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Tomb Raider Developer Cuts 25 Staff
Eidos has cut a further 25 staff at its California, US-based studio Crystal Dynamics.
The publisher said the move was designed to “focus resources” at the Tomb Raider: Underworld developer.
"We can confirm that Crystal Dynamics has made a reduction of approximately 25 people at the San Francisco studio,” Eidos said in a statement issued to Edge.
“This decision is a reflection of the continued drive to focus resources at the studio. We would like to thank all of the employees affected by this difficult decision for their hard work during their time at Crystal and we wish them all the best in the future."
Back in January Crystal Dynamics suffered a similar reduction in headcount after sales of Tomb Raider: Underworld fell short of Eidos’ forecasts.
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Copyright 2006 - 2009 Future Publishing Limited, Beauford Court 30 Monmouth Street Bath, UK BA1 2BW
England and Wales company registration number 2008885
I hope it's your internet service provider.
this is all because of them consoles with their high production costs. I wonder what company will be next to bankuprt?
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/video-game-makers-seeing-red/
It's not going bankrupt, it's just managing their resources during the time of recession.
Don't forget that the IP was bought out by Square Enix. Any triple A title has high production costs, even on the PC. Normally it's the publisher that foots the bill, and gets most of the return.
high production costs are bigger on consoles. not only that pc gaming with it's DD is pure profit.
DD? No such thing as a pure profit. Developers are just selling publishers a profit at a discount, that's how it normally works unless the game is built "in house". A typical budget of a triple A project is:
"Triple A" quality games
Development
Budget - $2-10+ million
Period - 18 to 36 months
Publishing
Marketing budget - $5-10 million
Target retail price - $50
These are for all games being produced. There is a profit difference between a console and PC gaming, I agree with you a bit on there. The profit margin would normally look like this (please keep in mind that this is a rough statistic):
CONSOLE GAME PRICE BREAKDOWN (ROUGH NUMBERS):
COST
Developer: €5
Publisher: €24
Wholesaler: €7
Retailer: €5
Manufactuer: €12
Distribution: €7
Total: €60
This is the average price we have to pay for console games, therefore above is the rough net profit everyone normally gets, with the Developer hardly getting anything.
PC-CD GAME PRICE BREAKDOWN (ROUGH NUMBERS):
COST
Developer: €4
Publisher: €20
Wholesaler: €6
Retailer: €4
Manufactuer: €21
Distribution: €6
Total: €41
This is the average cost that we have to pay for a PC game. Thus the above is the rough net profit that is gained from those that made the game.
So yes, there is a high production cost that is then passed on to the consumer, but that doesn't change the fact that everyone is on a similair budget to create the games on a triple A title. We don't see the difference of a Triple A budget on the different platforms, rather we see the cost of the product when it's being manufactured.
You do have a slight point, but lets not forget the fact that millions of people own consoles, and have the income to spend on buying these games.
On another point, there is no such thing as a pure profit. Everything is a risk, and developers hardly see that profit. They get by with whatever is left over from the budget or from the royalties/bonuses they receive after certain milestones have been reached when the software hits retail market. It's the publishers that roll in the profit.
now that pc gamers have gone online, game devs don't need a publisher. Also if a game devs has a big enough following he or she could by pass a publisher. the level of entery into pc gaming over consolesis alot smaller. It's why pc gamers have indie and independant game devs. Sorry no console makes 16lillion,7million,5milllion,8 million. real game devs can make those kinds of numbers.
buttom line is there is more profit to be had on tthe pc.
I'm sorry, but I think you're dead wrong. Let's look at Gears of War. I'm pulling up a published figure of 3 milliion units sold.
PRICE BREAKDOWN (ROUGH ESTIMATE)
CONSOLE GAME
Developer: €15,000,000
Publisher: €72,000,000
Wholesaler: €21,000,000
Retailer: €15,000,000
Manufactuer: €36,000,000
Distribution: €21,000,000
Epic alone roughly makes €15 million from a figure I pulled up on google "Gears of War units sold".
