, they'll continue to change it until it is or they'll put that money towards something else. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Paelos on June 16, 2012, 07:57:36 PM Activision is already trying actively to boot up another franchise with Titan, though.
I don't think that EA has such a thing in place. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: HaemishM on June 16, 2012, 08:01:10 PM I honestly think EA looks at Dead Space and thinks "here was our attempt to make an original IP and it's not selling well enough. People must want more Madden." Coupled with the failures of Syndicate and SWTOR, I think they quite literally just cannot fathom what makes a good successful game or even a bad game. They think it's a matter of putting X pieces with Y budget and that's it.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Rendakor on June 16, 2012, 08:33:39 PM Activision is already trying actively to boot up another franchise with Titan, though. Activision also has Destiny in the works with Bungie, and that contract calls for 4 games over 8 years. I don't think that EA has such a thing in place. EA seems to have a problem with expectations; Dead Space is easily the #2 horror franchise out there (behind Resident Evil but even that's debatable) but it's not a genre that's going to be as popular as military fps. Sadly their solution isn't "spend less money making the goddamn game and stop adding bullshit like multiplayer" but "throw tons of money at it, set unreasonable goals, then cancel a decent franchise when it fails to deliver Robot Jesus". :uhrr: Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Ratman_tf on June 16, 2012, 08:36:37 PM Does it make sense? Not totally, no, but games haven't developed focus groups and the like yet. That'll come with the next generation of execs. ? I've seen game focus groups. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Paelos on June 16, 2012, 08:55:43 PM I honestly think EA looks at Dead Space and thinks "here was our attempt to make an original IP and it's not selling well enough. People must want more Madden." Coupled with the failures of Syndicate and SWTOR, I think they quite literally just cannot fathom what makes a good successful game or even a bad game. They think it's a matter of putting X pieces with Y budget and that's it. SWTOR wasn't an original IP. Syndicate was a reboot. The problem with EA is they like to follow this formula: 1 - Minor game makes a splash, does better than expected, but is sort of in a niche market. However, it outpaces the budget 10-fold in revenues. 2 - Sequel goes into the works, EA decides it wants to "broaden" the appeal. Marketing campaign goes into full force. 3 - Sequel sells millions of copies but doesn't generate enough buzz to make up for the marketing onslaught and dev cost. 4 - Company heads make it known that if games don't generate $200M+ in revenues, they aren't interested. 5 - Nobody asks the question about if "broadening" the game watered down the product, or if restrictive sales practices killed their market. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Margalis on June 16, 2012, 09:00:10 PM Game focus groups are completely the norm. Any game that goes through a major publisher is going to be focus grouped to some degree, especially in the west.
Quote EA seems to have a problem with expectations; Dead Space is easily the #2 horror franchise out there (behind Resident Evil but even that's debatable) but it's not a genre that's going to be as popular as military fps. AAA games are converging into one or two game designs. At some point somebody is going to realize that only the top few titles make money and vast swaths of the market are under-served and the pendulum will swing back. That basically explains the PC renaissance right now. PC gaming really was dead, with its lifeless corpse propped up Weekend at Bernies style by the Sims and WoW. But now there is a lot of variety in terms of genres and price points serving a lot of different markets. AAA console games all aim for the exact same market. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: caladein on June 16, 2012, 11:23:07 PM Not only can EA not make games cheaper, they have no idea what made their games popular in the first place. EA makes plenty of cheap games and has whole studios for them, they're just on PC if we don't want to count PopCap just yet. And all the social/F2P stuff, but I'm hilariously underinformed about that market. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: UnSub on June 17, 2012, 01:34:11 AM EA has been kind (for EA) with Dead Space. The first game had a lot of extra money thrown at it to promote it (not every game gets a terrible anime to go with it, nor has books written under its lore) but didn't grab a huge number of gamers (something like 1m sold during the time EA cares about such things), and the Wii light gun game virtually was practically invisible sales-wise. But it was critically welcomed, so EA decided to greenlight a sequel. The sequel did better sales-wise, but EA is saying the third game is make or break for the IP. Three games isn't bad for any franchise.
