Something that has caused concerns for publishers this generation is the rising costs of so-called triple-A titles. However, Ubisoft’s European MD Alain Corre contends that focusing on certain franchises is actually for the best.
The games that are not triple-A are not profitable anymore, said Corre. And that’s changed in the last 18 months. When you have a triple-A blockbuster it costs more money to develop, but at the end of the day there s also the chance of a good return on it because there’s a concentration at the top of the charts. To a certain extent it becomes less risky to invest more in a single game or franchise than spreading your investment between three or four games. Because if those three or four games are not at the right quality level, you are sure to lose money
So the business model has changed and we re changing our way of making hardcore games, he added. With hardcore games that we re not sure are reaching the right level, we stop work on them. And that’s why we concentrate more on key franchises, because that’s what the market wants – something new with huge quality production behind it. The market is not supporting the full range of product that it used to anymore.
If more publishers follow this mentality, it’s good news for larger advertising firms that can handle the multiple media touchpoints that games like Assassin’s Creed need.
Source: GI.biz