There is a huge profit margin to be made from consoles, especially since there are a lot of consoles in people's homes.
Do you even know the role of a publisher? Game developers will always need a publisher unless they are using their own publisher such as EA and Stardock. Steam is a publishing service, along with Impulse.
A publisher's role is to finance a project and to build hype and distribute the game. The money most developers get to make their games does not come from them, it mainly comes from the publisher. The most famous case being the downfall of "Duke Nukem Forever", quite possibly the most ironically named game of the century.
As I've mentioned before, to put it simply a developer is selling a profit to a publisher at a discount.
Yes, the level of entry for indie developers is easy, but it doesn't provide a viable huge income. Look at Braid, it has to use Impulse to get into the main market, something that Impulse gets a comission for.
Not only that, but with XNA for the Xbox it is now easy for indy developers to get access to game consoles. Look at Braid, it's a huge hit! Nintendo is also following the same thing as well. There is now a way for indy developers and bedroom coders to make it to the mass market for the consoles.
Bottom line is that consoles have an equal amount of profit opportunity as a PC, as it provides high-fidelity gaming at a one off cost that will last you for years.
Epic games is a medium size company in the pc gaming world , 3 mill is not much. Epic maybe a top teir company on consoles but on the pc they are not as popular as top teair pc game devs such as will wright,anet or blizzard.
crytek made 2 mill with crysis and Will wright spore. However these games are still selling and will sell for a long time to come as long as these are games are on the market. Good example is sims, warcraft, daiblo, guildwars, civilation.
Compare half life to UT3 sales numbers and you get the point. I feel epic was once a big name company for pc but they never grew bigger like other pc game companies.
how ever I do agree consoles make ok amounts of money.
How ever you do have point about publishers I do agree with you to some degree. Yea indie game devs and indepent comapnies still need to come to mass market where pc gamers or consoles. How ever take a look at runescape it has a huge following no publisher was ever used for runescape. In fact it was started as bedroom porject.
I hear there is another site to down load indie games it's called game gate. I think
Will Wright is just a Game Designer, not a developer. Is the Anet you're talking about this?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anet
Blizzard is massive because they have a huge publishing company behind them and they have an MMO that funnels them money every year.
You can also compare console games that will sell a long time as well. Look at Final Fantasy VII, still being bought this day. Not only that you also have GTA IV and Saints Row 2. Then you have the old Time Splitters games and Ico. The console is still with their classical hits.
Half Life has been in the market for a far longer time then UT3, and Epic studio makes a portion of its money from licensing their software Unreal Engine 3 to other companies. Epic studio is big in its own way through software development. Both consoles and PC games license the Unreal Engine 3 technology.
Crytek provides a powerful engine and a strong graphical game, but the practicalities of enjoying that game is immense, which brings us to my point. You need powerful hardware to fully enjoy Crysis, hardware that would run you around €2,500 or more to run Crysis the way it's meant to be run. While spending €300 - €500 on a home console will provide you with excellent graphics and frame rates without the need to upgrading the hardware. It's a one shop deal where there is no compromise.
Does PC gaming offer better quality graphics and sound? Yes. It always will, but only for the hard core gamer that has the money to invest upgrading their rig every year.
This is why consoles are huge. They provide the mass market, the middle people in society, with a video game platform to fully enjoy those "next-gen" games with awsome graphics and sound.
when I talk about anet I mean arenanet pc gamers, call arenanet anet for sort. It's like wow for world of warcarft.
http://www.arena.net/
You can't compare Final Fantasy VII to daiblo for exmaple because daiblo is still selling to this day well. It like starcraft it's still a popular game. Also the graphics and powerful audio sell really well on pc. In fact we have stuff like this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OHcMWEzPnk
we all know about pc gaming tech too as well, for exmaple Invidia was made because of pc gamers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-j69RnEBAc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GPI9xDmRjk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y2nJmKzOVY
pc gamers have logictech this company gets awrds for they hardware. there is a reason japan is far behide the west when comes to the world and games. If japan was on pc, if final fantasy was on pc the company that makes it would be as big as blizzard maybe even bigger.
p.s I changed my above post with indie and publishers I just remeber companies like runescape.
