Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

The Financials of Xbox Live

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the bucks-from-points dept.

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."

5 of 35 comments (clear)

  1. Nice new first rung on the ladder for a developer by MBraynard · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Want to eventually be a super dev but don't have the budget to fund your dream project?

    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.

  2. Re:Nice new first rung on the ladder for a develop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Sell your car and raise some money from friends

    But only if you're prepared to lose the money AND the friends.
  3. To be pointlessly anal... by Blakey+Rat · · Score: 4, Informative

    This article refers to a Xbox Live Arcade game. Not a regular game that happens to support Xbox Live.

    --
    Comment of the year
  4. Re:Nice new first rung on the ladder for a develop by Tim+Browse · · Score: 4, Informative

    To go from:

    Next you can do maybe a budget title with a respectable publisher.

    to:

    Do a good job, you have self-generated the capital to do the blockbuster.

    indicates you have much to learn about the games industry, and in particular, how publishers treat developers that are not already cash rich.

  5. Re:Arcade broadens Xbox 360 development options by ddt · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Actually, 50Mb is plenty because of ProFX (http://www.profxengine.com).

    Check out RoboBlitz (http://www.roboblitz.com).

    It's the first Unreal Engine 3 game coming for Xbox Live Arcade.

    Procedural textures are your friend. :)