Plus EA can resurrect it later on if they feel like it. But for EA, all they care about is unit sales creating them a profit in the first 10 weeks of retail launch. After 10 weeks it's pretty unlikely for a title to catch on and sell - sleeper hits are rare - and even it does those sales are going to second hand copies. If Dead Space is the #2 horror franchise IP, it's because no-one is competing in that space. Horror titles are seen to be played out, with the games that sold were action horror (like Dead Space and RE), not survival horror. So, from EA's perspective, they can spend US$30+m and put a studio of 200 people on a franchise that isn't grabbing people, or they can spend that money elsewhere. They want a few blockbuster titles, not a handful of mid-range sellers. How good a strategy that is may be up for debate, but that's the mindset. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: jakonovski on June 17, 2012, 02:32:57 AM Someone said that modern AAA games development is like putting $50,000 in lottery tickets. Smart person, whoever it was.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Kageru on June 17, 2012, 03:06:23 AM I read an interview (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/06/13/interview-whats-next-for-day-z/) with the Day-Z creator who made an interesting point when asked why the game took off:
Quote Hall: I think a lot of it comes down to social media. Social media has really come of age. Like, you look at all the protests going on all over the world. I think the same thing’s kind of happening with games. It’s certainly why Day Z was successful. There was no promotion. I made one little tiny post in the Bohemia Interactive forums asking people to help me with testing. And then, all of a sudden, people began having these experiences. Initially, all I put up was the download for the mod and the server name. That’s how it started. So people would have these very authentic, very real emotional experiences. And because, as humans, I believe we’re natural story-tellers, people wanted to tell their stories. The way they do it is through forums – NeoGAF and, well, Rock Paper Shotgun. You know, Jim wanted to tell his story as well. So people see these stories, and they’re like “Well, I want stories too.” People want to experience a unique story of their own, want to read about other's experiences and share their own. Doubly so I guess if the game is social to begin with. And with social media to advertise and connect people, and online sales to handle distribution, a game that catches the imagination can find a firm foundation to grow from. Pretty much saved the PC too thank heavens. EA is another sort of game business. The massive budget and design by focus groups mean they end up aiming at the broad market and can't afford failure thus they want a flashy, reliable, guided user experience. Make up in spectacle what they lack in depth and really wow people, even if it ends up being a very short ride. And they also need the massive hype engine to convince people they must have the game, ideally starting with an established an recognized IP to make that process easier. It's the same approach as the "block-buster" movie in a medium that demands an interactive connection to the user. You could probably argue they do best in games which have a nice simple hook ("shoot! hit! drive!") where the interaction is shallow and will find the going harder as the market becomes more demanding and diversified. I care less about EA being bad now that there is enough space to support an alternative. I assume this is old, EA in a Nutshell (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-LE0ycgkBQ) but I hadn't seen it before or recall it being linked. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Azazel on June 17, 2012, 03:30:36 AM That video was pretty /facepalm tryhard.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Kageru on June 17, 2012, 05:26:47 AM yes. Can't argue that. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: eldaec on June 17, 2012, 08:36:01 AM I'm not clear why anyone should care if Dead Space exists as a franchise?
It's not terrible, but I won't be losing sleep over the fate of Dead Space 6. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Paelos on June 17, 2012, 08:44:55 AM Not only can EA not make games cheaper, they have no idea what made their games popular in the first place. EA makes plenty of cheap games and has whole studios for them, they're just on PC if we don't want to count PopCap just yet. And all the social/F2P stuff, but I'm hilariously underinformed about that market. I agree they have studios for them. However, if they outpace expectations, they spiral into the same deathmarked list I posted earlier for EA. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Teleku on June 17, 2012, 09:34:01 AM I'm not clear why anyone should care if Dead Space exists as a franchise? What didn't you like, out of curiosity? Just played through both recently and thought they where probably some of the best games to come out over the last few years.It's not terrible, but I won't be losing sleep over the fate of Dead Space 6. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Simond on June 17, 2012, 10:06:43 AM (http://i.imgur.com/UPkB6.jpg)
Replace 'Bioware' with 'Visceral Games' (or Maxis, Origin, Westwood Studios, etc. etc). Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Kail on June 17, 2012, 05:55:31 PM I'm not clear why anyone should care if Dead Space exists as a franchise? What didn't you like, out of curiosity? Just played through both recently and thought they where probably some of the best games to come out over the last few years.It's not terrible, but I won't be losing sleep over the fate of Dead Space 6. Speaking for myself, I liked the game just fine, but that doesn't mean I want to see the franchise squirt out sequel after clockwork sequel until I get sick of hearing about it. The games industry in general is pretty well stocked on sequels, I'm not gonna cry over the loss of a franchise when it's already produced a fairly solid game or two. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Azazel on June 17, 2012, 08:27:34 PM Speaking for myself, I liked the game just fine, but that doesn't mean I want to see the franchise squirt out sequel after clockwork sequel until I get sick of hearing about it. The games industry in general is pretty well stocked on sequels, I'm not gonna cry over the loss of a franchise when it's already produced a fairly solid game or two. Agreed - I don't think it'll hurt to give it a few years before making another one, or even waiting for the next generation. Because, you know they ultimately wlll resurrect it. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: rk47 on June 17, 2012, 08:33:53 PM Oh no I must save this IP. Quick, Captain Steam, 85% discount, NAO! :awesome_for_real:
To be honest, I never bought a single Dead Space game and I don't know why I should care about some space horror shooter. Go ahead, shoot the hostage EA, you already reaped so many corpses. Do it to Dragons and Reapers, I dare ya! Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Kitsune on June 17, 2012, 08:59:50 PM Dead Space 2 was great, and I got the impression while playing that it was great mostly because EA had seemed to ignore it. It got pushed onto shelves with next to no fanfare and was almost immediately discounted heavily. Now their baleful eye has turned to Dead Space 3, and lo and behold it's looking less like the great creepy game that DS2 was, and more like Army of Two on some snow planet. So no, given that it looks like they're well on their way towards fucking up DS3 royally, I don't really care if the IP dies.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Fabricated on June 18, 2012, 03:53:49 AM AAA games are converging into one or two game designs. At some point somebody is going to realize that only the top few titles make money and vast swaths of the market are under-served and the pendulum will swing back. I'm not sure why the sort of resurgence in PC gaming has happened. My best guess is a combination of the dramatic increase in the quality of integrated graphic solutions and the fact that indie devs seem to be discovering they aren't making anywhere near the kind of money they expect on the Xbox Arcade/WiiWare.That basically explains the PC renaissance right now. PC gaming really was dead, with its lifeless corpse propped up Weekend at Bernies style by the Sims and WoW. But now there is a lot of variety in terms of genres and price points serving a lot of different markets. AAA console games all aim for the exact same market. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Tebonas on June 18, 2012, 04:19:07 AM I still think this resurgence is Steams doing. Going from my own experiences and extrapolating.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: jakonovski on June 18, 2012, 04:22:09 AM Apparently 87.5% discounts, unlike 75%, do not cheapen an IP.
