3DS game development costs could triple from DS games...ugg

[swlovinist]

link to article:
http://3ds.nintendolife.com/news/2010/11/3ds_development_could_cost_triple_that_of_ds_softw are


In a nutshell, does that mean that the system will get less of the awesome quirky niche titles? This to me does not seem like a good plan competing with iphones/android and the PSP2. If the prices of games goes up, then you can count me out. As a longtime supporter of Nintendo products, this me worried that Nintendo is not going to deliver on the one thing that they always have seemed to nail....value

I am already worried about the price of the system being too high, and if games are going to be $40 then that is a big "heck no" from me.

[jb143]

It doesn't say where those extra development costs come from. I could maybe see the development kit and maybe licensing fees costing more than the DS, but that'd only be several thousand more...not millions. There's not much inherently different about developing a stereoscopic 3D game over a standard 3D game so I doubt it's hardware/software hurdles.

[WOAD87]

The big fear I have is that increased development costs will start to limit the risks developers are going to take on the machine. It's been happening a bit on the consoles, and I really, really hope this doesn't start happening on the 3DS.

Higher costs to develop mean they need more money in return to cover costs...which could mean less risk taking to make sure sales are strong. :(

[zemmix]

Doesn't the 3Ds have an internal memory storage? If you are gunning for 'awesome quirky niche titles' on physical media/cartridges then you are going to be dissapointed. I think pretty much anything thats not a big budget title from here on out will be limited to digital distrubution. In that sense I bet you will end up seeing more awesome quirky niche titles because digital distribution reduces the risks/costs and those titles can be offered for much cheaper than $40.

[Swamperon]

I think the 3DS is still going to get plenty of those sort of titles. Less than the DS, but still plenty.

Many developers who do release such titles have said they are excited for it and are planning numerous titles.

[kupomogli]

I highly doubt development costs would be that high. This is probably a sales tactic for Nintendo to make people believe they have to raise the price of 3DS games to $50 for them to become profitable. Wouldn't surprise me. It's Nintendo.

[Graham Mitchell]

Aren't a lot of ds games already $40? I know they were when the system was first released.

[WOAD87]

I'm just hoping games like Bangai-O Spirits, The Dark Spire, and even Retro Games Challenge won't do to the way side. Not so much "quirky" but very niche.

Download only certainly wouldn't kill me. I enjoy having the physical media (like I'm sure everyone here does as well), but downloads don't bother me as much as some people.

Sadly this puppy is already preordering for $300 in Canada at EB Games outlets from what I've heard. A bit too steep for my tastes currently. Although Star Fox 64 and Kid Icarus both look mouth watering...so I'll be picking one up eventually for sure. Hoping for a white color scheme though.

[Fuyukaze]

I'm just hoping games like Bangai-O Spirits, The Dark Spire, and even Retro Games Challenge won't do to the way side. Not so much "quirky" but very niche.

Download only certainly wouldn't kill me. I enjoy having the physical media (like I'm sure everyone here does as well), but downloads don't bother me as much as some people.

Sadly this puppy is already preordering for $300 in Canada at EB Games outlets from what I've heard. A bit too steep for my tastes currently. Although Star Fox 64 and Kid Icarus both look mouth watering...so I'll be picking one up eventually for sure. Hoping for a white color scheme though.

They kinda did go to the side. What with the oh so wonderfull sales of games like RGC, XSeed decided not to release the second one. I'm being sarcastic when I claim the sales were wonderfull btw. The game sold so horrible it was a loss for them. They commented on their disapointment of its sales on their facebook page some time ago. Thanks to the piss poor reviews of Dark Spire and Bangai-O Spirits, chances are we'll never see other games like them for some time either.

[maxlords]

Figures.....I bought all three of those games at retail too...

[Sonicwolf]

I like the idea of higher development costs. It would shoo away shovelware titles like mad.

[Greg2600]

I like the idea of higher development costs. It would shoo away shovelware titles like mad.
I agree. The worst thing that could happen to gaming is to be like movies where next to nothing is truly original. Everything is a lazy remake.

[kupomogli]

What with the oh so wonderfull sales of games like RGC, XSeed decided not to release the second one.

Which is really unfortunate because I really want the second :(.

[Gameguy]

I'll just quote the article;

Earlier this year, Satoru Iwata stated 3DS games may cost as much to develop as Wii titles, something that has now been backed up by Japanese studio Marvelous Interactive who's given some frightening figures for studios wanting to get into this potentially explosively lucrative market.

The studio revealed at an investors' meeting that its development budget per title would range between 50 million and 150 million yen, roughly equivalent to $600,000 to $1.8m USD, a sharp increase from the average DS development cost of between 4.4 million and 43.9 million yen ($53,000 - $527,000). In fact, these figures are closer to the development costs for home consoles, with Wii games costing up to 116 million yen ($1.4m) to develop.

Will we see the standard software price increase for 3DS retail games?
The article says that games could cost as much to make as Wii titles, aren't there tons of crap bargin bin Wii games out there? Even the cost of Wii development isn't really that much, I remember another thread here saying that most current gen games cost around $5 million to make, but it's apparently much cheaper to make games for the Wii than that.

I'll just quote something from that thread, I really don't want to start up that discussion again though.

If a game cost $1 million to make in the 90s (ha), it's $5-20 million sometimes now but the price points are still the same on the games because production.labor took the place of cart vs CD costs....
I guess Wii development costs are still pretty low, I don't see the increased cost for the 3DS system really affecting profits that much.