Ubisoft see 25 percent growth in market - bit-tech.net Forums

CardJoe · 30th May 2008, 14:39

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/05...th-in-market/1

After a fantastic year of sales in games last year, Ubisoft reveal at Ubidays 2008 that they have seen the market grow by 25 percent and expect the same this year.

Zurechial · 30th May 2008, 15:08

Whether the Nintendo bubble bursts or not, I'm not enthused about the growth of casual gaming.
If it turns out to be more profitable overall for the companies, what's to stop them from abandoning 'hardcore' games altogether and drowning the market in repetitive dross that lasts for only 15 minutes of gametime before being forgotten about?

Obviously that's a doomsday scenario and we've heard them all before, but when did we last get a true, hardcore classic?
We've had great games in the past few years, but they've all felt a little watered-down compared to their classic predecessors.
The rising profitability of casual games means an ever-decreasing likelihood of getting more truly-classic 'hardcore' games such as Planescape Torment.
Even modern iterations of past classics have been made 'more casual' to appeal to a wider market (Fallout 3, BioShock, Oblivion, UT3).

The worst thing about it is knowing that you're in a minority on the issue, because the masses just don't care about what a literary masterpiece Planescape Torment was, or how groundbreaking System Shock was - They just want their 10-minute romp on a Wii before everyone passes out at the party, or a 30-minute brodudefest in Halo 3.

seveneleven · 30th May 2008, 18:45

@Zurechial, I hear you, man.Although I'm not from the generation that had the oppurtunity to see gaming "grow up", but I know a fair bit about it and I can safely say that I tottaly agree with you.
Gone are the days, when a game studio consisted of 3-4 people who made hardcore games at home or the the full-time developers who listened to their demographic not just formally.
Most of this is happening because of the rapid popularity of consoles and multi-platform releases.Hell, even good old Valve went the multi-platform route.
Another thing is that studios are know known as "companies" which means they depend on the # of sales in order to secure the budget for the next tittle from the investors.
All in all it's not so gloomy - with the release of Steam we're seeing a massive help for indie games which is doing PC gaming a great favour.

30th May 2008, 14:39	#1
CardJoe Player Character bit-tech Staff Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 7,988	Ubisoft see 25 percent growth in market http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/05...th-in-market/1 After a fantastic year of sales in games last year, Ubisoft reveal at Ubidays 2008 that they have seen the market grow by 25 percent and expect the same this year. __________________ this is joe's non-bit-tech blog

30th May 2008, 15:08	#2
Zurechial Elitist Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Ireland Posts: 886	Whether the Nintendo bubble bursts or not, I'm not enthused about the growth of casual gaming. If it turns out to be more profitable overall for the companies, what's to stop them from abandoning 'hardcore' games altogether and drowning the market in repetitive dross that lasts for only 15 minutes of gametime before being forgotten about? Obviously that's a doomsday scenario and we've heard them all before, but when did we last get a true, hardcore classic? We've had great games in the past few years, but they've all felt a little watered-down compared to their classic predecessors. The rising profitability of casual games means an ever-decreasing likelihood of getting more truly-classic 'hardcore' games such as Planescape Torment. Even modern iterations of past classics have been made 'more casual' to appeal to a wider market (Fallout 3, BioShock, Oblivion, UT3). The worst thing about it is knowing that you're in a minority on the issue, because the masses just don't care about what a literary masterpiece Planescape Torment was, or how groundbreaking System Shock was - They just want their 10-minute romp on a Wii before everyone passes out at the party, or a 30-minute brodudefest in Halo 3. __________________ www.valyr.net Core i7 920 @ 4GHz <-> 8800GTS 512 @ 785/1946/1990 <-> GA-EX58-UD5 <-> 3GB Dominator 1600 <-> Xonar D1

30th May 2008, 18:45	#3
seveneleven Minimodder Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Plovdiv,Bulgaria Posts: 30	@Zurechial, I hear you, man.Although I'm not from the generation that had the oppurtunity to see gaming "grow up", but I know a fair bit about it and I can safely say that I tottaly agree with you. Gone are the days, when a game studio consisted of 3-4 people who made hardcore games at home or the the full-time developers who listened to their demographic not just formally. Most of this is happening because of the rapid popularity of consoles and multi-platform releases.Hell, even good old Valve went the multi-platform route. Another thing is that studios are know known as "companies" which means they depend on the # of sales in order to secure the budget for the next tittle from the investors. All in all it's not so gloomy - with the release of Steam we're seeing a massive help for indie games which is doing PC gaming a great favour.