Visceral Games, one of EA's oldest studios, shut down

[Wiw]

I foresee an entire entertainment industry crash.

Just look at Hollywood: This year's box office numbers show a clear trend that people slowly are getting tired of franchise-mania, and what do they do? Look for the international market that hasn't reached the saturation point yet. Or blame review sites for bad movie performance. So the crash will be somewhat harder when it comes.

It's exactly the same pattern as in the games industry. Making this stuff has become so expensive that any kind of risk taking is bad for the bottom line so they play it safe, be that by making sequel after sequel or cutting spendings to 'unprofitable' outfits.

But in the end they are just lobotomizing their business foundation.

And then what? The industry will never recover. There won't be another movie or game ever, it's all been done!

[Graf Zahl]

And then ... the industry will have to realign itself along more reasonable budgets. You cannot endlessly waste more and more money with decreasing likelihood of making profits.

[DoomRater]

Hey, if James Rolfe can gather enough support to have a limited cinema release of his movie, other independent people can too. Also, it's available as both a digital download and DVD. Movies might just become that format instead of Blockbuster Hollywood films. That's kinda what's already happening with video games as it is.

[scalliano]

The industry recovered once before, all it took was a fresh approach. And a stupid toy robot.

Indies and self-publishing are the way forward IMO - thesere games that can recoup their costs with just a few thousand sales and are generally better experiences. The last 10 or so PS4 games I've bought have all been less than £20 brand new. None of the big-budget dopamine dispenser games appeal to me anymore.

You may scoff, but look at Cuphead - that game is selling like it's going out of fashion and it's fucking phenomenal. And it was made by a very small team who can finally pay off their mortgages due to the game's success. That maight be the exception, but it doesn't have to be. The simple fact is that if games have such bloated, decadent budgets that they need to feature mechanics designed soleley to squeeze every last penny out of their players then the budget is too damn high and is fundamentally unsustainable. Something is gonna give eventually - either customers will walk away, or governments will step in and start laying down the law. Neither peospect is particularly appealing, but at least one of them is inevitable.

[wildweasel]

And then what? The industry will never recover. There won't be another movie or game ever, it's all been done!

That part of the industry might not. But people will find ways to enjoy what they want to enjoy, make what they want to make and share it with people who enjoy it. The doom-and-gloom doesn't get us anywhere.

[Quadruplesword]

And then what? The industry will never recover. There won't be another movie or game ever, it's all been done!

There's way too much interest in either the games industry or movie industry for them to just become dormant and never see the light of day. If the market does crash, someone will come along to pick up the pieces and start fresh, even if it's just a bunch of nerds programming a new game out of their garage. Besides, a fresh start wouldn't all in all be a bad thing - in fact, it'd probably be a very good thing.

[Wiw]

We'll still get Netflix, right?

[Trance]

[Cherno]

The Collapse Of Visceral's Ambitious Star Wars Game