No blockbusters this fall
This is probably old news to most videogame fans (and thus Cut Scene readers), but I've got an article in today's Daily Variety about the fact that while the videogame biz is still growing steadily and has plenty of hit this fall, there's no "Halo" or "GTA" size blockbusters.
Every summer seems to bring Hollywood something akin to "The Dark Knight" or "Pirates of the Caribbean," but the videogame can go through its hottest season without anything remotely close to breaking a record. Instead, we've got games "opening" with a few million units, like "Gears 2," "Fallout 3," "The Force Unleashed," etc.
And we still don't know how some of the season's potentially biggest hits, like "Guitar Hero: World Tour," are doing, though we'll at least get a hint in terms of U.S. sales tomorrow when NPD figures are released.
Of course, a bunch of doubles and triples can still make for a very healthy industry. But with the economy in freefall, I can't help but wonder whether the hit won't be quite as big as they used to be.
Full story: Vidgame biz awaits fall sales figures
Chris Morris reports on the business and culture of video games and offers analysis of recent events and industry trends.
Subscribe to this blog's feed
I always heard something from my neighbor that he sometimes goes to the internet bar to play the game which will use him some gw gold，he usually can win a lot of GuildWars Gold，then he let his friends all have some Guild Wars Gold，his friends thank him very much for introducing them the GuildWars money，they usually cheap gw gold together.
Posted by: cheap gw gold | March 11, 2009 at 07:08 PM
Quirk, I think both the games and movie industry have similar development times. You have to take into account the amount of time it takes to get a good script, get a director attached, get casting, get finance, scout locations, hire crew before you even start shooting. On a blockbuster, shooting can take 6 to 8 months. Of course, then there is post-production which can takes months as well.
I would think it would be alot easier without an AAA blockbuster for a new game to get some attention. How did all those games like 'Halo' and 'GTA' get started? They were superb games first and foremost.
Posted by: Scott | November 13, 2008 at 01:12 PM
There's too much competition for there to be a mega hit the herd would have to be thinned so gamers would largely flock to one title.
FarCry 2, Gears of War 2, Mirrors Edge, Fallout 3, Resistance 2, Little Big Planet, Spore
Nipping at their heals are Dead Space, Left4Dead, Red Alert 3 & more.
So much marketing that its just two crowded for the hardcore base to settle on just one. If there was less going on it would most likely be Gears 2 that would take the cake.
Plus there is the whole fact you can't knock out a AAA 7+ million seller in a year unlike the movie industry which can put something together relativity quickly compared to games which take years, even the best devs crews can only shave it down to about 2 years of work.
Posted by: Quirk | November 13, 2008 at 10:51 AM