development-costs
Latest
Nerd Kingdom is hopeful about an investor for TUG
Developer Nerd Kingdom has been fairly quiet since its announcement in September that half of its team was being let go in order to keep development moving on TUG. The good news is that the needed investors might be right around the corner. An update on the game's Kickstarter page notes that the team is entering what appear to be final talks with a potential investor, ensuring that the team has enough money to finish the game. The update stresses the fact that said investor is not looking to alter the development process or compromise the team's vision for the title. in terms of actual development, the game's multiplayer mode is coming together. It's also going to be increasing in price soon to $19.99, so if you'd been holding off on buying the game but really want to pick it up for only $10, your time is running out, although given recent events, you may want to hold off a little bit until the investment is a sure thing.
A look at game budgets (and MMO budgets)
Let's not delude ourselves: Companies are making games to make money. That's the whole point. But it's not about how much a game sells; it's about how much it sells compared to how much it costs to make. And that's a bit harder to be sure about, since most companies aren't in the habit of disclosing exactly how much this game or that costs to make in the first place. Kotaku contributing columnist "Superannuation" looks at the rising budgets of games over the years, including some MMOs in the mix. Some of the figures are certain, some of them are more ambiguous, and all of them provide an interesting look at the price tag. EverQuest's initial budget, for instance, is pegged at $3 million, while World of Warcraft apparently cost $200 million for upkeep and development over the first four years of operation. Take a look at the full listing for a look at some known points and plenty of speculation fodder.
What do venture capitalists see when they look at games?
Kickstarter has gained a great deal of traction lately, but by and large new games are still funded the same way they've always been funded: by venture capitalists willing to shell out money in hopes of seeing a return on investment. That being said, the games industry looks at venture capitalists more as fountains of money than actual people, a necessary evil at best. A new piece penned by Jeremy Liew of Lightspeed Venture Partners sheds some light on what goes on behind the scenes when capitalists are approached for funding. Liew makes a point of mentioning that one of the features he looks for is the idea that the studio can turn out another good game after the first one, mentioning CCP Games and Jagex as both lagging behind. He also points out the power of community, noting that League of Legends gained much of its current popularity by completely taking over the DOTA community. While the piece is focused on gaming as a whole rather than just MMOs, fans of video games will no doubt find several points of interest within the full article.
Spencer: Halo 4 is Microsoft's most expensive game
Halo 4 is the most expensive game Microsoft has ever made, Microsoft Studios head Phil Spencer tells Polygon. It is "absolutely" the most money Microsoft has ever spent developing a game, he says. "Nothing's even close."Estimates for development costs of Halo 3 average out at $60 million, and that was including a massive marketing budget of about $30 million. Halo 3: ODST ended up bringing in more than $170 million in its first 24 hours on the market. Overall, Halo is a $3 billion franchise, Spencer says.
Pathfinder Online puts together a Kickstarter project [Updated]
Kickstarter has been getting a lot of attention from the gaming industry of late after a number of high-profile successes. It's even gained the attention of the team behind Pathfinder Online, the upcoming sandbox MMORPG based on the eponymous tabletop system. So instead of trying to secure venture capitalist funding for the project, the development team is reaching out directly to the fans via a new Kickstarter project to assemble a tech demo for the game. It's important to note that the project is only for funding a demo of the game, enough to show bigger investors that the interest in the game does exist. However, the development team has still assembled a number of bonuses for prospective players, including special forum membership, specialized tabletop game products, and promotional posters. If you're interested in seeing the game continue in development, it's well worth dropping by the Kickstarter page and dropping in some money when it goes live soon. [Update: The Kickstarter page is now live!]
iPhone MMO Shadow Cities raises $2.5 million in investments
As smartphones become increasingly ubiquitous, it's inevitable that we'll start seeing unique uses of the technology involved -- something we're already seeing with Shadow Cities. The iPhone MMO is rather unique, tracking your location and putting you into an active battle with creatures placed on the GPS-enabled map. It's an innovative concept, a sort of game-oriented FourSquare, and one that's apparently intrigued investors enough to pony up big money to the tune of $2.5 million. This infusion of funding ties into plans to release the game in the US soon, as developer Grey Area has currently only released the game in its native Finland. Players will focus on taking dominion over the streets and completing quests, with the game itself following the free-to-play model complete with cash shop. Shadow Cities is certainly a novel product, and we'll be taking the time to chat with the studio about the game's development and future at GDC next week.
America's Army franchise cost $33 million to deploy over 10 years
According to information obtained by GameSpot from the United States Army, the America's Army series has cost $32.8 million across the 10 years of the franchise's existence. Development costs have risen and fallen over the years – starting with a first year budget of $3.5 million and a 2009 budget of approximately $3.4 million – though we can't imagine that the America's Army program will be spending as much in 2010 considering the developers of America's Army 3 were summarily canned after completing the last game. Over the course of the 10 years that the franchise has existed, the US Army has never released any statistics on recruitment efficacy, profitability of the franchise, or results of the programs efforts, among other things. It has equally drawn support and contempt from critics, with some saying the "recruitment centers" target underage youth and others saying they offer insight into real war. One idea we think most Joystiq readers will agree on, regardless of politics: a gaggle of much better (though admittedly not free!) FPS games are out there right now, just waiting to be played.
Chinese online game market operating in loss
When many of us think about MMOs, we think about companies who rake more money than we could dream about. Enough money to put together a scale model of Paris made out of 20 dollar bills.Yet the truth is that many of these companies are operating in loss, as a recent article published in the Beijing Times has shown. Over 70% of Chinese online game companies are spending more than they are earning, while only a few notable names, like The9, the operators of World of Warcraft in China, stand to even make a profit.Many games spend more in development and marketing costs than they stand to make in monthly subscriptions, leading to these problems occurring in many companies in the market. Analysts say that for every 10 online games made, only one stands to be a profitable venture.For the full report on this, check out the article over at TradingMarkets.com.
