by TEDDYk-17, 14 November 2007

With the ongoing trend of increased production costs of video game hardware and software, I’ve been wondering if there will be a point at which games will be so expensive to make that the producers will not be able to break any more technical barriers. They would be forced to continue making only PS4 quality games because the money generated by sales would not be enough to cover production costs.

It’s easy enough to see that games don’t have to have amazing graphics to sell well (Wii or DS games compared to PS3 or PSP). Big budget games are a big risk on the producer’s side; they have to ensure that the game will sell enough copies to generate profit. On the other hand, small budget games targeted at casual players can generate just as much profit without as much risk. This is one of the reasons the Wii and DS have more support than other systems. Companies can pump out games based on movie and TV show franchises on Nintendo’s system that kids are guaranteed to gobble up, while Sony is so desperate for support for the PS3 that they must plead game developers to stick with the PS3.

The PS3 may be more technologically advanced than the Wii or the 360, but that doesn’t guarantee game sales. However, I’m sure all of the Sony’s worries with the PS3 will turn around once Metal Gear Solid 4 and Final Fantasy XIII come out. Also, the new lower prices have already helped to boost PS3 sales tremendously.

If there is a point at which games become too expensive to make, I wonder if developers will jump from making console games to handheld games. Games developed for PSP and DS especially are much cheaper to make, and portable consoles almost always dominate the sales charts since the consoles themselves are cheaper too. Square Enix already has decided to shift the Dragon Quest series to the DS, and Namco has been made two new Tales games on the DS even though the PS3 have not seen a new entry in the series yet.

Also, the 2D games of many platformers are more popular than their console 3D counterparts, like Sonic and Mega Man. It would be interesting to have handheld games with graphics on par to home console games. The PSP already has games that look very close to PS2 graphics, like Tekken, FF7: Crisis Core, and MGS: Portable Ops. Maybe the next PSP will have PS3 like graphics and also a second analog stick to make the controller more like the DualShock. Since the PSP slim already has TV output, companies could just make games for the next PSP instead of making console games. That would be pretty interesting.

Anyway, I’m still waiting eagerly for Super Smash Brothers: Brawl, which got pushed back to February from December. Brawl definitely looks like it will be the ultimate multiplayer game, and the online feature will only make it better. Also, the Street Fighter IV trailer looks amazing. I have a feeling that it’s going to be on both the 360 and PS3, but it’s a little suspicious that Capcom hasn’t mentioned what platform it is on yet. Maybe its PS3 exclusivity is the big secret that Capcom promised for PS3 owners a while back, unless if they were talking about the updated Lost Planet port for PS3, which I frankly don’t care that much about.

Also bad news from Capcom for PS3 owners is that the next Monster Hunter is going to Wii. Capcom definitely owes something big to PS3 owners for that.

This week is going to be really busy as Mario Galaxy and Assassin’s Creed are both coming out. Maybe those will help the wait until SSB: Brawl…