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Game Developers Becoming Similar To Hollywood Studios?
CNet is running an article that looks at the growing parallels between the major movie studios and some of the most successful game publishers, which have gradually turned into the juggernauts of the industry as they've absorbed a variety of smaller developers in recent years. "If we consider Hollywood — the model to which the video game industry is always compared — it doesn't take long before we realize that it's dominated by a handful of studios that effectively control a large percentage of the industry, while the independent studios are left trying to defy the percentages and get their innovative and artistic films to the masses. Since most fail, it's the big studios that enjoy profits as the independents try to find some way to stay alive." Gamasutra has a related piece suggesting the opposite trend: "Smaller, less expensive games made by smaller, more agile teams seem like a very logical step, now that the industry structure is better able to support it, with no less than three venues on which to distribute content as a small team. These are downloadable console, direct to consumer PC downloads via Steam-like services, portals, or direct sale, and iPhone and potentially DSi downloads."
the marketing! I know I will be cursed, booed, spit on and generally carried out on a rail after being dipped in oil and feathers, but i work in marketing. The need for large entities in the business will still be there since marketing costs a lot of money. Sure you can self-publish a game but it will almost certainly drown in the flood of games that are released. A bad game with marketing will almost always outsell a good one with no marketing. The almost part will always be the luck factor.
Not true - you are free to take the game elsewhere, as you are free to install on as many machines as you please.
.exe - it'll just work, even off a USB stick.
If you get a new machine, just copy over the STEAM folder and run the
You also do not need to connect to STEAM to play - once it's installed, and you've run it once, you can play it in offline mode from that point on.
Whilst I have heard of people losing their VAC standing, which means they cannot play online on VAC secured servers, the only time I've heard of STEAM locking entire accounts is when a fraudulent purchase is made, or a charge does not process correctly.
and if Valve ever goes out of business, they have already developed and tested a "kill switch" patch for the client, to remove all activation requirements.
Not to mention they can decide at ANY time you are a filthy pirate and demand you pay TWICE and you have NO say or choice in the matter. I know because I was fucked by HL:GOTY edition. Some pirate group put out a keygen that could spit out valid numbers like nobodies business, so what happens to us that actually PAID for the game? That's right, we got fucked by Valve. I even offered to email them a pic of my discs with the days paper behind it so they could see I owned the damned thing but nope, pay again was all I got from their rude ass customer "service" which acted like I was a dirty scumbag for actually buying their product.
Well I learned my lesson. It will be a cold day in hell before I EVER give those bastards a penny. And if it is on Steam? Too bad because I will never use it. All of you with Steam accounts are just one keygen away from losing one of your games or more. Enjoy that sword of Damocles hanging over your head. Now I won't own any game that I can't find a crack for FIRST. That way I DECIDE when and where it works, not some company. When I pay for it it is mine, NOT yours.
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.