Valve Boss: Let Fans Fund Games Development

[danlisa]

Every game we buy from any studio contributes to the development of future titles from that same studio. RRP's don't just cover the creation of the title you're buying but also ensures the continuation of that developers future projects. So, the onus is on the studios to create games that don't suck.

So Valve wants us to pay twice......Um, 2 words for you and the second is OFF!!!!

This along with Activision increasing the RRP for COD MW2, it seems that Gabe & Bobby have finally lost it, if they ever had it.

[mookiemookie]

Originally Posted by danlisa

So Valve wants us to pay twice......Um, 2 words for you and the second is OFF!!!!

I think the idea is that you essentially become a stakeholder in the game, like buying stock in a company. You're not paying twice, you're making an investment. If the game sells well, you recoup your investment and turn a profit. So you're not just doing all the funding without seeing any benefit.

I was sort of intrigued by the idea of, essentially, buying stock in a game title.

[SteamWake]

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

I think the idea is that you essentially become a stakeholder in the game, like buying stock in a company. You're not paying twice, you're making an investment. If the game sells well, you recoup your investment and turn a profit. So you're not just doing all the funding without seeing any benefit.

I was sort of intrigued by the idea of, essentially, buying stock in a game title.

What if the game goes to the shelves in a buggy unfinished state as seems to be the norm nowadays and the sales suffer. Some units sell but sales projections were way off and the whole project loses money and soon the product is abandonware?

What do the 'investors' get then?

[mookiemookie]

Originally Posted by SteamWake

What if the game goes to the shelves in a buggy unfinished state as seems to be the norm nowadays and the sales suffer. Some units sell but sales projections were way off and the whole project loses money and soon the product is abandonware?

What do the 'investors' get then?

Then you made a bad investment.

[Arclight]

Originally Posted by danlisa

Every game we buy from any studio contributes to the development of future titles from that same studio. RRP's don't just cover the creation of the title you're buying but also ensures the continuation of that developers future projects. So, the onus is on the studios to create games that don't suck.

Ideally, some of the profits go to supporting their current projects as well. Sad thing is that products that don't do well are abandoned, so they can use what they earned for the next title.

Originally Posted by SteamWake

What if the game goes to the shelves in a buggy unfinished state as seems to be the norm nowadays and the sales suffer. Some units sell but sales projections were way off and the whole project loses money and soon the product is abandonware?

What do the 'investors' get then?

I think the idea behind the whole thing is to make sure devs at least have the monetary resources to deliver a polished product. Problem is they still have to deal with deadlines.



I like the idea, I have often thought about simply donating money to devs. If it happens on a big enough scale, it can help assure ongoing support, getting a buggy release up to scratch or making something good even better. Investing is even better; if it does well, you can see a return on your investment, something you don't get with donations.

Considering the amounts of time and money that go into the productions nowadays, it might even become a necessity at some point.