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[Alcibiades]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/variety/20040630/va_tv_ne/inside_move___riddick__vidgame_1

Inside Move: 'Riddick' vidgame victorious

Tue Jun 29, 9:19 PM ET

Online Staff, STAFF

HOLLYWOOD -- Get ready for a sequel to "The Chronicles of Riddick" -- several, in fact -- but don't look for them on the bigscreen.

They're earmarked for the Xbox (news - web sites) vidgame platform, where "Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay" is flouting conventional wisdom that only hit films turn into hit vidgames. Despite disappointing reviews and B.O. for "Riddick" the film, the vidgame is a smash on both counts.

"Butcher Bay" sold 110,000 copies in its first three weeks of release and is on track to sell more than 250,000, translating to a gross of at least $15 million. It's a high marker for a title released only on Xbox and not the bestselling console, PlayStation 2 (news - web sites).

Execs at publisher Vivendi Universal Games are so pleased, they already have a PC version timed for release with the DVD around the holidays and are strongly considering sequels.

Both Vin Diesel (news)'s Tigon Games, a co-publisher, and Universal stand to make several million dollars in royalties, plus more from sequels. That's relatively small potatoes to a studio, of course, but it represents a steady stream of income from a franchise that looks to have a short life in theaters.

It could have meant even more for NBC U, but GE passed on VU Games when buying most other Vivendi entertainment assets last year.

not that I think they are way off or anything, but I think they are underestimating their own sales, this is probably going to do better than that considering all the hype and positive reviews it's been getting recently...

 

[bishoptl]

This is good. You know why? Because THE GAME FUCKING ROCKS.

My only hope is that VU gives Starbreeze the development time necessary to create a proper sequel, and don't Tomb Raider a potential goldmine into the ground. Best movie-based title ever.

 

[TekunoRobby]

Riddick being ported to the PC is certainly very good news. Now I can show my console hating friends the glory of Riddick.

I really hope that Starbreeze does an excellent port of this upping the texture/polygon quality 10 fold. I want to see this game shine with the graphical potential of the PC.

Multiplayer might be fun, but given the timeframe that's out of the question.

 

[dark10x]

I really hope that Starbreeze does an excellent port of this upping the texture/polygon quality 10 fold.

10 fold?!? Ha ha, that absolutely won't happen.

I'd rather them just focus on getting it to RUN WELL on the PC. Halo PC saw no visual upgrades and had a helluva time running well. Of course, Enclave PC ran extremely well...so perhaps it will be the same deal with Riddick.

 

[MightyHedgehog]

Good news, as Riddick deserves to sell well.

 

[Ghost]

Well the game kicks ass so it better get some sequels, i just hope starbreeze are prepared to do them, and Tigon put the same level of effort into making them movie quality.

 

[Dead]

I hope vin is diverting some funds to finance the movie sequel

 

[DCharlie]

"This is good. You know why? Because THE GAME FUCKING ROCKS."

you better believe it.
The game also looks lushalicious!

 

[sonycowboy]

I'm expecting the game to sell quite a bit better than that for the month of June. Based on channel checks at EB/Gamestop/Best Buy, it seemed to have been the best seller for the all of the systems behind only Driv3r for the PS2 and maybe, maybe SCT for the PS2. The wild card is FSW, but I don't expect that game to have sold more than Riddick.

 

[SyNapSe]

Riddick looks kickass, but I hate paying $50 for a single player game. :\ I'm definately getting it at some point. I like how they do the stealth mode w/ the tinting.

 

[Redbeard]

Man, I'd love to see another Riddick game. This is good news.

 

[tedtropy]

10 fold?!? Ha ha, that absolutely won't happen.

I'd rather them just focus on getting it to RUN WELL on the PC. Halo PC saw no visual upgrades and had a helluva time running well. Of course, Enclave PC ran extremely well...so perhaps it will be the same deal with Riddick.

