Crysis 3 cost $66 million to make
Crytek has let the details about Crysis 3′s budget slip and I’m blown away by how much money they spent on it. Crysis cost the company $22 million to develop. For a big AAA project that doesn’t seem to outrageous to me, but Crysis 3′s budget is insane.
Crytek has confirmed that Crysis 3 has cost them three times the budget of the original game thus giving it a $66 million price tag. I can’t see any scenario where this is justifiable. I suppose Crytek knows what they’re doing and even if I have no interest in Crysis 3 as a whole I hope they make a good profit on the game. Part of this budget increase must be due to the fact that the original Crysis was developed only for PC and this installment is being made for even more platforms.
But game budgets have gotten out of control in recent years. Projects get more complicated to design and then you need even more staff. I understand this, but something needs to be done to fix this inflating budgets. I believe most developers, even AAA developers should aim for less than $30 million for a large scale project.
Perhaps games will need shorter development cycles, maybe loads of people will need to be fired or relocated if they can’t get a good job done in a smaller time frame. I just can’t see the gaming industry booming with creative new IPs like during past generations if big budget console games are going to cost in excess of $40 million.
I can’t imagine how much budgets will increase when game consoles support 4K resolutions in a decade.
Report: Wii U actually sold more than 100k in January, 40k+ returns due to scalpers
Gamasutra is reporting that they have sources indicating that the Wii U had a high amount of units returned to stores during January in the US.
Why is this important news? Because it would indicate that the Wii U didn’t sell a measly 56k units during January. Gamasutra’s sources estimate that the amount of console returns exceeded 40k units, possibly more.
This would mean that the Wii U sold over 100k units during the month of January. That’s not very good but its a far cry from the 50k number we were seeing before.
Why were so many systems returned to stores? The collapse of the second-hand market Gamasutra claims. Its a well known fact that scalpers were preparing for the Wii U to sell out like the Wii did at launch in 2006. It sorta did, but by mid-December the new Nintendo console was readily available everywhere.
It wouldn’t surprise me if this large amount of returns was 90% due to scalpers. Just at the University I attend (which is a major one in South Texas) I saw dozens of flyers around campus for unopened Wii U systems on sale for $450+. It upset me and I’m happy to hear these scalpers seem to have failed at what they were trying to accomplish.
Rumor: Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag releasing October 29
The teaser site for Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag has accidentally revealed the sequel’s release date.
It appears the game will hit PS3, 360, Wii U and possibly more systems (PC, PS4, etc) on October 29th. Ubisoft should be confirming this news in the next few days with any luck.
EA looking to add more microtransactions to their software in the future
Electronic Art’s CFO Blake Jorgensen made a statement recently that is sure to worry a lot of console gamers. He indicates that the company is having success with microtransactions in its current games and continues to support this method of DLC with next-gen consoles.
They love it so much that all EA titles going forward will have microtransactions in some way, shape or form. Bad news for gamers who like to actually get access to the whole package that a piece of software can offer at the original time of purchase.
“The next and much bigger piece [of the business] is microtransactions within games. We’re building into all of our games the ability to pay for things along the way, either to get to a higher level to buy a new character, to buy a truck, a gun, whatever it might be, and consumers are enjoying and embracing that way of the business.”
Its bad enough we’re getting day one DLC packs and such. I miss the days when expansions were more meaningful and took a considerably time after release. Yes, its always better to have more content as soon as possible. But at the same time it begins to feel like developers and publishers are plotting away how to milk more money out of us long before the game hits shelves with DLC Season Passes, etc.
These microtransactions are only going to make this worse. Can you imagine $60 retail games for next-gen consoles with loads of microtransactions like you find on iOS/Android?
ATV Wild Ride 3D hits eShop for $8 on March 7th
Austin, Texas – February 28, 2013 – Today, Renegade Kid announced that ATV Wild Ride 3D, the eagerly anticipated off-road racer, will be available on March 7, 2013 for $7.99 USD in the Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS™.
Prepare yourself for massive air and jaw-dropping showmanship in this nitro-charged, ATV racing experience. Travel the world and compete in the USA, Thailand, England, Russia, Canada, and Mexico. Speed around 24 challenging tracks hitting epic jumps and earning “Nitro” by unleashing dozens of wild tricks!
“We’re super excited to be releasing ATV Wild Ride 3D in the Nintendo eShop,” said Jools Watsham, Owner and Director at Renegade Kid. “I am particularly thrilled about the multiplayer mode that enables players to go head-to-head online and compete to be the ‘Best Wild Rider in the World’.”
Tricked-out, nitro-charged, arcade racing.
Choose from a varied line-up of riders and quad bikes – unlock new content as you progress.
24 unique off-road courses set in exotic locations including, Thailand, Russia, and USA.
World Tour, Quick Race, Freestyle, Time Trial, and Elimination.
Players can compete in local wireless matches or on-line over a broadband Internet connection.About Renegade Kid
Founded in 2007 by Jools Watsham and Gregg Hargrove, Renegade Kid LLC is an independent development studio based in Austin, Texas. A developer of handheld and console video-games, Renegade Kid is known for its critically-acclaimed titles including the Dementium series and Mutant Mudds.For more information on ATV Wild Ride 3D, visit http://www.atvwildride.com.
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Renegade Kid, ATV Wild Ride, Dementium, and Mutant Mudds are trademarks of Renegade Kid. © 2013 Renegade Kid LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Rumor: Gran Turismo 6 coming to PS3 instead of PS4?
This is one odd situation right here. SCEE Worldwide Studios Senior Vice President Michael Denny recently stated in an interview that the PS3 has a lot of life left in it.
When speaking about how important longevity of Playstation products is to him and his company he said this about the PS3′s upcoming game lineup:
“Look at the games coming out on the PlayStation 3 like The Last of Us, Beyond: Two Souls, GT6, and then on the third-party side of things another fantastic Assassin’s Creed, GTA.”
Notice that GT6 in there? Correct be if I’m wrong but the only series I can think of that would be in need of a sixth installment and have the initials GT is Gran Turismo.
With Sony revealing the PS4 this past week most people would assume that they would be making their next Gran Turismo game for their next-gen console. Unless Denny is mistaken with his statement, this may not be the case.
Its possible Sony could be releasing another Gran Turismo game on the PS3. Maybe it will be cross-generational and released for the PS4 but its strange he doesn’t mention it for any other platform than the PS3.
You don’t just throw around a name like GT6 without knowing what you’re saying. We’re waiting on Sony to comment on this situation. There is a chance Denny simply misspoke but there is also a chance Gran Turismo 6 could be coming to the PS3.