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/06/18/origin-offering-deep-discounts-on-many-games-er/ Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: rk47 on June 18, 2012, 04:28:10 AM :awesome_for_real: Wow. Too bad I never kept my Origin open unlike Steam to keep in touch with friends. I'll go check it now. Thanks for the heads-up.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: HaemishM on June 18, 2012, 10:16:46 AM I still think this resurgence is Steams doing. Going from my own experiences and extrapolating. I think it's absolutely Steam. Having a platform that allows direct sales instead of the devs-taking-it-in-the-ass that retail offers means the devs can actually make money. And indie guys can get paid more than the meager pennies the consoles offer for their platforms. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Simond on June 18, 2012, 10:22:04 AM Now their baleful eye has turned to Dead Space 3, and lo and behold it's looking less like the great creepy game that DS2 was, and more like Army of Two on some snow planet. http://www.dsogaming.com/news/new-dead-space-3-details-cover-system-confirmed-universal-ammo-present/Quote And things get worse and worse for Dead Space 3. Not only will this third part of Visceral Games’ horror franchise be more action oriented, but it has also been confirmed that the game will feature a cover system and universal ammo. Yeap, universal ammo: the one thing that destroyed the whole Deus Ex: Invisible War experience. Way to go EA. All we need now is regenerating health to be added.As we have guessed, and contrary to its second part, Dead Space 3 will not feature any Multiplayer mode. That part is replaced by the Co-Op mode that will add new cutscenes and interactions between Isaac and Carver. Visceral Games has also confirmed that Dead Space 3 will have zero gravity space sections,dark corridors,and all the other things that made the series what it is. Last but not least, the Icy Planet is called Tau Volantis and the Fodders (game’s enemies) transform into two different necromorphs depending on how you kill them. Ammo drops are also more plentiful this time around. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Fabricated on June 18, 2012, 10:35:15 AM I don't like the universal ammo thing but if you've played Dead Space 1 and 2 one of the more annoying things to manage was ammo. And not in the good "oh god I have only X shots left" management, more like the "goddamnit I have like 5 semi-conductors in my pack and 3 stacks of contact energy when I'm not even using the contact beam, I need this health pack! *spends 5 minutes picking up and dropping shit*" kind of management.
Also you could break the first game open at least by just keeping a weapon that has really really expensive ammo (like the contact beam) in your inventory since the game tends to give you ammo for whatever you're carrying instead of just random shit. Save stacks of contact beam ammo for a couple areas while getting by with your main weapons, sell all the ammo, buy ammo for your better guns, profit. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Miasma on June 18, 2012, 10:39:56 AM "Universal ammo was the one thing that destroyed Deus Ex 2"
:uhrr: Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Surlyboi on June 18, 2012, 10:46:19 AM Well, it was.
If you ignore all he other stupid shit that destroyed Deus Ex 2. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Fabricated on June 18, 2012, 12:01:58 PM Deus Ex 2 was literally terrible in every way a game and sequel can be terrible.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Kitsune on June 18, 2012, 12:05:30 PM Deus Ex 2 was fine.
As long as you install the FOV fix and texture upgrade mods and forget that it's a sequel to a much better game. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Goumindong on June 18, 2012, 12:24:06 PM I still think this resurgence is Steams doing. Going from my own experiences and extrapolating. I think it's absolutely Steam. Having a platform that allows direct sales instead of the devs-taking-it-in-the-ass that retail offers means the devs can actually make money. And indie guys can get paid more than the meager pennies the consoles offer for their platforms. Steam also decreases the real costs of purchasing games and browsing titles [no shipping/going to a store] while providing a convenient way to store all of your titles. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: eldaec on June 18, 2012, 01:32:15 PM I'm not clear why anyone should care if Dead Space exists as a franchise? What didn't you like, out of curiosity? Just played through both recently and thought they where probably some of the best games to come out over the last few years.It's not terrible, but I won't be losing sleep over the fate of Dead Space 6. Speaking for myself, I liked the game just fine, but that doesn't mean I want to see the franchise squirt out sequel after clockwork sequel until I get sick of hearing about it. The games industry in general is pretty well stocked on sequels, I'm not gonna cry over the loss of a franchise when it's already produced a fairly solid game or two. Yeah - this was pretty much my thing too. I have no problem at all with the game. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Teleku on June 18, 2012, 01:54:04 PM Good points. Does seem sort of a stretch to keep putting the main character into these situations, and I'm happy with the point the story has gotten to (though obviously they've left it open for more to be done).
And from what I reading above about what they planned for Dead Space 3, maybe they should just kill it before they ruin it. Blech. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: UnSub on June 18, 2012, 06:36:33 PM I'm about to start Dead Space 2 and the major thing I've checked was if they improved the ammo system from the first one. Nope - looks like you get the majority of ammo drops based on what weapons you carry. So to that end universal ammo makes it more viable to carry more weapons rather than sticking with one or two to guarantee you never run short.