The reason Halo ran so poorly on so many PCs is because it was a horrible port. Out of the box the game ran like crap on even high-end systems, and even after the patches, it's not performing as it should. Gearbox simply dropped the ball on that game. There's no reason why Riddek shouldn't look, as he said, ten-fold better on a PC. While, for the most part, it looked impressive on the X-Box, there were alot of times where you could definately see it straining via detail adjustments...

 

[Chi-Town]

I'm expecting the game to sell quite a bit better than that for the month of June. Based on channel checks at EB/Gamestop/Best Buy, it seemed to have been the best seller for the all of the systems behind only Driv3r for the PS2 and maybe, maybe SCT for the PS2. The wild card is FSW, but I don't expect that game to have sold more than Riddick.

I see the big problem in that Universal hasn't done any tv advertising for Butcher Bay. It's done really well but would do better if more casuals knew about it. THQ has done ALOT for FSW. Plus, fewer copies of Riddick were shipped in comparison to FSW.

 

[DCharlie]

PC games are written for a multitude of different standards from the shittiest possible card to the ultra top end card.

What do you expect to change in this 10 fold better PC version?

 

[tedtropy]

Silly little things like the ability to change the resolution the game runs, as half the time it looks like it's running at all of 320X240 on the X-Box. Mainly, I'd just like the game to be able to scale better according to the system it's on, as any good PC game should. There's no reason a Riddek PC-port shouldn't look infinitely better than its X-Box counterpart, especially if it's running on a relatively high-end system. Riddek's engine has alot of potential, but it's obviously being constricted by the X-Box. I say we give it a chance to see what it can really pull off.

 

[Doom_Bringer]

awesome news!

 

[DCharlie]

"Silly little things like the ability to change the resolution the game runs"

Well, yes, i agree that is nice. But isn`t this primarily a console game? At least it runs in 480p

" as half the time it looks like it's running at all of 320X240 on the X-Box."

???? Does it??!?!

 

[COCKLES]

This is good. You know why? Because THE GAME FUCKING ROCKS.

My only hope is that VU gives Starbreeze the development time necessary to create a proper sequel, and don't Tomb Raider a potential goldmine into the ground. Best movie-based title ever.

Indeed. Great game.

 

[tedtropy]

"Silly little things like the ability to change the resolution the game runs"

Well, yes, i agree that is nice. But isn`t this primarily a console game? At least it runs in 480p

" as half the time it looks like it's running at all of 320X240 on the X-Box."

???? Does it??!?!

There's times where the game looks great, but whenever there's a moderate amount of detail on screen the game can get awful jaggy and generally 'low-res' in appearance. It's most especially noticable during in-game cut scenes. To its credit, the game never has any noticable slowdown and keeps a fairly consistent ~30FPS, but it does this at the expense of graphical detail.

 

[dark10x]

The reason Halo ran so poorly on so many PCs is because it was a horrible port. Out of the box the game ran like crap on even high-end systems, and even after the patches, it's not performing as it should. Gearbox simply dropped the ball on that game. There's no reason why Riddek shouldn't look, as he said, ten-fold better on a PC. While, for the most part, it looked impressive on the X-Box, there were alot of times where you could definately see it straining via detail adjustments...

"10 fold" suggests that they would re-do assets with higher levels of detail for the PC version. Higher resolution and framerate != "10 fold". Considering the potential $30 price point, do you REALLY think they plan on upgrading all of that content?

There's times where the game looks great, but whenever there's a moderate amount of detail on screen the game can get awful jaggy and generally 'low-res' in appearance. It's most especially noticable during in-game cut scenes. To its credit, the game never has any noticable slowdown and keeps a fairly consistent ~30FPS, but it does this at the expense of graphical detail.

Those "detail adjustments" were simply a frame buffer effect gone wrong. The game wasn't actually dropping screen resolution, it was simply a poorly used blur effect. Why do you think it was most often present during cutscenes?! They were ATTEMPTING to pull off a depth of field effect and FAILED at it. Wind Waker has a similar issue, but as it doesn't attempt to change the focus so heavily, it looks nowhere near as bad. So, you are incorrect in your assumption that it was used to keep the framerate high. Also, the game does have slowdown and drops below 30 fps more often than Halo.

