"Not sustainable": Developers across the industry react to The Last of Us Part 2's $220 million budget

KnittedKnight

Gaming Sage
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13 Jul 2022
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This is first of all an agenda article. With that said, it's effective because it's a half-truth.

The market will self correct. The problem is that industry players don't like this self-correction process because self-correction involves failure. Fear of Failure dictates risk taking, fear of failure failure dictates budget management and scope management - the fear of failure dictates common sense decision making. All the big publishers and some mid-size devs are head ramming themselves into GAAS thinking that if they strike gold (and a hit) they'll somehow have a stable revenue supply and not have to reinvent the wheel every 3-5 years with a new title (in other words - stagnation, less risk taking, less innovation). Problem is, the more devs try to hitch on the GAAS bandwagon the more GAAS failures - again, a market self correction due to known fatigue or saturation in consumer speak. The graveyard of studios trying to hitch themselves to the FPS wagon during the PS3/X360 era is long. Same behavior.... every shooter had to be a successful shooter - till it wasn't. What happens when your GAAS loses out interest after 6-7 years, you have 2000 employees running it, and your next project fails to recapture the magic? Well, massive layoffs on a scale even AAA studios of today with traditional titles fail to reach - pick your poison.

But nobody wants to have a real conversation about this. Much easier to doom/gloom/misdirect and not talk correctly about the core problem. The core problem is that there is no such thing as assured/infinite success. By just participating in this industry you're not enshrined with a right to success or continued success ad-infinitum. Normal everyday people deal with this everyday in their jobs. The framing for this simple matter in the gaming industry is totally distorted cause certain corps use this distorted understating of market fundamentals to push policy agendas (say to excuse a shift to GAAS for example, or push a subscription, or MTX)... and that includes Sony execs too.

"But but the the argument is about AAA expectations getting out hand..." No the argument is thinking every developer out there has to be a Naughty Dog or a Rockstar Games. That is a lie and false. But if you seek to replicate success sure go ahead and try to be the next Naughty Dog or Rockstar - just don't cry when you fail.
 
Last edited:
27 Jun 2023
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TLOU 2 cost $220 m are unsustainable

But Halo Infinite cost $500m are ok





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Funny nobody there mentioned that
Yeah it's absolutely embarrassing how that turned out given its budget
 

reziel

Veteran
12 Jun 2023
690
597
Where were these articles and people to speak out about how unsustainable Gamepass is?

I'd be far more worried about the far reaching effects of gamepass and how it destroys value and is a race to the bottom than a couple of high budget games from a platform holder who is seeing excellent profits from those games.

What do these people want? Lower quality? Just shove some shit out for us all to play and who cares if it's any good? Fucking Redfall?

GTFO.
Remember that one former Microsoft employee tweeting about the possibility developers are keeping silent on the merger they don't want to potentially lose that opportunity of gamepass money from Xbox? That's more than likely why my good sir.
 
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Dr Bass

The doctor is in
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20 Jun 2022
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It’s not unsustainable if the games sell and make money.
 

Helios

Coolios
11 Jun 2023
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"Not sustainable": Developers across the industry (who didn't get the funding because their game was rejected by publishers for not being good enough) react to The Last of Us Part 2's $220 million budget
 
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Bryank75

I don't get ulcers, I give 'em!
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18 Jun 2022
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Remember that one former Microsoft employee tweeting about the possibility developers are keeping silent on the merger they don't want to potentially lose that opportunity of gamepass money from Xbox? That's more than likely why my good sir.

Yeah and then the media are the same as ever... trying to get access and advertising dollars.
 
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