Game News Mike, This Business Will Change You & Your Release Date

[Zomg]

Between the hype levels being very bad and consumers being in the shitter Sega might just be thinking that they want to back up and try again. Dunno if that's actually a feasible reading, though.

 

[Azrael the cat]

At least they aren't with Atari this time. Hopefully they'll get some advertising beyond a 2 line mention in the Otowa local newspaper saying 'please buy our game'...

 

[MetalCraze]

If Blizzard indeed was making that much a month "not counting" other stuff - they would be richer than some EA by now - which is indeed losing sales btw and cries about it on every corner. I don't think that 11 mln subscribers (the new info from Blizzard) shows how many subscribers are there at the same time - I think they just count how many different accounts were created - I doubt that even half of them plays in the same month - because that's how it is with all other MMOs no matter their numbers.

 

[Silellak]

If Blizzard indeed was making that much a month "not counting" other stuff - they would be richer than some EA by now - which is indeed losing sales btw and cries about it on every corner. I don't think that 11 mln subscribers (the new info from Blizzard) shows how many subscribers are there at the same time - I think they just count how many different accounts were created - I doubt that even half of them plays in the same month - because that's how it is with all other MMOs no matter their numbers.

Even if only 20% of those accounts are active, that's $33,000,000 a month purely from monthly subscriptions. At that rate, you'd pay off the $200,000,000 cost for five years of maintenance in half a year.

20% is low estimate, too, considering that Wrath of the Lich King sold 2.8 million copies the first day it was available. That's 25% of the 11 million playerbase that bought the expansion as soon as it was released. At $40 per copy sold, that's about $100,000,000 from the expansion - JUST on the day it came out. When you consider that Burning Crusade sold 2.4 million on ITS first day, that's almost ALL of Blizzard's total cost for maintaining WoW covered just by the first-day sales of the two expansions.

The truth is, the costs of running WoW are fairly small compared to the huge amount of revenue being brought in, no matter how you want to slice it.

 

[MetalCraze]

Of course they are getting great profits from WoW yet also don't forget that they are spending some of those money on their current game projects too (considering that last Blizzard game that is not WoW was published back in 2003 - they have one failed project that was too long in development - and they are developing two games since around 2004-2005).
I actually said that Blizzard is very successful. But their expenses are not that little.
Considering that a total revenue of Blizzard right now is $1.1 bln and they exist for 15+ years and that each one of their games right down to rock'n'roll racing was a major success - $200 mln is not such a small number considering their total money right now (even if the number only grows)

 

[Pseudofool]

Alpha Protocal is the kind of game (shooter, spy, rpg, the recent track record of ME and FO3) that could get hyped into being a blockbuster. So why wouldn't Sega and Obsidian want to push into a market where it's still a hot game in the holidays? I think there are so many more console gamers that are going to opt for AP than DA:O--I don't think there should be any question about this.

This is also Obsidian's first IP with which can become a cash cow for projects they care about. If they can get more time to add polish to ensure the release goes smoothly and invigorate the hype machine, they need to do it.

Whether or not, AP ends up a good game is another question entirely. But I think it will sell surprisingly well, regardless.

 

[Dionysus]

Alpha Protocal is the kind of game (shooter, spy, rpg, the recent track record of ME and FO3) that could get hyped into being a blockbuster. So why wouldn't Sega and Obsidian want to push into a market where it's still a hot game in the holidays? I think there are so many more console gamers that are going to opt for AP than DA:O--I don't think there should be any question about this.

It's not that easy to make a hit multiplatform game. AP's first media blitz was very underwhelming, and the latest blitz has barely made a dent. I know that you might think that it looks like Splinter Cell, which was a big hit, but you have to remember that SC was gorgeous when it came out in 2002. Right now, they are showing a plain looking game with generic gameplay. They have plenty of time to turn it around, but if they want to move a bunch of units, then sometime before July they had better start showing their "Jack Bauer" character to the media instead of simply talking about him.

 

[Tigranes]

AP's first media blitz was very underwhelming, and the latest blitz has barely made a dent.

GTTV recorded its highest ever view-count for the Alpha Protocol episode. I agree that it has been fairly underwhelming, however, and it's up to Sega to step it up in what is now confirmed as the 'final 6 months'.

 

[Anthony Davis]

You guys are all over the board on this.

First of all, gross revenue does not mean what you think it means. Remember, SEGA posted a 240+ million dollar loss.

Also, WoW accounts do not cost the same everywhere. They have different rates in different countries, and even in the same country. For example, my rate is 9.99 a month compared to the USA norm of 14.99 a month. In China I believe the most expensive account is the equivalent of about 6.99 (US) a month.

Activision makes a truck load of money, however they turn around and dump a lot of that money back into the game with patches, new content, game support, hardware maintenance, and new expansions. It is not just some 'black box' cash cow, it is a complicated business model and Blizzard spends a lot time working on it to maintain that level of success.

edited to clarify.

 

[Wyrmlord]

And competing against Dragon Age and other blockbusters? Nice job Sega, they're really into screwing Obsidian over as much as possible I guess.

Maybe they are just chompin' at the bit, ready to take on the world.

 

[doctor_kaz]

This game just has "commerical bomb" written all over it. This game has caught no buzz or hype.

The truth is, the costs of running WoW are fairly small compared to the huge amount of revenue being brought in, no matter how you want to slice it.

I don't think that anyone would dispute that, but the numbers on how much profit WoW generates are often greatly exaggerated, since a lot of the subscribers in places like China pay far less than the $15/month that US subscribers pay.