Fixing Total War: The Bigger Picture

[Kobal2fr]

That´s got nothing to do with being evil. I work for a finance company (in a different field, but still) as well, and I have to damn well make sure that the money we fork out (around one million € for a game, according to a recent interview) comes back in. Because it doesn´t appear on our accounts out of nowhere, either.

That's what I meant, yes : SEGA doesn't give CA pots of cash out of the goodness in their heart, nor do they patron CA's Michaelangelos to commission the best and most awesome game the world has ever seen. I think Pratchett worded it best when he said "every publisher's dream is to have so much money in his pockets that he'd need suspenders to keep his pants from falling down". But that's ok, I mean, don't we all ?

The "evil" part comes from the fact that they are absolutely necessary to gaming studios, and they know it, which gives them leverage. Combined with the fact that most of them wouldn't know a good game from a flying turd, and you have the basis for very, very wrong decisions when we players are concerned... and pushing for early releases is only a minor part in that. What sells better is not usually what makes a game more interesting.

Kind of like an "Anthony and Cleopatra" screeplay could end up set in the Bronx and include friendly aliens, a female rapper and lots of 'splosions after going through the "Hollywood producers" stage, see ? .

(EDIT : And that's not even considering the fact that "It's not evil, I do it too !" is not exactly likely to win the "most bulletproof of arguments, ever" award )