11-30-2006, 07:52 PM | #1 |
Third Guy from Andromeda
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 248
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Al Lowe's "Sam Suede" on indefinite hold
Al tells the story, briefly, on his website here.
If this were a situation where a write-in campaign would help, I would say this is when the write-in campaigners ought to get on it. But the problem -- the developer's lack of capital -- doesn't seem to lend itself to petitions and angry letters. Maybe it does. I'll see if Al has any ideas. --Josh |
11-30-2006, 10:05 PM | #2 |
Rattenmonster
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 10,404
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Aw, that's too bad.
Al Lowe is one guy I'd really like to see making games again. (Josh, you're another. ) |
11-30-2006, 10:56 PM | #3 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 413
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How far through production was it?
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12-01-2006, 11:58 AM | #5 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Damascus, MD
Posts: 515
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It is a pity; let's hope for the best.
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12-01-2006, 09:48 PM | #6 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Denmark, Europe
Posts: 577
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HI
A quick thought: Why doesn't Al finish this game by himself then ? And releases this game as an indie developer ? |
12-02-2006, 03:47 AM | #7 | |
Burning
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Karachi, Pakistan
Posts: 341
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http://firingsquad.com/news/newsarti...searchid=13406
Quote:
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12-02-2006, 05:29 AM | #8 |
Slim Shady
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Outer Heaven
Posts: 727
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Who will fund it , you ?
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12-02-2006, 05:40 AM | #9 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Denmark, Europe
Posts: 577
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What I find most interesting is this quote:
"(they)were also told by publishers that if they just released Sam Suede on the PC they would not sell enough copies to make it worthwhile." (i.e not make a profit....) I don't know how they know this. In my experience, if a game is good, then it sells very well, regardless of its only out for the PC or the xbox 360. SF: Tunguska did sell fairly, irrc, and it was only released on the PC (I think). Broken Sword, which were released both for the PC and the Xbox system, well, I don't think, this game has sold very well. (yet). To me, this quote is interesting: It clearly shows publishers will not support any (new) game which isn't released for PC,PSP, PS3, and Xbox 360 systems at once. This, of course, drives the cost of developing games up very much or forces game devs. to aim for the mass market. I also do feel that Al Lowe's (new) game was aimed at a specific adult target audience, a niche market. This niche market, I think, couldn't care less about nice(r) graphics or releasing of 4-5 different platforms at once. They want a game for adults that are fun, challenging, humorous, and will make them weep, wail, cry, or be happy at varius places in the games. And yes, you might only sell to 10% of the potential gamers, since this game caters to this niche market, the 10 percent. However, if all people in this market do buy the game then the game will make a profit. (earnings-cost) |
12-02-2006, 02:44 PM | #10 | |
Codger
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 1,080
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Quote:
Was Al Emmo successful? Dreamfall? By "successful" I mean successful from a business rather than aesthetic standpoint. Unfortunately, companies don't divulge their finances in ways that are meaningful to this discussion. Even public companies such as Vivendi Universal don't report revenue by product line, so it's unlikely we will ever know if sales of the Sierra compilations even covered distribution costs. Unless it somehow becomes known how much a specific game cost to develop, manufacture, distribute and support with a marketing effort, along with sales figures over whatever time period was estimated for the game to turn a profit, we'll never know the rationale behind some development decisions.
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