Behind the scenes of my last console game

[Jacob]

Jake, I agree with the consoles => blockbuster trend. But from my consumer point of view, at least on XBox, the second pillar for consoles at the moment seem to be indie developers with budget priced games.

But I agree that there doesn't seem to be a healthy "middle class" between them. For PC gamers it's good, of course, because it seems more attention is coming back to this platform instead.

Yeah, there is some promise in the xbox indie scene but it's not really that viable for most. The development costs are higher compared to social/ mobile and returns are smaller. It's also my impression that Microsoft is less supportive of indie publishers than the mobile and social providers. But there's potential there.

And I agree with those of you who're saying the outlook is better on PC as well. There's more mid level games and publishers who are doing pretty well now that distribution is going much more digital. Easier to serve niche markets; Paradox is a good example of that strategy working.

[Jacob]

I feel bad for people developing AAA titles right now.  So many of the are being pushed into a lowest common denominator area these days, and once you get bought by Activision or EA, you might as well start updating your resume.

Yeah, the problem is that there aren't that many places hiring.

That said, Facebook and mobile games are even worse, because they're so bad.  At least Steam is making it possible for indy stuff that doesn't suck to be released.

Yeah, Steam is a pretty good thing all things considered.

As for facebook and mobile games, they primarily serve a different market. If moms and kids and other casual gamers will pay for the salaries of developers of those games, that's what you're going to see.

[Neil]

I feel bad for people developing AAA titles right now.  So many of the are being pushed into a lowest common denominator area these days, and once you get bought by Activision or EA, you might as well start updating your resume.

Yeah, the problem is that there aren't that many places hiring.

Indeed.  I know some guys at a AAA studio wondering what they're going to do when EA inevitably shuts them down.  Save, save, save while you can.

That said, Facebook and mobile games are even worse, because they're so bad.  At least Steam is making it possible for indy stuff that doesn't suck to be released.

Yeah, Steam is a pretty good thing all things considered.

As for facebook and mobile games, they primarily serve a different market. If moms and kids and other casual gamers will pay for the salaries of developers of those games, that's what you're going to see.

Exactly.  Good for them, being able to get work (although the casual studios support far fewer people than the AAAs, so there's no help for the poor wageslaves there), but I would be shocked if they producted anything that would be worth playing.  Then again, I don't really dig many AAA titles either, so at least they're more efficient in displeasing me.  :p

[mongers]

All kinds of things, but primarily the following:

It's moved to a serious blockbuster set up. The only games that matter for most publishers are the Call of Duties and the GTAs. Hundreds of millions are being spent on marketing alone, and many hundreds more on development to try hit the big blockbuster to make it all back. Anything else is not worth it, in the eyes of a lot publishers. There are niche publishers who are still trying to make the mid-range, modest success games work for them, but fewer and fewer people are buying them as the blockbusters raise the bar.

That's not to say you can't make money in console games, you can, but as someone making them the situation I outlined has some implications:

1. Because of the budgets involved and the size of the corporations involved, the amount of bullshit, egos and useless people playing political games has been increasing steadily. That makes it a less pleasant environment to work in.

2. Because of the stakes, the odds of projects getting cancelled are higher. You can spend $100 million in development costs (and that's being cheap these days), but the publisher may decide that it's not enough of a contender to be worth spending another $150 million in marketing and can the game when it's basically done. That's a bit discouraging when that represents several years of your work.

3. High stress and long term and/ or extreme overtime is endemic. Some friends just came off finaling a relatively big title. They've been working 16-hour days, 7 days a week for something approaching a year. It's an extreme example - 14 hour days, 6 days/week, for 3 to 6 months is more normal, but it's still too much to be fun.

Separate from that BC stepped off the subsidy arms race, so several console studios were closed in town quite recently and others had significant layoffs. So Vancouver is particularly grim right now if you're a console developer, unless you're willing to relocate or leave consoles.

On top of that, no one is looking to buy console studios right now and there aren't that many projects to be funded either. Mobile and social, however, is chock full of people looking to invest and the big slow players flush with cash are looking to get into the game and use their money to make up for the fact they're slow moving, inflexible and lack knowledge of the space.

Thanks for that Jacob, interesting insiders view. 

Since I haven't had a console since the dreamcast.  I had no idea just how blockbuster like the games and marketing had gotten.