But yes, it also seems like Dead Space is transitioning further from survival horror and closer to action horror. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Azazel on June 18, 2012, 07:41:33 PM Dead Space 2 was great, and I got the impression while playing that it was great mostly because EA had seemed to ignore it. It got pushed onto shelves with next to no fanfare and was almost immediately discounted heavily. Now their baleful eye has turned to Dead Space 3, and lo and behold it's looking less like the great creepy game that DS2 was, and more like Army of Two on some snow planet. So no, given that it looks like they're well on their way towards fucking up DS3 royally, I don't really care if the IP dies. Reminds me of that Penny Arcade comic (and moreso, the post) about the second (or third?) Prince of Persia back on PS2/XB1. Blocked from work, so I can't link it here... Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Margalis on June 19, 2012, 12:43:19 AM I don't really understand why games need a "cover system" beyond being able to stand behind walls and not get hit. In a lot of ways games with these systems feel a lot less dynamic than games like say Counter Strike.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Kageru on June 19, 2012, 01:14:12 AM Hostages only work when your enemy cares if they live. I don't really understand why games need a "cover system" beyond being able to stand behind walls and not get hit. In a lot of ways games with these systems feel a lot less dynamic than games like say Counter Strike. Isn't it because Gears of War did it and every console game has been copying it since? But I imagine it also helps extend the play-time of the game. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: UnSub on June 19, 2012, 01:23:05 AM I don't really understand why games need a "cover system" beyond being able to stand behind walls and not get hit. In a lot of ways games with these systems feel a lot less dynamic than games like say Counter Strike. First person view versus third person view. Prior to that using cover in third person was slightly unnatural in standing back a bit from a wall and then strafing out and back to shoot. I'm guessing this means in Dead Space 3 the necromorphs shoot back a lot more. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Tebonas on June 19, 2012, 01:32:17 AM It really sounds like letting the IP die would be a blessing, not a threat.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: koro on June 19, 2012, 01:35:51 AM I remember Kill.Switch on the PS2 (which was hyped up as a "Halo killer", haw) being one of the first games I can recall with the kind of discrete sticky cover system like we have nowadays, and that was back in 2003. I imagine Gears was what really made it popular though.
Edit: It was also the first third-person game I can think of that had that fucking off-center camera that I hate so much. It's like nothing in the world exists to the left of your character. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Kail on June 19, 2012, 02:25:30 AM I don't really understand why games need a "cover system" beyond being able to stand behind walls and not get hit. In a lot of ways games with these systems feel a lot less dynamic than games like say Counter Strike. First person view versus third person view. Prior to that using cover in third person was slightly unnatural in standing back a bit from a wall and then strafing out and back to shoot. It's also important from an immersion point of view. In a first person view, you can imagine you're doing whatever you want. When you can see your character, though, he looks like a doof standing with his face in a wall, while a cover system makes him (you!) look like a real badass soldierman. I remember Kill.Switch on the PS2 (which was hyped up as a "Halo killer", haw) being one of the first games I can recall with the kind of discrete sticky cover system like we have nowadays, and that was back in 2003. I imagine Gears was what really made it popular though. I think Splinter Cell had it back in 2002, too, if I recall correctly. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Sky on June 19, 2012, 08:23:59 AM I think it's absolutely Steam. I was down to buying 2-3 games a year, and that had me trolling through bargain bins at walmart or checking amazon every now and again. Now I have hundreds of games on steam, admittedly some I'll never play because it was a dev catalog deal (buy Batman:AA a month after release and get 15 more Eidos games free!). But I buy a ton of stuff and have played a much wider variety of games than I ever used to at least since we pirated games on the C64.And I still play minecraft more than everything else. And before that FFH2. So ultimately, Steam revived the corpse, but the lifeblood is still 'indie' development. I think Splinter Cell had it back in 2002, too, if I recall correctly. Didn't Metal Gear Solid have it back then, too?Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Ingmar on June 19, 2012, 12:08:59 PM It's also important from an immersion point of view. In a first person view, you can imagine you're doing whatever you want. When you can see your character, though, he looks like a doof standing with his face in a wall, while a cover system makes him (you!) look like a real badass soldierman. Yeah, this. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Miasma on June 19, 2012, 12:18:00 PM Cover systems are good on consoles because it's really awkward and difficult to run and gun at the same time like you can on a PC with a keyboard and mouse. It made it so that you are either running or gunning, not both.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Fabricated on June 19, 2012, 01:16:07 PM The beef people have with cover systems I imagine is not the idea of using cover but rather the whole thing where everyone makes your character "snap" to walls, which leads in incredibly annoying and stupid looking stuff like trying to run away from a close enemy only to have your guy glue himself to a wall.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Rokal on June 19, 2012, 03:29:00 PM Cover usually means enemies using ranged attacks on you as well. This will not be an improvement for Dead Space. Enemies running at you with claws out as you desperately try to aim for their limbs and cut them down first is the essence of the game.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: tgr on June 19, 2012, 04:38:35 PM The beef people have with cover systems I imagine is not the idea of using cover but rather the whole thing where everyone makes your character "snap" to walls, which leads in incredibly annoying and stupid looking stuff like trying to run away from a close enemy only to have your guy glue himself to a wall. There's that, there's the fact you will "snap" to the wrong wall or structure, and there's the fact that each time you do "snap" to a structure, it takes anything up to a second or two where all you can do is watch yourself get shot.Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Margalis on June 19, 2012, 11:37:11 PM First person view versus third person view. Prior to that using cover in third person was slightly unnatural in standing back a bit from a wall and then strafing out and back to shoot. Third person games definitely have camera issues that can make going close to obstacles weird but now many first person games have cover systems as well. I know Killzone 2 does and pretty sure Call of Juarez does as well, to name a couple. And yes, a big issue is once you decide to have a cover system it means you either also decided to have a lot of ranged soldier-dude type enemies or you're going to soon. A cover system also almost invariably changes the pacing of the game. Sometimes it seems to me that devs just adopt whatever is the rage without thinking much about how it impacts their particular game. Cover and regenerating health are both popular, let's do those! Oh...I guess we just made a game where the best strategy is to poke your head out from cover once every couple seconds. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: rk47 on June 20, 2012, 12:23:15 AM Heh cover shooter also means every damn room have chest high obstacles for you to take cover behind. Not having any means there's no combat imminent. It's just so plain obvious at times.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Fabricated on June 20, 2012, 05:29:08 AM There's like 20 minutes of game footage up with some really bad dev commentary but I think I saw it on Kotaku so I'm not linking to it, because Kotaku is awful.
