All the voice overs that have been put into the game has cost them an insane amount of money. You can bet that it took pretty much all of their budget, with not much left for the game itself.
Oh, really? The voice overs are costly?
Hm... There is like 200.000 lines of recorded text used. 1000 actors. Lets say each session lasts 4 hours. That is 4000 hours of voice-overs.
Now, do all the figures include other languages? I don't know but make it 3 for each language.
How much for recording hour? Is 1000 USD/hour enough?
Well, that makes 12000 hours at 1000 USD rate, resulting in 12M USD.
If you consider minimum budget as 150M USD, it is exactly 8% of the budged spent on 3 languages voice-overs.
Hate is blinding much, isn't it?
While I won't say it was most of their money. 4 hours per actor seems low to me. Also when you add VO to a game you need to pay sound recordists, editors, coding, writers and animators not just the actors.
I will not play a game with a cash shop ever again. A dev job should be to make the game better not make me pay so it sucks less.
It's about time someone with credibility told the truth
I wonder what you base the credibility on.
Paul Tassi
I'm EIC of a movie/tv/gaming site called Unreality in addition to my duties for Forbes. I'm new to this business, and I think I'm a part of the first generation of journalists to skip print media entirely. Feel free to follow me on Twitter or circle me on Google+
I'm basing my assessment on the fact that the article is under Forbes. I'm not saying Forbes is all in all when it comes to reviews, but Forbes does enjoy a great deal of credibility when it comes to the financial sector. I guess you could say I'm basing my initial assessment of Paul Tassi on the fact that Forbes saw something in him that they felt would not damage their reputation.
Originally posted by Drakxii While I won't say it was most of their money. 4 hours per actor seems low to me. Also when you add VO to a game you need to pay sound recordists, editors, coding, writers and animators not just the actors.
I made this calculation long back. I used data for actors, session length and text size that was either linked in thread or "commonly" available at that time, I do not remember. And then added rate charged for recording at professional studios.
I can dig out source data... However that is not the point. I have no idea if the numbers are correct, the point is I used some data and if you assume that they are correct, it does not support claims of monstrous voice-over budgets, and if you still disagree, I am asking where are your data then?
Also, you need not to pay coders, writers or animators as those you would need even without voice overs. Sound recording is included in the hourly rate of the professional studio.
Originally posted by joocheese I'm not saying Forbes is all in all when it comes to reviews, but Forbes does enjoy a great deal of credibility when it comes to the financial sector.
Too bad there is no financial or business content in the article.
Never judge by the authority, always consider the content and content in this article is not worth a comment...
Is this another case of one company (bioware) developing and creating the game, then having EA step in ship boxes and offer the download on orgin....only to have posters consider EA the brains behing the game?
Ive seen this with a few games, TSW most recently.
Just because EA prints and ships boxes and offers the game on their orgin doesnt mean that made the game or made any mistake.
SWTOR isnt really a terrible game, yeah endgame fell short and wasnt finished or playable in ilums case...however...i think the largest mistake was playing the overhype game...something that you never really recover from. MMORPG gamers have become stupid...they believe everything their told in the most postive ways possible...then become hurt and offended when the game turns out to be a mmorpg not a god...and then the hate campaigns start and will never end.
Most these deluded gamers are now starting the whole overhype process again in GW2...blind to whats being done to them..which is why i consider them dumb...like puppets in the hands of marketeers.
I'm not saying Forbes is all in all when it comes to reviews, but Forbes does enjoy a great deal of credibility when it comes to the financial sector.
Too bad there is no financial or business content in the article. Never judge by the authority, always consider the content and content in this article is not worth a comment...
*sigh...
So the article had nothing to do with a business named EA Games and/or EA's financial situation... [mod edit]
Originally posted by joocheese *sigh...So the article had nothing to do with a business named EA Games and/or EA's financial situation... oh yeah, that's right, the article was about care bears and how they make a rainbow!
I recommend you to browse Forbes more to get a picture how financial and business article looks like, try oil industry or something like that...
So the article had nothing to do with a business named EA Games and/or EA's financial situation... oh yeah, that's right, the article was about care bears and how they make a rainbow!
I recommend you to browse Forbes more to get a picture how financial and business article looks like, try oil industry or something like that...
Since now you're line of attack is based on semantics, i'll take that to mean that you concede the point and acknowledge the fact that the article does indeed relate to a business and to its declining finanancial situation.
No worries man, we all make mistakes, what makes the difference is acknowledging them, learning from them, and moving on :-)
Since now you're line of attack is based on semantics
Not at all.
Without knowing how such article look like, you may easily get mistaken and falsely recognize the content of the article.
in that case, let us consider the content of the article in question. Did the article cover a business? (yes, EA Games). Did the article cover the economic situation/status of a business (yes, EA Games economic troubles do to 5 reasons). I still don't see how this article is any less legitimate.
