The Battle For the Game Industry's Soul

An anonymous reader writes "The NY Times has a story about the imminent release of Battlefield 4 on 29 October, as it's one of the most highly-anticipated video games of the year. The most interesting part of the article is where it highlights what a mammoth undertaking such 'AAA' games have become. There are hundreds upon hundreds of people working full time on it, and hundreds of millions of dollars tied up in its development. These number have been rising and rising over the years; how big do they get before it becomes completely unfeasible to top your last game? The article also points out that the PC platform is beginning to wane in popularity. Nobody's quite sure yet whether it'll level out or go into serious decline, but you can bet development studios are watching closely. With bigger and bigger stakes, how long before they decide it's not worth the risk? Even consoles aren't safe: 'Electronic Arts is nevertheless trying to extend franchises like Battlefield to devices, because it must. But at the same time, it has to grapple with the threats undermining traditional gaming. Though the classic consoles are getting reboots this fall, there is no guarantee that new models will permanently revive the format's fortunes.' And of course, the question must be asked: do we even want the 'AAA' games to stick around?"

Comments

Re:Hey

[Bigbutt]

Can't speak to Skateboards, but I could probably replace my car (truck) with my motorcycle. I ride it 95% of the time and only take the truck when there's ice on the road (I could work from home when there's ice) or when I have to get something a bit bigger, which doesn't happen all that often (for $20 I can rent Home Depot's truck for an hour if necessary).

I have a truck because it's more convenient than dealing with renting a Home Depot truck, more convenient than making a couple of trips on the bike when shopping (although with a little planning, I could just make one trip).

But that's just me which is the only person I can speak for :)

[John]