Basically, it's not looking good folks. The coop looks to be the exact opposite of scary (actually downright amusing); where Issac and the "hard nosed" new guy literally kite a big necromorph back and forth while shooting it with their pulse rifle/force gun combo. The shooty bits with the human enemies were hilariously bad. The human AI better be in development still because they literally kinda stood there dumbfounded while the two players mowed them down. The only weapon shown is a weird looking combo of the force gun and pulse rifle. Also there's a pretty long series of QTEs at the beginning of the vid for some reason when it should've probably just been a cut scene. Ammo/items were dropping, including "UNIVERSAL AMMO". The fact that the universal ammo is still likely eating up item slots and has a normal drop icon rather than being handled transparently makes me think this universal ammo thing was a very recent decision. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: LK on June 20, 2012, 07:52:43 AM Welp, sayonara Dead Space franchise. It was nice knowing you.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Kitsune on June 20, 2012, 08:15:02 AM Yeah, it's a shame. Had a lot of promise after the second one.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Sky on June 20, 2012, 08:19:47 AM I gave up ten minutes into the shitty pc port of the original.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Kageru on June 20, 2012, 08:36:44 AM I check the steam forums to find out if a game is DRM infected, price gouging or a bad port so I can avoid wasting those 10 minutes. Watching EA making their fans weep is almost entertaining though. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: HaemishM on June 20, 2012, 08:57:00 AM Sounds like Dead Space got an injection of Army of Two.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Fabricated on June 20, 2012, 02:51:30 PM I gave up ten minutes into the shitty pc port of the original. (http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/3063/deadspacevsynca57.png)Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Teleku on June 20, 2012, 05:26:01 PM I played both on the PC, and really didn't have any problems with them....... As mentioned, I really enjoyed both. Shrug.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Kageru on June 21, 2012, 09:56:45 PM Why EA's market valuation has crashed (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-06-21-stock-ticker-why-eas-market-valuation-has-crashed). I guess it's time to start cutting developers and this is part of the preparation. Good job EA. Quote Something has gone terribly wrong for EA, at least in the eyes of stock market investors. There are several plausible explanations for this - each of which is likely to be true to a certain degree, since it's unlikely that any one factor alone is responsible for driving the price down so far. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Paelos on June 22, 2012, 07:01:37 AM Quote For many investors, the disappointing performance of SWTOR is almost certainly seen as the "final straw" in terms of the second factor in this decline - John Riccitiello's leadership of EA. Riccitiello has been CEO since 2007, and arrived to the job promising to turn the company around - outlining a transformation plan which would see EA focusing on quality, controlling costs, embracing digital business models and improving the company's tarnished reputation. Well let's see: Quality - SWTOR was an unbalanced mess with a terrible AH when it launched. ME3 wasn't really a success due to the ending. Sims Medieval wasn't really well received. DA2 had copypasta issues. Costs - This is laughable. SWTOR spun out of control. Kingdoms of Amular sank a company. Costs of the products have gone down, but marketing is way up. So he's achieving gains by hamstringing quality and trying to make up for it with higher advertising budgets. Digital - Yes, they released Origin. He made good on this promise, but I think we all know Origin isn't there yet, and may never be there. Getting dickslapped early over their draconian EULA didn't help. Reputation - If anything, it's worse than in 2007 when we started. For every success like DA:O and LFD, there's 5 clusterfucks that pissed people off. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Sky on June 22, 2012, 08:31:42 AM I gave up ten minutes into the shitty pc port of the original. [img]smarmy/img]Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Fabricated on June 22, 2012, 08:33:49 AM I just think the image is funny since VSync fucks the game up SO bad.
But yeah the Dead Space 1 PC port is bad. The DS2 one is better supposedly but I never got around to installing it after picking it up for like $3. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Sky on June 22, 2012, 08:52:53 AM After the tweak battery, it did run better. I forget exactly what was bothering me, but itI'm not even sure if I bought it at $3. I think I was going to and remembered how shitty the original played on the pc and didn't bother....so I guess EA had already shot the IP in the knee years ago.
