Infinite business wisdom

[Aristos]

If this is the vission of the top "heads" at 2K, God help the franchise, because no one else will be able to...

http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/221046/2k-boss-strategy-games-are-just-not-contemporary/

Now I understand. Do you?

 

[Misterboy]

Holy crap, that's worrying!

Is it a coincidence that he's making a comparative example with the music industry? An industry that is in massive decline and who's attempt at appealing towards the "masses" is seeing it become shallow, repetitive, and increasingly unprofitable?

 

[buchengshi]

[q]Reports that Civilization VI will be a gritty first-person action adventure are as yet unconfirmed.[/q]

My favorite line of the article.

They ARE just cashing in on the X-COM name, no matter how much he tries to spin it. If it had gone to RTS, I could see calling it an evolution of the game. But FPS? Gimme a break.

 

[The_Quasar]

[q]Reports that Civilization VI will be a gritty first-person action adventure are as yet unconfirmed.[/q]

My favorite line of the article.

They ARE just cashing in on the X-COM name, no matter how much he tries to spin it. If it had gone to RTS, I could see calling it an evolution of the game. But FPS? Gimme a break.

Of course they are cashing in on the title! Perhaps they should be bringing out chess as a fps!

I may have bought a new X-COM, but not now, I much prefer strategy games to fps!!

 

[snoochems]

Reports that Civilization VI will be a gritty first-person action adventure are as yet unconfirmed.

Not funny... too close to the truth to be funny.

 

[baldfalk]

It's probably because every single RTS port to console from major franchises have fallen short of expectations, whereas HALO pretty much shifted FPS focus from PC to console, and the current belief that consoles are 'contemporary' (with their years-old hardware, no less)

With that statement, I guess you now know what to blame. :V

edit

Holy crap, that's worrying!

Is it a coincidence that he's making a comparative example with the music industry? An industry that is in massive decline and who's attempt at appealing towards the "masses" is seeing it become shallow, repetitive, and increasingly unprofitable?

Sorry, a tangent, but I just had to speak up - part of my dual major deals with aspects of the music business and gives some insight as to both what labels/publishers and outside analysts have to say on that matter, along with several choice personal opinions from lecturers. Pop music has in general been shallow and repetitive since -forever-. What's causing the decline -now- honestly is the fact that policies, copyrights, distribution were all contrived in a period before digital distribution existed. A record was more of a physical product that you bought at a shop (thank you capitalism), rather than a service that you paid someone for (as it should be now, now that making a 'copy' of a piece of music costs a publisher literally close to nothing)

The music industry has taken years and years longer than it should have to realize this, clinging on to their old ways and crying foul (and suing 14 year old girls) while the rest of the world basically moved forward. If enough bigshots had realized the change earlier and stayed on top of it, digital sales would be way higher than it is, perhaps even more than the decline of CD/album sales. Look at some parts of the world, like Korea.

 

[ghoultek]

In my more simplified view it just looks to me like they want or need a new revenue stream and they are going with the path of least risk/work/creativity/resistance... make a new easy to make game and slap a well known title on it... release new game on multiple platforms and add big marketing/advertising campaign. Presto!!!

I imagine building a FPS from the Civ 5 features/artwork/sound effects, would be more like assembling a cheap model airplane than designing and building a model airplane from scratch. It's like snapping together some Legos.

I have an 11 year old who prefers strategy games and driving games over FPS on any platform.

 

[Becephalus]

Well that European company released those 3 XCOM clone games and those seemed to due ok and were pretty fun. 2k probably just is lacking in imagination/coders actually interested in the IP. Happens all the time.

You could absolutely remake a game very similar to XCOM that was profitable.

 

[Fabiano79]

Just sad.

People doesnt seem to realize that older gamers have a lot more money to spent them the average GTA player. What we lack on numbers we compensate by having larger pockets. We are an audience to be pleased as well.

 

[Misterboy]

Sorry, a tangent, but I just had to speak up - part of my dual major deals with aspects of the music business and gives some insight as to both what labels/publishers and outside analysts have to say on that matter, along with several choice personal opinions from lecturers. Pop music has in general been shallow and repetitive since -forever-. What's causing the decline -now- honestly is the fact that policies, copyrights, distribution were all contrived in a period before digital distribution existed. A record was more of a physical product that you bought at a shop (thank you capitalism), rather than a service that you paid someone for (as it should be now, now that making a 'copy' of a piece of music costs a publisher literally close to nothing)

The music industry has taken years and years longer than it should have to realize this, clinging on to their old ways and crying foul (and suing 14 year old girls) while the rest of the world basically moved forward. If enough bigshots had realized the change earlier and stayed on top of it, digital sales would be way higher than it is, perhaps even more than the decline of CD/album sales. Look at some parts of the world, like Korea.

