Ubisoft: "We'll only make games we can turn into franchises"

[Tupin]

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2013/07/ubisoft_will_only_make_games_that_can_be_turned_in to_franchises

Proof that rising development costs are hurting the industry, if you ask me.

[Gameguy]

It's proof that these developers can't manage their money properly anymore.

[Atarileaf]

So is "franchise" a clever term for "we'll make the same crap year after year with just a few slight changes, a number after the name, and throw an AAA price on it - sucker"?

[Alpha2099]

It's proof that developers lack innovation. If all you can do is the same thing over and over 3-5 times, why bother?

[The Adventurer]

It's proof that developers lack innovation. If all you can do is the same thing over and over 3-5 times, why bother?

Because the majority of people who buy games are an unimaginative lot.

[Guyra]

I have to agree with The Adventurer on that. I lost faith in humanity a long time ago.

[Greg2600]

So is "franchise" a clever term for "we'll make the same crap year after year with just a few slight changes, a number after the name, and throw an AAA price on it - sucker"?

Why not, working out so well for Hollywood these days.....

[Words iManifest]

I rarely ever say this about anybody/anything but I really despise Ubisoft and their crappy flag collecting simulator Assassin's Creed games...not to mention what they did to the new Rayman rubs me in all the wrong ways.

[Atarileaf]

Why not, working out so well for Hollywood these days.....

Grown Ups 2 anyone?

[The Adventurer]

I have to agree with The Adventurer on that. I lost faith in humanity a long time ago.

Don't get to much up on that high horse. This has been the case throughout human existence. It's not a new phenomena.

[Tupin]

I rarely ever say this about anybody/anything but I really despise Ubisoft and their crappy flag collecting simulator Assassin's Creed games...not to mention what they did to the new Rayman rubs me in all the wrong ways.

Anything that got their attention away from those awful Rabbids is good in my book.


Grown Ups 2 anyone?
I've never seen a year where people so adamantly hate the newest blockbusters like this one before. There have been so many flops this year, both critically and financially, that I wonder if the movie industry will take the hint. Or at least stop making films starring Will Smith's kids and/or set in the Wild West.

[Gameguy]

I've never seen a year where people so adamantly hate the newest blockbusters like this one before. There have been so many flops this year, both critically and financially, that I wonder if the movie industry will take the hint. Or at least stop making films starring Will Smith's kids and/or set in the Wild West.
It must be because they're not spending enough money on them, they need a budget of 500 million dollars each to work. That should fix it so people will like them better. It can't be because they're poorly written or poorly directed. They need more money.

[Nature Boy]

Proof that rising development costs are hurting the industry, if you ask me.

I disagree, in that I don't see the industry hurting.

It might depend on what metrics you want to use to define what hurting actually means, but overall sales aren't falling (and that's what I would use).

The industry has definitely split (and continues to) into large and small players, but I think it's a good thing. The big boys can give us the big, massively expensive franchise games, whereas the smaller studios can give us the smaller stuff that is innovative and franchise free.

We still get the best of both worlds, and we will still get new franchises, they just have to be something the big boys can build a brand around.

[The 1 2 P]

I lost faith in humanity a long time ago.

Over their video game habits?

Back on topic, this is nothing new. Publishers need to make money year over year to appease their share holders and pay their employees. The easiest way for them to do this is to make a game that turns into a franchise that they can then release more often and eventually branch out into other marketing ventures such as toys, books and other memorabilia.

[Daltone]

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2013/07/ubisoft_will_only_make_games_that_can_be_turned_in to_franchises

Proof that rising development costs are hurting the industry, if you ask me.

I'm confused - isn't a franchise what most big selling writers, games publishers, film producers etc have been after for years? Why is this news?

[kupomogli]

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2013/07/ubisoft_will_only_make_games_that_can_be_turned_in to_franchises

Proof that rising development costs are hurting the industry, if you ask me.

How are rising development costs hurting now more than they did in the past? Gaming is bigger than every, they've got more ways to make money, more multiconsole titles more than they have in the past, etc. Develolpers/publishers are getting more sales than ever.

Now days 95% of games are multiconsole where as maybe 10% were multiconsole in the past. The average game might cost $1-$20 million to develop, but they're selling them across two or three different consoles plus PC. They're selling all this DLC. Collector's Editions items are no longer free preorders like they were in the past. You now pay premium prices for some cheap as hell extras.

Also take into account that today the cost of the dollar is cheaper. Final Fantasy 7 was $45 million back then, so $65 million today.

[duffmanth]

I have nothing against a game being turned into a long running series, as long as it stays fresh and innovative like Metal Gear, Mario, Zelda etc. When it becomes stagnant and repetitive as fuck like God of War, Call of Duty among others, is when it hurts the industry.

[kupomogli]

I have nothing against a game being turned into a long running series, as long as it stays fresh and innovative like Metal Gear, Mario, Zelda etc. When it becomes stagnant and repetitive as fuck like God of War, Call of Duty among others, is when it hurts the industry.