Glad Volition got SR3 sorted, that's how you turn around a botched port (SR2) and make a fun game. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: UnSub on June 22, 2012, 09:16:43 AM Why EA's market valuation has crashed (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-06-21-stock-ticker-why-eas-market-valuation-has-crashed). I guess it's time to start cutting developers and this is part of the preparation. Good job EA. Quote Something has gone terribly wrong for EA, at least in the eyes of stock market investors. There are several plausible explanations for this - each of which is likely to be true to a certain degree, since it's unlikely that any one factor alone is responsible for driving the price down so far. The article points out the problem for a large number of publishers, only really excepting Blizzard Activision. EA is hurting because SWOR was meant to be a home run, but has turned out to be barely a single (on the standards it proclaimed itself, anyway). Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Phred on June 26, 2012, 11:41:00 PM Costs - This is laughable. SWTOR spun out of control. Kingdoms of Amular sank a company. Costs of the products have gone down, but marketing is way up. So he's achieving gains by hamstringing quality and trying to make up for it with higher advertising budgets. It's hard to imagine the kind of geek rage that would blame Riccitiello for anything to do with Amular but ok. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Paelos on June 27, 2012, 08:13:48 AM It's hard to imagine the kind of geek rage that would blame Riccitiello for anything to do with Amular but ok. Quote from: Ripten.com One interesting note is that Electronic Arts (EA), who published Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning via their EA Partners program, provided an advance to 38 Studios. The Partners program is a contract-based suite of services that can include marketing, public relations and distribution. While EA declined to speak with us about the particulars of their arrangement for Reckoning, they did disclose that each contract is different. One frequently asked question that emerged in the wake of the 38 Studios collapse was, “Where did the money from Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning go?” Now we know. Much of it went to repay EA for the advance and services provided. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Sky on June 27, 2012, 09:06:51 AM Er...doesn't that make him look good for lining the corporate coffers with taxpayer money rather than writing it off?
From a corporate standpoint, anyway. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Paelos on June 27, 2012, 09:58:53 AM Er...doesn't that make him look good for lining the corporate coffers with taxpayer money rather than writing it off? From a corporate standpoint, anyway. No because they state just hired collection attourneys to go after 3rd party associates involved in the collapse. http://connecticut.cbslocal.com/2012/06/26/rhode-island-hires-law-firm-in-schilling-companys-bankruptcy/ (http://connecticut.cbslocal.com/2012/06/26/rhode-island-hires-law-firm-in-schilling-companys-bankruptcy/) Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: HaemishM on June 27, 2012, 11:09:26 AM I don't see how EA could be liable for that. After all, 38 signed the agreement that said EA gets paid their advance back. Just because it was a bad contract for 38 doesn't mean the state of Rhode Island is due that money. They'd probably have to get in line.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Paelos on June 27, 2012, 12:20:56 PM I don't see how EA could be liable for that. After all, 38 signed the agreement that said EA gets paid their advance back. Just because it was a bad contract for 38 doesn't mean the state of Rhode Island is due that money. They'd probably have to get in line. Oh I don't think they are "liable" necessarily. But I'm also not sure it's going to be worth the hassle to defend a lawsuit filed by the state in terms of legal costs. Also, they are going to rip apart these financials with over 1,000 creditors holding the bag. If money went to EA, it's an easy plum to pick. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: HaemishM on June 27, 2012, 12:35:55 PM It probably depends on how separated they kept the EA money from the MMO studio. Of course, based on how they were trying to peddle film credits for operating expenses in the last days, I'm sure the answer to whether the pots of money were separated is "not very."
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Lantyssa on June 27, 2012, 02:06:05 PM The problem is that if EA should get in line, Rhode Island might consider them having cut into it. Why did EA get paid but none of these other companies, or the State?
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Phred on June 27, 2012, 03:54:56 PM Er...doesn't that make him look good for lining the corporate coffers with taxpayer money rather than writing it off? From a corporate standpoint, anyway. No because they state just hired collection attourneys to go after 3rd party associates involved in the collapse. http://connecticut.cbslocal.com/2012/06/26/rhode-island-hires-law-firm-in-schilling-companys-bankruptcy/ (http://connecticut.cbslocal.com/2012/06/26/rhode-island-hires-law-firm-in-schilling-companys-bankruptcy/) No where in that article does it mention EA as a target for investigation. Do you have some insider source? Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Rokal on June 27, 2012, 04:50:09 PM The problem is that if EA should get in line, Rhode Island might consider them having cut into it. Why did EA get paid but none of these other companies, or the State? Most likely 38 Studios wanted them to fund the sequel. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Phred on June 27, 2012, 04:54:11 PM The problem is that if EA should get in line, Rhode Island might consider them having cut into it. Why did EA get paid but none of these other companies, or the State? Most likely 38 Studios wanted them to fund the sequel. Not only that I'd like to hear in what universe the publisher doesn't take moneys owed off the top when they sell your product. I know in the record business you don't see a dime on royalties until the advances are paid off. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: UnSub on June 27, 2012, 06:11:26 PM The problem is that if EA should get in line, Rhode Island might consider them having cut into it. Why did EA get paid but none of these other companies, or the State? If EA looked after publishing and retail, they would have collected their money straight from that. It seems like EA gave 38 Studios an advance of (up to) US$35m that 38 Studios spent propping up other parts of their business. In turn, EA collects the sales revenue and if KoA:R had sold over a certain value, would have paid back more to 38 Studios. EA would have already collected the majority of the money prior to 38 Studios collapsing. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Lantyssa on June 28, 2012, 06:46:22 AM We understand that, but do you think Rhode Island isn't going to investigate and see if something can be done?