I don't want to go too far off topic. But yes, you're right... that is the major contributing factor to the music industry's decline. But along with that is an apathy towards the music that *most* consumers are exposed to, and that is due to a "same-ness" and lack of originality. Radio stations are hurting greatly do to this effect. The same phenomenon is affecting the movie industry. So while you're definitely correct, you kind of missed my point as it relates to the gaming industry.

 

[MadDjinn]

yup, and this is exactly why 2K is on the decline and may not exist as a publisher in the near future. (it's happening on all of their games, with minimal exceptions)

@Fabiano79

The stats are out there, and yeah.. those '90s gamers are all now in the 'we have the largest pool of cash for games' demographic. 2K may have missed the memo. again. Kids don't buy games, their parents do.

 

[PoliticalPro]

I do not understand. U have a product that got refined over the years, and instead of improving it, you make an entire different game and call it Civilization?
This is hillarious.

 

[spider1]

Just sad.

People doesnt seem to realize that older gamers have a lot more money to spent them the average GTA player. What we lack on numbers we compensate by having larger pockets. We are an audience to be pleased as well.

Exactly. And I'd pay a lot for what I want. Two of my favorite game lines don't even produce stuff anymore (Age of Empires and Empire Earth) and the only other game line I play besides Civ and the two Empires, is the Anno Discovery games. I'm currently enjoying 1404 quite a bit.

Other than that, I just don't buy modern games, but I would if they made the type I like to play. The Anno folks are coming out with a new game this year sometime.

 

[Aestis25]

The massive commercial failure that was Starcraft 2 proves strategy games are just not viable to develop anymore in this contemporary era of gaming.

 

[starrywisdom]

The massive commercial failure that was Starcraft 2 proves strategy games are just not viable to develop anymore in this contemporary era of gaming.

The numbers: "a day-one sales milestone of more than 1 million copies sold worldwide" and "1.5 million copies in its first 48 hours." The context: It's already the "best-selling PC game of 2010 within its first 24 hours of availability" and now holds the "record for fastest-selling strategy game of all time."

....?

 

[Calouste]

....?

....!

 

[baldfalk]

Whoosh

 

[starrywisdom]

....!

Looking at some of his past posts it's hard to tell if it's sarcasm or not....lol

 

[OrsonM]

It's a very uncreative way of thinking.

If Ray Charles was a young recording artist today, he'd probably still try to perform the same music, as there would had never been a Ray Charles to advance music to begin with (so it's kind of a crap analogy).

Big publishers just do not fit the mold of current gaming trends, they are too slow, too lacking in ideas and pushing titles based on the vanity of their own corporate culture (this game is called "FPS that will make our stocks sky-rocket").

Independent developers are still producing the most innovative games out there. They need no IPs, no complex 3d engines and a team you can count with your hands.

 

[ghoultek]

The massive commercial failure that was Starcraft 2 proves strategy games are just not viable to develop anymore in this contemporary era of gaming.

Look at the massive success of Starcraft Broodwar. Look at the effect that Broodwar had on the South Korean strategy gaming scene. It is basically a national passtime in S.K. The Starcraft-2 failure, as you put it, or lack of reaching the same success is due to the "publishing company's" failure to listen to its customers. Many complained, myself included, that they had no interest in facebook integration yet Blizzard's management made sure it was in the game. Several other contributing factors detract from its success such as Blizzard's policy with regard to SC-2 in e-Sports/tournaments.

Most Broodwar players just wanted a few new features, maybe some new units, some bug fixes, new campaigns (single player missions), new maps, the necessary updates to the story lines to match the changes, a few enhancements to the map editor, some exploits removed, updated graphics, and the other existing features... basically an enhanced version of Broodwar, but not necessarily what was released as SC-2.

The statement by 2K Games' CEO sounds very much like "follow-the-crowd" with a sloppy spin on it.

When a painting turns out to be lack luster you don't blame the canvas. Strategy games are 100% viable.

Edit: ...and yeah the Ray Charles to Kanye West analogy was ******ed... more evidence for the cluelessness pile.