John Spinale demonstrates the OnLive Game Service at GDC.
In his post a few weeks back, our COO Mike discussed the inherent flaws in the video game industry’s economic model. Specifically, he detailed how difficult it is for a publisher to make a profit in the current system, traced the root of these problems and showed how OnLive helps the situation. VentureBeat published a great article on Friday that discussed the same problem from the developer’s perspective. Chris Taylor, founder and CEO of Gas Powered Games, talks about how difficult and cost prohibitive the current system is and how the strains placed on publishers trickles down to the developer community.
As Mike pointed out, while it may seem counterintuitive to question the business model of a thriving industry, in fact, when you crunch the numbers you realize how difficult it is to for publishers to make money on a title. Well, the same is true for Developers, where the standard industry model forces them into a precarious business position, in which even very high-profile developers can find themselves living from game to game. That point is perfectly depicted in the profile of Gas Powered Games, a highly successful independent that has survived and thrived for 11 years. From an outsider’s perspective you’d think it’d be smooth sailing for them, they have a strong, recognized brand and continue to pump out great games. This article shows that that isn’t necessarily the case as developers, regardless of how successful, have struggled to stay afloat in the current economic system.
And, as Chris rightly points out, OnLive doesn’t solve all the issues for developers, but we do really begin to level the playing field quite a bit. Mostly by taking away a ton of the inefficiencies in the existing model — providing a direct channel from development to distribution, simplifying the entire development cycle, and opening up opportunities for games of all sizes. Our goal is to really free up the studios to spend less time and money on the business and logistics side of the equation and focus those resources purely on making great games.
Chris says, “the thing that might fundamentally change the industry, for the artist to get more control, is if the artist community could become more proficient at business and control the money.” I’m happy to say that we’re all moving in that direction and OnLive is the platform that can make that happen.
—John Spinale, VP of Games and Media
