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The Financials of Xbox Live
Via GameSetWatch, a post exploring the cost and payoff from an Xbox Live game. From the article: "Let's say you are a publisher or a developer that is able to fund your own development, so, a $10 game (800 Gamer Points) would net you $6.50, or 120,000 units * $6.50 per unit = $780,000. Again, if you are a starving Indie developer this sounds like an infinite amount of money. But, in the world of publishers, this is not considered a big hit."
Mybox Live aka run it on your own server
Sell your car and raise some money from friends and make a cell phone game. Or a portal game. Or now an XBL game. Make enough money from that to make another two causal games. Next you can do maybe a budget title with a respectable publisher.
Do a good job, you have self-generated the capital to do the blockbuster.
Yeah yeah, money isn't everything in making a great game, but it sure helps a lot when you have an expansive vision that requires artists, writers, programmers, etc.
But only if you're prepared to lose the money AND the friends.
This article refers to a Xbox Live Arcade game. Not a regular game that happens to support Xbox Live.
Comment of the year
To go from:
to:
indicates you have much to learn about the games industry, and in particular, how publishers treat developers that are not already cash rich.
Maybe you should read up on Jeff Tunnell. He's associated with some major companies and could probably find a way to do any game he pleases. He's worked with Sierra, as well as with the group "dynamix" which produced many of Sierra's biggest games.
He didn't do this for "fun" or to make a huge profit, he wanted to do casual games and that's where he is now.
Just got done shelling out $10USD for Defcon on the PC. I would not have paid $50-30 for it, which is usually what the going rate is for shelf space. Also an indie as far as I know. If it goes well, may buy more games that way.
+++ UGUCAUCGUAUUUCU
What's your point?
Will Nintendo release a (free?) devkit to make Nintendo Wi-Fi games (for the Wii and/or the DS)?
Since they'll already have the setup in place to sell games for console emulators, why not indie games too?
alot of the games on live are ports so most of the work as been done.
I agree. The concept of the virtual console just begs for low-cost development of more casual games, which is precisely the crowd Nintendo is going for. Alas, I don't think they've announced anything like that yet, focusing more on the retro titles that many fans are looking for first (old NES, SNES, N64 games). But I can't imagine why Nintendo WOULDN'T want to open it up. Besides, I believe Sony is doing the same thing with their online network, so it'd be yet another thing Nintendo is "left out" of (and arguably, something they should be driving in full force to begin with).
However, I highly doubt it would be a free devkit. Come on, this is Nintendo we're talking about. Just Google around
-- jchenx
The way I see it, development costs work out this way by console from most expensive to least expensive:
1. PS3, Cell Processor and 25 GBs of space on a disc. PS3 owners are going to expect a lot of pre-rendered high definition content for the $599 they are shelling out.
2. Xbox 360, high defintion console with DVD-ROM
3. Wii, standard definition console
4. Xbox 360 Arcade, games are less than 64 MB each
I think Microsoft should allow games that are as large as 512 MB. The larger games could cost $15 to $25. This would fill out the spectrum between 30 MB fun Arcade games all the way up to multi-DVD RPGs. You would need a hard drive for the larger games which most Xbox 360s have and the Core Xbox 360 owners can always add one if they want to purchase the intermediate games. There are a lot of games that really need to be a few hundred megabytes to be worthwhile, but would have a hard time fighting it out on store shelves. Niche games such as adventure games would be pretty cool.
I think a lot of developers will want to produce Arcade titles. Low cost development, no need to deal with retailers other than Microsoft, no advertising costs and everyone with a Xbox 360 can see your title available for purchase. There is also the advantage that Xbox 360 owners don't even have to go to the store to buy your title on a whim.
Then lose money on it like 90% of games do and go back to step 1...
The Parent of my original post thought that they are in this for money or in this to make enough to make blockbusters. This guy has been there done that multiple times. It's obvious with a name like Garage games, and with his track record/ company's track record he's happy to be working on casual games and probably will never stop.
No, he didn't say that. He said just in general it was a way for new developers to make money. He didn't comment at all on the INTENT of the dev in the article.
Verbal SAT sub-400?