Does this mean there is no SH4?

Trav_R · 11-03-05, 12:28 AM

To Cworth:

You've got a somewhat skewed perspective on these game companies. They *have* to make money, if they want to continue making good games. In the business world, you make a product, and hope that you can sell enough of it to cover your expenses at the very least. If you are very good, you can actually make a profit, which is better, because the profits can then be spent on making a better game the next time around. There's nothing inherently wrong with this system.

With software engineering in general, and game design in particular, the "creating a product" part is extremely complex and time consuming, requiring a team of very skilled professionals several months or years to complete a product. This means that creating a game is *extremely* expensive for a company, which means that they are going to have to pay extra attention to all business aspects if they are to cover costs and make a profit, thus ensuring their survival.

One of those business aspects that they have to carefully consider is how long to support a game and how much money to spend in supporting it. If the game sells well enough and it appears that it will continue to do so, the company can afford to support it more, thereby further increasing consumer happiness and sales. If, however, the product doesn't sell well enough, they have to make some tough decisions. In the case of SHIII, sales weren't enough to justify spending a whole lot of money supporting it long after its release.

The game is, in my opinion, hands down the best sub sim ever created and it may stay that way for several years. That doesn't automatically mean it's going to sell well, though. Most people who play a lot of video games are not interested in sub sims, or any sim even remotely hard-core. They want shooters, beatemups, maybe some arcade style flying games, things like that. SHIII is way too in depth for about 90% of gamers, and nothing Ubisoft does will change that. The idea of slinking around the Atlantic in a slow, fragile, weak craft, and only managing to "whip some ass" through a fair amount of skill and effort just doesn't cut it for your average gamer. They want explosions, heads getting blown off, pixellated boobies, and they want it all quick and easy. They want cheat codes, they want walkthroughs, they want spoilers.

Games like SHIII just aren't very marketable, and any time a company makes one, they are putting their life on the line, in a sense. They are well aware that they stand a fair chance of losing a ton of money, and, very possibly going bankrupt. Why would they do it? Because they love great games, and they love even more to make great games. A game like SHIII doesn't come into creation by a bunch of money-grubbing scumbags. The game is simply too good to be created by people that low. But the people who created it are normal people like you and me, and normal people don't work for free. This means that if the game doesn't sell well enough, and they continue to support it, they are essentially doing it for either very cheap, for free, or at a loss.

So, in the plain and true words of Peter Gibbons from Office Space, "Where's the motivation, Bob?"

11-03-05, 12:28 AM	#11
Trav_R Ensign Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Oklahoma, USA Posts: 227 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	To Cworth: You've got a somewhat skewed perspective on these game companies. They have to make money, if they want to continue making good games. In the business world, you make a product, and hope that you can sell enough of it to cover your expenses at the very least. If you are very good, you can actually make a profit, which is better, because the profits can then be spent on making a better game the next time around. There's nothing inherently wrong with this system. With software engineering in general, and game design in particular, the "creating a product" part is extremely complex and time consuming, requiring a team of very skilled professionals several months or years to complete a product. This means that creating a game is extremely expensive for a company, which means that they are going to have to pay extra attention to all business aspects if they are to cover costs and make a profit, thus ensuring their survival. One of those business aspects that they have to carefully consider is how long to support a game and how much money to spend in supporting it. If the game sells well enough and it appears that it will continue to do so, the company can afford to support it more, thereby further increasing consumer happiness and sales. If, however, the product doesn't sell well enough, they have to make some tough decisions. In the case of SHIII, sales weren't enough to justify spending a whole lot of money supporting it long after its release. The game is, in my opinion, hands down the best sub sim ever created and it may stay that way for several years. That doesn't automatically mean it's going to sell well, though. Most people who play a lot of video games are not interested in sub sims, or any sim even remotely hard-core. They want shooters, beatemups, maybe some arcade style flying games, things like that. SHIII is way too in depth for about 90% of gamers, and nothing Ubisoft does will change that. The idea of slinking around the Atlantic in a slow, fragile, weak craft, and only managing to "whip some ass" through a fair amount of skill and effort just doesn't cut it for your average gamer. They want explosions, heads getting blown off, pixellated boobies, and they want it all quick and easy. They want cheat codes, they want walkthroughs, they want spoilers. Games like SHIII just aren't very marketable, and any time a company makes one, they are putting their life on the line, in a sense. They are well aware that they stand a fair chance of losing a ton of money, and, very possibly going bankrupt. Why would they do it? Because they love great games, and they love even more to make great games. A game like SHIII doesn't come into creation by a bunch of money-grubbing scumbags. The game is simply too good to be created by people that low. But the people who created it are normal people like you and me, and normal people don't work for free. This means that if the game doesn't sell well enough, and they continue to support it, they are essentially doing it for either very cheap, for free, or at a loss. So, in the plain and true words of Peter Gibbons from Office Space, "Where's the motivation, Bob?"