Episode 510: Red Dead Surprise

This week’s episode didn’t initially have a Gaming Flashback, but the crew accidentally started one with 2010’s Red Dead Redemption, which shouldn’t be a flashback since it fails the “10 Year Rule”, but it was so fun to talk about, it became one. They also found some interesting stuff in a thin-news week, which is the usual for Summer.

The news includes:

  • Valve adds temporary fix for fake item scams on Steam
  • Halo devs not working on Battle Royale mode for Infinite
  • Nintendo Switch sales near 20m, down slightly on last year
  • Playground Games staffs up for the rumored Fable reboot

Let us know what you think.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Post

TD Gaming Podcast 99: When Black Friday ComesTD Gaming Podcast 99: When Black Friday Comes

The TD Gaming Podcast brings you the news and some economic questions about the gaming industry. We’re also taking a look back at Cannon Fodder and the developer Sensible Software. This weeks gaming news includes:

Our gaming podcast crew reflects on the game industry, the economy and the insane day we call Black Friday here in the United States.

Episode 267: Do the RobotEpisode 267: Do the Robot

This week the guys relax after the hecticness of E3, and get on to some of the major post-convention news. As Paul S. Nowak struggles with connection issues, Gaming Flashback returns with the original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater.

This week’s news:

  • Microsoft unveils new tablet
  • Rumor: Leaked doc claims 720 launches in 2013, 3D Kinect in 2014, OnLive acquisition
  • May 2012 US sales down 28% over last year despite Diablo III
  • Australian gamers get adults-only R18+ classification

All this and Reader Feedback. This week has no Question of the Week – just ask the crew some questions.

Smart Business Choices During Economic DownturnsSmart Business Choices During Economic Downturns

Many game studios are being dropped following a bit of an economic downturn in the United States and globally. Activision has to deal with being agile enough to survive the economic times like anyone else and has dropped a few games that had great potential.

Gamers continue to ask the question, “why?” when some of their highest potential games were dropped to the floor. Ghostbusters and BrĂ¼tal Legend are a couple examples of games with eager fans already salivating prior to its launch. Some of these fans are a bit ticked off that Activision named them as dropped franchise opportunities.

People ask why a company holds one “mediocre” title while getting rid of other potentially awesome ones. Don’t forget, this is a business and a good studio/publisher is going to make good business decisions without emotional attachments – those that bring emotions into play may end up with a highly valued product (to them) with no additional potential and lower revenue. This isn’t to say developers cannot be passionate about their games and their industry, they just have to build games gamers will buy and continue to fall in love with release after release.

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick is one of these business savvy individuals who knows where investors will find profits for the future, and he also know how to manage employees, with the use of software like this sample pay stub for payments and more.

“[Those games] don’t have the potential to be exploited every year on every platform with clear sequel potential and have the potential to become $100 million dollar franchises. … I think, generally, our strategy has been to focus… on the products that have those attributes and characteristics, the products that we know [that] if we release them today, we’ll be working on them 10 years from now.” (1up)

Ghostbusters is a great example of a title which could be well received and fun to play but probably wouldn’t be an exploitable franchise. The game, based on a popular movie, has limited potential for yearly releases and huge franchise success. Ghostbusters fans would probably disagree, but that’s when emotion comes into play. Think dollars and cents, not awesome fun gaming.

Oddly enough many of these business decisions from Activision, Electronic Arts and other big publishers arrive when the economy is in free fall and investors are eying your revenue potential. People make their most important and, usually, unfriendly business decisions when their company is at risk.

It’s sad to think money comes first and entertainment value comes second but we’re not the ones trying to make a profitable living in the industry. Put yourself in Kotick’s shoes as he walks into a board meeting to discuss future plans, road maps and profitability – you’d do what you have to do to keep your job, right?