Plenty of money in mmorpgs...

Description
Four of the nation's leading broadband communications providers will outline their strategies to capitalize on the growing trend in online video game services at the inaugural Game Networks Conference & Expo, April 27-28, 2004 at the Hyatt Regency in Long Beach, Calif., according to show organizers.

Executives from Sprint, Bell Canada, Comcast Online, and Cox Communications will participate in the conference to discuss the business opportunities and the technical requirements in network game services, such as bandwidth limitations, licensing rights, revenue sharing and quality of service.

According to Forrester Research's Pervasive Gaming, Subscription-based MMOGs mostly Massively Multiplayer Role Playing Games (aka MMORPGs) are projected to hit USD 1 billion in sales by 2005, growing at over 58 per cent annually.

Game Networks is the first business and technical conference designed to focus on the collaboration between game content developers, broadband communications carriers and network infrastructure providers to deliver the next generation of online game services.

Also participating are leading infrastructure solution providers, including Level 3 Communications, Sun Microsystems, IBM, ICTV, Terraplay, Calix and Alcatel, who will discuss the effect on network performance produced by high volume, high bandwidth game services, such as Massively Multiplayer Online Games.

One billion, that's unbelievable.

I think basically 1/3rd of game developers these days are focusing on one thing, and one thing only: Making money. I think they could really care less about whats "Innovative" or "Unique", no, they care about whats "Popular" and going to sell like hot-cakes. There are mind you a few companies that actually seem to care about gamers interest's (Valve, ID, Bungie, Etc..). Last year, I saw seen at least 10 different baseketball games, 5 different football games, and other movie/overly used themed games.

Damn you money hungry developers.

It also seems the days of beta-testing games for Bugs has gone out the drain (ALA: Enter the Matrix).

There are mind you a few companies that actually seem to care about gamers interest's

You said it yourself bud, "seem". What better way to make money and get publicity than if you seem to be interested in something noble.

Damn you money hungry developers.

You don't make money, you don't make games more games, and you're out looking for work. And most developers still get very little share of the profits on their own titles. The publishers are the ones you want to get after. They're the ones funding the titles, pushing the unreasonable deadlines, and putting unfinished products on shelves. Not all are evil, of course, but the developers in this case are mostly innocent.

How can you even dream of being innovative when your next deadline is in 3 days and you don't get your next piece of funding until you submit it? Companies owned by publishers can fortunately avoid this, but most development studios merely get their paychecks from publishers. Many games are even given to developers by publishers, and not the other way around :razz:

But I..I...Owned :sad:

Touchee mr.andrew, but i'll be back!

/flees into darkness

Publishers are, I think, levels of magnitude more money-hungry. They're the ones who'll commission another football or Who Wants To Be A Millionaire game

That reminds me, I've to get my copy of Fifa February!

Infidels! FIFA is rubbish, but Pro Evolution Soccer is a gentlemans game.. a truly honourable sport!

If I can't play a game as much as I like after one payment, then I'm not playing at all. If I get bored I'll just download some old old games. Just as much fun, moreso you could say, than some modern games.