Nvidia was made for the hardcore gamers with the cash to spend. Which is why consoles are popular, no one wants to spend that much money on getting the most out of a game when they can spend less on a console.
In fact, it can be said AMD was made for PC gamers. It provides hardware to run the games of today at a good price. They are also better made.
agin console gamers and pc gamers are different. real gamers want the best experience and they will pay for it.
Excuse me?
it's why pc games up grade and od stuff like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVz2rSO5qIU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5ogZ7sYCjM&feature=related
Please, please Dreamhunk. Don't say that a console gamer isn't anything less as a real gamer compared to a PC gamer. Really. That's just...no man....I mean...just don't go down there.......You'll get nothing but a comparison between a baby (you) and the comments of the community (Sumo Wrestlers)......I mean....That's just asking for Donkey Kong poop.....
You can compare them because Final Fantasy VII has often been proclaimed as one of the hundred best games ever made. Not only that it's been released in the PSN now.
As I've mentioned, graphics and audio will always be ahead on the PC. That is de facto.
Logitech is just a peripheral company. Selling gaming keyboards and gaming mice. They don't manufacture hardware such as graphic cards, CPUs and Motherboards. They only sell products to gamers who want a bit more out of their peripherals. Also, the whole "polling 1,500 second" junk, I know what polling is and I know it brings only good and bad things to a computer. You get a faster response time on the hardware that does polling, but you're eating up more CPU power in the process at all times, even when the said hardware is not having any input. It's like a nagging wife to the CPU.
The only reason why they sell well is because people want to listen to their games quitely. Surround sound is also offered in console games. There is just a bit more peripherals available to the PC then that is available to the console market.
Final Fantasy already has an MMO out there, Final Fantasy XI. Although I personally don't count it as part of the series. It has a strong enough following. Japan's main theme has been "micro-transactions" when it comes to their MMOs. Whether this was what you're talking about I don't know because I didn't understand what you're saying.
It's doubtful anything can be bigger then Blizzard at the moment. Blizzard and Valve are the two biggest PC companies. Actually, the big three would be EA, Valve and Blizzard. Blizzard is part of a multi-media corporation that has the funds to back it up.
logictech does just do mice or keyboards they do controlers for pc gaming. they have the best wheel for racing for pc. they have other cool stuff
http://kotaku.com/5283965/logitechs-opulent-300-flight-sim-controller-is...
by the way I disagree with kotaku about the niche market. there is a huge market for this stuff people who like space sims ,flight sims and flight games for pc. For exmaple eve online has about 300 000 gamers and it's a space sim.
by the way there is alot of pc gamers that want AAA space sim game. for exmpale I bet if interplay made freespace 3 they would make a ton of money. If Lucas arts made tie fighter 2 there would be tons of gamers who want to play that game.
hardcore pc gamers need that kind of tech, pc gamers hav toumernents and stuff like that. If you want the best you need to pay for the best. that is why pc gamers have such cool toys for our games. Weare willing to pay for it. That head set is like $200 where I live.
agin japan is so far behide the west it's because they were never pc, japan mustly fucas on consoles gaming. There is a mmo bigger that blizzard, i think it's called hobo I can't remeber, but it's for kids and it's free to play.
yes i knoe Final Fantasy already has an MMO.
I play flight and space sims. I'm currently playing X3: Terran Conflict (trying to get enough money to build a fleet to exterminate those Goner...God how I hate their species). Eve Online is a poor choice for your example. The only peripheral I can imagine you using is a headset, because I played it before. You need to point and click. You don't have the freedom of movement as you do in the X games, or the upcoming MMO Jumpgate Evolution. Even with that, Jumpgate Evolution fully supports mouse and keyboard, along with the X universe games. Many Xenon have died by my blasters using a simple mouse and keyboard.
