EA: Dead Space needs 5 million to survive.

EA president Frank Gibeau says that Dead Space needs a number of players roughly equivalent to the entire population of Norway to justify its continued existence. ?In general, we?re thinking about how we make this a more broadly appealing franchise, because ultimately you need to get to audience sizes of around five million to really continue to invest in an IP like Dead Space,? he told CVG in a recent interview.

?Anything less than that and it becomes quite difficult financially given how expensive it is to make games and market them,? he continued. While firm sales numbers are not readily available, EA did say back in February that Dead Space 2 was selling about twice as well as the franchise?s first entry had. Yet, even given that, they feel that Dead Space 3 needs to be more ?broadly appealing? without alienating current fans of the series.

http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/06/15/dead-space-needs-around-five-million-fans-to-survive-according-to-ea/

When a game has to sell 5 million to be profitable or to make the franchise more viable for a company then you know the company has a problem.

When a game has to sell 5 million to be profitable or to make the franchise more viable for a company then you know the company has a problem.

super600

After the trailer i saw at E3, Dead Space 3 is just a RE6 wannabe and my hype was immediately killed, and it is a shame since the first title had a great atmosphere. This is the price we pay for big budget titles, everyone wants to appeal to the casual crowd now.

They need to make games with lower budgets. I don't see why a game like Dead Space 2 needed all the production values it had. Especially if most of it is kinda wasted on sections that will only last 2 mins at most.

Moral of Story: Don't get attached too much to new high profile IPs. The reason being is because, the first game might be great but second one will most likely be crappier. The third one, you won't be able to recognize.ShadowDeathX

R.I.P. Dead Space.

RIP Dead Space

After the trailer i saw at E3, Dead Space 3 is just a RE6 wannabe and my hype was immediately killed, and it is a shame since the first title had a great atmosphere. This is the price we pay for big budget titles, everyone wants to appeal to the casual crowd now.

madsnakehhh

Thats similar to what Capcom said about DmC.

I see this pulling in 3 mil. So bye bye Dead Space.

[QUOTE="ShadowDeathX"]Moral of Story: Don't get attached too much to new high profile IPs. The reason being is because, the first game might be great but second one will most likely be crappier. The third one, you won't be able to recognize.game_masta14

Insomniac still not directly attached to EA. They should be fine.

When a game has to sell 5 million to be profitable or to make the franchise more viable for a company then you know the company has a problem.

super600

[QUOTE="super600"]

When a game has to sell 5 million to be profitable or to make the franchise more viable for a company then you know the company has a problem.

ShadowDeathX

[QUOTE="ShadowDeathX"][QUOTE="super600"]

When a game has to sell 5 million to be profitable or to make the franchise more viable for a company then you know the company has a problem.

mems_1224

Moral of Story: Don't get attached too much to new high profile IPs. The reason being is because, the first game might be great but second one will most likely be crappier. The third one, you won't be able to recognize.ShadowDeathX

[QUOTE="ShadowDeathX"][QUOTE="super600"]

When a game has to sell 5 million to be profitable or to make the franchise more viable for a company then you know the company has a problem.

mems_1224

Maybe not, but mid-tier budget games need to regain their large presence. They always made up the bulk of good games up until this gen. This massive budget, play it safe business is not sustainable and the sh*t only rolls downhill onto us gamers.

[QUOTE="mems_1224"][QUOTE="ShadowDeathX"] Ultra big budget games need to go bye bye bye....sandbox3d

Maybe not, but mid-tier budget games need to regain their large presence. They always made up the bulk of good games up until this gen. This massive budget, play it safe business is not sustainable and the sh*t only rolls downhill onto us gamers.

there is a reason I dont buy EA,Activision or capcom games anymore.

[QUOTE="sandbox3d"]

[QUOTE="mems_1224"] no they dontmems_1224

Maybe not, but mid-tier budget games need to regain their large presence. They always made up the bulk of good games up until this gen. This massive budget, play it safe business is not sustainable and the sh*t only rolls downhill onto us gamers.

Man... keep fighting the good fight against games I guess? :?

If you cant clearly see the negative impact that this model has brought about then I don't know what to tell you. Yes, there are plenty of good games. That doesn't change the fact that things could be much better.

And I wouldn't say for every type of gamer either. We don't see as many pure genre games anymore because big budget houses don't want to risk appealing to a niche audience. Take a look at the stealth genre for example.

I'll buy the third game so I can get at least one more fun game out of the series.

[QUOTE="mems_1224"][QUOTE="sandbox3d"]

Maybe not, but mid-tier budget games need to regain their large presence. They always made up the bulk of good games up until this gen. This massive budget, play it safe business is not sustainable and the sh*t only rolls downhill onto us gamers.

sandbox3d

Man... keep fighting the good fight against games I guess? :?

If you cant clearly see the negative impact that this model has brought about then I don't know what to tell you. Yes, there are plenty of good games. That doesn't change the fact that things could be much better.

And I wouldn't say for every type of gamer either. We don't see as many pure genre games anymore because big budget houses don't want to risk appealing to a niche audience. Take a look at the stealth genre for example.

[QUOTE="super600"]

When a game has to sell 5 million to be profitable or to make the franchise more viable for a company then you know the company has a problem.

mems_1224

With a normal budget and not a horribly inflated one because of marketing costs you need only a million or maybe less to profit from the game.