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: UnSub on June 29, 2012, 12:56:34 AM Sure, but despite some posts I've seen elsewhere (and may have been vicariously responding to) EA doesn't look like they've done anything wrong here.
Of course, what happens to the KoA:R sales revenue once 38 Studios collapsed and who gets to keep it will be interesting. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: HaemishM on June 29, 2012, 07:39:52 AM Sure, but despite some posts I've seen elsewhere (and may have been vicariously responding to) EA doesn't look like they've done anything wrong here. Legally wrong. But it's EA so we can probably say at the least they weren't being anymore evil than they usually are. :why_so_serious: Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: UnSub on August 23, 2012, 08:55:57 PM Anyway, Dead Space 3: apparently you can mod your own weapons. Want a Ripper that has a flamethrower secondary? Build it. A line gun that attaches to your plasma cutter? Build it.
As such, only having one ammo type makes a lot more sense. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Fabricated on March 05, 2013, 06:18:38 AM Dead Space Status: Shot. (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-03-05-ea-cans-dead-space-series-following-poor-sales-of-dead-space-3-report)
Quote EA has canned the Dead Space series, according to a new report. Ahahaha, the worst company.Development on Dead Space 4 was ceased after lower than expected sales of Dead Space 3, a source told VideoGamer.com. The game had been in pre-production at Visceral Games and Visceral Montreal. The latter was reportedly closed after a restructuring. EA declined to comment when contacted by Eurogamer this morning. Last month EA Games Label boss Frank Gibeau confirmed layoffs at EA's Los Angeles and Montreal developers. EA has gone on the record to say its core game franchises need to sell upwards of five million copies to remain viable. It seems Dead Space 3 suffered a somewhat troubled development. According to the report, weapon-specific ammo was switched for generic ammo late in the day to accommodate the game's controversial micro-transactions, and developer Visceral were ordered to take the series into a more action-focused direction in order to emulate BioWare's Mass Effect franchise and broaden its appeal. Dead Space 3 topped the UK all-format chart upon release, albeit with 26.6 per cent fewer sales than its predecessor. Dead Space 2 launched two years ago in a similar post-Christmas slot. It seems EA has undergone something of a rethink across the board in recent weeks. Overnight it emerged that Dragon Age: Legends developer BioWare San Francisco had shut down, with all staff let go. In January EA confirmed the retirement of the Medal of Honor brand after Medal of Honor: Warfighter flopped. EA is still in the process of promoting Dead Space 3 downloadable content, including an expansion called Awakened. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: calapine on March 05, 2013, 06:39:51 AM So only sport games and FPS from now on, for the broadest appeal?
BTW, according to Wikipedia Dead Space 1 sold 'over 3 million copies', so it would have been a flop by that standard. Lets hope EA goes bust. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Fabricated on March 05, 2013, 06:42:50 AM Considering we now have Steam/Steam Greenlight along with GoG and other platforms, I almost kinda can't wait for the next videogame crash.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Paelos on March 05, 2013, 06:48:44 AM So a game has to gross $300M to remain on the docket in EA's world. Want to know why numbers have to be that high?
Because EA has substantially large R&D and Admin costs they have to cover, to the tune of $2.4 Billion a year. They spend over a Billion a year on Selling and Admin alone. Instead of cutting that ridiculous amount of overhead, it's increased by $200M over the last 4 years, while R&D has fallen by $150M. They basically shifted away from R&D to trying to sell their bullshit, while making massive cuts at the development level. They were in the black for the first time in a damn long time in 2012. However, I can't see that growth lasting given how they are moving away from innovation and squeezing their base. Their brand is becoming synonymous with shit, and even through all their underhanded cuts and tactics, they still only cleared $35M in profit on $4.1B in sales. That's 0.9% and not good. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Yegolev on March 05, 2013, 07:26:37 AM What sort of R&D goes on at EA?
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: tgr on March 05, 2013, 07:28:13 AM What sort of R&D goes on at EA? "Can we monetize this harder, yes/no?"Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Merusk on March 05, 2013, 07:30:05 AM DA: Legends was the forgettable and terrible Flash game on Facebook for those that might confuse it with DA3.
It wasn't good enough to bother with microtrans, never mind even partially as addictive as Farmville, Mafia Wars or whatever 'game' is big these days. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Hoax on March 05, 2013, 08:38:30 AM I'd like to play Mass Effect 3 someday so the sooner they can die off so I can get it without Origins the happier I'll be.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: luckton on March 05, 2013, 08:44:13 AM I'd like to play Mass Effect 3 someday so the sooner they can die off so I can get it without Origins the happier I'll be. +1. Money talks, and if the bar is set at $300M, it really doesn't matter if we can't get a ton of gamers to boycott a title; just a small chunk is apparently enough. Plus that whole word-of-mouth thing and their own damning reputation. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: koro on March 05, 2013, 09:00:51 AM Err, you may want to take another look at that article.