Hardcore PC gamers don't "need" that kind of tech. They may want it, but they don't need it. You can win a simple competition with a standard headset and keyboard. We do have cool peripherals, but that's just it. It's cool. I won (along with a friend) the Dragonica Tournament in Europe using whatever hardware was available in the Games Festival (which wasn't much. Simple crappy headset and a standard Dell keyboard and mouse).
See, again we go to the price. That awsome headset costs $200! In consoles the sound is supplied by the TV or whatever extra you have hooked up to it. The point I was making earlier is that it provides awsome gaming at no huge expense.
Japan is PC, but they concentrate on the Design rather then the Development aspect of gaming. They are also console, but the same can be said about their consoles. What I find lacking in Western games is a good story/Design, but it provides awsome technical points. The East provides excellent story and sound/Design, but it doesn't have that cutting-edge technical field.
Just because Japan is mostly console doesn't mean they are behind. Consoles provide a level of interactivity that PC developers are having a hard time to match. Look at the Wii! Motion Sensitivity for gaming, something that has been developed for the PC in the past and has failed in so many levels.
I would agree with you with above ost pc gamers have alot tech we over look like motion control. In fact some hardcore pc gamers was macking it. there is more sound companies building products with sound for pc gamers. Some pc gamers would just use surround sound for the living room and hook it up to their pc's. Now a days there is some high tech sound comapnies market targeting pc gamers.
As for story telling pc gaming is more adavnce then consoles. for exmaple look at guildwars. Rpg on pc is what started MMO's also you can do TBSrpg's on consoles. The first action rpg was done on pc not consoles.
Hardcore gamers with programming and hardware knowledge. Doesn't mean it's available to the market nor will it be implemented by developers. With the announcement of Netel Xbox360 is joining motion-control band waggon, offering a deeper level of immersion to the console.
Story telling is about the same on the PC as it is on the console. FFVII leaped the RPG genre to a whole new level, with subsequent Final Fantasy titles as well. PC gaming is more seen to the public as a FPS and RTS genre hotbed. Neverwinter Nights and KOTOR are the best examples of RPG making on the PC, along with the old Fallout games.
Consoles offer just as much RPG as the PC, if not more so. Whether a console did it something first or not is irrelevent, what matters is how well its been done.
With every single Final Fantasy game has a deep, compelling story and characters that I actually give a damn. Not only that, look at Ico or Shadow of the Collosus, both excellent games without the technical aspects of the West, but rather the Design of the East to create excellent and emotional games.
logictech does more than just mice or keyboards they do controlers for pc gaming. they have the best wheel for racing for pc for exmaple. they have alot of other cool stuff
http://kotaku.com/5283965/logitechs-opulent-300-flight-sim-controller-is...
by the way I disagree with kotaku about the niche market. there is a huge market for this stuff people who like space sims ,flight sims and flight games for pc. For exmaple eve online has about 300 000 gamers and it's a space sim.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q62Wk3xWH8g&feature=PlayList&p=F614A7A646...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2BYxSivFZE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfTCll7XOV4
by the way there is alot of pc gamers that want AAA space sim game. for exmpale I bet if interplay made freespace 3 they would make a ton of money. If Lucas arts made tie fighter 2 there would be tons of gamers who want to play that game.
*sorry this is a repeat of above post I had to correct some stuff and add some stuff*
*To the new stuff*
Not really. If there was a lot of people that wanted it there would be more games in development for it. The only new upcoming Space Sim is Jumpgate Evolution and.....that's it. Space Sim is a dying genre, with the finale of the X universe there won't be anything quite like it.
Thing is, they won't make it. That's the problem. They just don't see it as a viable market to make a massive amount of money. The Space Sim is a niche genre. Jumpgate Evolution and Eve Online the only people offering various different levels of Space Sim. Jumpgate Evolution, from what I've read, doesn't offer the same amount of depth as Eve Online. Eve Online, on the flipside of the coin, doesn't offer the immersion and combat that we crave for in Jumpgate Evolution.
