Shaoko

I do know that money is the driving force behind the business, as always.
However, I think it's a little easy to point the finger of blame on us, the consumers. Just as it's likely a little easy (and highly popular) to point said finger on them, the developers. Or business in general, for that matter. I'd REALLY like to point aforementioned finger on money, but alas, money is incapable of making decisions (flawed or otherwise) and therefore unsusceptible to blame. (Incidentally, the same goes for games and guns)
So, imho, it's people that's to blame. Again. And not one group, but all of us. Developers and gamers, the stupid and the well-informed, the rich and poor alike. Yeah, it's a balance thing. Zen or something.

My point? Stay smart. You'll be fine.

StartRunning

The problem that's described here is not that ideas aren't out there; it's simply that the time for experimentation is over. For any entertainment medium, there is a period of pioneering, then experimentation, then money. When the gaming industry blew up with the PS1, it went head-first into the money phase. That is to say, people with money started wanting to make more money.

When it gets to that point, you're looking at a full-fledged investment-driven business. Look no further than EA. They proved that a business model like theirs works. They may be trying to change the way they work now, but you still can't erase two decades of money-making business practices and when you're publicly-traded, you have investors to answer to.

Investors don't give a shit what you make. They only care about what that makes for them - money. Number crunching is the ultimate decision maker here. If you can create 5 cheap games and make a profit, you can show that on paper. If you can make one artful game and barely break even, you can also show that on paper, but it doesn't look even remotely as good as the previous ones. Yes, the artsy game is hailed by critics, well-loved by fans, but in the end, you get the question, "Why don't we just make 5 more cheap games?"

Ultimately, the root of the problem is not the developer or the publisher - it's you. You buy shitty games, you get more shitty games. Consumers, for some reason, feel that whining and crying on the Internet solves problems. It doesn't. Your money solves problems, and also causes them.

Take this example: 50 guys buy the latest copy of Madden for pretty much a simple roster update. Every year. For every 50 guys that buy Madden, there's one guy that buys Beyond Good & Evil. It's likely that one guy that bought BG&E is totally in love with the game (I don't see how it's possible otherwise), but his money means nothing. Since 50 guys bought Madden to every one guy that bought BG&E, the clear choice is to make another Madden, not another BG&E. Problem created. Turn it around, however, and have 50 people buy BG&E for every one person that buys Madden, well, maybe you'll see another BG&E before you see another roster update.

dunetiger reads kotaku, seems pleased

Good or great ideas are pretty much worthless in any creative industry ("industry" is the key word here too).

It's the implementation of said ideas and their marketing that makes all the difference.

--

JohnnyLA

TearsandScreams

GerarDOS

In the end, it's the consumers who buy the games- who give these publishers and developers and evil villians in large mirrored towers money.

And the sad truth is, most people who buy games want this shit- the "bad games". Otherwise, they wouldn't sell.
I don't mean you, dear Kotaku reader- most of the time it's Joe Mainstream Gamer who doesn't read reviews (not that most reviews would give an honest opinion anyway), and basically relies on marketing and the back of the box.

But marketing can only do so much. It's still Joe Mainstream's choice at the end of the day, and he's what fuels the demand for bad games.

Eden.B

I think it has to do with time constraints and sometimes just a bad product. Has anyone had the guts to play "Jumper" yet?

kylo4

In reference to the article, you just need to look at Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the NES. That explains everything.

Passa

There are very few developers who are large enough to make a game on their own and can be guaranteed to get it published.

Geckosan

Cenobite

GTA doesn't fit at all into what this topic is about so I have no idea why it's there.

kylo4

dowingba

Games, like movies and music have a heavily hit driven business model. An additional problem that the games business finds is that it's far more seasonal as well. If you want to make money in the business you need to work on what will sell, and the most reliable method to do so is licensed properties and sequels to successful franchises.

Powerlurker

King Geedorah

The End

DARTH_TIGRIS

Mibu1

Purple Dave

pandafresh

Yakuzaice

KM91

JorgieX

HoxtonHero

MARKET RESEARCH.

the bane of creativity and art's existance.

joelface

What complete and utter horseshit.

There are a million reasons why a talented games developer can produce a bad game, and invariably the truth is far less exciting than you might imagine. It rarely has anything to do with individual developers being lazy though - you simply don't know what you're talking about.

