One-on-One Discussions with Gamers: AAA Developers & Crowdfunding Solutions

In recent one-on-one discussions with gamers, SDGT Entertainment delved into the challenges that many AAA developers are currently facing. The myth of being "too big to fail" is one that these developers need to get over, as it's becoming increasingly clear that alternative routes must be considered to ensure long-term success. Concord could've been morphed into a single player mission based adventure. If it were me, I would've wanted to see Firewalk give the game a secondwind by taking this route, and even let them fly free with the title under the conditions that it remained a Playstation exclusive (in terms of consoles) for a solid period of time. 

IOI (IO Interactive) comes to mind as far as being a dev team being able to take their baby (the Hitman franchise) and soar, verses being wiped off the map. Hitman lives on and the team continues to make content like... The Splitter featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme as an exclusive Hitman target. They have other IPs in development, but... they took what they had and continued to build without trying to pump out title on top of title. Instead they adapted, married Hitman 1 to 3 and served up Hitman: World of Assassination. The additional adventures can be purchased for... Hitman: World of Assassination (initially released in Q1 2021), and this is one way to keep a game fresh while the developers figure out their next move. You can dive into Hitman with a free starter pack... right now, and play The Splitter free for a limited time!

I'm not saying Concord would've been able to last, especially with the track record and fanbase Hitman has, but... all that work didn't have to go to waste.

The Myth of "Too Big to Fail"

The notion that large developers are immune to failure is a dangerous misconception. The reality is that even the biggest names in the industry can falter if they don't adapt to changing market dynamics and consumer expectations. This was echoed by Chris J., an Ohio native visiting Orlando, who expressed his frustration with the current state of the industry:

"I hate when companies nickel and dime us for extra content that should've been in the game in the first place," says Chris J.

Not everyone will be able to go live with each title for online multiplayer action. The playerbase will have to come from somewhere and there are some badass games that a number of gamers aren't willing to part with just yet. Grand Theft Auto Online, Fortnight, CSGO, Minecraft, even COD Mobile are still ticking. I won't say run in fear when it comes to making online games, but... you have to know when to take a step back and do your homework to identify and take into account what warms someones heart enough to make that a purchase + microtransations would be okay vs a free-to-play setup or... additional DLC that adds to a complete game. These discussions also included Sims 4, which a couple I didn't get a chance to quote, had a major reaction about. They love Sims, but said similar to what I have in the past regarding how limited part 4 felt. We agreed that it was better off being a free-to-play game from the beginning. It took nearly a decade for that to occur, but they eventually adapted to the situation. I guess the $39.99 wasn't going to cut it anymore, especially with the cost of the DLC.

The Problem with Greed

Greed doesn't guarantee a continuous flow of money. Developers need to understand that their revenue comes from gamers with a fluctuating percentage struggling to make ends meet. Investments in gaming must make sense for these consumers. The big developers can play mind games with themselves, but reality will always keep it real with them, whether they like it or not.

When it comes to developers who are hesitant to revive fan-favorite games because they want to rake in piles of money on what appears to be the safe bet, it's understandable to seek success. However, the same gamers they want support from are the ones some don't seem to believe in. Even reaching out for crowdfunding for beloved games seems to be a step too far for some publishers.

Crowdfunding as a Viable Option

Newlyweds Trey and Diana S., honeymooning in Orlando, shared their thoughts on crowdfunding:

"I've given money to Kickstarters before, they just have to present it well and make the rewards worth it. I'll even pay a buck or two to get my name posted on a backer list. I don't have faith in the big developers to do Kickstarters bro, they're stuck up," says Trey S.

"If it's my job and I want to keep that job, I would listen to the customers," says Diana S.

Overall, if gamers are willing to put up the money for a game based on a calculated cost, it should be a no-brainer for developers to give the people what they're willing to invest in (if the goal isn't made thats the indicator to keep it moving). Giving gamers what they're willing to pay for seems to make too much sense for some publishers. Hopefully, this article... ruffles some feathers in the right way and helps more developers get over themselves if they're running into a wall.

