I think it’s less that they intentionally under deliver, and more that how the actually run leads to bad products. The executives and consultants brought in try and run studios like they’re software companies. Which, yes, technically video games are software, but they’re more than that.
With a lot of software, a short turn around is important if you want to make sure your product isn’t outpaced by a competitor before it even launches. bugs can be patched out over time so shipping with a few bugs is fine so long as you’re getting to market as soon as possible. Breaking the project up in to lots of small items that can be independently worked on without interfering or relying on other items means you can expand the team easily to keep up with deadline.
On a video game, consumers care more about the experience of the released product and less about it being the most technically advanced. Huge bugs at release mutes any excitement, even if the issues are patched out later. Multiple teams working on a bunch of items in parallel will struggle to make a cohesive experience and the design guidelines put in place to make this possible will mute creativity. A handful of cohesive long quest lines makes for a better RPG than a 100 little independent quest scattered over the map.
Better to have smaller teams that work over longer time frames and release a product when it’s ready, 150 million dollars will make a much better product with a 100 person studio over 6 years than a 300 person studio in 2 years.
mormund@feddit.org 3 months ago
So Belgium isn’t a western Nation? Or who does Anon think made Baldur Gate 3?
Deceptichum@quokk.au 3 months ago
And Japanese AAAs don’t under deliver?
kartoffelsaft@programming.dev 3 months ago
Usually whan people make this argument with BG3 as evidence it comes with the implicit assumption that Larian is a AA developer, not a AAA one. I haven’t done enough research on what constitutes AAA vs AA and where Larian fits in that so I don’t know if that’s reasonable, but that’s the argument.
Blackmist@feddit.uk 3 months ago
I’m not really sure on which planet they think Larian is a AA developer. BG3 was certainly north of $100 million to make, and had like 300 people working on it.
Ubisoft recently coined AAAA games in order to justify price rises on their latest mediocre drivel, and the only games I’ve seen that deserve the term AAAA are BG3 and Red Dead Redemption 2.
To me, that’s a product where absolutely no compromise has been made.
jonne@infosec.pub 3 months ago
They probably bought into the propaganda that all of Europe is overrun by Muslims.
edinbruh@feddit.it 3 months ago
Europe is what? How does one even come up with that? Who says it?
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 3 months ago
I thought that was only France? Or have they expanded their intolerance now?
papalonian@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Aren’t the “Western AAA developers” the ones complaining? Not the ones that made the mentioned games?
mormund@feddit.org 3 months ago
Then my question becomes what Larian Studios is, if not a AAA game dev.