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[Laura Fryer] Why Studios Fail
- Thread starter Astray
- Start date
UltimaKilo
Gold Member
Why do studios fail? Thy make crap products that don't make a profit. Saved you a video! 
Angry_Megalodon
Member
Ok, I bothered to listen to this. Though she is very articulate and points out some of the biggest internal problems, she doesn't spare one single minute to address the REAL reason why studios fail. They fail because CUSTOMERS DONT BUY THEIR PRODUCTS.
People who knew nothing about video games and listened to this would think the examples she gives were commercial successes. No, ma'am, they were not and that's the core problem. Everything else is noise.
People who knew nothing about video games and listened to this would think the examples she gives were commercial successes. No, ma'am, they were not and that's the core problem. Everything else is noise.
Deerock71
Member
Why do studios fail? Thy make crap products that don't make a profit. Saved you a video!
winjer
Member
Why do studios fail? Thy make crap products that don't make a profit. Saved you a video!
You are correct. But what she speaks about in the video is why studios make bad games.
How management fails. How people don't provide proper feedback during development, etc.
There is quite a good deal of info in there.
KimDongHwan
Member
This video was amazing, she definitely knows about how things work in the inner circle, highly recommended
Wildebeest
Member
I think she is right that people fall too much in love with the games they are developing. That's a why a big rule for creative people is that you have to see what works, not what you love, and kill your darlings. You remove bloat, stop making unnecessary work for yourself, and deliver something people accept more easily.
Shake Your Rump
Banned
All you wise-ass know-it-alls with your drive by posts should watch the video. It’s enlightening.
I will say that it is mis-named. I’m not sure why it’s titled “why studios fail” when she almost immediately refers to it as “three tips on how not to fail”.
I will say that it is mis-named. I’m not sure why it’s titled “why studios fail” when she almost immediately refers to it as “three tips on how not to fail”.
March Climber
Member
When the first reply of the thread tries to sum up the video's content without even watching it? Yes, yes it does.
the_master
Member
Great video indeed!
There are not that many people with her experience, so this is gold.
There are not that many people with her experience, so this is gold.
Heimdall_Xtreme
Hermen Hulst Fanclub's #1 Member
Heimdall_Xtreme
Hermen Hulst Fanclub's #1 Member
Put the graphics on top and not the gameplay and Fun.
That's why Nintendo and Capcom have come out ahead, they put more emphasis on originality, fun and artistic style.
That's why Nintendo and Capcom have come out ahead, they put more emphasis on originality, fun and artistic style.
simpatico
Member
Never let anyone say that no women should be allowed in gaming. This is a perfect example of a real STEM woman. Who got into it before it became the degree du jour. As someone working in engineering bullpens before and after the great STEM rush, I can tell you, the ones causing the problems are C average students who if graduated 20 years ago would have gotten a BS in Business Admin. Women like Laura are perfectly in their element at these studios. They probably get lumped in with the tourists unduly these days, so I felt like it was a good time to make this post.
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Men_in_Boxes
Snake Oil Salesman
Single player market has plateaued in terms of size. AAA studios gobble up more of the market. Mid size or low end AAA get bullied out of the money and thus close.
Now I will watch the video...
Now I will watch the video...
Loomy
Thinks Microaggressions are Real
Well yeah that's why every business fails. The important thing to understand - and what the video focuses on - is hat decisions studios are making that are causing people to not buy the products.
squidilix
Member
Why do studios fail? Thy make crap products that don't make a profit. Saved you a video!
No, the most sad is some studios make good products and don't make profit anyway.
simpatico
Member
I can only think of a handful of examples of this. Prey is a good one. I think on average most good games sell what they deserve. BG3 is a perfect example. A wildly successful game from a wildly unpopular genre pulls through because the quality is just so damn high. There are examples of bad games selling more than they deserve.
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March Climber
Member
Considering how much people still treat indie games with disdain, you'd be surprised at how many more good smaller games out there have failed due to zero marketing, general disinterest in smaller titles, or lack of interest overall.
simpatico
Member
I've really come around on indie stuff. Sure there is stuff that I've fallen in love with that I feel like deserved to sell millions, but these games have all been at least successful and profitable. Curious to any specific titles you have in mind.
Mibu no ookami
Demoted Member® Pro™
I mean she's not wrong, but these are kind of a lot of generalities and a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking.
Most good managers know everything she said here and largely agree with it.
She enjoys taking a lot of shots at Microsoft and maybe for valid reasons, but she's also doing it to get views.