You can't even google the amount of units X3: Terran Conflict has sold because I haven't even found any statistics! Developers and Publishers will only produce these games if they think there is enough profit to be made for it, and apparently there isn't enough to interest them over another shooter.
you just have to know how find those space sims coming to the pc. I still disagree with by the way. You can make any genre sell well. All you need is a really good game dev. Also you need to mass market to know about it too as well. look at aquaria, world of goo, braid and other indie games.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TSxXAY4xks
If it's a good game it will sell.
Yes, if it's a good game it will sell well. It's important though for the market to be aware of the game.
You cannot make any genre sell well. It's hard to get the RTS genre on the console sell well, and not everybody is interested in Space Sims on the PC or otherwise. Also not everybody is interested in Microsoft Flight Simulator. Such games will sell, and sell for a profit hopefully, but it will be difficult to meet the profit margin that can be found on a FPS that is generally accepted with mass market appeal.
I disagree pc gamers just need a really good game dev to refresh the genre. I see alot pc gamers upset that there is not another AAA space sims or mech games as there use to be.
By the way there is a ton of space games coming to the pc, here is a list
http://adrianwerner.wordpress.com/games-of-2009/
here take a look at this engine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCzDKj3hjOE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibZZRDIhtVo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOxFv...eature=related
If you need the link to the people making this engine their site can be found here.
http://www.infinity-universe.com/Inf...d=12&Itemid=33
They are just space games, games that has a setting in space. Doesn't make it a spacec sim. A space sim would be the X universe, Eve Online and Jumpgate Evolution, and Freespace.
Just because a game takes place in Space doesn't make it a space game. Sins of a Solar Empire takes place in space, but it isn't a space sim, just another RTS.
your just talk about other genres now. I am going to give you an exmaple TBS are not found on consoles but it's popular genre. rts games are popular but it's not popluar on consoles. Other genres get over looked because they can't be done on consoles or console gamers don't know about them. Does it mean they are not popular.
That is also another reason some pc gamers hate consoles. You can't run tbrpg on a console. look at the pc game list agin there is alot of space sims.
this is a really good link read the comments too
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=23748
I did. There's a crappy world sim and another turn based space game and a 2-D RTS game that takes place in space. The only thing that count as a viable space sim is the turn based one and the world sim.
RTS cannot be done well on consoles because the controls. If the console had the controls of the PC it would be there. The only RTS game that was implemented with success would be Halo Wars. Played it in a tournament (first time playing too) and the controls were easy to pick up and excellently implemented
Turn Based Simutlations can (in theory) be done on the console because it's turn based, so there isn't a lot of pressure to have the controls easy or intuitive.
Yes, okay, some PC gamers hate consoles, but the important word is some. I'm a huge PC gamer and programmer. Yet I fully enjoy console gaming and still hook up my PS2 to play the old games found on the console and old PS games.
KOTOR can be said to be turn based, yet it made it to the Xbox.
I will give you two more exmpales sims amd flight sims are popular on the pc. Sims is so popluar on the pc it makes over 16 milllion. On consoles sims is not that popular. I don't even think flight sims are even popluar on consoles. On the pc however flight sims are huge. So huge in fact you have real pilets playing pc flight sims.
I bet id EA made a flight sim that microsoft use to make, EA would make tons of money.
Yes, I know. Microsoft Flight Simulator you're talking about. The same software that was used to train the terrorists of 9/11 on how to fly a plane.
There are many different types of Sims. There's military sims, flight sims and then there are Space sims, most notable Egosofts' X series.
It's the different types of sims that will rake in huge money or not. Military sims would rake in loads because it pampers the FPS kid in us and the cool military stuff. Space sims keeps the Star Trecky inside of us with glee but, sadly, there isn't a lot of us Treky's.
