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Activision: $500m spent on Destiny “shows the confidence we have” in the IP

AHA-Lambda

Member
“To put that $500 million in context, that’s the whole entirety of the game. That’s development, manufacturing, marketing and so forth,” he said. “It sounds like a big amount but it doesn’t just fuel one aspect.

“I think it shows the confidence that we have in Destiny. It’s what Activision does best; when we partner with a development studio that can deliver a game like Destiny, we can bring that to market. There’s every indication that the launch will be something everyone will enjoy.”

Wait, so the $500m was for just the one game and not the 10 year deal??

Then again it is vg247, I don't trust them as far as I can throw them these days.

Lock if old.

http://www.vg247.com/2014/09/09/destiny-released-ps4-xbox-one-500-million/
 

AHA-Lambda

Member
That's what the comment suggests.

Yeah, but that's not what we've been told before, and most assumptions on here have been that that figure was for the IP.
In June, Bungie’s Pete Parsons clarified development costs of the game itself were nowhere near $500 million, and the huge number reflected “the long-term investment” being made for the future of the product.
 

BibiMaghoo

Member
Should read:

“I think it shows the confidence that we can create in Destiny. It’s what Activision does best"

Throwing that kind of money at any product is a sure way to develop interest, and has little to do with the confidence in the quality of the product.*

*See AC3.
 

codhand

Member
Too bad that "show of confidence" couldn't help Bungie not recycle areas.

orioleshighfive.gif
 
Yeah, but that's not what we've been told before, and most assumptions on here have been that that figure was for the IP.

That comment you quoted is just speaking of development costs, while the quote in the OP includes development, manufacturing, marketing (probably the big one), etc.
 

AHA-Lambda

Member
That comment you quoted is just speaking of development costs, while the quote in the OP includes development, manufacturing, marketing (probably the big one), etc.

Yeah, I just noticed that. That's insane.

And it does seem that most of gaf (including myself) thought $500m was the franchise deal not just this one game.
 
So we've got conflicting information from reports, but if Acti really spent half a billion dollars on this one game, would that make it the most expensive single piece of software ever?
 

Comandr

Member
I thought they claimed that number was "grossly bloated" before? Because I sure as hell don't feel like this is a half billion dollar game. Ugly npcs, no beards? Could pass as a cross gen borderlands clone. Maybe I just expected too much given the hype. The gameplay just doesn't feel that new or groundbreaking to me. Nothing I haven't done before.
 
Would be ridiculous if that's just for the one game, especially considering that both activision and bungie have previously gone on record to say that $500 million was an investment in the franchise for the next 10 years, with Destiny 1's budget closer to $180 million.
 

Toki767

Member
I thought they claimed that number was "grossly bloated" before? Because I sure as hell don't feel like this is a half billion dollar game. Ugly npcs, no beards? Could pass as a cross gen borderlands clone. Maybe I just expected too much given the hype. The gameplay just doesn't feel that new or groundbreaking to me. Nothing I haven't done before.

Most of the money was probably spent on marketing. Development itself did not cost half a billion dollars.
 

Derp

Member
When a game gets frequent advertisement slots on Australian television, to me it means they've spent a lot.

It's really uncommon to see TV adverts here. Only the companies with the big marketing budgets do it (games like GTA and CoD are amongst the few that can afford it).

Although all our public buses, bus stops, train stations etc. have always been plastered with gaming ads. Recently: Destiny / Watch Dogs / TLOU / Advanced Warfare ads.
 

btags

Member
I don't really know what to make of it, but I would not be surprised if they did actually spend $500 million on the first game alone. Also, Jason Jones' comments don't really preclude the fact that all of the money mentioned was spent on the first game, but rather just clarifies that the actual development cost was not as high as people thought. As for "an investment in the future of the franchise," that phrase could easily mean money spent on marketing to increase awareness of the first game so an eventual sequel would be more financially viable.
 

Alx

Member
For reference, Microsoft spent $500 million on marketing alone for the original Kinect.

Except there's no source for that. It's only based on a single speculation from a journalist, about a guy from MS saying how the kinect launch would be "as big as the 360".
 

Zaku

Member
I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to sales, is this doable?

Certainly.

However, in order for Destiny to recoup the loss, they're going to have to push sales near a COD/Sims/Pokemon/Skyrim level. They're going to have to be in the top 1% of game sales in order to justify that budget.

It's doable. It's definitely doable, but it's going to be a long climb, and a lot of very nervous people are going to be looking for the first sign of flagging sales.

So they need to do GTA5 numbers just to feel like the game was a success for them financially? sheesh

They could do a third of GTA5 sales and be fine. GTA5's sales are truly ridiculous.
 

rbenchley

Member
So they need to do GTA5 numbers just to feel like the game was a success for them financially? sheesh

Probably not. The money spent is probably seen as an investment in Destiny as a brand, not just a single game. Activision is also investing in future sequels, DLC, books, movies, toys, etc. Future iterations probably won't need nearly as large of an investment. Take games like Madden or Call of Duty. Obviously a huge chunk of money is spent on advertising, but not nearly as much as would have to be spent on promoting a new brand. They have a base of existing customers who are always looking forward to the next iteration and are also providing good word of mouth advertising to people in their social circles.
 
I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to sales, is this doable?

Doable, but incredibly unlikely. Maybe over the long term, but then the more steeply the game is discounted the more copies will need to be sold before Acti see profit. If they really have spent $500 million on this one game then a sequel is a sure thing and Acti see this as an investment for subsequent entries. For context, a very small number of new IPs have sold more than 16 million copies; the only ones I can think of are Wii Sports, Wii Fit and Minecraft, but even so none of these are comparable to Destiny.
 

SegaShack

Member
I love how before they denied the number but now say it did cost that much. I say it didn't and them saying this is just marketing. "Wow did you hear about that huge game Destiny? It cost them 500 million to make it must be insane."

Just like how some big movies flaunt their budget to make the film seem epic.
 
They aren't getting my money yet based on what I played of the Beta but what was there gave me hope for what a true "current gen" only effort will bring to future installments.
 

jett

D-Member
You know what doesn't show confidence in Destiny? Scamming the people that pre-ordered the PS3 game on PSN out of what we paid for.
 
Should read:



Throwing that kind of money at any product is a sure way to develop interest, and has little to do with the confidence in the quality of the product.*

*See AC3.
Isn't AC3 the best selling game of the series? Seems their confidence was well placed in that game.

They don't care about review scores the care about units sold.
 

BibiMaghoo

Member
Isn't AC3 the best selling game of the series? Seems their confidence was well placed in that game.

They don't care about review scores the care about units sold.

That's kind of my point. Regardless of the quality of the title, throwing a stupid amount of money at it ensures sales on mass. Their confidence was not in the game, but their expenditure on it.
 

jett

D-Member
What happened?

Fuckery.

Those that pre-ordered the PS3 Digital Guardian Edition can't access some or all of the DLC, or even the game itself. Can't upgrade to PS4 either. If you try to access any piece of Destiny content on PSN it prompts you to purchase it...again.
 
Fuckery.

Those that pre-ordered the PS3 Digital Guardian Edition can't access some or all of the DLC, or even the game itself. Can't upgrade to PS4 either. If you try to access any piece of Destiny content on PSN it prompts you to purchase it...again.
Geez. Hope they fix that. Smh
 
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