I just love all these armchair experts who've never made any kind of game (good or bad) sharing their wisdom though.

kiigan

GHamilton

It's all well and good for people like Brandon Sheffield to make comments like those above, and in an ideal world, the games and revolutionary ideas he's talking about would be implemented without a moments thought, but those ideas simply aren't financially viable.

Personally, I think that game developers are well aware of this fact. They're people that care passionately about the games they make and have worked hard so that they can be a part of this incredible industry. They do an admirable job of developing ideas, stories and concepts and then adapting them to fit into such snug genres as FPS, RTS or MMORPG. They understand how the industry works.

So, to answer Brandon Sheffield's comments, you can't 'take that plunge', because your game simply won't receive funding. I think the real challenge is to disguise the kind of games he is talking about behind the visage of the accepted genres. The casual gamer can then appreciate it as a fun distraction, while the hardcore gamer can delve deeper into its story and appreciate more fully its artistic value. It has to appeal to both markets. That's just the nature of the beast.

Spiraltribesman

Allen750

Evil Tortie's Mom

Soldrak

Really, look at TV (American Idol), Films (Wild Hogs), Music (Hannah Montana), and books (John Grisham). Those are all trashed by critics and the like, but are still hugely popular and successful. Lots of people don't think about their entertainment, they just consume. And, from a business perspective, I've got a much better chance of making a sweet return on my investment catering to that big group that wants something safe and familiar than that smaller critical group.

Does it suck? Sure. Can it be fixed? Based on the history of humanity, not a snowballs chance in hell.

dry-roasted-peanuts

A: Because stupid people control almost all of the money.

/Why do good people make bad movies?

lordargent

King Seafoam

SkutSkut

ErskinPig

Consumers don't base their purchasing decisions off critical reviews... if we could change that... the industry would be so much the better for it

i_lie_to_fit_in

Parsifal

ErskinPig

Why put your company in jeopardy when you can surely bet on your AAA franchise?

Fyren

+ Watch video

To the topic at hand, you don't hire a bunch of wishy-washy indie devs who think they have a killer idea that sucks. No business takes wild risks. Calulated risks maybe, but the majority of projects should be stable enough to carry the entire company.

Of course, this means that some of the good ideas fall through. Conclusion: original ideas that get pitched had better actually be good. Otherwise, the stupid ideas are going to dilute the good ideas.

Edge of Blade

Morberis

EgoMonk

That's why true innovation is hard to achieve. It takes balls to back something new and different.

FuNkYbOsS

1. Art costs money.
2. Shovelware doesn't.
3. Uninformed customers will buy whatever's on the shelf.

It's as simple as that. For all the hardcore gamers pride themselves on only playing (what they feel to be) the best of the best, there are hordes of parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles out there who will literally buy _a_ game based on the idea that it fits a theme that Junior might be interested in. Oh, he likes cars? Well, anything that involves racing should suffice. Does he have a favorite team? Sports titles of whatever sort will do. And they'll move enough product that way that they'll turn a profit more easily than most high-concept games. The good stuff is more risky. If you do it right, you'll pull in a lot more money than you can with shovelware, but you have to do it _right_, or you could easily end up taking a loss.

Purple Dave

Orionsaint

It's not a job you can have fun with. You gotta MAKE MONEY.

Ashurahori

neojam

Charlie303

SpearXXI

Silent Predator

Once a hugely successful game gets released (e.g. Halo). Bunches of people run right after it, hoping to make a game that's like it so that they can share in its success. This is regardless of whether they are any good at making the game, whether they reuse any of the games gameplay mechanics correctly, whether they understand what the real appeal of the game was in the first place, and whether many other game developers are doing exactly the same thing, leading to an overcrowded market that's extremely hard to differentiate yourself in unless you made the original game that sparked it all off.

Sofox

Regardless,

*bows courtly*

Ichidou

None of us is as dumb as all of us.

susurrate

Voteforme2020

Year: 2006

Location: North America

Okami sells 230k

Over The Hedge? Just 90k short of ONE MILLION copies.

At the end of the day, you need to make money.

karasu is my homeboy

Yeah, I was wondering the same thing. "bad games" as it is used in the article means "low quality games"

Darthvinder

I hope you enjoyed your time of commenting on this site.

Darthvinder

hotcoffeeburns

It's the same reason that WW2 has become a GENRE that is not going away. It's easier, and 99% of the time, more profitable to be "safe" than innovative.

karasu is my homeboy

brent_w

nikolaj

collusioned