I still don't see how this article is any less legitimate.
As long as you are comfortable with your blind folders, any babble that suits your case will seem legitimate...
Interesting... you went from a false claim (the article not being relevant to Forbes) to semantics (not like the other true economic articles) and now to insults (blind folders, babble, etc)... how quaint.
I'll take this to mean you have run out of excuses and concede the point
Never read a more biased article in my life. It's obvious hes an EA hater.
Battlefield 3 did very well considering it is the 1st one that was on all platforms at release. Console gamers didn't even know what Battlefield 1 and 2 were about it was a PC FPS for the most part.
Also if activision is doing so great why is the majority stock holder who owns 61% of it selling it ?
Indeed, Battlefield 3 did very well.
So well that Dice is already developing BF 4... 1 year layer.
Get ready to buy the same game every year, the new COD with yearly releases, only that now EA will drive it to the ground and kill another great franchise, because unlike Activision, they really don't know what they are doing.
It's an article in Forbes... ea hater? seriously?
Just because its on forbes means nothing. Everyone is capable of being biased real writers are able to be unbiased this one obviously is not.
It's not Bias if he is basing his comments on fact,
So him assuming swtor cost 500m to make is fact ? When every other expert says it wasn't even half of that ? I don't even play swtor anymore , but that article is about as biased as you can get. No one ever said BF was going to compete with COD. He is comparing Activision to EA in games that only show activision is better. I.E BIASED if you cannot see this you're a tool. How about we compare how many copies of madden EA sells every year ? Or NHL, Fifa, NBA franchises. The dude is a moron if he thinks SWTOR will make or break EA sure it won't be good, but in the grand scheme of things it will not have a huge impact on EAs ability to develop games. He didn't even mention that diablo 3 is a failure and despite people buying it no one is left playing it.
He wouldnt mention cod or diablo 3 in detail because this was an EA Article.
He also stated that swtor probably cost 200-300 million and that marketing expenses after that mounted to a total of 500 million, for example do you think a superbowl advert is free? Not to mention what they have to pay LA.
EA are in trouble their share price is terrible they are voted worst company of america, this does have a huge impact on their ability to develop games. If I was a top notch designer or coder the last place I'd look to work is EA infact Id rather jack that all in and work as a deputy manager at starbucks.
A SB ad is 10000 times what a normal TV ad cost. You do not spend 200mil on development and 300m on marketing are you serious ? Do you really think marketing cost that much ? Its not cheap but it in no way comes close to half of what development cost let alone 50% more. EA being voted the worst company lol like that matters. Did you vote ? No Did I vote ? No especially in a poll where you don't even know who voted or the demographic of who voted on it.
When you compare games to each other you have to talk about BOTH games not be BIASED and only point out the flaws in one of them. If Activision is so great why are they being sold ?
Even if the numbers are off by half, it would be one of the most expensive games ever made. The bleeding of staff being fired or resigning + the bleeding of subscribers is immense. 100s of staff and 100,000s of customers. No other game has fluctuated these populations so rapidly and on this scale.
Ill put things into perspective for you Rift cost 50 million and has made its money back plus the game plays better than swtor and is patched the heaviest of all mmorpgs.
Non of the excuses in the world can hide the fact that SWTOR is a mess and so now is its parent company.
And yes I did vote not in that poll, but I have voted with my wallet and I will never buy another EA game as long as I can hold my grudge for selling me swtor and then not delivering.
I find it amusing how william12 knows so much about corporations, advertisements, game development cost, etc, etc. He speaks with such authority, you'd think he's part of a multinational company board. Tell us william12, what is it that you do? What experience has given you such intimate knowledge regarding the market??
I don't see how flogging 5 million copies of bf3 is a flop, so what if cod sold 6.5, they still sold lots of copies, they must have made a big chunk of cash on that.
I still can't work out how swtor cost so much money though, when you consider rift did the copying wow thing and tsw did the story thing, for much less money and are better games. What did they spend all that cash on?
Originally posted by ShakyMo I don't see how flogging 5 million copies of bf3 is a flop, so what if cod sold 6.5, they still sold lots of copies, they must have made a big chunk of cash on that.
I still can't work out how swtor cost so much money though, when you consider rift did the copying wow thing and tsw did the story thing, for much less money and are better games. What did they spend all that cash on?
It's EA Games were talking about, they are as "useful as using a croissant as a f*cking dildo, it doesn't get the job done and it makes a f*cking mess!" (HBO's Veep)
Is this another case of one company (bioware) developing and creating the game, then having EA step in ship boxes and offer the download on orgin....only to have posters consider EA the brains behing the game?