This is full of all sorts of hypocrisy. It basically reads


I have nothing against a game being turned into a long running series, stagnant and repetitive or not as long as it's a game I like, such as Metal Gear, Mario, Zelda etc. When it's a game I don't like, such as God of War, Call of Duty among others, is when it hurts the industry.

Sorry, but there's very little difference between Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 3. I've never played more than five minutes of Metal Gear Solid 4 at a friends so I won't act like I have, but the third game is pretty much the first game with more diverse areas, camo, and stuff to fix broken bones, cuts, burns, etc. Metal Gear Solid is a lot like Metal Gear but in 3D.

I'm not a fan of God of War or Call of Duty, but except for Mario, I'm also not blind that the ones you listed are the same rehashes again and again. The difference between Mario and the others is that the most recent ones aren't good games. I'd rather have good repetitive new releases rather than an innovative overrated pos games like Super Mario 3D Land.

[Daltone]

This is full of all sorts of hypocrisy. It basically reads



Sorry, but there's very little difference between Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 3. I've never played more than five minutes of Metal Gear Solid 4 at a friends so I won't act like I have, but the third game is pretty much the first game with more diverse areas, camo, and stuff to fix broken bones, cuts, burns, etc. Metal Gear Solid is a lot like Metal Gear but in 3D.

I'm not a fan of God of War or Call of Duty, but except for Mario, I'm also not blind that the ones you listed are the same rehashes again and again. The difference between Mario and the others is that the most recent ones aren't good games. I'd rather have good repetitive new releases rather than an innovative overrated pos games like Super Mario 3D Land.

This.

[Gameguy]

Basically sequels are alright as long as they're made well. Making sequels has been a standard practice since the early arcade days, look at Breakout and Super Breakout as a couple examples.

Making sequels when you've run out of ideas on how to improve the gameplay or continue the story properly is the problem, then it's just a cash grab. Looking at movies just look at The Terminator. The direct sequel to this is often considered to be better than the original, then more sequels came out which are complete garbage and ruined the series. The problem with most video game franchises today is that they're beyond beating a dead horse, yet they're still going on anyway. Either they're not improving the way the games play, or they're story based yet they've already dragged out the story past where it should have ended. Even with keeping the same gameplay, sequels are then basically just level expansions. There comes a point when you run out of ideas to make good level designs and the quality begins to suffer, either with repeating the same designs or producing terrible new ones. Don't let your series become the Death Wish of video games.

[Daltone]

This is full of all sorts of hypocrisy. It basically reads



Sorry, but there's very little difference between Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 3. I've never played more than five minutes of Metal Gear Solid 4 at a friends so I won't act like I have, but the third game is pretty much the first game with more diverse areas, camo, and stuff to fix broken bones, cuts, burns, etc. Metal Gear Solid is a lot like Metal Gear but in 3D.

I'm not a fan of God of War or Call of Duty, but except for Mario, I'm also not blind that the ones you listed are the same rehashes again and again. The difference between Mario and the others is that the most recent ones aren't good games. I'd rather have good repetitive new releases rather than an innovative overrated pos games like Super Mario 3D Land.

This.

[LaughingMAN.S9]

This is full of all sorts of hypocrisy. It basically reads



Sorry, but there's very little difference between Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 3. I've never played more than five minutes of Metal Gear Solid 4 at a friends so I won't act like I have, but the third game is pretty much the first game with more diverse areas, camo, and stuff to fix broken bones, cuts, burns, etc. Metal Gear Solid is a lot like Metal Gear but in 3D.

I'm not a fan of God of War or Call of Duty, but except for Mario, I'm also not blind that the ones you listed are the same rehashes again and again. The difference between Mario and the others is that the most recent ones aren't good games. I'd rather have good repetitive new releases rather than an innovative overrated pos games like Super Mario 3D Land.

Metal gear solid 1 is nothing like metal gear solid 3, not in setting, not in characters, not in story not in gameplay or graphics and just barely similar in theme


Metal gear solid 2 on the other hand is very very similar to mgs1 and this was by design for the purposes of plot

[Press_Start]

This is full of all sorts of hypocrisy. It basically reads


I'm not a fan of God of War or Call of Duty, but except for Mario, I'm also not blind that the ones you listed are the same rehashes again and again. The difference between Mario and the others is that the most recent ones aren't good games. I'd rather have good repetitive new releases rather than an innovative overrated pos games like Super Mario 3D Land.

So the guy you called out for trying to pass his opinion as fact then passed your own dam opinion as fact. Hypocrite much?

[kupomogli]

So the guy you called out for trying to pass his opinion as fact then passed your own dam opinion as fact. Hypocrite much?

Clearly you didn't comprehend the post, but that's understandable, because as soon as you saw my post talk shit about Mario you couldn't help but reply.

And yeah. Super Mario 3D Land is an overrated piece of shit. Nintendo can't make a decent Mario game if their lives depended on it. That's a fact, not opinion. Got a problem with that Press Start? /s.