I'd expect an Enclave like port. Better performance + higher resolutions but no change to actual visual content.

 

[jedimike]

There's no reason a Riddek PC-port shouldn't look infinitely better than its X-Box counterpart, especially if it's running on a relatively high-end system. Riddek's engine has alot of potential, but it's obviously being constricted by the X-Box. I say we give it a chance to see what it can really pull off.

I'm not sure you know the meaning of infinite. (reminds me of The Princess Bride - inconceivable)... anyway, I think marginally would be more fitting.

 

[sonycowboy]

I'm not sure you know the meaning of infinite. (reminds me of The Princess Bride - inconceivable)... anyway, I think marginally would be more fitting.

I love it. PC over Xbox is marginal. Xbox over PS2 is far superior.

 

[tedtropy]

I'm not sure you know the meaning of infinite. (reminds me of The Princess Bride - inconceivable)... anyway, I think marginally would be more fitting.

Tell you what, let's just say it'll look better and leave any extra adjectives out of the whole affair so we can avoid any miscommunication.

 

[dark10x]

Tell you what, let's just say it'll look better and leave any extra adjectives out of the whole affair so we can avoid any miscommunication.

That's fine, but you made mistakes and incorrect assumptions in your posts above...

 

[jedimike]

I love it. PC over Xbox is marginal. Xbox over PS2 is far superior.

Well aside from increased resolutions... I haven't seen any PC games that look much better than the top Xbox games.

 

[seismologist]

Riddick has a pretty low poly count compared to a game like Far Cry.

It should run like butter on high end PCs.

 

[Ghost]

Now it can kick doom3s graphical ass on two platforms..w00t.

 

[Deku Tree]

I loved the game and I really hope there is a sequel, so don't get me wrong.

But I've never heard a publisher so happy about 110,000-250,000 in sales.
Can someone explain?

 

[Redbeard]

I loved the game and I really hope there is a sequel, so don't get me wrong.

But I've never heard a publisher so happy about 110,000-250,000 in sales.
Can someone explain?

VU used slave labor to get it done. It cost them nothing at all!

 

[Alcibiades]

I have a feeling those are wildy underestimated...

Should be around 200,000 at least for June alone if you ask me...

 

[Ferrarisimo]

I loved the game and I really hope there is a sequel, so don't get me wrong.

But I've never heard a publisher so happy about 110,000-250,000 in sales.
Can someone explain?

I agree. Great game, but only 110K sold with a forecast of only 250K for a console game? 'Round these parts, we call that an utter failure.

 

[COCKLES]

I agree. Great game, but only 110K sold with a forecast of only 250K for a console game? 'Round these parts, we call that an utter failure.

No we call it 'a Sega'.

 

[jedimike]

I agree. Great game, but only 110K sold with a forecast of only 250K for a console game? 'Round these parts, we call that an utter failure.

Why???

250K x $50 = $12,500,000.00

Development cost were probably 3-4 million. Assuming the publisher gets 50% of the revenue, they just doubled their money.

 

[DopeyFish]

[200,000-300,000 is a success unless it's a high risk game (like Driv3r)

Not all games are made to be million sellers.

 

[Solid]

Wow cool! I got Pitch Black today on DVD - warming up for Riddick! The game isn't out until October here in Europe

I have a question: in Pitch Black they speak of Riddick escaping from a maximum prison and stuff, I guess that's where you play game?

 

[jedimike]

Wow cool! I got Pitch Black today on DVD - warming up for Riddick! The game isn't out until October here in Europe

I have a question: in Pitch Black they speak of Riddick escaping from a maximum prison and stuff, I guess that's where you play game?

Yep... it shows Johns dropping you off to collect his bounty on you. Lots of references to pitch black... got his eyes for 20 menthol cools, etc.

 

[Mashing]

Why don't Tigon Studios ever get any props for this game?

 

[Mason]

I knew a PC version had to be coming, that's why I didn't buy it for Xbox. I hope the port turns out well, though.