Uhh... EA is bioware. Bioware is just a name now, like mythic and maxis.
I will not play a game with a cash shop ever again. A dev job should be to make the game better not make me pay so it sucks less.
On one hand I can agree with this blogger because let's face it he's only stating what is obvious to us involved in gaming, as much as I still love BW he didn't say much that we don't know to be true but honestly I'm a gamer and could care less if EA gets their ass handed to them by Activison or the shareholders.
If I have a problem with anything in the article it's his speculation on sub numbers because he moved from millions to less than 500k which shows he doesn't know anything more than we do about SWTOR.
Beyond that I'm still stuck wondering what the hell the point is for all of you who have decided that you don't like SWTOR, in your eyes the game has failed is this some misguided attempt to convince it's remaining fans we need to jump on your bandwagon and let the game fail (even though we still like it?!?).
I'm a fan not an investor if the game continues to entertain me I will play it and don't care if EA's stock falls to less than a dollar much like the THQ made games I continue to support.
Honestly gamers need to start to look within themselves for what entertains them and stop constantly seeking validation from the same people you spend most of your time complaining about you know the investors who are more often than not the reason every mmorpg is modeled after WOW.
Is this another case of one company (bioware) developing and creating the game, then having EA step in ship boxes and offer the download on orgin....only to have posters consider EA the brains behing the game?
Uhh... EA is bioware. Bioware is just a name now, like mythic and maxis.
When it's late at night, the moon is high in sky lighting up the darkness of the night, I sometimes lay in my bed under the covers hoping and praying that someday Maxis will find a way to flee from the Dark Tower of the evil wizard EA. I dream of a day when I can play Maxis' simcity games without the influence of the dark and evil wizard lording over us all... some day, some day.
Originally posted by joocheese Interesting... you went from a false claim (the article not being relevant to Forbes) to semantics (not like the other true economic articles) and now to insults (blind folders, babble, etc)... how quaint.I'll take this to mean you have run out of excuses and concede the point
Thank you for proving my point. Haters gonna hate...
Originally posted by joocheese Interesting... you went from a false claim (the article not being relevant to Forbes) to semantics (not like the other true economic articles) and now to insults (blind folders, babble, etc)... how quaint.
I'll take this to mean you have run out of excuses and concede the point
Thank you for proving my point. Haters gonna hate...
name one instance where I hated on you! I thought for a while there we were actually having a pretty good discussion, until you started with the insults. If there's anything that I've proven, by your example, is that you have abandoned dialogue, refused to acknowledge where you were incorrect, and then proceeded with the insults... just doing my job :-)
Why i dont play swtor at the moment and i do see flaws in the game overal it didnt think it was that bad also had great things . Think its just the current hype to trash swtor lets see how it turns out.
no, you got that covered... I'm paid to do my real job (in rea life). As for "just doing my job", that has more to do with countering other people's arguments, in cases where I disagree with them or see flaws in their argument structure, and in some cases revealing people's true colors.
The fact that you continue to refuse to pick up where we left off and continue what was once a pretty good discussion continues to prove my point.
Originally posted by joocheese no, you got that covered... I'm paid to do my real job (in rea life). As for "just doing my job", that has more to do with countering other people's arguments, in cases where I disagree with them or see flaws in their argument structure, and in some cases revealing people's true colors.
Comments
While I won't say it was most of their money. 4 hours per actor seems low to me. Also when you add VO to a game you need to pay sound recordists, editors, coding, writers and animators not just the actors.
I will not play a game with a cash shop ever again. A dev job should be to make the game better not make me pay so it sucks less.
I'm basing my assessment on the fact that the article is under Forbes. I'm not saying Forbes is all in all when it comes to reviews, but Forbes does enjoy a great deal of credibility when it comes to the financial sector. I guess you could say I'm basing my initial assessment of Paul Tassi on the fact that Forbes saw something in him that they felt would not damage their reputation.
I made this calculation long back. I used data for actors, session length and text size that was either linked in thread or "commonly" available at that time, I do not remember. And then added rate charged for recording at professional studios.
I can dig out source data... However that is not the point. I have no idea if the numbers are correct, the point is I used some data and if you assume that they are correct, it does not support claims of monstrous voice-over budgets, and if you still disagree, I am asking where are your data then?
Also, you need not to pay coders, writers or animators as those you would need even without voice overs. Sound recording is included in the hourly rate of the professional studio.
Too bad there is no financial or business content in the article.
Never judge by the authority, always consider the content and content in this article is not worth a comment...
Is this another case of one company (bioware) developing and creating the game, then having EA step in ship boxes and offer the download on orgin....only to have posters consider EA the brains behing the game?
