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Ken Levine says BioShock nearly went nowhere and was almost canceled: "We can't make those games because they don't sell" (www.gamesradar.com)

submitted 3 months ago by Carighan@lemmy.world to c/games@lemmy.world

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What's interesting to me is of course how cheaply Bioshock got made compared to today's blockbuster hits. Somewhere, we took the wrong turn in regards to modern game development, truly.

Too many managers to pay and as a result too high personel costs, I would assume. :<

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[-] sharkfinsoup@lemmy.ml 33 points 3 months ago

Marketing is a big money drain for a lot of games too. Cyberpunk 2077 and GTA V are two games with marketing budgets big enough to finance a dozen other games. I guess a new title like cyberpunk would need more marketing (still not $142 million worth of marketing) but GTA was already a well established franchise that probably didn't need as much marketing as it had.

Even games like call of duty and assassins creed which have a core fan base that can expect a new game on a regular basis don't need to market as much as they do.

[-] magic_lobster_party@kbin.run 12 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I think marketing is always important no matter how established you are. Coca Cola aren’t skimping on their marketing budget even if they’re the most recognizable brand in the world.

It’s about constantly reminding everybody “hey, I exist! Don’t you want to buy me?”.

[-] sharkfinsoup@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 months ago

I'm not saying they shouldn't be marketing at all. Just that marketing budgets for many AAA blockbusters have become so bloated, they can account for nearly half of the development cost. As someone with very little knowledge as to how games get made, it seems like some of that money could be better used

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