Posted June 13, 2013
low rated
Why indie games will save the video games industry.
Video game technology is constantly improving, allowing more realistic graphics, sound, and physics to be implemented into the games that we play thus creating a more immersive gaming experience. And why wouldn’t we want that? But this is a double edged sword for the gaming industry. As those technologies increase, so too does the development time and cost of those games that use that technology. In the 80’s and 90’s, a game developer with 20 employees could create a game in 6 months. A single publisher could crank out dozens of games a year. These days it takes hundreds of employees 5 years to push out a single AAA title, at a cost of tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars. This cost has led to an increase in the average price of games at retail, intrusive DRM strategies aimed at reducing piracy and the used game market, and a general sameness in the type of games created. As costs increase, publishers become less willing to invest in innovative gameplay in favor of safer, more established gameplay, leading to the current trend of “sequelitis”. How many genres of games are all but extinct now in favor of the next big FPS? When was the last AAA flight sim released? All of this combined equates to a decrease in the amount of games per year and a general feeling of “been there, done that” in the games that are released. And so far, this policy has worked for the game industry as a whole, as franchises such as Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto have had record sales. But is this a sustainable business model in the long run? As more and more gamers get bored with playing the same old game with newer, fancier graphics, will those record sales continue? Will fewer and fewer titles per generation continue to attract adopters to that new technology? How much will a person be willing to pay for a new game? My prediction is that, should the industry at large continue on its current path, it will eventually reach a breaking point. DRM to prevent used game sales and increases in game cost at retail will only act as a band aid for the collection of revenue. Eventually, upgrading your PC or buying a new console will be too high of a cost to the consumer to justify playing the few AAA games that will be coming out for that generation of hardware. Would you pay $800 to play 6 games? Would you pay $100 each for those games? There is a tipping point in the market in which the costs to play games will exceed the enjoyment that we get out of them.
Does this mean that the gaming industry is doomed? Not at all. I believe that it will be saved by the indie game market. I own a lot of games. Seriously, a lot. But nearly 75% of the games that I own are created by indie developers. And the average price that I pay for one of these games is likely in the area of $10; some as low as $1. And almost all of those games run perfectly on my years old dual-core computer. And the major players in the market already know this. Look at the number of indie titles released on the Xbox 360 and PS3 compared to previous generations of consoles. Look at the number of indie developed titles being published by big companies like EA and Valve. They understand the need of smaller, more innovative game titles to fill the void left from the lack of monthly AAA titles and attract new customers and revenue. This trend will continue.
But a word of caution. We can’t allow the appeal of reaching a larger audience to compromise the integrity of indie developers. The big players have and will continue to force things like intrusive DRM and console exclusivity onto indie developers. We have to let indie developers know that their games can and will be profitable based solely on the quality of the game, and not because Microsoft gave them an Xbox Live deal. To that end, I make the following suggestions:
1-Never pirate an indie game. If you can’t afford $10 for a game and don’t have the patience to wait for a sale, then find a better job or a cheaper hobby. If you don’t want to pay for the game, then don’t play it, and spent the money instead on a psychiatrist to work through your entitlement issues.
2-Only support games that have no DRM or a DRM plan that is acceptable to you. It’s all very subjective, but only you can decide what you’re willing to live with. DRM is here to stay, unfortunately, but sometimes it goes too far. If you’re okay with Steam, then buy games on Steam. If you’re okay with a constant internet connection being required, then that’s what works for you. But don’t compromise your beliefs just to play some game. You’ll be able to survive without it, trust me. I’d love to play Diablo 3 but I never will, and I’m not sad about that because I’ve spent money on many other games developed and published by companies that I feel respect me. It’s Blizzard’s loss, not mine.
3-Thank an indie developer. Many times, these games are a labor of love for the people who make them and they make little or no profit on them based on the time and energy that they put into development. In those cases, just hearing from you that you liked their game and appreciate them making it can make a big difference. Take 5 minutes out of your busy day to send someone an email and express your gratitude.
4-Tell people about the indie games that you love. These guys don’t have millions of dollars to spend on a 2 minute commercial during the Superbowl. They rely on word of mouth advertising, so do your part and let your friends know about the games that you enjoy.
