Hello, I'm thinking of opening a game development company. The company will develop mainly games for PS2 and xBox. I want you to give some advise on the this issue. I mean what is the chances of success for this type of business? Is possible to compete with the world market? Plus can some one give me an estimation of the capitial needed for this type of business. Also can some one tell more about marketing the end product, I mean when I finish the development of a game how easy to mraket it to the world. Finally, what other businesses in the field of game development is good and have a high demand on it? Thank you.

Sony and Microsoft tend to filter out indies from their developer list. Unless you have proven yourself by having successfully published games in the past, you are unlikely to get an SDK. Besides, console royalties are eating up a large chunk of your revenues so you need a fairly large number of units sold to break even, more so than on the PC side. You might want to start on the PC first.

Quote: I'm thinking of opening a game development company.

There are many sorts of "game development companies" and you have not told us which one you were thinking of. Obviously, everyone wants to be the next EA but that spot is already taken. There are the publishers-only, like Strategy First. There are the contract houses, like Climax Group; those can make an entire game from scratch or port an existing game to another platform. There are those who do it all top to bottom but specialize into a specific genre or license, like Valve. There are those who specialize in one type of platform, like JAMDAT for cellphones. More details from you are needed here.

Quote: Obviously, everyone wants to be the next EA but that spot is already taken

Ewwwwuuuuuu...not me. Whatever spot EA is in they can keep! :)

The overall theme of APs post is the Newbie Game Developer's Mantra: Start Small.

If you start thinking about how to take over the world market as your primary goal, you will fail. Simple as that. Nobody respects or supports a person with an unrealistic "scope" to their ideas.

If on the other hand you build a small game that gets notority, perhaps submit or even win an IGF event, do some viral marketing and engage in small but targeted online distribution, then you can start building up your reputation and then the world comes to you. :)

Hello,


Thank you guys for your views.

If I want to start a game development business, can you please tell me which route to take? I mean a route with less risk and profit on the long run? Please give a detailed information if possible. Think of it like you want to start this business how you will start and which you will take?


Thank you for your valuable help.

Quote: Original post by fastlane69

Quote: Obviously, everyone wants to be the next EA but that spot is already taken

Ewwwwuuuuuu...not me. Whatever spot EA is in they can keep! :)

The overall theme of APs post is the Newbie Game Developer's Mantra: Start Small.

If you start thinking about how to take over the world market as your primary goal, you will fail. Simple as that. Nobody respects or supports a person with an unrealistic "scope" to their ideas.

If on the other hand you build a small game that gets notority, perhaps submit or even win an IGF event, do some viral marketing and engage in small but targeted online distribution, then you can start building up your reputation and then the world comes to you. :)

Hi,

Thanks a lot.

Can you please tell more about how to start? Give me scenario if possible please, or give some links.

Thank you.

Quote: Can you please tell more about how to start?

Wow. That's a tall order. How to start a buisness or how to start game development? There are entire books written on each subject. So I would advise you do some research into both areas first.

A good place to start is right here...look above you under the "resources" heading and read through all the Articles and see if there are any books relavant to your situation. You can also look at the Forum Indexes...most of them have a FAQ about the particular subject and those will give you valuable insight as well.

I estimate that after maybe 6 months to a year of research and development, you will be ready to begin down the path of commercial game development. This assumes that you have digested all the material, have made a buisness plan, have a game design document ready, have funding lined up, have your offline office ready, have your employees hired, and you have your online office and webportal active.

Developing business plans is part of what I do for a living. Starting capital and budget planning really depends on the type of game company you want to found. If you want to break into the PS3/XBOX360 martket (PS2 & XBOX will be dead by the time you get your first game out) I would guesstimate that you'd need roughly at least $3 million at the very least to start - that's for getting an office, hiring experienced programmers and artists, equipment, and so forth for 2-3 years while you're writing your first projects.

If you are looking at founding an indie game company starting with writing small games you could be looking at starting capital as low as a few thousand, that being spent mostly on software and computer equipment. No salaries, working out of your team's homes.

$3 million is a lot of money but if your core team is comprised of gaming veterans with AAA releases under their belt getting funding might not be that hard to get - especially if you have a prototype or working demo for the funding presentation.

In either case the chance of success of a game company like any new business is quite low and depends on many factors. For a small game company the largest factor would be the experience of the founder/main programmer. In the case of a PS3/XBOX/AAA title company the marketing muscle becomes the main (but not only) factor .

Quote: Original post by fanchoor
Can you please tell more about how to start? Give me scenario if possible please, or give some links.

The link I like to give is to The Indie Game Development Survival Guide; it's more than a great book for anyone who wants to start their own indie game business, it's practically compulsory reading.

The overall advice I'd give is that unless you are running a large team of already skilled developers who can get a huge budget from a publisher you can't really compete on the consoles. I'd think about working small as an indie for the PC or Mac. You'll have the disadvantage of having less money and marketing as an indie, but the big advantage that you will have is that you don't need to sell as many titles in order to be profitable.

Another good book is Secrets of the Game Business by Francois-Dominic Laramee, Charles River Media.

Quote: Book Description
Secrets of the Game Business, Second Edition unveils the inner workings of the flashy, but very serious game development and publishing industry. If you are thinking about creating a game development company, want your existing company to prosper for a long time, or just want to understand how and why the business evolved to its current dynamics, you have come to the right place. This new edition is a compilation of the wisdom of dozens of industry insiders, publishing executives, veteran producers, independent studio owners, and writers. The book includes several new articles, and has been reorganized and updated to thoroughly cover the current state of the industry. With the insights provided throughout the book, you’ll have a solid understanding of the business and find valuable ideas to get you started in the business or improve your own company.
KEY FEATURES • Covers new topics, including middleware, licenses vs. original designs, serious games, psychological profiling of consumer types, and corporate management techniques • Provides an insightful look at the current state of the industry and future challenges facing developers • Examines the publisher/developer relationship and explains how games get from developers to players • Describes how to plan and create a new game company • Includes tips to help get games on the shelves • Teaches contract negotiation skills • Contains advice for improving the production process.

Hope this helps.

-cb

Wow. I've never come across that book and given that it covers serious games and middleware, it must be quite new as well.

The only book I have like it is "Game Development Business and Legal Guide" by Asley Salisbury, Premier Press, 2003.

This book sounds way more complete; ordering it right now!

Big thanks for the tip! :)