On The Need For New Videogame Funding Models

Thanks to Costik.com for pointing to entrepreneur Gordon Gould's comments on possible new videogame funding avenues, as he notes "the coming console shift to Xbox 2 and the Playstation 3 is going to once again raise the bar on development costs", meaning "a shrinking number of titles per publisher slate w/increased pressure on those titles to be out of the ballpark blockbusters." He suggests that "developers' ability to gain more control over their destiny is handicapped by the relative scarcity of funding sources", but this may be changing, as investors from outside the industry start to fund development (as seen recently at MMO creator Turbine.) However, Greg Costikyan weighs in with a response, arguing that "...even looking at something as goofy and hit-driven as the game industry, an investor is already taking a big risk, and his or her instinct is going to be the same as the publishers': be conservative in what you fund."

Comments

Oh I'll tell you what the world doesn't need...

[Anonymous Coward]

It doesn't need more ass-hats telling other people to go out and do something while they mind the fort.

How 'bout you take a play from your own book and give up your recreational nannying to go dig a well in Rawanda. 'K

X Box 2

[aflat362]

Oh great. I'm still 250 some Mountain Dew points away from getting the original X Box.