Video game technology is constantly improving, allowing more realistic graphics, sound, and physics to be implemented into the games that we play thus creating a more immersive gaming experience. And why wouldn’t we want that? But this is a double edged sword for the gaming industry. As those technologies increase, so too does the development time and cost of those games that use that technology. In the 80’s and 90’s, a game developer with 20 employees could create a game in 6 months. A single publisher could crank out dozens of games a year. These days it takes hundreds of employees 5 years to push out a single AAA title, at a cost of tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars. This cost has led to an increase in the average price of games at retail, intrusive DRM strategies aimed at reducing piracy and the used game market, and a general sameness in the type of games created. As costs increase, publishers become less willing to invest in innovative gameplay in favor of safer, more established gameplay, leading to the current trend of “sequelitis”. How many genres of games are all but extinct now in favor of the next big FPS? When was the last AAA flight sim released? All of this combined equates to a decrease in the amount of games per year and a general feeling of “been there, done that” in the games that are released. And so far, this policy has worked for the game industry as a whole, as franchises such as Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto have had record sales. But is this a sustainable business model in the long run? As more and more gamers get bored with playing the same old game with newer, fancier graphics, will those record sales continue? Will fewer and fewer titles per generation continue to attract adopters to that new technology? How much will a person be willing to pay for a new game? My prediction is that, should the industry at large continue on its current path, it will eventually reach a breaking point. DRM to prevent used game sales and increases in game cost at retail will only act as a band aid for the collection of revenue. Eventually, upgrading your PC or buying a new console will be too high of a cost to the consumer to justify playing the few AAA games that will be coming out for that generation of hardware. Would you pay $800 to play 6 games? Would you pay $100 each for those games? There is a tipping point in the market in which the costs to play games will exceed the enjoyment that we get out of them.
Does this mean that the gaming industry is doomed? Not at all. I believe that it will be saved by the indie game market. I own a lot of games. Seriously, a lot. But nearly 75% of the games that I own are created by indie developers. And the average price that I pay for one of these games is likely in the area of $10; some as low as $1. And almost all of those games run perfectly on my years old dual-core computer. And the major players in the market already know this. Look at the number of indie titles released on the Xbox 360 and PS3 compared to previous generations of consoles. Look at the number of indie developed titles being published by big companies like EA and Valve. They understand the need of smaller, more innovative game titles to fill the void left from the lack of monthly AAA titles and attract new customers and revenue. This trend will continue.
But a word of caution. We can’t allow the appeal of reaching a larger audience to compromise the integrity of indie developers. The big players have and will continue to force things like intrusive DRM and console exclusivity onto indie developers. We have to let indie developers know that their games can and will be profitable based solely on the quality of the game, and not because Microsoft gave them an Xbox Live deal. To that end, I make the following suggestions:
1-Never pirate an indie game. If you can’t afford $10 for a game and don’t have the patience to wait for a sale, then find a better job or a cheaper hobby. If you don’t want to pay for the game, then don’t play it, and spent the money instead on a psychiatrist to work through your entitlement issues.
2-Only support games that have no DRM or a DRM plan that is acceptable to you. It’s all very subjective, but only you can decide what you’re willing to live with. DRM is here to stay, unfortunately, but sometimes it goes too far. If you’re okay with Steam, then buy games on Steam. If you’re okay with a constant internet connection being required, then that’s what works for you. But don’t compromise your beliefs just to play some game. You’ll be able to survive without it, trust me. I’d love to play Diablo 3 but I never will, and I’m not sad about that because I’ve spent money on many other games developed and published by companies that I feel respect me. It’s Blizzard’s loss, not mine.
3-Thank an indie developer. Many times, these games are a labor of love for the people who make them and they make little or no profit on them based on the time and energy that they put into development. In those cases, just hearing from you that you liked their game and appreciate them making it can make a big difference. Take 5 minutes out of your busy day to send someone an email and express your gratitude.
4-Tell people about the indie games that you love. These guys don’t have millions of dollars to spend on a 2 minute commercial during the Superbowl. They rely on word of mouth advertising, so do your part and let your friends know about the games that you enjoy.
