Why Next-Gen Titles Cost $60 241
Heartless Gamer writes "Forbes.com has up an article detailing what goes into the $60 price tag for next generation games. Publishers get about a buck per copy sold. 'The remaining $59 per game goes into many hands. The biggest portion — nearly 45% — goes toward simply programming and designing the game itself. Then the console maker, retailer and marketers each get a cut. Add in manufacturing and management costs, and depending on the type of game, a license fee. Some gamemakers also have to pay a distributor to help get their titles in stores.'"
Re:What about Wii? (Score:4, Informative)
I don't think that the designers of the console should be entitle to anything.
They're not "entitled" ... the companies have simply established a mutually beneficial business arrangement that you're willing to pay for when you buy a game. Nintendo sinks money into developing a console, in the interests of making money. The software company sinks money into developing a game title, in the interests of making money. The software company pays Nintendo to license the Wii name and logos for marketing and sales purposes (you know, so they can say the game is for the Wii), and to get Nintendo's technical assistance and expertise. That serves the software house's interest, as it allows them to sell more games, and hence make more money. It also serves Nintendo's interests, as they also make more money. You're free to go ahead on your own and develop and market a console game without the help of the console manufacturer ... but you aren't going to make a whole lot of money without their assistance and logos. Really, how many people are going to spend money to buy a game for a console when the box doesn't say it's for that console? Bloody few....
I don't see Dell getting a cut when PC games are sold.
In this instance, there's no mutually beneficial business arrangement that would dictate that. The correct comparison would to Microsoft getting a cut for each PC game sold. And they DO get a cut (of a kind ... I don't know if they get an actual slice of money per box), in that they license their Windows logos and tools to developers in another kind of mutually beneficial business arrangement.
Re:What about Wii? (Score:3, Informative)
With programmers, though, unless you have fairly extensive technical skills, or someone else with said skills doing the hiring, you can't be sure what you're getting. If the person you interview knows just enough more about programming than you do, it's hard to say that he's incapable. People pad their resumes and embellish their abilities. There are also sub-skills within programming, such as the ability to structure large systems, understand databases, write readable code, and manage time.