 + Sophi 

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Dear Developers: Avoid releasing good games you're willing to strip away from gamers

As some of you are aware of by now, Rovio Classics: Angry Birds was delisted on Google Play after less than a year of being on the market. It will be renamed as "Red's First Flight" on iOS too, according to Brendan Sinclair over at GameIndustry.biz.

Rovio said, they have reviewed the business case of Rovio Classics: Angry Birds, and due to the game's impact on our wider games portfolio, we have decided that Rovio Classics: Angry Birds will be unlisted from the Google Play Store on Thursday, February 23." (2023)

Brendan assumes that they can't just pull it from iOS, so the name change is to prevent people from finding it, but no ladies & gentlemen, it's called "Red's First Flight" (enjoy!).

Clearly, the game has impacted the other games in their portfolio, but what does that say? How many people truly want all these microtransactions? For the classic to hit them to that degree, that says something, but... what will this latest move do to them?

Developers have to remember that gamers aren't just units, numbers, and dollar signs. Gamers keep the lights on and the doors of the studios open, we are people and we remember things, including those times when a developer left a bad taste in our mouth.

You can't play with someone's pocket, and at times someone will boycott for the sake of striking back over a decision that pissed them off. A beloved game was given to them, and stripped away... that shouldn't happen, regardless of how you slice it. There was another way to increase the monetization of the game if you need to make continuous coins off of a title per customer... but what you can't do is flip the script.

Once you make customers paranoid in terms of supporting you... or just too pissed off at you to continue their support, who can you blame? This is one to grow on regardless of the company. Beware!

Fun fact: I've conducted business that involved Rovio in the past (as a business development manager) for the sake of bringing Angry Birds game to the Nintendo 3DS (this was over a decade ago). So the thoughts came flooding back up (shout out to Peter V. who was running the show back then).

Anyway, check out the full article from Brendan Sinclair... here.

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Dear Developer: Select Live Game Services are being shut down! Learn from this!

I mentioned this a while back regarding game services (I can't even recall how long ago because it's... been that long), but... look at the various live games going offline now. Karol Severin believes it is more a case of the market - and companies operating in it - finding "a new, more sustainable supply/demand equilibrium".

That could be partly the reason, but my argument is that you can only play so many games. How many of them are actually able to go live and stay live when you have select games with such a huge draw? You might even find that some of these games are in a similar genre as the giants (which you can try to test your luck at... but... at what cost?). On top of that, some games require specs that don't land in the space where the majority of players... play.

Here are the games that were announced to be going offline this week alone...

Apex Legends Mobile

Rumbleverse

Knockout City

CrossfireX

Crayta

Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai: A Hero's Bonds

This isn't me pointing my finger laughing saying, I told ya so! This is me saying that you may want to strongly reconsider your moves in regard to live games, and avoid making games that rival too many others of a similar genre... because gamers are going to have to make a decision. Believe it or not, that decision may be finalized before the first investment in that game (via DLC). At times someone may not even enjoy a particular type of game, but... their friends play that game, so another game may run cold because they'd rather enjoy time with their crew.

I'm not saying the games mentioned above aren't original (I'm not even going in on them in depth), but if you're going to take the live approach, consider hybrids that cross genres with some serious fun factor. If you want to create a game that you want people to enjoy on a competitive level without going live yourself... give the players the ability to set up games themselves (remember the days of LAN parties?). Going back to DLC, there are a number of people who refuse to invest until they know what game their friends are going to invest in, and that investment keeps them there for a while in hopes that it's worth it.... which affects (free-to-play games especially).

