How not to sell games

I said it last generation and I’m still saying it now.

The videogame industry is the only industry that has fans waiting to give it money and it won’t let them.

The videogame sector of retail is the fastest growing in recent years and with the onset of the recession in 2008, games were one of the only things not seriously affected.

This is due to a lot of reasons, but the main one is that people see games as a good value for money in relative comparison to the entertainment they receive from them, thanks to large completion times, replay value and the pre-owned market.

It’s no wonder then that the increased attention in the popular media and culture at large has caused the industry to do a certain amount of “growing up”, which is just a more derogative and conscience-dodging way of saying “commercialising”.

The recent spat of lawsuits, the stories of violent children and studies thereof and even the extensive sponsorships and controversies surrounding them are all symptoms of the industry’s exposure to the laserbeam that is the public eye.

But not all of the transition is going to be terrible and I look forward to some of the changes I’ve wanted made to start happening now.

TRANSLATION, LOCALISATION & IP HOGGING

If there’s ever one time I’ve tried throwing money at a publisher it’s when it’s involving a game I want localised. Being an avid supporter of a series, only to be let down by a publisher not releasing an instalment is heartrending and even more upsetting when you know it’s owned by a large company that won’t sell the license for others to bring to us.

Zero 4 is co-directed by Goichi Suda better known as Suda 51 of Killer 7, No More Heroes and most recently, Killer is Dead fame.

This happened with Zero 4 on the Wii bringing an already low number of horror games on the console even lower in the west and Miles Edgeworth 2 on the DS, which was not released due to the sales of the first Miles Edgeworth Investigations game being low, most likely due to the fact that they only made a handful of copies.

The initial projected sales for Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney were lower than the end sales of Miles Edgeworth, showing that Capcom are able to make the game and make money, but choose not to.

Whatever the reasons, it shows bad business that the product isn’t hitting shelves, troubles of companies shouldn’t become troubles of consumers.

Releasing a game that will only make even a marginal profit is worth it to a company because:

• Continued releases of games keeps a company and their other games in consumer’s minds.


• As a series is released it garners new fans, steadily building a following and eventually a loyal fanbase, securing future releases of the same series’ success.


• Due to games like Smash Bros, releasing a game you wouldn’t usually release can possibly mean the difference between a consumer buying your mash-up game or not.


• 
  The more IP’s you release the more identity your brand has.

These are the reasons why despite Nintendo’s problems in recent years they have still been able to sell games and consoles. They have fans built from recognising some of their niche games like Fire Emblem, which is a great example of an unknown game series that has now become a viable Nintendo IP worth investing in in the west.

Unfortunately Nintendo are also prone to ignore outcry for some of their games like Mother and the afore mentioned Zero 4.

These games should be sold cheaply to a western publisher for release if the Japanese publisher is unwilling to do it themselves, then at least they would be making SOME money even if it’s only a minute amount. To not release a game that has such popular demand is irresponsible, lazy and a waste of money!

Masamune Shirow did the artwork for Fire Emblem Shadow Dragon on the DS.
He also did some erotic manga called Galgrease after he did Ghost in the Shell.

The good news about all this?

Digital distribution.

I may not like it, but I certainly prefer it to not getting the game at all.

With the new and fast ways of releasing games on the digital market, developers and publishers can work closely, quickly and cheaply with translators and coders to get these games released with hardly any potential repurcussions.

It’s not just big companies or Japanese games that can make use of this opportunity but small developers, especially from countries that wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach our shores.

Digital Distribution will widen the scope for games development and bring a wealth of content to us gamers.

DIVERSITY, MORALITY & ETHICS

The more videogames reach the general public, the more likely it is that new demographics will become financially marketable.

This means that games will be more representative of diversity and different cultures, and just like I mention above, digital distribution means there are no longer borders to mind when delivering games. People from all over the world will be making and playing games more.

This also means that more people will have more games that speak to them, regardless of their sex, race, age or sexual orientation.

The games industry will become more like the movies industry, where each demographic will be catered for and hopefully our knowledge of problems in the film industry like celebrity culture and ballooned costs can be avoided, while also encompassing some of the better aspects like adopting accountability for product and refined production.

Some of these points I will go into more detail in my follow up to this piece, but I think that in the near future, particularly this coming generation of consoles, we’ll be seeing a lot of change, a lot of it I haven’t been best pleased about but I also see a lot of good that can come from this.

How not to sell games