Industry needs new business model, says LucasArts prez
by Kyle Orland 
{ Aug 11th 2006 at 2:25PM }
In a recent interview with EuroGamer TV, LucasArts President Jim Ward said that the video game industry business model "does not work." Ward warns that expanding the market is crucial to the continued success of the industry, and that companies can't be complacent selling to the core group of hardcore gamers. Sounds a little bit like Nintendo's long-time message to us.Ward also thinks that the game industry needs to find new revenue streams past retail sales, and sees the promise of online distribution systems from Sony and Microsoft as the main hope in this regard. Ward also sees system exclusives becoming less common in the future, and pledged LucasArts would continue to support every major system.
The full interview has more interesting tidbits, including Ward's thoughts on the PS3 price ("High, but you're getting something for that") and his thoughts on the LucasArts' status before his takeover two years ago ("It was a sick company").
[Via GamesIndustry]
Watch - Part 1, LucasArts boss Jim Ward (EurogamerTV)
Watch - Part 2
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
A @ Aug 11th 2006 2:41PM
The Wii is expanding the market and where's the lucasarts support? I think he should just shut up.
Britney @ Aug 11th 2006 2:43PM
I agree it does need a make over but am a little surprised to hear it from the Lucas camp with all teh games they have out. With the next generation of consules we will start seeing stuff like people being able to buy things for the game online via purchasing online thru the machine.More maps weapons characters etc etc, from a consumer stand point games like this are games that keep on taking and taking instead of giving what we originaly bought them for, giving a fun time.
Blue Spotted Frog @ Aug 11th 2006 2:58PM
Expanding the market? This is coming from the company that pumps out nothing but Star Wars games year after year.
Find new revenue streams? The publishers are charging us $60 now for next-gen titles. The $10 per title increase isn't enough for them? Prepare to be nickeled and dimed left and right because the publishers are going to invent crazy new ways to charge you for content above and beyond the $60 you pay for the game. When are going to say "enough"?
otakucode @ Aug 11th 2006 2:59PM
Hmm, well, it seems to me like Peter Moore has already laid out the solutions for their little idea. Provide an open platform for game development where *ANYONE* can provide and sell games. The YouTube of gaming. Notice how YouTube is the most visited website on the net? Yeah, that model works. You may cringe at the thought of an immature and crudely done "FartBlaster 3000" appearing on your system, but it is what people want.
Hopefully in the future, the Internet will make possible a real global marketplace where a single person in their spare time can generate something that catches on virally and makes them a millionaire. The positive benefits to society would be astonishing.
where2go @ Aug 11th 2006 3:13PM
I like how when people think of online distribution systems they forget Steam. Yeah its hell but they did start a trend.
D-6 @ Aug 11th 2006 3:51PM
It's been said before: Studios are going to be in trouble soon if they don't focus on things other than the latest super-duper hi-res physics engine. It's those types of games that are ramping up the development costs due to the fact they have to hire an army of programmers to get a game to work.
Dave Smith @ Aug 11th 2006 3:58PM
Didn't I read something similar from nintendo's boss like, two years ago? Wow Jim, you're a genius.
Evan @ Aug 11th 2006 4:54PM
Funny, the Nintendo link goes to a Joystiq piece that predicts the DS will fail.
The ZeroCorpse @ Aug 12th 2006 12:43AM
LucasArts can do ONE THING to make me trust them: STOP PUSHING GAMES OUT FOR THE HOLIDAYS BEFORE THEY'RE *REALLY* FINISHED!!!
I mean, Knights of the Old Republic was an awesome game. The sequel, however, was a convoluted mess once you got past the halfway mark. It was shameful that LucasArts pushed that one out the door. The devs said it wasn't finished. The reviewers said it wasn't finished. It was still out for the holidays, though-- And it was a terrible disappointment.
The same applies to Republic Commando. A FIVE HOUR GAME?!?!
Look, LucasArts- You made some awesome games. Keep up the quality, and stop with this "gotta have it by a certain date" junk. It's done when it's done. I'd rather have a good game three months later than expected than a bad game on time.
And by the way, LucasArts-- XBox Live Arcade would be an awesome place to put your old SCUMM games. I'd pay a fair amount of MS points for "Day of the Tentacle", "Maniac Mansion", "Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis", "Sam & Max Hit the Road" and your other SCUMM games in Live Arcade. Hell, throw "BALLBLAZER" in there, too!
vidGuy @ Aug 12th 2006 9:03AM
Bingo, Evan.
With Nintendo using a similar plan for the Wii, it will be interesting to see if the console market will take to the strategy Nintendo has used in the handheld market to great success.
The last part of the post is great:
"Don't get me wrong, I applaud Nintendo for stretching the boundaries of video gaming, but I fear that the rest of the world isn't quite ready. Can Nintendo really expect to move DS units by appealing to people that don't consider themselves to be video game players? We shall see…"
In James's defense, when you take a strict stance and predict something, you really only have a 50% chance of being right, no matter how much 'research' you do. What's funny is that I've seen the exact same words come out about why the Wii "will fail". Skim through that post's comments to see arguments that have also been levied against the Wii.
There's even a few more things working in Nintendo's favor with the Wii that they didn't have with the DS: a price point advantage, and no self-delivered competition. Whereas a lot of people were content to get (or keep playing) a GBA - and the same thing may happen with the PS2 being favored for the first year or so over the PS3 - the GC poses no threat to Wii sales because the Wii is backwards compatible. You can enjoy all the benefits of the GC if you've never owned one, plus the soon-to-be-huge Wii game library, for (probably) only $100 more than a GC.