Majesco Goes To Bargain Bin For Videogame Profits

Thanks to Fortune.com for its article exploring the apparent success of often 'budget' publisher Majesco, which allegedly "scores extra points (and stays alive) by going where other publishers won't: the discount bin." The article explains: "Because the average value game costs a mere $250,000 to produce, Majesco needs to sell only 15,000 to 50,000 copies to break even, vs. anywhere from 200,000 to one million for more expensive titles." It also points to other, bigger-budget Majesco titles such as Bloodrayne and the forthcoming Advent Rising, noting: "While big publishers have the deep pockets to ride out a flop, virtually every one of Majesco's major titles - which can cost $5 million to $10 million each - had to hit big", though these larger development costs are somewhat offset by the value titles, of which it's suggested: "Those cheap games may not have flashy, big-budget effects, but parents are often more than willing to snatch one up for their kids on an impulse."

Comments

Re:Full price? PFFT!

[Blakey Rat]

Is it possible that the thing that changed isn't the gaming industry... but you?

I know I used to spend hours and hours hunting down perfect completion scores and those hidden power-ups on my Commodore 64 games, but that wasn't because the games were necessarily any better than today's-- in fact I would wager the majority were worse on average-- it's because I was younger and had tons of free time and games were still new and exciting.

Now I'm older, I have a full-time job, and the gaming industry is matured enough where I know that if I miss the next latest-and-greatest dungeon digger I can just wait a few months for a new one. The gaming industry hasn't changed, I have. And I think you have, too.