Where Did the Games Go?

Gamaroo writes "EuroGamer.net has up an interesting editorial by Kristan Reed in regards to the lack of hits that result from so many game releases near the Christmas shopping season, and the resulting post-Xmas lull. As Reed stated, 'Note to publishers; we can't afford to buy 20 games in the run up to Christmas. Even 10 would be a struggle, and the truth is gamers are forced to play safe and go for the games they know are going to be good.' He goes on to state that, 'Of the eight or so games that Microsoft put out exclusively on Xbox, just one of them (Project Gotham Racing 2) actually sold in decent numbers. Of Sony's extensive line up, literally all of them flopped; leaving its summer hit Eye Toy: Play to fly the flag for its first party strategy.'" It's worth noting that the editorial refers to the UK charts/sales figures, so Xmas release dates differed somewhat from the States.

Comments

Re:The assumption is flawed

[grahamwest]

It's not what individual publishers expect but it's what the industry collectively must expect when it puts out so many titles in such a short span of time. The industry's output quintuples (or more) during November and December but the available shelf space only grows moderately if at all and the consumer dollars spent probably only triples or quadruples.

We actually decided for our game that, since it's a new title rather than a sequel, it would be better to release it after Christmas when things have calmed down. It meant we got more time to polish the game, more time to get the marketing campaign focused and it was easier to get it onto retail shelves. From what I'm hearing about our pre-order levels it seems like it was the right choice to me - obviously the real test will be when the game goes on sale.

Re:Not to troll, but...

[Mike Hawk]

Just off the top of my head...

Project Gotham Racing 2
Need for Speed: Underground
Tony Hawk's Underground
Medal of Honor
Deus Ex: Invisible War
True Crime: Streets of LA
Midway Arcade Treasures
Call of Duty
Lord of the Rings
SOCOM II
And that doesn't include ports that were released for the first time on a given platform...

The article isnt about buying all the games that fit into one person's arbitrary definition of "good". Its a fair lament, but like so many internet rants, isnt going to change anything. Games come out in November and December because thats when everyone is out buying toys. It takes away a predictable bit of the enormous risk involved with making a AAA+ title. The same as tying it to a movie launch, etc. When (if) it stops working, then things will change.

Re:"me too" "me three"

[ronfar]

I don't quite understand why the Gamecube hasn't picked up GTA, or does the decision reside with Rockstar not to produce for that platform?

Well, a few things here's a long response from famed Nintendo designer, Shigeru Miyamoto:

In previous years, Nintendo sold the most popular games in the world. Tastes have changed though. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is currently the biggest game in the West. What are your thoughts on such a violent game being so popular?

Mr Miyamoto: That is quite a tough question and I really don't have any quick answer to make. If we were just focusing on the games and if the game can sell then it's very good business and we would just sell that kind of title. It is not that simple for Nintendo as we are not making those kinds of games. After all, as long as people can realise what kind of morals they should have playing with a video game, many games are alike including the excessively violent games. But when we are talking about the mass audience, many people have different viewpoints and have different ways of making use of the technology in front of them.

As the makers, we have the responsibility to think about how it will be used and thought about by the mass audience. In Japan, no companies are willing to market Grand Theft Auto but it will become different if people become desperate to sell their software. Companies right now are not marketing Grand Theft Auto but people now have an idea of the danger of the current situation and the more important thing is that we need to think of a substitute for Grand Theft Auto in terms of video games sales. It is our mission to think of an alternative that is unique and not as violent .

So, I mean there is precedent. I think right now, they are OK with violent games (Resident Evil, for instance), as long as they aren't as 'controversial' as Grand Theft Auto. (Note, though, they still prefer non-violent fantasy type games.)

(I recently found out (to my disgust) that Nintendo was responsible for lobbying Joe Lieberman to go after violence in the game industry back when Sega were cleaning their clock: Volume 4 - Sega CD/Mega CD. Hey, somebody prove this is an urban legend, please, no one will be happier than me.).