I think that's why we haven't heard anything on Dragon Age 3 yet. the first one sold very well for a new IP, but the second bombed.Zero5000X

There goes another franchise in EA's list of murdered games. When will this serial killer be put to justice?BloodScarlet

Honestly. 3 games is enough in even the best franchise.

After that who gives a $@i5.

Of course it's not like EA is just rolling out great new franchises, i will give them credit they did launch some good ones this gen, and published a few games that you wouldn't think would have fit their profile at all (Mirror's Edge,Shadows of the Damned, The Saboteur, Dead Space 1, Brutal Legend, etc). But the trend seems to be going the other way now with onlyy hiding behind the "annual franchises" with big marketing budgets. The only new IP they even have coming is Overstrike, and that doesn't really look all that good.

[QUOTE="mems_1224"][QUOTE="super600"]

When a game has to sell 5 million to be profitable or to make the franchise more viable for a company then you know the company has a problem.

super600

With a normal budget and not a horribly inflated one because of marketing costs you need only a million or maybe less then profit.

Yeah lets be honest, look at the Souls games and The Witcher 2. Incredibly, incredibly modest budget, yet both of those series are incredibly lengthy, incredibly pretty AAA highly praised games that didn't sell nearly up to 5 million, yet profited immensely.

When a game has to sell 5 million to be profitable or to make the franchise more viable for a company then you know the company has a problem.

super600

+1

Big name publishing can go die in a big fire

[QUOTE="sandbox3d"]

[QUOTE="mems_1224"] there are more than enough games this gen for any type of gamermems_1224

Man... keep fighting the good fight against games I guess? :?

If you cant clearly see the negative impact that this model has brought about then I don't know what to tell you. Yes, there are plenty of good games. That doesn't change the fact that things could be much better.

And I wouldn't say for every type of gamer either. We don't see as many pure genre games anymore because big budget houses don't want to risk appealing to a niche audience. Take a look at the stealth genre for example.

Missingthepoint/10

And stealth games becoming action heavy shooters is not what I call evolution.

I like plenty of games so I'll stick with the hobby, but unlike yourself I see that things could be much better. But by all means, continue to bend that ass over for the status quo if that's what you're into.

Besides, its not a matter of me simply wanting things to change. Its a matter of things needing to change. The current model will lead to nowhere but disaster. How many great studios had to close their doors this gen? How many great IPs had to bite the dust? If an unoriginal IP like Dead Space has to see 5 million + sales to remain viable you know things arent going well.

I'm glad to see many of you are on the logical side of the table here.

[QUOTE="super600"]

When a game has to sell 5 million to be profitable or to make the franchise more viable for a company then you know the company has a problem.

wis3boi

+1

Big name publishing can go die in a big fire

The funny thing is I haven't bought a big budget game in a long time.

As the other fella here said, there's something terribly wrong with their business practice if they need that much revenue to justify the investment.

No wonder year after year their results sucks.

When a game has to sell 5 million to be profitable or to make the franchise more viable for a company then you know the company has a problem.

super600

[QUOTE="super600"]

When a game has to sell 5 million to be profitable or to make the franchise more viable for a company then you know the company has a problem.

mems_1224

Well that's a load of crap. Very few games sell 5 million, and 5 million+ sales should translate into at least $150 million-$200 million in revenues even assuming many discounts and retail margins after the initial shipments. Some of the better games this gen won't even touch 1 million units in sales.

The previous poster was right. Something is wrong if they are only churning out such average games, with 6-8 hour campaigns, and they STILL can't turn a profit off of well over $100 million worth of sales. Where the hell is all that mony going? I know EA blows alot on advertising, so some of these games probably have 50 Million ad budgets. It's not a problem unique to EA, but with all the major players. Game development costs have gone through the roof, but they obviously are not getting their "bang for the buck" in terms of higher develpment costs leading to better games. If anything games are stuck in a rut even with develpment costs escalating. So to me it seems they should focus on driving better efficiency, and targeting profitability with 2 million sales rather than 5 million.

Not that I care if Dead Space lives or dies. Because like I said, 3 is usually enough for a franchise. At least give it a reast until well into next gen rather than planning to churn another one out in 2 years.

I don't think it has to do with graphics or even consoles, i think it has to do with production philosophy. EA wants to pump out new games every 1-2 years or so and that is physically impossible for a small, budget conscious team to do. So they end up having large teams which of course cost more money.

I can't thelp but think about id software (John Carmack) and Ion Storm (John Romero) and their two totally different development philosophies. id kept a small and dedicated team to make their games which kept costs down while Ion Storm had an absolutely massive team in a luxerious development studio. Guess which one is still relevent.

Like other people said, if you have to sell 5 million copies to "survive" then there is a problem.

EA confirming their role as worst company in america without fail.

This is why I fear for the next gen of gaming. Big budget titles are suicide for the gaming industry. Stop worrying about graphics and focus on the crowd of people who PLAY.

I like both Dead Space 1 and 2 but I don't like where this is going. Is it really necessary that every big fps/action-adventure has singleplayer, co-op and multiplayer?

EA: Dead Space needs 5 million so that the corporate fat cats can have enough money to do a Scrooge McDuck.