The rising annual production costs of AAA games for the world's largest gaming companies is a well-known problem. On this common dilemma, Nintendo's Representative Director Shigeru Miyamoto drew attention to the view, saying, "Creative ideas are more important in creation than development costs. ”

During the Q&A session at Nintendo's earnings conference in November, Shigeru Miyamoto first acknowledged the rising development costs. "As development scales up, it is inevitable that there will be an increase in costs in certain areas," he said. ”

However, Shigeru Miyamoto explained that instead of investing huge sums of money in all projects, Nintendo is more focused on finding and polishing ideas like rough stones.

"Because everyone's preferences are different, companies can't decide which ideas are worth pursuing," he said. The only thing that is certain is that these ideas must have been non-existent in the past. When you polish these never-before-seen ideas, you often create more value. ”

Nintendo's goal is to find and nurture developers who internalize this philosophy and provide them with the necessary financial support until they are confident enough in the product before polishing it and releasing it.

Shigeru Miyamoto says, "If you have an attractive idea, you can create an attractive product even if you don't mobilize large-scale development funds." Not all products require huge manufacturing costs. The same goes for video games. With the current power of technology, a handful of developers can create interesting games in a short period of time. I think it's important to keep that view. ”

Shinya Takahashi, Executive Director and General Manager of the Planning and Production Division, echoed the same sentiments. "Small-scale originality that has polishing value can also be created by expanding the ideas of a small development team," he says. It's better than spending a huge budget on all the games. Although overall R&D costs are increasing, we can still effectively control costs in general, depending on the methodology. ”

The increase in game development costs is also the number one problem plaguing the game industry in China and even in the world. In 2024, China's game industry will occupy an important position in the global market, but it will face the dual pressure of intensified market competition and rising costs.

The increase in the cost of game development, especially in the field of triple-A games and online service games, has become a common problem faced by the industry. It's not uncommon for modern triple-A games to have R&D budgets of more than $150 million, and if you include marketing and marketing expenses, the total cost could easily be twice that amount.

Mobile game development teams face similar challenges, with the user acquisition costs (i.e., purchases) of mobile games rising rapidly, often reaching more than 10 times the core R&D budget. Technological advancements and improved hardware performance are driving developers to build larger, more detailed games, and the resulting workload has increased dramatically, resulting in ever-increasing development costs.

Game development costs continue to skyrocket, with 88% of developers surveyed saying they are looking for new tools to add to their workflows. Together, these factors are driving up the cost of game development around the world, making the gaming industry more challenging than ever before – more studios are using AI and not just going beyond the art world.

However, while the heaping of game development costs seems to be a trend, this doesn't necessarily guarantee a good game. High costs often mean more resources, including manpower, technology, and marketing, but this does not equate to a direct improvement in the quality of the game.

In fact, many high-cost games fail to achieve the desired success due to overly complex designs, lengthy development cycles, or inaccurate market positioning. In the gaming industry, there are some low-cost cases that have achieved great success with unique ideas and great gameplay. These games are often able to win the love and acceptance of players and the market with small teams and limited budgets, through innovative game mechanics and engaging storytelling.

Ultimately, the success of a game does not depend entirely on the cost of development, but on the realization of the game's ideas and the optimization of the player experience. As Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto emphasized, creative ideas are more important in creation. The key to the success of a game is whether it can provide a novel gaming experience, whether it can touch the emotions of players, and whether it can stand out in the fierce market competition.

Therefore, game developers should focus on the discovery and realization of ideas, rather than simply pursuing the increase in costs. With well-designed gameplay, a deep storyline, and high-quality art, it's possible to create a memorable gaming experience, even for projects on a budget.

This article is from Xinzhi self-media and does not represent the views and positions of Business Xinzhi.If there is any suspicion of infringement, please contact the administrator of the Business News Platform.Contact: system@shangyexinzhi.com