Brinkdeveloper Splash Damage has criticized the near-monopoly that certain games have on the market, lamenting the state of affairs that sees a small fraction of titles rake in the majority of the money. According to the studio, this hampers innovation.
“1% of the games make 99% of the profit, leaving everything else to wither on the vine,” said Splash Damage’s Richard Ham. “This can be bad for innovation. We’ve got to find ways to get people interested in some of the other stuff out there, because a lot of it is REALLY good and deserves to succeed, otherwise risk-taking will become rarer and rarer.”
A fair enough point, but I think Ham isn’t considering something. Those games in the 1% typically ship with an online mode thatworksat launch. Maybe Splash Damage could learn a thing or two from them.
Yes, I did take this story just to make a bitter cheap shot after being unable to get online with Brad last night.
