I think it’s more that the megacorp business model is fundamentally incompatible with making good video games. Their only reliable competitive advantage is money, they can spend more on a single project. But if they spend so much, they can’t go as risky as indies go. A ton of indies publish shit games, it’s just that some are absolute gems.
Point is, AAA games can only match indies in originality if they are okay with tanking the IP and the studio just to make something original. But since they are megacorps, they will never be okay with that. The also can’t amortise the risk over a lot of small projects, because then they lose the ability to outspend indies and would have to compete with them directly.
Megacorp business model is incompatible with every industry, it’s entirely based on what is the absolute bare minimum that will still make money. Absolutely no passion in the work, no interest in quality, and no care for the people getting trampled to make it.
Not only good videogames. Good art in general. Music, text, movies, tv series and videogames all go for the “mid” nowadays. Offend noone, include everything and everyone and above all: make no hard choices which others haven’t done already.
Which results in data driven hollow 1000 in a dozen AI “caught in the algorithm” trash. Just look at most what comes out of Netflix “studios” these days. It will be the end of them.
And you hear it in music too: everything sounds the same these days. Everything.
And you see the same in writing: more and more generic stuff. The big names pump out more and more of same-ish stories. Say what you like about Prime Stephen King for example, but what he wrote during his crazed coke/whiskey fueled years… It was original. And weird.
The cycle of megacorps- this works in most industries with a lower barrier of entry.
First the industry begins as a bunch of small competing startups that build a shit ton of absolute trash. Eventually a few companies find the right formula and start to find some medicum of success. Innovation is rapid but quality is low.
Next the industry consolidates in a feeding frenzy of mergers and aqisitions. During this time innovation is high but demands for quality is also high. New startups are constant as the forming megacorps pay high prices to control innovation or suppress competition.
Then the consolidation reaches a peak. At this point innovation almost completely ceases as megacorps refuse to pay out any more. Quality rapidly decreases as the few remaining megacorps try to maximize profits. The entire industry turns to shit products and high prices.
The only thing that can save the industry from stagnation is government anti-trust action breaking up the megacorps into smaller competing companies like in the second stage.
They could go for more double A games. Still more budget than indies, not as risky or innovative, but not as big of an investment as AAA. Studios could work on new IPs in shorter cycles and smaller games, and eventually release big AAA sequels to the successful ones.
Having trouble finding the link now, but apparently at a big dev conference with a bunch of the business suits involved, they want to make games faster. But not make them smaller or have worse graphics. Just faster.
And yes, shoving AI slop into everything is part of that plan.
In other words, the industry is completely lost, and I will continue to spend the majority of my gaming time on indie titles.
I think it’s more that the megacorp business model is fundamentally incompatible with making good video games. Their only reliable competitive advantage is money, they can spend more on a single project. But if they spend so much, they can’t go as risky as indies go. A ton of indies publish shit games, it’s just that some are absolute gems.
Point is, AAA games can only match indies in originality if they are okay with tanking the IP and the studio just to make something original. But since they are megacorps, they will never be okay with that. The also can’t amortise the risk over a lot of small projects, because then they lose the ability to outspend indies and would have to compete with them directly.
It’s like a sort of inverse economies of scale.
Megacorp business model is incompatible with every industry, it’s entirely based on what is the absolute bare minimum that will still make money. Absolutely no passion in the work, no interest in quality, and no care for the people getting trampled to make it.
Not only good videogames. Good art in general. Music, text, movies, tv series and videogames all go for the “mid” nowadays. Offend noone, include everything and everyone and above all: make no hard choices which others haven’t done already.
Which results in data driven hollow 1000 in a dozen AI “caught in the algorithm” trash. Just look at most what comes out of Netflix “studios” these days. It will be the end of them.
And you hear it in music too: everything sounds the same these days. Everything.
And you see the same in writing: more and more generic stuff. The big names pump out more and more of same-ish stories. Say what you like about Prime Stephen King for example, but what he wrote during his crazed coke/whiskey fueled years… It was original. And weird.
The cycle of megacorps- this works in most industries with a lower barrier of entry.
First the industry begins as a bunch of small competing startups that build a shit ton of absolute trash. Eventually a few companies find the right formula and start to find some medicum of success. Innovation is rapid but quality is low.
Next the industry consolidates in a feeding frenzy of mergers and aqisitions. During this time innovation is high but demands for quality is also high. New startups are constant as the forming megacorps pay high prices to control innovation or suppress competition.
Then the consolidation reaches a peak. At this point innovation almost completely ceases as megacorps refuse to pay out any more. Quality rapidly decreases as the few remaining megacorps try to maximize profits. The entire industry turns to shit products and high prices.
The only thing that can save the industry from stagnation is government anti-trust action breaking up the megacorps into smaller competing companies like in the second stage.
They could go for more double A games. Still more budget than indies, not as risky or innovative, but not as big of an investment as AAA. Studios could work on new IPs in shorter cycles and smaller games, and eventually release big AAA sequels to the successful ones.
Having trouble finding the link now, but apparently at a big dev conference with a bunch of the business suits involved, they want to make games faster. But not make them smaller or have worse graphics. Just faster.
And yes, shoving AI slop into everything is part of that plan.
In other words, the industry is completely lost, and I will continue to spend the majority of my gaming time on indie titles.
Yeah, but there’s the catch, they would have to compete on equal footing with indies then. Money is their only advantage.