[MUD-Dev] R&D

[Richard Aihoshi aka Jonric]

At 12:46 AM 03/06/02 -0700, Brian Bilek wrote:
> Sean Kelly wrote:

>> Now try justifying that to a business executive who doesn't
>> really understand games but who holds the company's
>> purse-strings.  It's similar to trying to justify a large
>> expenditure in network security or redundancy to the same person.

> This brings up an interesting question for me, one that I have
> attacked from different angles but have yet to understand.
 
> Why aren't more of the business executives in the industry more
> knowledgeable, passionate, or otherwise have a better
> understanding of games and gaming in general?  Is it that hard to
> find someone with a business background who likes games?

This reflects what seems to be a fairly common assumption, that game
companies are run by people who, for the most part, don't enjoy
games.  I do know a few people to whom I think this description is
applicable, but not nearly enough generalize across the entire
industry.

It also assumes that having gamers in charge would translate into
more good games being made and the industry being more successful.
Sounds great, but looking at the broad picture, the body of evidence
supporting this position is less than overwhelming.

And guess what?  Gamers aren't exactly infallible when it comes to
knowing what games will turn out well.  How hard is it to think of a
game that seemed to have the entire industry - meaning developers,
not the media - excited after being announced or after a great first
showing at E3, then ultimately failed even to approach the greatness
initially predicted for it?

Blaming the ills of the entire industry on just one thing is
attractive in its simplicity, but in reality, it's far too much of
an over-simplification to be of much real use.  Just a bit of food
for thought.

Cheers.

Richard Aihoshi  - "Jonric"
Editor in Chief, IGN Vault Network
RPG Vault http://rpgvault.ign.com
Action Vault http://actionvault.ign.com 
_______________________________________________
MUD-Dev mailing list
MUD-Dev at kanga.nu
https://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev