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NEWS > GAMES > BAD GAMES SPUR RECORD YEAR FOR INDUSTRY
BAD GAMES SPUR RECORD YEAR FOR INDUSTRY
Feb 9 2008
Montreal, Canada – 2007 was a record setting year for the games industry. Large and small companies had record profits. Retailers reported dramatic increases in sales. It may be argued that 2007 was the year of the Video Game, the year that gaming broke into the true mainstream of popular culture.
With major titles such as “God of War II”, “Halo 3”, and “Super Mario Galaxy”, there was no shortage of major titles to help spur those record setting numbers. The focus for this sales success has been focussed on these major blockbuster titles. One area that has gone largely ignored though is the flood of mediocre and downright bad games released throughout the year.
Led by titles like “Carnival Games” and “The Shield” 2007 was also a record setting year for mediocrity.
“There’s no doubt there were a lot of terrible games out last year,” said a spokesperson from Ubisoft Montreal, who preferred to remain anonymous. “Our company was responsible for a few of them. When you have quality, you’re going to have junk too.”
That dearth of quality though is what has spurred the overall success of the industry. Aside from creating incremental sales with low budgets, the glut of mediocre titles causes rabid sales for quality titles when they are eventually released.
“I think it’s deliberate to be honest,” said industry insider Joseph Khan. “You get stuck with stuff like “Chicken Shoot” and “Vampire Rain” and it just leaves you wanting anything good so you rush out first day. That restricts the ability of used games sellers to turn over those titles, and it also allows the companies to maximize sales while the title still retains a high price point. Without junk, that type of fervour wouldn’t exist.”
But is there a concern that producing bad titles could hurt the industry in the long run?
“It hasn’t hurt the film industry,” said Khan. “That model has been used by entertainment companies for decades. How do think we ended up with Styx or Cool as Ice? Starve a man, and he’ll eat anything you give him.”
With titles like “Miami Nights: Singles in the City” and “My Horse and Me” already released, it seems 2008 is going to set new records all over again.
Douglas Havermore, Games Correspondent
NEWS > GAMES > BAD GAMES SPUR RECORD YEAR FOR INDUSTRY
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