In the face of an industry which has seen a decline over the past year Take Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick has revealed that AAA titles are the most sure-fire way to guarantee a healthy revenue stream.
“The demand for top-tier products is okay. The demand for lower-tier products is not so clear,” Zelnick recently told Gamasutra, adding that “the safest place to be is in triple-A.”
Last week the Grand Theft Auto publisher, who is also responsible for the Bioshock, Civilisation, Midnight Club and Max Payne franchises among others, unexpectedly cut its’ profit forecast due to poor holiday sales. This will result in a net loss of roughly $30 million (R225 million).
The reason behind the success of AAA titles says Zelnick is perceived value. These releases are generally targeted at dedicated gamers but also make their way into the general market. Titles directed at niche gamers simply don’t have the same potential.
The Take Two executive isn’t wrong. A quick look at VGChartz’s best selling console titles for 2009 show (with the exception of bundled Wii releases) that AAA releases such as Modern Warfare 2, Halo: ODST, Killzone 2 and Resident Evil 5 dominate sales numbers. Niche titles are few and far between.
This could be the reason why gamers have arguably seen fewer successful original IPs released in 2009. Publishers seem hesitant to bet their money on anything less than a sure thing; Zelnick echoed this sentiment with his thoughts on the Grand Theft Auto franchise.
“This is an exceedingly profitable enterprise. GTA IV and the subsequent line extensions were profitable.”
Nonetheless the company seems more than satisfied with the performance of Borderlands – one of 2009’s biggest original IPs, one which Zelnick added “shows every sign of becoming an important, long-term franchise.”
It appears therefore that the safest place to be, at least for now, is in AAA title development – specifically those which lend themselves towards an extended franchise. Despite this, with the economic recovery on the horizon, developers and publishers alike may begin loosening the straps a somewhat with regards to fresh IP releases in 2010.
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