Response to Reshaping the Game Industry

Hey,

I read this article last week on Gamasutra and wanted to talk about it. The article is very wordy but was a really interesting read. The author basically says that the video game industry needs to change the way it operates. He suggests that rather than having development studios that keep the same staff project to project instead new teams should be put together for each project. This is similar to the current movie industry format.

I think that this format could work and would help some of the weaker studios. It would also help for projects with a lot of potential get the skilled development team they often lack. My main argument against it is why fix something that isn't broken. While there are studios that seem to peeter out after releasing a few successful games there are also studios that manage to keep producing great games with the same teams. Blizzard, Valve, and Bioware all come to mind when I think of succesful studios that have become known for consistently releasing high quality AAA titles. They have no incentive of sharing their talent with other studios when they have proven they can be successful using the same people. I understand that it could help the industry overall I just don't see studios letting their proven talent get away.

I also find the idea that developers would be willing to be out of a job after every production cycle unrealistic. Although the video game industry is not known for its job stability changing to the new format would be an extreme. Developers would demand much more pay and game prices would soar.

I think that the idea is an interesting one but I don't think it will come into existence anytime soon.

Cyaz