 

[Rhindle]

Why???

250K x $50 = $12,500,000.00

Development cost were probably 3-4 million. Assuming the publisher gets 50% of the revenue, they just doubled their money.

Yeah, since they spent virtually nothing on advertising, and Starbreeze are efficient coders, they can turn a tidy profit on 250K sales. I expect the game will do more than 250K though.

 

[Ferrarisimo]

[200,000-300,000 is a success unless it's a high risk game (like Driv3r)

Not all games are made to be million sellers.

Here comes teh math:

Retailers pay around $30-$31 for a game with an MSRP of $49 from a company like VU. Profit is $31/unit.

VU pays Microsoft $10 for every copy of the game sold. Profit is now $21/unit.

Assume C.O.G. is .50 cents for every unit. Profit is now $20.50/unit.

Assume that VU paid Vin Diesel, Tigon, and the movie studio $0. Profit is still at $20.50/unit.

Multiply $20.50 by estimated 250k units sold (which they haven't attained yet), and total revenue is $5,125,000.

Guess low, and assume that pure development costs were $4,000,000. Subtract that from the above figure, and total profit based off of 250K units (again, which they haven't sold yet) is just over $1.1 million.

For some companies, 1.1 million profit on more than 4 million spent just isn't worth it.

Disclaimer time: These figures were based off of educated guesses, and are meant to illustrate an example. They are not indicative of actual revenues, profits, or fees for VU.

 

[Rhindle]

^^^

Harware manufacturer royalties are more in the $6-$7 range.

I don't have any solid data on retailer margins, but your assumption ($19) is too high. It's probably about 30% on average, or $15.

 

[EmSeta]

Why don't Tigon Studios ever get any props for this game?

Because they didn't make it? AFAIK, they only provided Starbreeze with some assets and stuff..

 

[jedimike]

Here comes teh math:

Retailers pay around $30-$31 for a game with an MSRP of $49 from a company like VU. Profit is $31/unit.

VU pays Microsoft $10 for every copy of the game sold. Profit is now $21/unit.

Assume C.O.G. is .50 cents for every unit. Profit is now $20.50/unit.

Assume that VU paid Vin Diesel, Tigon, and the movie studio $0. Profit is still at $20.50/unit.

Multiply $20.50 by estimated 250k units sold (which they haven't attained yet), and total revenue is $5,125,000.

Guess low, and assume that pure development costs were $4,000,000. Subtract that from the above figure, and total profit based off of 250K units (again, which they haven't sold yet) is just over $1.1 million.

For some companies, 1.1 million profit on more than 4 million spent just isn't worth it.

Disclaimer time: These figures were based off of educated guesses, and are meant to illustrate an example. They are not indicative of actual revenues, profits, or fees for VU.

I know your just using examples, but they aren't very accurate. AFAIK, MS charges publishers $6-8 dollars. Publishers get a discount for making a game "Live Enabled" like Riddick.

Retailers make at most 20% on each game. So for every $50 game they sell, $10 is made at the retailer.

... so the actual figures are more favorable for publishers. Even if your scenario was 100% accurate, most companies would kill for a 25% return on their investment.

 

[MaddenNFL64]

250k? :\

Thats pretty good I guess. I thought it wasn't that niche though.

The graphics are great, but it's obviously hindered by the Xbox' limitations. No AA, runs at 30 most of the time, and the textures are low res. The lighting makes up for it though .

 

[jedimike]

The normal mapping combined with the lighting makes the game shine. I don't even notice the low res textures. Plus the modeling is superb. Each prisoner is unique.

On the downside, I'm almost certain that the reason for the great sales is coming from the fact that the word "fuck" is thrown around freely.

 

[MaddenNFL64]

I didn't even notice it that much. Maybe it's because I swear like a drunk sailor around my friends .

 

[Hellraizah]

VU pays Microsoft $10 for every copy of the game sold. Profit is now $21/unit.[/I]

They are probably paying a lot less to Microsoft because of the "Only On Xbox" and the "Live Enabled" logos.