Death to the Games Industry

Greg Costikyan has an article up on The Escapist railing against the current state of the industry. Bigger budgets, obese publishers, and creatively dead franchises that continue to see publishing are snuffing out the opportunity for innovation in an increasingly mainstream market. From the article: "For the sake of the industry, for the sake of gamers who want to experience something new and cool, for the sake of developers who want to do more than the same-old same-old, for the sake of our souls, we have to get out of this trap. If we don't, as developers, all we will be doing for the rest of eternity is making nicer road textures and better-lit car models for games with the same basic gameplay as Pole Position. Spector is right. We must blow up this business model, or we are all doomed. What do we want? What would be ideal? A market that serves creative vision instead of suppressing it. An audience that prizes gameplay over glitz. A business that allows niche product to be commercially successful - not necessarily or even ideally on the same scale as the conventional market, but on a much more modest one: profitability with sales of a few tens of thousands of units, not millions. And, of course - creator control of intellectual property, because creators deserve to own their own work."

Comments

Re:Uh, no

[Spy der Mann]

The person who pays for the work deserves to own the work.

Thanks for supporting us! We'd really appreciate it if you become our official dungeon keeper erm, manager.

Sincerely,
The EA executives.

hear hear!!

[shokk]

Nevermind the victims of Hurricane Katrina! Here is the real issue facing today's world: gamers are feeling bored with the raft of entertainment being plowed their way. We should take the entire budget of Homeland Security and that being spent on the Iraq War not to mention those homeless people, and divert it into making better or more funnerer games! For the sake of the gaming industry and gamers, the world must change!!!!!

Boo hoo. Y'know what, time for a reality check. If you're playing a game instead of sweating it out, you're doing better than 90% of the world. Not saying don't have fun - I'll be playing Guild Wars tonight. But just realise the truth. 'Cause this article aint it.