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October
2001
Q: Dear Jay,
In the wake up of the September 11 attacks in the US, I
read of games being cancelled or releases delayed
because of , for example, terrorist or World Trade
center references in the games. Who takes the biggest
hit in those cases? The publisher? The developer? Both?
What is the bottom line impact of those kinds of
decisions? And can it be a unilateral decision on the
publishers' part?
A: I would have to
say that the publisher is probably taking the biggest
hit for delays simply due to the way that the retail
structure works here in the US. Some publishers often
borrow large amounts of money to pay for the
manufacturing, shipping, and shelf space for the holiday
season. They have to re-coup this money on holiday sales
and pay the loans back. Most developers will have
received their advances by this time on the title
(unless the final payment was due on release) so they
will not miss a few weeks in most cases. I haven't heard
of absolute cancellations yet, but if a game is
cancelled, then everyone's going to get hurt. Publishers
have lost cash and the developers have lost their
revenue source.
It usually is a publisher
decision, the publisher or console manufacture usually
holds final say on the release date of a game. The only
exception to this would be if a developer's contract
with the publisher states that they must release the
game by a certain date and they are nearing the end of
that period.
Jay
Q: Dear Jay,
The industry seems to have slumped into an unfortunate
comfort level dominated by the same big companies,
generating the same concept over and over, and then
making a sequel? Do small game developers with
innovative ideas really stand a chance? How do the
little guys ever get their games out there? Any examples
for inspiration?
A: What you are
seeing is a product of business more than anything
else. Publishers need to know that they can turn a
profit on their investment just like anyone else. They
are typically looking for new games that take an
existing success in the industry and put a new spin on
it. A great example is the success of the Rainbow Six
game when it was first launched. Red Storm took the
first person shooter genre, added some tactics and
realism and started a huge craze. The little guys still
have a great chance, it just comes down to proving
yourself to the publisher and injecting them with plenty
of confidence in your idea. I don't want to name names
here, but several small companies have been successful
in this lately. It can be done!
Jay
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