Bethesda buys id Software

[kirottu]

Why big=bad?

[Purkake]

Why big=bad?

 

Smaller developers and digital distribution = more innovative games like World of Goo.

[Monte Carlo]

Click

:face palm:

 

Great, now we'll have the DOOM SANDBOX GAME.

 

Sorry, but that sounds quite cool.

[Oner]

<-left speechless

[Purkake]

Click

:face palm:

 

Great, now we'll have the DOOM SANDBOX GAME.

 

Sorry, but that sounds quite cool.

 

Doom I and II were great because of the big open arenas. Doom 3 ruined that

 

Not that I want a Bethesda-made Doom game.

[Monte Carlo]

Yeah, I only ever played Doom 1 & 2 on the original Playstation and have nothing but fond memories.

 

A big, scary, desolate sand box game full of strange places to explore, demons, a space marine guy with a skillz tree and lots and lots of guns / chainsaws / etc.

 

Why not?

 

Sounds cooler than Oblivion (etc). I'm thinking Diablo-esque RPG-lite fun.

 

Cheers

MC

[kirottu]

Why big=bad?

 

Smaller developers and digital distribution = more innovative games like World of Goo.

 

That

[Purkake]

Why big=bad?

 

Smaller developers and digital distribution = more innovative games like World of Goo.

 

That

Edited June 24, 2009 by Purkake

[jjc]

The bigger the company the more money they are putting into things and the less risks they want to take. I'm not saying that there should be no big companies, I'm saying that there should be more indie/small companies.

It sure seems to me that all this merging of late is a response to the increased expense of developing for consoles in this hardware cycle and the projected expense of developing for the next cycle. Making games with production values that are up to the standard expected by the XBOX/PS3 audience is a tall order for a small, independent company.

[Oner]

Why big=bad?

 

Smaller developers and digital distribution = more innovative games like World of Goo.

 

That

[kirottu]

Why big=bad?

 

Smaller developers and digital distribution = more innovative games like World of Goo.

 

That

[Purkake]

The bigger the company the more money they are putting into things and the less risks they want to take. I'm not saying that there should be no big companies, I'm saying that there should be more indie/small companies.

It sure seems to me that all this merging of late is a response to the increased expense of developing for consoles in this hardware cycle and the projected expense of developing for the next cycle. Making games with production values that are up to the standard expected by the XBOX/PS3 audience is a tall order for a small, independent company.

 

Which is why I mentioned indie games and digital distribution. A small company can make awesome games and make money without wasting too much money on XBL, PSN, Wiiware and Steam/whatever.

 

The costs are pretty much bleeding the AAA games' developers dry.

 

Mirror's Edge didn't sell that well. Then again, parkour wasn't new at that time either.

Beyond Good and Evil got 70% cheaper after 2 days.

Developers of Zeno Clash begged people to buy it.

Psychonauts didn't sell well either.

 

To be fair, BGaE and Psychonauts got little to no marketing making it the publishers' fault for not even giving them a chance. There are a lot more examples, though.

Edited June 24, 2009 by Purkake

[Monte Carlo]

My next tip for 2010-2012 is that CRPG players will flock to free rogue-likes in their thousands.

 

Would you like fries with your mainstream CRPG release?

[Rostere]

At least no one can buy Valve(not publicly owned) and as bad as Activision is, it's a giant money anchor keeping anyone from buying Blizzard.

 

It would be interesting to see the bigger publishers fall apart and all the small developers pour out, but that's not going to happen any time soon

 

Even though it's reassuring that Valve is privately held, I'm almost looking forward to the time when EA, Activision and every other major company merges into one supermassive ****hole. I think something like that is impossible to avoid (trying hard not to sound like some kind of Karl Marx of the computer game industry), followed of course by a surge of independent developers and low-budget games.

[Oner]

To be fair, BGaE and Psychonauts got little to no marketing making it the publishers' fault for not even giving them a chance. There are a lot more examples, though.

Fair enough.

[kirottu]

Why big=bad?

 

Smaller developers and digital distribution = more innovative games like World of Goo.

 

That

[Purkake]

At least no one can buy Valve(not publicly owned) and as bad as Activision is, it's a giant money anchor keeping anyone from buying Blizzard.

 

It would be interesting to see the bigger publishers fall apart and all the small developers pour out, but that's not going to happen any time soon

 

Even though it's reassuring that Valve is privately held, I'm almost looking forward to the time when EA, Activision and every other major company merges into one supermassive ****hole. I think something like that is impossible to avoid (trying hard not to sound like some kind of Karl Marx of the computer game industry), followed of course by a surge of independent developers and low-budget games.

 

It will be the renaissance of video games, a golden age where everyone can once again make awesome games.

 

Hmm, maybe I should make an underwater city where the best game developers can make whatever games they want and not be held back by petty morality...

Edited June 24, 2009 by Purkake

[HoonDing]

Interestingly, the CEO of Zenimax Media, one Robert A Altman, is married to Wonder Woman. Is this what makes them the unstoppable corporate juggernaut they're appearing to be?

[Syraxis]

Interestingly, the CEO of Zenimax Media, one Robert A Altman, is married to Wonder Woman. Is this what makes them the unstoppable corporate juggernaut they're appearing to be?

 

Probably how they get so many hollywood big names to provide voice overs for their games.

 

Also, when does Zenimax acquire Obsidian? I actually could see it happen.

Edited June 24, 2009 by Syraxis

[Purkake]

Obsidian is also privately held, so they have to agree to be bought.

[Rostere]

Never heard of Zeno Clash.

 

That's a shame. I bought two copies on release

 

Zeno Clash

[Mamoulian War]

The thread with the most replies wins.

 

 

 

And this is NOT good news, IMO. ID Software was one of only three major remaining independant developers, and this signifies and end to an era. Now there is only Valve and Epic games remaining.

 

Still 1000 times better news than "EA BUYS ID SOFTWARE!!!

 

now i wish Zenimax would do something similar few months ago with bioware

[Syraxis]

so they have to agree to be bought.

 

If it meant having a parent company that's well off and having enough autonomy within the whole company to be able to take risks without facing too much opposition from the parent's management, would Feargus say no?

 

I wonder.

[Majek]

Lol EA is changing, stop making them the greatest evil ever. Others have take that title already.

 

So this is bad news here. Now id games can only get worse. :|

[jjc]

Which is why I mentioned indie games and digital distribution. A small company can make awesome games and make money without wasting too much money on XBL, PSN, Wiiware and Steam/whatever.

I've seen this work for puzzle games, platform games, simple arcade games, graphic adventure games. As for complex western CRPGs, I'm not sure I know anyone who's successfully working on that smaller scale other than Jeff Vogel. Otherwise, there are small projects in development whose release dates seem permanently fixed on "when it's done." I don't mean that as a knock against the capability of those guys, it's just that making an Arcanum or a Planescape: Torment takes a hell of a lot of time and more than a handful of people--people who need to be paid if they're going to work on something for "a hell of a lot of time."