XPost: alt.games.video.xbox, alt.games.video.sony-playstation2,    
   lt.games.video.sony-playstation3   
   From: weaponx013@yahoo.com   
      
   getrich@1upandup.com wrote:   
   > Scott H wrote:   
   >> Jonah Falcon wrote:   
   >>> One line Sony isn't paying attention to:   
   >>>   
   >>> "It was too difficult to develop for, therefore, the games were not fun,   
   and   
   >>> the games were not there. This is not about hardware. This is about   
   >>> software. Software has always driven hardware. If you don't have the   
   >>> software, the hardware will fail."   
   >>      Since their supporters made it up in the first place, I'm not sure   
   >> why they would pay attention to it.  Sony has made it a fact that   
   >> multiple processor architecture was the way of the future, just like   
   >> Sega concluded back with the Saturn in 1993 (or earlier with the   
   >> multiple board arcade boards in the 80s).  As nearly as I can tell,   
   >> developers worth their salt actually like more complicated hardware, so   
   >> long as it is rewarding to master.  Their reward, explicitly stated by   
   >> developers, is differentiation from other company's products on the   
   >> shelf through custom effects.   
   >>      The only problem with that now is that Sony and Microsoft have   
   >> made it so expensive to make one game, risks are actually too risky for   
   >> most developers.  I think that one leaked Sony employee interview said   
   >> that a truly new game costs over 30 million to make (while PS2 games   
   >> typically cost 750k, and Xbox games 1.5million).  That's getting up   
   >> into Shenmue territory, for anyone who simply wants to design a unique   
   >> game.  Like I've said before, I don't think that MS or Sony are   
   >> thinking about the developer anymore, I think they're thinking about   
   >> their direct competition, and they're playing a game of upping the   
   >> stakes until nobody else can afford to play any longer.  It it   
   >> impossible for me to see anything good coming from either of them   
   >> succeeding at this point.   
   >   
   > Sony fanboys like to yack how Sony is a hardware company. Well,   
   > Microsoft has its roots in SOFTWARE and particularly software   
   > development.  They know how to create dev kits that make development   
   > easier.  And they are pushing for garage developers to come up with   
   > stuff on XBox Life Marketplace for people.  Stuff like Geometry Wars.   
   > The development costs are also shooting up because the market is   
   > demanding more and more.  They want more in their games.  They want   
   > solid voice acting.  They want great visuals.  They also want fun   
   > stuff.   
      
         I'm not certain that the market is demanding more as much as the   
   media is, and companies are attempting to use things like FMV and voice   
   acting to make their product stand out.  I don't hear customers in   
   retail shops asking for which games have good voice actors, they   
   typically want more NFS/GTA/Madden/NCAA or whatever WWII "sim" they've   
   fallen in love with, but they have no clue when it comes to presentation.   
      
   > I would say this, at this moment, Sony is thinking of setting standards   
   > and dominating the market by owning hardware format, and format for   
   > media storage.  Microsoft is thinking of content at this moment, and   
   > getting players of all sort on their console.   
      
   > Actually if you download Torque and the 360 expansion, that costs   
   > nothing.  Microsoft is making 360 development cost $99 a year or so for   
   > small studios to develop.  Of course, you need to pay developers and   
   > whatnot, but that is a different issue.   
      
         At this moment, I'll give MS the benefit of doubt and wait to see   
   what comes of this.  My theory is a grand scheme of things theory, that   
   MS is attempting to outspend Sony, and Sony is attempting to outspend   
   everybody in order to create an Industry unsuitable for competition (of   
   hardware manufacturers).  As you say, MS is doing it more through   
   software than hardware.  Xbox Live is costing them a pretty penny at the   
   moment, and Sony has no chance of outstripping them any time soon.  I am   
   contrasting this with older strategies, and small dev strategies of   
   merely making what one can cover through sales, not selling at a loss in   
   the hopes of radically unpredictable returns 5-10 years down the road.   
      
   > On this note, how much do think Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved and   
   > Cloning Clyde cost to make?   
      
   If it's not in the 500k range, it's too high for small devs with   
   non-mass market products.   
      
   > - Richard Hutnik   
   >   
      
      
   --   
   Scott   
      
   http://www.gamepilgrimage.com   
      
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