Serkan Toto from Kantan Games said it's a further sign the industry is still in the early stages of live service gaming. Think about this though, and not to knock Serkan (cheers), but... regardless of the stage of live service gaming... you're still going to be in the same boat making Generic Multiplayer game 22b and crossing your fingers hoping that it can get similar or better results as Generic Multiplayer game 1 - 22a. Developers need the audience, originality, fun factor, and worthwhile DLC to make it worthwhile. 

A developer may think I'm totally wrong on this, but coming from the standpoint of a gamer... I don't think so.

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Dear Developers: Say No To Digital Black Face!

When you create a character in a game that's tied to any group, you have to be (super) careful.

FN Meka is a character created by Factory New's co-founders Anthony Martini + Brandon Le, and neither one of these guys remotely resemble the character. There's a Trinidadian rapper by the name of Kyle The Hooligan who was approached to be the voice of the character, he said that he was told that he would have equity in the company... but after getting his voice/sound... he said they ghosted him.

That makes it worse. So they allegedly took advantage of an artist, which happens more often than you think (whether it's music, drawing, painting, and so on), and... the artists/creators get tossed to the side.

Technically FN Meka would've been okay (to a degree) if... (and only if) he were the digital alter ego of a Black real artist, but Factory New played themselves.

I say that FN Meka would've been okay to a degree... because he could've been presented in a different way than the offensive way they took it. Outside of this AI character using the N-word (major facepalm), Factory New had him in stereotypical scenarios. Like... what in the... hell are you thinking? One of the images even showed the character in the act of being beaten by a cop. 

Bringing awareness is one thing, but that's a real life issue that essentially puts words in the mouth of a community. Factory New is safe in that regard because the people who get charged up about members of the Black community speaking out, are not going to be looking for Anthony Martini or... Brandon Le.

The AI character even landed Factory New a record deal with Capitol Records, until the backlash came. Developers, make sure you use Factory New as an example of what not to do. If you don't desire investing in a project that will likely result in a bust, say no to digital Black Face. The Black community already has various opinions about the things certain rappers say and possibly do (if you didn't know), so... what would it look like for a company to try and jump in on that with an offensive caricature?

At the same time, the culture isn't going to roll with that. If FN Meka were a caricature that resembled the creators and rubbed their community the wrong way, it would still be jacked up, but... Factory New would have a legit argument that the character should be able fly. So why didn't he resemble them? This further highlights that it is digital Black Face, and Capital Record should've done their homework.

There are ways to go about doing these sorts of things, which goes back to a digital alter ego. Ever heard of the Gorillaz? They're a virtual band of fictional characters represented by real people. 

Russel Hobbs is a Black character from the band, he's represented by a record producing, art directing, musician + voice actor... Remi Kabaka Jr. 

He's a real person, that's why I had to mention that Factory New played themselves if they really ghosted Kyle The Hooligan to avoid giving him his fair share.

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Dear Developer: DMCA Strikes Against Destiny Developer Too?! + Mask Up Mondays: Muse Dash - Goodbye Boss

You may be scratching your head wondering how a "Dear Developer" installment can be made out of this, but... hear me out because it's aimed at Google. If Bungie wanted DMCA strikes on Destiny-related Youtube videos to occur at their request, that's one thing, but how much sense would it make for the DMCA strikes to be made against Bungie?

For the record, Bungie approves of non-commercial fan-created media and art to an extent, so if you're getting strikes and you're ticked off at Bungie... just know they're in the same boat.

It might sound bad to say this but (read this fully)... I think it's a good thing. If the actual developer is in the same boat as the content creator, something will happen a lot faster in terms of a solution because YouTube can't ignore it compared to a few YouTubers running into this issue (or even a larger number of YouTubers that create Destiny content). I hope this issue is resolved as soon as possible, but it may provide content creators an avenue to argue against DMCA strikes a lot easier since this situation happened.

Google, you have to get it together in terms of DMCA strikes, but also take a look at other complaints content creators might have. I've heard of people being unsubscribed from channels, notifications going out late or... never, and the list goes on. Let this situation be a motivation to fix other issues.

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