Is big-budget game development getting out of hand? Dr. Greg Zeschuk, co-founder of BioWare, recently said that for most development houses, working on triple-A console projects would be pointless. While it seems that big money resides in creating big-name console titles, apparently only the top ten companies can actually accomplish the feat and walk away with a little pocket change.
"It's more competitive than it's ever been, it's more dangerous than it's ever been," Zeschuk told attendees of the Develop Conference in Brighton. "Right now it's precisely the wrong thing to chase."
Zeschuk added that better opportunities are developing such as providing gamers with content directly rather than go through the traditional "brick and mortar" avenue. This helps make up for the losses stemming from boxed games sales on the traditional retail front, as these are seeing a slow year-on-year decline.
"Retail still works but it's not a panacea," he said. "The risk-taking is disappearing on the publisher side. There's exceptions but it costs a lot of money and you've got to set the right goals."
He also gave a thumbs up to "elder developers" breaking up into smaller teams rather than tackling blockbuster development as a whole. He said these smaller units are able to build a tight business with a positive working culture.
Current;y BioWare is branching out and experimenting with new platforms as seen with its iPhone and Facebook projects.