OddWorld Inhabitants Leaving the Gaming Industry

Via Games*Design*Art*Culture*, a link to a Hollywood reporter story breaking the news that Oddworld Inhabitants is closing up shop in the games industry. Owner Lanning is apparently going to move the company into movies and TV, as a result of sour experiences in the current gaming industry environment. From the article: "As game production costs rise, publishers want more sure bets because with rising costs come rising risks. What we see is an industry which is rapidly discouraging innovation because people don't want to take chances on more innovative types of titles."

Comments

how is that different

[AdiBean]

"What we see is an industry which is rapidly discouraging innovation because people don't want to take chances on more innovative types of titles."

They are going to be disappointed. This is already a very accurate description of the TV and motion picture industries.

Just like every other industry?

[Red Moose]

This is a shame. A real example of creativity as a basis for games was the adventure type of game. It had nice artwork but relied on a lot more in depth thought to create a good one as the entire perception of the game came from the story. E.g., that's why even Hitchhiker's Guide text game was entertaining and actually good.

That was an early warning sign, IMHO. The same thing has happened in movies for example, where we are treated to endless $100 million budget movies that make $500 million, but are shit basically. Same thing happens in pharmaceutical research where money goes to replicating me-too generic drugs (e.g., fluoxetine) to cash in instead of *actually* being innovative.

Car industry? Same thing. Besides genuinely new or advanced driving, we are basically in the same metal cages we had in 1950, except with lots of plastic and electronics to massage our fat asses. Mercedes makes rain-sensor wipers, then eveyone else has it too. Lexus installs runflats, well so does BMW. All the same, different brands.

Maybe it's more to do with ever extending globalisation as EA and their ilk eat up the small developer, sort of like say MGM or 20th Century Fox, or Daimler-Benz eating up Chrysler and everything in every industry eventually becomes under one banner.

Hang on, that's just like Microsoft buying up all the competition.