Why is there such a lack of AAA games?

[staticflare]

Compared to the PS1-PS2 generation? I mean really what is it, because this is starting to become a problem in my eyes. Around six months after the playstation two was released I had a plethora of AAA games to choose from. When a new one was being announced there was hype ofcourse but not anywhere near as the amount of hype as we put toward games now (Infamous SS, titanfall) why? Because there was such a large number being released.

So what is it really? Is it production cost, rise of handheld market, MMO's, MOBA's, what is the reason there is such a lack of game development compared to previous generations?

[Deleted]

It takes years of time and Millions of Dollars to create a AAA game, A medium sized company can only work on one at a time.

[Deleted]

Also mid-year slump, pretty much all the big games get released in the final few months to get the christmas money/hype train rolling whilst those games are in the "honeymoon period" so it's very condensed.

[Frolk]

Prolly cause they spend 200mill on the game and another 100mill in advertising and hyping the game so they cant AFFORD to make so many of them.

[Tradewind]

It's been a while since Activision squatted and shat out another Call of Duty.

[Triggered Fridgekin]

Because piracy is why!

rabble rabble rabble

[Deleted]

The big game studious like Hollywood have found the "magic" formula sequels/remake, who have very low risk compeer to brake new ground and make a (new) AAA title.

[Deleted]

It's been a while since Activision squatted and shat out another Call of Duty.

5 months? /10char

[Cybran]

The Industry finally realized that only about 10-12 Triple A games a year can be profitable. Most people buy a game once 1 or 2 months so spending so much money on games is no longer feasible.

In the last console generation many small and middle studios were shut down, but they had good ideas which gave rise to the Kickstarter. Now with the new console generation and the even longer production schedules and costs you can expect some of the bigger studios to shut down or downscale to middle sized. Irrational games are the first that did this after Bioshock Infinite did so poorly sales wise after being in production for 4-5 years.

[Tradewind]

5 months? /10char

November right? That's a long time for a new Call of Duty game! lol

[Deleted]

I dare say gamers are to blame, so many are content with rehashed medicare games

[Xeones]

A lot of places ended up shutting down, now you only have a few major producers making a few games a year. It's much more expensive and time consuming to make a AAA title now. Plus gamers only buy crap games now. COD makes new records every year...

That having been said things are changing, thanks to the wave of indie development started by Steam and boosted by stuff like Kickstarter I believe the industry will have a change coming in to what we consider a AAA title.

[Puupi]

Because piracy is why!

rabble rabble rabble

Do people still pirate games?

I don't believe it's as popular as it was about 10 years ago.

[Deleted]

Do people still pirate games?

I don't believe it's as popular as it was about 10 years ago.

People pirate single player games all the time, the main reason being that most companies no longer offer free playable demo's. Seriously, why did they stop giving away free demo's unless they know the game is shit?

[Super Kami Dende]

People pirate single player games all the time, the main reason being that most companies no longer offer free playable demo's. Seriously, why did they stop giving away free demo's unless they know the game is shit?

Why possibly hurt a sale they could get from someone who buys and hates the game, as opposed to someone who plays a Demo, hates it and never buys it.

pretty much all it comes down too.

[Duronos]

Prolly cause they spend 200mill on the game and another 100mill in advertising and hyping the game so they cant AFFORD to make so many of them.

Quite the contrary, most AAA games don't cost near that much to make, in fact pretty sure the most they really go up to is a couple tens of millions (10-20 millionish). Companies like Activision often spend $300 million just for marketing, that's what makes a game AAA, the marketing budget.

[Deleted]

People pirate single player games all the time, the main reason being that most companies no longer offer free playable demo's. Seriously, why did they stop giving away free demo's unless they know the game is shit?

I think there are some answers to that is 1. they actually cost quite a bit to make 2. they can actually hurt sales (if the game is shit(mediocre) 3. they can just throw their beta on steam and make money with an unfinished product.

[Deleted]

Why possibly hurt a sale they could get from someone who buys and hates the game, as opposed to someone who plays a Demo, hates it and never buys it.

pretty much all it comes down too.

This is exactly why people pirate, they pirate to demo the game, if it is good often the real thing is brought. Want to slow piracy? Offer demo's again, people will often prefer to download a quick demo direct from the company website than go to the trouble of downloading a whole torrented game and cracking it (and running the risk that goes with piracy). Not offering people a bite of the pie tells me you know your pie is not that good.

[Tradewind]

"AAA Game" used to mean something. Doesn't mean shit anymore.

[Sunseeker]

It takes years of time and Millions of Dollars to create a AAA game, A medium sized company can only work on one at a time.

As an addendum to this:

Big companies don't want to spend the money or take the time to develop a long-lasting AAA game.
Small companies don't have the time or the money to develop a long-lasting AAA game.

So we're kinda screwed. Big companies shit out crappy games which compete in the same market as a small company's heart and soul project, which kills the small-producer market and makes us dependent on big companies who don't give a shit about what we want.