You could make a docuseries about all the failures at Microsoft. I think you can also probably look at Connie Booth who historically had a lot of success only to be fired late last year and you can probably equate that with Sony's lack of consistency in meeting deadlines for a lot of their games, primarily their GaaS games, with many projects ending up getting canceled.
She got hired to EA and we'll see how she does there.
Most good managers know everything she said here and largely agree with it.
She enjoys taking a lot of shots at Microsoft and maybe for valid reasons, but she's also doing it to get views.
You could make a docuseries about all the failures at Microsoft. I think you can also probably look at Connie Booth who historically had a lot of success only to be fired late last year and you can probably equate that with Sony's lack of consistency in meeting deadlines for a lot of their games, primarily their GaaS games, with many projects ending up getting canceled.
She got hired to EA and we'll see how she does there.
March Climber
Member
Here:
And this will also provide further context:
Why don’t some games sell well? – How To Market A Game
howtomarketagame.com
There are even advice articles on how to cope with a failed indie launch and how to make something sell well next time around:
Your first indie game failed? Here is what to do next.
Hey all your hopes of being a world famous millionaire game designer went out the window when your first game didn't sell very well. Don't freak out! Here are 15 tips on what to do with your failed game.
Also, this still happens on the AA/AAA front too:
I'd like to believe that if a good game is made it will find it's sales like you do. However, the reality of the situation is harsher than that. I've just seen too many 'hidden gems' and 'why did no one buy ____ game' here and elsewhere for this to be the case, and those are actually decently known I.P. and brands. Imagine the even-smaller guys out there. Some gamers will say there's nothing to play and at the exact same time we are oversaturated with games, quite a bit of them being fun to play, but that just makes even more and more competition for developers as everyone is fighting each other for attention and to convince that same gamer that their game is worth playing.
Notice how many threads and trailers were posted during Summer Games Fest week and how most of the attention was only focused on two shows, Xbox and SGF itself. That's already a very large filter of people who won't check out some of the good variety of smaller stuff. Those same people will make posts like 'All indie games are _____ that's why they suck' or make threads asking 'why aren't developers more creative or take risks?' because they don't care to pay attention to anything other than the few I.P. and studios they like. They just want them specifically to innovate, not to actually find the innovation elsewhere.
Angry_Megalodon
Member
There's not a single connection in that video between the mismanagement of the development process and the delivery of the final product to their target audience. It felt pretty "endogamic" to me and that's precisely its biggest problem. It focuses on feedback from the media, who have become completely disconnected from players, too.
I strongly disagree with the passion part. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Passion projects are the ones who succeed the most, the pioneers, the most revolutionary. You only achieve that with passion. The problem comes when that passion antagonizes what fans want. But again, the video doesn't address that matter.
To be precise, Suicide Squad didn't fail because it was a development hell, it did because they betrayed their fans. If the project had run smoothly from a devs perspective, it would still have been a failure, because it failed at delivering what people wanted.
Edgelord79
Gold Member
People bought Tango’s products. I think its more nuanced than this.
Loomy
Thinks Microaggressions are Real
The first 5 minutes addresses that. She stresses the importance of internal feedback, both from the team and partner studios. The importance of building pipelines and processes to facilitate early and constant feedback. That's management's job. Both from department and team leads.
At around the 5 minute mark she talks about customer feedback from public playtests. Management/marketing sets that up and is responsible for making sure it's done in a way and in an environment that yields actually good, honest, and usable feedback.
I would argue that if Suicide Squad had been a good game, it would have found a whole new fanbase. Teams/studios switch genres all the time. She also points out the mismanagement that went on with that game - feedback bottleneck, personel and pipeline that were not designed for the project they were hoping to make.
Eh, this one could go either way. It is important that your leads are passionate. Essential, I would argue. The more important part is they need to be able to get the people working under them to care. But sometimes, a person takes a job to have a job and an income. There's nothing wrong with that. If they're really good, and are able to care about the project, that's sometimes enough. A guy lighting a movie scene doesn't need to be passionate about the movie they're working on or about lights. They just need to go how to light a scene really fucking well. I can guarantee that about half of the people who worked on your favourite AAA game ever made weren't super passionate about the project.
That last sentence I think is overrated. Yes, give fans what they want, but within reason. If studios only made games fans wanted, we'd end up with the same games being made by everyone year after year. Creatives need the space to try new things. Things fans don't know they want. That's how you get innovative projects.
kiphalfton
Member
Brb megacorp forces devs to make game a certain way
Brb game fails
Brb studio gets shut down
Brb megacorp says "It's just business"
Brb game fails
Brb studio gets shut down
Brb megacorp says "It's just business"