Metal gear solid 1 is nothing like metal gear solid 3, not in setting, not in characters, not in story not in gameplay or graphics and just barely similar in theme


Metal gear solid 2 on the other hand is very very similar to mgs1 and this was by design for the purposes of plot

The story, settings, and graphics are going to be different, they still play exactly the same. The major difference between MGS1 and MGS3 is the camera, but only Subsistence. MGS3 has the same birds eye camera on the original release, while Subsistence has your behind the back third person camera view. What's different about the actual gameplay though. Other than camouflage and the cuts/broken bones/burns, etc system, there's nothing that's different.

God of War has different storyline, setting, and graphics than God of War 3, but like Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 3. They play the same, there's just some slight differences in God of War. I'm just pointing out that Metal Gear is just as repetitive as God of War because there are a few minor differences. It doesn't really change any of the base gameplay.

[The Adventurer]

And yeah. Super Mario 3D Land is an overrated piece of shit.

Super Mario 3D Land is probably the best 3D Mario game of all time. Its the perfect combination of the previous 3D Mario's gameplay mixed with the classic 2D Mario's. Persistent power-ups (rather then the timed ones from 64 and the Galaxies) and no hit points (rather you lose power-ups, and shrink to small Mario) being the big reasons why 3D Land is such a satisfying experience and feels more like a classic Mario platformer. Creative level design, and excellent use of the 3DS technology also help.

[Press_Start]

Clearly you didn't comprehend the post, but that's understandable, because as soon as you saw my post talk shit about Mario you couldn't help but reply.

And yeah. Super Mario 3D Land is an overrated piece of shit. Nintendo can't make a decent Mario game if their lives depended on it. That's a fact, not opinion. Got a problem with that Press Start? /s.



Nah. You're just pissed he didn't say this:


I have nothing against a game being turned into a long running series, as long as it stays fresh and innovative like God of War, Call of Duty, etc. When it becomes stagnant and repetitive as fuck like Mario, Zelda among others, is when it hurts the industry.

But everyone would love to hear all the innovations in God of War and Call of Duty over the years from a Sony fanboy like you. We're all ears, kupo. :)

[Edmond Dantes]

Because the majority of people who buy games are an unimaginative lot.

To be honest, I sometimes wonder:

Is it that people want these games, or is it that they don't have any alternative?

We folks of the internet often forget that the vast majority of people don't know anything about eBay, Amazon, or other such internet markets and will likely never hear of something unless its on a shelf at Wal-Mart (and Wal-Mart will pretty much never stock anything not by a AAA developer). Before people can want something, they have to know it exists.

[kupomogli]

But everyone would love to hear all the innovations in God of War and Call of Duty over the years from a Sony fanboy like you. We're all ears, kupo. :)

Sorry, but everyone here knows I bash on both of those series.

[Zthun]

Super Mario 3D Land is probably the best 3D Mario game of all time. Its the perfect combination of the previous 3D Mario's gameplay mixed with the classic 2D Mario's. Persistent power-ups (rather then the timed ones from 64 and the Galaxies) and no hit points (rather you lose power-ups, and shrink to small Mario) being the big reasons why 3D Land is such a satisfying experience and feels more like a classic Mario platformer. Creative level design, and excellent use of the 3DS technology also help.

I haven't played 3D Land, but judging by that single statement, this is the point. People don't want new and innovative. People want comfort and familiarity and that's why big publishers are very hesitant to make new IPs all the time. I'm with kupo; I'd much rather have a long running series of rehashes than a giant pool of garbage with a few treasures. The NES was like this. It had tons of unique games but only a minority of those 800+ titles were any good.

[Press_Start]

I haven't played 3D Land, but judging by that single statement, this is the point. People don't want new and innovative. People want comfort and familiarity and that's why big publishers are very hesitant to make new IPs all the time. I'm with kupo; I'd much rather have a long running series of rehashes than a giant pool of garbage with a few treasures. The NES was like this. It had tons of unique games but only a minority of those 800+ titles were any good.

By that logic the only thing we should be playing is Caveman Pong. :P

[Zthun]

By that logic the only thing we should be playing is Caveman Pong. :P

You need to ease people into change, not dump it on them all at once. Look at the XBone fiasco. Honestly, that is the direction that the entire industry will go eventually, but you can't dump that on everyone all at once. It creates a lack of security and people simply don't like that. If innovation was a safe way to bring in profit, then publishers would be focused on creating new IPs left and right, but they continue to rehash the same thing over and over. That's because that shit sells and that's what publishers are there for: to make a profit. As everyone here knows, gaming is not a charity; it's big business and good business follows the money trail. Why do you think MS did the 180? The pre-orders sucked, that's why. I don't blame Ubisoft for making a decision like this at all.

[Daltone]

To be honest, I sometimes wonder:

Is it that people want these games, or is it that they don't have any alternative?

We folks of the internet often forget that the vast majority of people don't know anything about eBay, Amazon, or other such internet markets and will likely never hear of something unless its on a shelf at Wal-Mart (and Wal-Mart will pretty much never stock anything not by a AAA developer). Before people can want something, they have to know it exists.

Somewhere out there, there is a fine, fine line between "more of a good thing (a personal opinion)", "not knowing any better" and "mindless repurchasing" when it comes to games that are franchised to death. I'm buggered if I can tell what falls in to what category these days.