Quote UPDATE: Dino Ignacio, UI Lead at Dead Space developer Visceral Games, has denied today's story about the end of the Dead Space series. "The reports of our death were greatly exaggerated," he tweeted. "Please stand by." Ian Milham, creative director at EA and ex-art director on Dead Space, also took to Twitter to deny the story. "Almost nothing in that article is true," he wrote. Then, in response to a question on Twitter: "I confirm nothing except the hooey in that story." EA's US PR team has reportedly called the VideoGamer.com report "patently false". "While we have not announced sales for Dead Space 3, we are proud of the game and the franchise remains an important IP to EA," an EA spokesperson told Eurogamer. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Yegolev on March 05, 2013, 09:17:41 AM I'd like to play Mass Effect 3 someday so so the sooner they can die off so I can get it without Origins the happier I'll be. I'll just get it on 360, like the first two. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: HaemishM on March 05, 2013, 09:31:52 AM For a video game to have to sell 5 MILLION copies to break even, that's such a poorly run business model, it is doomed to failure. I certainly hope that's wrong. However, if it is right, I look forward to EA losing the exclusive NFL license so we can have football games that aren't regurgitated shit every year.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: shiznitz on March 05, 2013, 09:45:20 AM For a video game to have to sell 5 MILLION copies to break even, that's such a poorly run business model, it is doomed to failure. I certainly hope that's wrong. However, if it is right, I look forward to EA losing the exclusive NFL license so we can have football games that aren't regurgitated shit every year. The word "viable" does not necessarily mean break even, but if it does then that is crazy. The fact that they benchmark to a gross sales figure is a warning sign that they don't really focus on efficient development. A more rational economic model would be to require a 3 year IRR f 15% or more. Smaller sales opportunity, smaller budget but don't set the benchmark at gross sales. That is not even a meaningful economic variable since EA doesn't get gross. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Fabricated on March 05, 2013, 09:57:31 AM Err, you may want to take another look at that article. Yeah and EA said they were going to stick with the Medal of Honor IP during the inital "WTF this is kinda bad" preview reactions and through the early part of the review bombing it got, because they wanted to do alternate year releases of MoH and BF.Quote UPDATE: Dino Ignacio, UI Lead at Dead Space developer Visceral Games, has denied today's story about the end of the Dead Space series. "The reports of our death were greatly exaggerated," he tweeted. "Please stand by." Ian Milham, creative director at EA and ex-art director on Dead Space, also took to Twitter to deny the story. "Almost nothing in that article is true," he wrote. Then, in response to a question on Twitter: "I confirm nothing except the hooey in that story." EA's US PR team has reportedly called the VideoGamer.com report "patently false". "While we have not announced sales for Dead Space 3, we are proud of the game and the franchise remains an important IP to EA," an EA spokesperson told Eurogamer. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Lakov_Sanite on March 05, 2013, 10:01:51 AM EA claiming this is a false story seems to just be damage control. Dead space may not be cancelled YET but that's not the same as it being a done deal in the future.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Paelos on March 05, 2013, 10:56:35 AM There's still microtrans to sell. Declaring it dead would kill the cash flow. Best to play PR shadow games for a month or two in the hopes people are dumb enough to keep buying.
Oh and keep that ridiculuous ad campaign going I see constantly on Adult Swim and Comedy Central. That ad budget needs to go somewhere. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Lakov_Sanite on March 05, 2013, 11:27:21 AM EA blew all their money licensing Peter Gabriel.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: tgr on March 05, 2013, 12:13:19 PM (http://i.imgur.com/SLQJc.gif)
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: eldaec on March 08, 2013, 02:54:08 AM Still unclear why people are bothered that EA might not make a FORTH retread of dead space.
Even if you REALLY LIKE dead space, do you honestly need four of it? Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: eldaec on March 08, 2013, 03:00:52 AM I mean, I really like the popular action oriented motion picture "Die Hard".
However I would probably not be inconsolable if "Die Hard 6 : Fuck off and die hard in a car fire" were to be cancelled. "Die Hard" will still exist even if the "franchise" didn't produce any more crap. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Simond on March 08, 2013, 03:22:28 AM Still unclear why people are bothered that EA might not make a FORTH retread of dead space. Especially since the game Dead Space desperately wanted to be is on GoG now anyway, and still better.I mean, even if you REALLY LIKE dead space, do you honestly need four of it? Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Fabricated on March 08, 2013, 05:20:09 AM Dead Space 1 and 2 are entirely alright games I think got slagged off a bit too much by people. The only thing I'll give them is the whole monster closet thing and how fucking annoying it is that they won't get rid of the loud strings that play when you see any enemy. That was stupid as hell.
I think 1/2 did a pretty good job of being reasonably atmospheric but more in an original RE-series sort of way than a Silent Hill kinda way. The story IMO was alright as well, it's just they did a terrible job at characterizing the villains, and I hear the badguy in 3 is hilariously bad. The "badguy" so to speak of 1 was a pretty good heel turn, and Tiedmann in 2 was alright but not present very often. Ah well, RIP to a decent IP that could've been better without publisher meddling. Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: tgr on March 08, 2013, 05:40:24 AM I dunno, I felt that dead space wanted to be a horror game, but went the doom 3 route of throwing too many monsters at you at inconvenient angles (often from the rear), which didn't really come off as all that scary after a while. Not after having played FEAR and Amnesia, anyhow.
Title: Re: EA: Buy this game or we'll shoot this IP. Post by: Fabricated on March 08, 2013, 05:54:22 AM That was the monster closet thing. The second game is vaguely more transparent at times about it (and randomizes a lot of stuff) but both 1 and 2 were filled to the brim with painfully, eye-rollingly obvious "Alright you're gonna pick up this key/hit this switch/walk through this door and shit is going to break loose" stuff, and way way overuses the trick where necromorphs play dead.
Both games have some good scares/scenes- the machine you need to use near the end of 2 and one of the jumpscares in 2 are going to be remembered like the dogs from RE1 if you ask me. |