DA
06-25-2009, 12:06 PM
Microsoft's Xbox Community Games were billed as the perfect opportunity for independent developers to jump into the game and make some money. But small studios like Clover-developer Binary Tweed are beginning to wonder if it's worth the cost.
Binary Tweed managing director Daniel Jones told Digital Spy that Clover has underperformed despite praise from the press, saying, "It's a shame to say that Clover has not sold as many copies as we'd hoped for."
Jones said that they "definitely won't" recoup costs, and that the game is no longer seen as a source of income. The problem, he said, is market size.
"The problem is that the Community Games market is just too small, and the people buying titles via the service don't seem at all interested in games," he said, citing applications as a reason that more traditional games have been held back.
"In the first week of Clover's release, the top ten CG titles was made of eight applications, RC-Airsim and one edutainment game."
Binary Tweed's have been echoed by Mommy's Best Games, which saw poor sales for their title Weapon of Choice. Mommy Best Games developer Nathan Fouts complained that Microsoft was taking a disproportionately large cut of the proceeds for promotion and other fees. They are now developing Grapple Buggy for the Wii.
It's not all gloom and doom though. Binary Tweed said that the critical acclaim afforded Clover has "opened doors" for the company.
"If you liked Clover, then it'll be worth checking binarytweed.com regularly over the next few weeks," he said.
We look forward to it.
Binary Tweed managing director Daniel Jones told Digital Spy that Clover has underperformed despite praise from the press, saying, "It's a shame to say that Clover has not sold as many copies as we'd hoped for."
Jones said that they "definitely won't" recoup costs, and that the game is no longer seen as a source of income. The problem, he said, is market size.
"The problem is that the Community Games market is just too small, and the people buying titles via the service don't seem at all interested in games," he said, citing applications as a reason that more traditional games have been held back.
"In the first week of Clover's release, the top ten CG titles was made of eight applications, RC-Airsim and one edutainment game."
Binary Tweed's have been echoed by Mommy's Best Games, which saw poor sales for their title Weapon of Choice. Mommy Best Games developer Nathan Fouts complained that Microsoft was taking a disproportionately large cut of the proceeds for promotion and other fees. They are now developing Grapple Buggy for the Wii.
It's not all gloom and doom though. Binary Tweed said that the critical acclaim afforded Clover has "opened doors" for the company.
"If you liked Clover, then it'll be worth checking binarytweed.com regularly over the next few weeks," he said.
We look forward to it.