Maybe if EA did, who knows? I believe Microsoft still retains the IP of Microsoft Flight Simulator, and it's hard to bring something to the market that will challenge a product such as that. Same thing with the Sims, a life simulator. Highly doubtful that Microsoft will bring a Sim esque game to the market that can rival an already established, quality brand made from EA.
microsoft hates pc gaming they killed the flight sims they had a ready, even when there is a huge following. Microsoft pretty much wants pc gaming dead. It's an evil empire! You really think microsoft cares about pc gamers take a good look at GFwindows live, don't even get me started.
any way my point is a good game dev can make any genre popular. he or she just have to be really creative.
anyway I will chat with you later lol
Dude....look at my profile in this site.....The best video game development course in my country has been created and approved by Microsoft. I've entered Microsoft tournaments and the "Games Fleadh" wouldn't exist without Microsoft help. My trophy that I won for a PC game wouldn't exist if it wasn't for Microsoft and my awsome adaptable skills. Microsoft encourages PC gaming and development. They are not as evil as you may think....
Yes, a good game developer can make any genre popular. There has to be a demand for the genre however. A bitching game in a certain genre won't make it popular unless there is a demand for that genre. The last game in the X series is kick ass, and yet you don't hear about the massive sales about the game or the huge demand for the genre. Eve Online's subsription base is only in the hundred-thousands.
Check out this video I uploaded. The video isn't mine, but rather a forum user of the X game's forums. I wanted to upload it to YouTube to spread the awsomness of his work and how cool X3: Terran Conflict is.
NOTE: THIS ONLY SHOWS COMBAT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j69reTb6Ikw
pc gamers are picky gamers lol did those game devs ever ask pc gamers what they think. also space sims was so popular at the time there was just too much of it, personaly what I think. I also think the same will happen to shooters soon.
Ok if microsoft care so much why is GFwindows junk. lets compare it to lets say steam. what will happen to age of empires. pc gamers notice topics like this
http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/39622/Microsoft-Explain-PC-Game-Releas...
I don't need to see your profile it's ok, I see people as people :P
Oh one more thing nasa is making a space mmo :) lol
there is space games just what type of genre are you looking for lol or space sim. there is even a spacesation sim.
Right, well I'm currently in college doing a Computer Games Development Bachelor Honours course, a course with the approval and support of Microsoft.
They, like myself, visit the forums regulary. They also have moderators which offer huge support in making mods. I myself have downloaded a few, with the help of moderators compiling ALL the mods for the game and categorising them all easily. It looks like an awsome game, doesn't it? Trust me, several times I thought I lost my life to that game, trying to earn enough money to do a Hitler esque extermination of the Boron race (just because I don't like them. They're too peace loving for me).
Age of Empires went down because of management. The studio closed but they still retain the IP to do it all over again. I don't think the service is junk. It's incredibly easy for me to update my games, just like Steam, and offers me the option to achieve gamer points and DLC.
Nice to see my countries' tax money for space advancement is going to an MMO. I'm telling you, the whole thing slowed down after the fall of Communism.
I know, there is so many sims for different types that it's hard to make it a hugely successful game. They can become a success, but not earn huge profit margins. They just become niche games, like the Deer Hunting game. Realistic environments and weapons with a believable AI for the hunt, but only a few people would buy it.
well alot pc gamers not just my self feel ge windows sucks. It's either microsoft hates pc gamers or they are very out of touch. When i see it I will beleave it. Oh congratz with microsoft. ;) i still think that they are evil, however good company to start off from and make a career.
any way I will chat with you later. I 'm heading out been on the computer too long. I will be on here agin. i like to read up on all the pc gaming news.
How can you call a company evil that helped establish quite possibly the greatest opening sequencec in a presentation?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvsboPUjrGc
and lets not forget the awsome soundtrack that was inspired by Microsoft:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMU0tzLwhbE
I don't think they are out of touch. I just think there is so much PR stuff going on they have to be careful.
Thank you. I don't think though my starting career will be with them though. Might move to England and start off in the game industry. Or I might just stay here and move on to get a Masters degree.
I'm going to head. Going to play X3 and try to claw my way up in the galaxy to realise my dream (Destroy all Boron!). I like to read up on all news, not just PC gaming!:D
Wait til you've worked in the industry for a while! ;) -lol-
well to me microsoft is like this they will have to earn my trust supporting my hobbie. Until then they are an evil empire.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah1oWMd45LE
Fair enough.
yup the evil empire here is a beter video hehe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7KkFcyOklg