Who REALLY makes the games we play
by Blake Snow 
{ Jan 26th 2007 at 5:45PM }
1UP has an interesting article about a single Japan-based developer who has coded hundreds of games incognito for larger publishers aiming to cut costs. Yes, folks. Outsourcing exists even in game development. Their name? Tose. Their client list? It includes Nintendo, Capcom, Sega, Namco, Sony, Square Enix, Electronic Arts, THQ and a whole lot more. But before you get your panties in a bunch, remember it doesn't matter who's hammering the digital nails so long as the games are good and the paying clients' vision and expectations are realized. Do I care that I don't know which subcontractor built the very room I'm sitting in? No, so long as the walls don't fall in on me.
[Thanks, bobman2007]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ritz @ Jan 26th 2007 5:58PM
It's like the print industry, in many ways. Look how many printed products there are around you. You don't see a printing company's logo sitting in the bottom right hand corner of McDonald's menu's or learn who prints Coke's labels by looking at the product. But there is most certainly a third party company that they outsource to. Sounds like Tose is similar that way in the games industry.
JC80 @ Jan 26th 2007 6:04PM
I thought many people knew about TOSE and their role in porting and making games for major publishers. Hardly a surprise, or as 1Up put it, a secret.
Neebs @ Jan 26th 2007 6:08PM
Where is your god now?
Grunge @ Jan 26th 2007 6:08PM
Er ... no, it's not really the same at all. Tose is actively giving credit to the people that hire them - they don't just outsource little things, they develop entire games from the ground up. Then someone else's company logo gets slapped on the side of the product to inspire brand loyalty.
I don't buy Coke because I think that Coca Cola made the label on the outside of the bottle - I buy it because I'm expecting a certain kind of taste that the Coca Cola plants make. I don't buy McDonald's because ... well, because I have enough money that I would never be forced to. But that's not the point; they're actively misleading consumers into buying products that don't go through the company whose name is on them.
Mobat555 @ Jan 26th 2007 6:22PM
Hypothetically I think it would be great if we found out major fan boy titles like Zelda, Halo, Final Fantasy came from one small publisher.
Its almost as if there where a million screams and were all instantly silenced.
Grunge @ Jan 26th 2007 6:27PM
They aren't a publisher, they're a developer - and they aren't small, they have over 1,000 employees.
OhJustSomeRandomGuy @ Jan 26th 2007 6:50PM
AHHHHHH! Not TOSE!!!!
Maybe they've gotten better over the years, but seriously, all you have to do is take a look at FF Anthology to see how bad they were at one point.
It looks like Ferrari Racing on the DC and Virtua Quest are also fiascos they're responsible for, so, yeah, "thanks" Tose.
Tom @ Jan 26th 2007 7:43PM
I'm guessing these TOSE people just do the "grunt work": writing "var1 = function3(var2, var3)" 700 times, while the REAL developers make descisions about sound, art, story, mechanics, and basically telling TOSE where to put different lines of code. It's a miserable, subservient existence...
raquor @ Jan 26th 2007 7:58PM
@4: uh...do you fail to understand the workings of big business? You think ATT created their entire website? or verizon or any of a number of companies? Most of them pay a web designer loads of money to design and code the entire thing.
This doesnt mean you aren't getting what you paid for. The company doesnt just go to the contractor and say I want a game or a website and the contractor obliges. There are massive numbers of hoops. I'm sure the games are designed and developed with a handful of Nintendo people on the team. But the contractor can pay to have a staff of programmers that are constantly busy while nintendo just pays mostly designers with a few programmers to have an idea of what's possible.
chris @ Jan 26th 2007 8:06PM
OhJustSomeRandomGuy, are you talking about Ferrari F355 Challenge? Since it's generally regarded as one of the best racing games ever, certainly far more realistic than the Gran Turismos and Forza. Obviously TOSE aren't the ones who originally created it, but there was nothing wrong with their Dreamcast port.
NintendoFanbot @ Jan 26th 2007 9:09PM
A lot of the titles that they've worked on aren't really that special. Super Princess Peach was good though. And I've never played Stafy, but I've heard that's a good series as well.
And if the horrid post-apocalyptic future that #5 fortells is true then I'd lose faith in all gaming for its workers and artists to stand out. :P
kftgr @ Jan 26th 2007 9:10PM
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060518/sheffield_01.shtml
1UP and/or Sam Kennedy = plagarist...or with the benefit of the doubt, very lax on research....or can google-fu, but sucks at attributing credit. Take your pick.
-the_mole- @ Jan 26th 2007 9:17PM
i knew this happened but to say that it doesn't matter is foolishness. i am seriously seeking a future in game development, and this makes it that much harder for me and all the other devs out there. it puts even more pressure on all of us.
Jack @ Jan 26th 2007 10:07PM
Yeah, this news was great when I read about it on Gamasutra and insertcredit six months ago...
justchris @ Jan 26th 2007 10:08PM
I thought everyone already knew about TOSE. No one objects to work being subcontracted to them, because they're a prety awesome dev studio. When a company subcontracts a game to TOSE, it actually increases interest in the title.
GhaleonQ @ Jan 27th 2007 12:38AM
Indeed, it is old news.
GhaleonQ @ Jan 27th 2007 12:39AM
...and the article wasn't constructed well, either.
Mischa @ Jan 27th 2007 1:29AM
Quite frankly, I don't care where the labor comes from in a good product, so long as the workers are paid well enough. We should be intelligent enough to understand that outsourcing is a way to drive down wages, and be cynical towards corporations that do it.
Sorry, but my panties are bunched.