Ironworks Gaming Forum - View Single Post - my thoughts on sir-tech's prospects

Aeolian · 11-28-2001, 02:55 AM

I don't usually bother to make posts such as this on gaming forums but I think this forum's participants are mature enough to understand my rants.

Judging from the size of the development team and the length of time it took to put the game out to market, using some rather liberal assumptions about sir-tech's financials, i estimate that it probably took sir-tech in the region of $4-7mil to develop this game (really quick-and-dirty, back-of-the-envelop calculations). to cover those costs, sir-tech would have to sell in the region of 500,000 to 750,000 boxes.

if one notes BG's sales numbers, it is highly unlikely that sir-tech would be able to sell anywhere close to what it takes to break-even. if sir-tech decides to give up because wiz8 doesn't make money, then its a crying shame.

if one notes black isle's biz strategy, the company probably wouldn't have made money on BG1:ToSC. the profits would probably come, not from Planescape:Torment, but BG2 and BG2:BT as well as licensing the infinity engine to FO:T.

imho, sir-tech would have to adopt a similar biz strat. the cost of developing the engine for wiz8 is undoubtly expensive and, imo, its unlikely that the company would be able to recoup its cost from just one title. any profits will have to come from sequels based on the same engine, i.e., like BI making users pay ~$150 for 3 titles to complete the BG series.

the company should also keep a tighter lid on marketing and logistics/distribution. most gaming websites aren't promoting the game and that can't be a good thing.

in conclusion: even if wiz8 doesn't make enough money to cover its development costs, imo, sir-tech should continue to work on new titles based on the same game engine and similar gaming concepts. games such as wiz8 is a niche market and sir-tech will have to work accordingly, ie, sir-tech can't expect such titles to sell at the same rate as the Sims or Diablo series, but it should be able to count on a loyal following among its fan base. the company will have to devise a biz strat around that.

ot: ja2:ub is waaay too hard. i wanna have fun and i'm not a masochist.

11-28-2001, 02:55 AM	#1
Aeolian Elite Waterdeep Guard Join Date: November 23, 2001 Location: Singapore Posts: 34	I don't usually bother to make posts such as this on gaming forums but I think this forum's participants are mature enough to understand my rants. Judging from the size of the development team and the length of time it took to put the game out to market, using some rather liberal assumptions about sir-tech's financials, i estimate that it probably took sir-tech in the region of $4-7mil to develop this game (really quick-and-dirty, back-of-the-envelop calculations). to cover those costs, sir-tech would have to sell in the region of 500,000 to 750,000 boxes. if one notes BG's sales numbers, it is highly unlikely that sir-tech would be able to sell anywhere close to what it takes to break-even. if sir-tech decides to give up because wiz8 doesn't make money, then its a crying shame. if one notes black isle's biz strategy, the company probably wouldn't have made money on BG1:ToSC. the profits would probably come, not from Planescape:Torment, but BG2 and BG2:BT as well as licensing the infinity engine to FO:T. imho, sir-tech would have to adopt a similar biz strat. the cost of developing the engine for wiz8 is undoubtly expensive and, imo, its unlikely that the company would be able to recoup its cost from just one title. any profits will have to come from sequels based on the same engine, i.e., like BI making users pay ~$150 for 3 titles to complete the BG series. the company should also keep a tighter lid on marketing and logistics/distribution. most gaming websites aren't promoting the game and that can't be a good thing. in conclusion: even if wiz8 doesn't make enough money to cover its development costs, imo, sir-tech should continue to work on new titles based on the same game engine and similar gaming concepts. games such as wiz8 is a niche market and sir-tech will have to work accordingly, ie, sir-tech can't expect such titles to sell at the same rate as the Sims or Diablo series, but it should be able to count on a loyal following among its fan base. the company will have to devise a biz strat around that. ot: ja2:ub is waaay too hard. i wanna have fun and i'm not a masochist.