Comments on: Man-Months to Quality http://www.hiwiller.com/2009/03/11/man-months-to-quality/ Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:23:44 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Zack http://www.hiwiller.com/2009/03/11/man-months-to-quality/comment-page-1/#comment-657 Zack Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:34:26 +0000 http://www.hiwiller.com/?p=343#comment-657 I'd have to disagree Nels. GTA4 was a resounding success because of many factors, but foremost it is a quality game. Rockstar's reputation didn't help in the long run when they put out State of Emergency. Devil May Cry 2 was a critical turd and sold as such, even though the first sold well. But more importantly, we will be able to give counterexamples to each other all day because not all games fill the assumptions. Carnival Games' revenue was seemingly independent of its quality. As was Enter the Matrix. But for a thought experiment over the majority of titles, I still believe this holds. I’d have to disagree Nels. GTA4 was a resounding success because of many factors, but foremost it is a quality game. Rockstar’s reputation didn’t help in the long run when they put out State of Emergency. Devil May Cry 2 was a critical turd and sold as such, even though the first sold well.

But more importantly, we will be able to give counterexamples to each other all day because not all games fill the assumptions. Carnival Games’ revenue was seemingly independent of its quality. As was Enter the Matrix. But for a thought experiment over the majority of titles, I still believe this holds.

]]> By: Nels Anderson http://www.hiwiller.com/2009/03/11/man-months-to-quality/comment-page-1/#comment-656 Nels Anderson Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:12:46 +0000 http://www.hiwiller.com/?p=343#comment-656 Very interesting write-up. It seems like the analysis is incomplete though, since it treats every title as being completely independent of others titles (before or after) from that studio. If Rockstar had made GTA3 similar to GTA or GTA2 (cheaper to produce, but critically mediocre), I would the colossal success of GTA4 (and Vice City, San Andreas) would have been impossible, even if later games in the serious would have been identical. Paying more for quality up can allow for greater dividends than analysis of a single title might suggest. I agree that quality does not guarantee profitability, and that is a very important thing to remember, but reputation seems to be a pretty significant variable that has been left out. Very interesting write-up. It seems like the analysis is incomplete though, since it treats every title as being completely independent of others titles (before or after) from that studio. If Rockstar had made GTA3 similar to GTA or GTA2 (cheaper to produce, but critically mediocre), I would the colossal success of GTA4 (and Vice City, San Andreas) would have been impossible, even if later games in the serious would have been identical. Paying more for quality up can allow for greater dividends than analysis of a single title might suggest.

I agree that quality does not guarantee profitability, and that is a very important thing to remember, but reputation seems to be a pretty significant variable that has been left out.

]]> By: Zack http://www.hiwiller.com/2009/03/11/man-months-to-quality/comment-page-1/#comment-655 Zack Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:07:21 +0000 http://www.hiwiller.com/?p=343#comment-655 Well the model only looks forward, so you would have to ignore the sunk costs spent for the last ten years. In retrospect, they would have decided not to do the project because they wouldn't be able to release without spending umpty million dollars and wouldn't be able to turn a profit without selling a very large amount of copies. Also, the model assumes that there is effective development and production, and that at the end of X months there is a salable project. Well the model only looks forward, so you would have to ignore the sunk costs spent for the last ten years. In retrospect, they would have decided not to do the project because they wouldn’t be able to release without spending umpty million dollars and wouldn’t be able to turn a profit without selling a very large amount of copies.

Also, the model assumes that there is effective development and production, and that at the end of X months there is a salable project.

]]> By: Bryan http://www.hiwiller.com/2009/03/11/man-months-to-quality/comment-page-1/#comment-654 Bryan Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:48:45 +0000 http://www.hiwiller.com/?p=343#comment-654 Where do you suppose Duke Nukem Forever falls on these graphs? Where do you suppose Duke Nukem Forever falls on these graphs?

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