Jonah is in LA, TJ is at EVO, and who knows where Scott is.
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Activision Blizzard Trying To Scare Off Competition?Activision Blizzard Trying To Scare Off Competition?
A few months ago, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said investing $500 million to a billion still wouldn’t be enough to compete with an MMORPG like World of Warcraft. The MMORPG space is a costly investment and you’d need to really burn a lot of money to start competing against the mega-giant, but Mythic VP and Warhammer Online lead designer Mark Jacobs disagrees with that quote.
Jacobs says $100-million dollars would be needed to start competing against the giant subscription generator that is World of Warcraft. Although few developers are sitting on $100-million USD, it’s a bit more realistic an investment for a studio to scrape up compared to a billion bucks! A billion dollars is a scary number when you consider that’s the start of an investment that may, or may not, pay off in the end.
Kotick may not be using complete scare tactics, he may be working off experience when dealing with MMORPG’s. A startup MMO isn’t a cookie cutter system, there is a lot of development efforts, $100-million dollars worth, but MMO developers slip dates many times. When you start slipping your dates you’ll start burning more money and, before you know it, you’re a billion in the hole. Jacobs thinks $100-million will cover development costs and messing up, so a billion is still way over budget.
Perhaps this is a bit of a scare tactic, assuming a developer will fail and slip their dates isn’t really a great way to start quoting prices. However, shooting too low isn’t always the best method of building your development assessments. The end result, scream ONE BILLION and you may scare off any potential startup MMO developers.
Warhammer Online lead designer did mention one big barrier to entry: the need for “at least half a million subscribers to be successful.”
(Thanks, 1up)
Episode 456: What’s Coming in 2017Episode 456: What’s Coming in 2017
This week, the gang ponder about the games that are coming in 2017, thinking about what they’re really interested in. The games range from Mass Effect: Andromeda to Injustice 2, among other titles. It’s a long rambling conversation, but at least it’s hope. The Gaming History focuses on the folly that was The Capcom 5.
The news items this week include:
- Fallout 4 surpasses Skyrim to become Bethesda’s most successful game ever
- Rainbow Six Siege year two: free loot, better matchmaking, subversive operators
- E3 2017 will be open to the public
The Question of the Week is “What game are you looking forward to in 2017?”
Episode 299: Here Comes the PS4Episode 299: Here Comes the PS4
This week is heavy on content on the PlayStation 4 unveiling as the next-generation approaches for both Sony and Microsoft – there’s no room for Nintendo in this episode. Nor is there a lot of Reader, er, Listener Feedback, nor any Gaming Flashback.
This week’s major news includes:
- Sony unveils PS4 at “See the Future”
- Sony: Pre-owned game blockage “up to publishers” on PS4
- Fans express outrage at offline/LAN play for console version of Diablo III
- Rumor: Microsoft revealing next-gen console in April
- GameSpy, UGO, 1UP say farewell
- Activision to have “fewer” licensed games out in 2013
The Question of the Week is “What was the first videogame periodical or site you enjoyed?”