Ive seen this with a few games, TSW most recently.
Just because EA prints and ships boxes and offers the game on their orgin doesnt mean that made the game or made any mistake.
SWTOR isnt really a terrible game, yeah endgame fell short and wasnt finished or playable in ilums case...however...i think the largest mistake was playing the overhype game...something that you never really recover from. MMORPG gamers have become stupid...they believe everything their told in the most postive ways possible...then become hurt and offended when the game turns out to be a mmorpg not a god...and then the hate campaigns start and will never end.
Most these deluded gamers are now starting the whole overhype process again in GW2...blind to whats being done to them..which is why i consider them dumb...like puppets in the hands of marketeers.
*sigh...
So the article had nothing to do with a business named EA Games and/or EA's financial situation... [mod edit]
I recommend you to browse Forbes more to get a picture how financial and business article looks like, try oil industry or something like that...
Since now you're line of attack is based on semantics, i'll take that to mean that you concede the point and acknowledge the fact that the article does indeed relate to a business and to its declining finanancial situation.
No worries man, we all make mistakes, what makes the difference is acknowledging them, learning from them, and moving on :-)
Cheers!
Not at all.
Without knowing how such article look like, you may easily get mistaken and falsely recognize the content of the article.
in that case, let us consider the content of the article in question. Did the article cover a business? (yes, EA Games). Did the article cover the economic situation/status of a business (yes, EA Games economic troubles do to 5 reasons). I still don't see how this article is any less legitimate.
As long as you are comfortable with your blind folders, any babble that suits your case will seem legitimate...
Interesting... you went from a false claim (the article not being relevant to Forbes) to semantics (not like the other true economic articles) and now to insults (blind folders, babble, etc)... how quaint.
I'll take this to mean you have run out of excuses and concede the point
I find it amusing how william12 knows so much about corporations, advertisements, game development cost, etc, etc. He speaks with such authority, you'd think he's part of a multinational company board. Tell us william12, what is it that you do? What experience has given you such intimate knowledge regarding the market??
I still can't work out how swtor cost so much money though, when you consider rift did the copying wow thing and tsw did the story thing, for much less money and are better games. What did they spend all that cash on?
It's EA Games were talking about, they are as "useful as using a croissant as a f*cking dildo, it doesn't get the job done and it makes a f*cking mess!" (HBO's Veep)
Cheers!
Uhh... EA is bioware. Bioware is just a name now, like mythic and maxis.
I will not play a game with a cash shop ever again. A dev job should be to make the game better not make me pay so it sucks less.
On one hand I can agree with this blogger because let's face it he's only stating what is obvious to us involved in gaming, as much as I still love BW he didn't say much that we don't know to be true but honestly I'm a gamer and could care less if EA gets their ass handed to them by Activison or the shareholders.
If I have a problem with anything in the article it's his speculation on sub numbers because he moved from millions to less than 500k which shows he doesn't know anything more than we do about SWTOR.
Beyond that I'm still stuck wondering what the hell the point is for all of you who have decided that you don't like SWTOR, in your eyes the game has failed is this some misguided attempt to convince it's remaining fans we need to jump on your bandwagon and let the game fail (even though we still like it?!?).
I'm a fan not an investor if the game continues to entertain me I will play it and don't care if EA's stock falls to less than a dollar much like the THQ made games I continue to support.
Honestly gamers need to start to look within themselves for what entertains them and stop constantly seeking validation from the same people you spend most of your time complaining about you know the investors who are more often than not the reason every mmorpg is modeled after WOW.
When it's late at night, the moon is high in sky lighting up the darkness of the night, I sometimes lay in my bed under the covers hoping and praying that someday Maxis will find a way to flee from the Dark Tower of the evil wizard EA. I dream of a day when I can play Maxis' simcity games without the influence of the dark and evil wizard lording over us all... some day, some day.
the cgi trailers were awesome, that's about it
Thank you for proving my point. Haters gonna hate...
name one instance where I hated on you! I thought for a while there we were actually having a pretty good discussion, until you started with the insults. If there's anything that I've proven, by your example, is that you have abandoned dialogue, refused to acknowledge where you were incorrect, and then proceeded with the insults... just doing my job :-)
cheers!
Why i dont play swtor at the moment and i do see flaws in the game overal it didnt think it was that bad also had great things . Think its just the current hype to trash swtor lets see how it turns out.
You are paid hater?
no, you got that covered... I'm paid to do my real job (in rea life). As for "just doing my job", that has more to do with countering other people's arguments, in cases where I disagree with them or see flaws in their argument structure, and in some cases revealing people's true colors.
The fact that you continue to refuse to pick up where we left off and continue what was once a pretty good discussion continues to prove my point.
Well, that's what I said - paid hater...