Will Wright: "Sequels and clones are bad"

He seems more concerned about copycat games Sequels are needed to improve game concepts, however there is also the other sequel, just to make money.

He is right in the economical point of view IMO, that also happens in other industries when some idea is copied to death. It's like spaghetti westerns, they were economically successful at the beginning, then lot of people started to imitate plots and such, and all those movie companies went to bankruptcy.

The translation isn't 100% accurate in one very crucial point:

Quote

“Well, I’m not sure about that yet. You could be right, though.” Going on to mention that the money a sequel would earn “isn’t so important” any more.

It should say "the money a sequel would earn isn't so important TO HIM anymore", at least if you go by Stern.de's written interview.

Why I think this is important is the fact that you have to clearly distinguish between Will Wright, the iconic Game Designer, who wants to keep on pushing the boundaries by developing innovative but also risky game models and EA as a publisher who spends a lot of money so he and other developers can do their thing.

I got no clue how much Will Wright earns, but I am sure he has done well the past years and isn't in the business just for the money anymore (who is anyway? ).

So after Will finishes the core product, EA makes sure that they get their money back in and more. If the game does well, they spit out new content until people don't buy it anymore and if you own a franchise like "The Sims" that seems to sell forever - why should they?

Of course I would also like to see more innovative and fresh games, but these kind of games simply appeal mostly to hardcore gamers and are risky business - still many publishers finance them, but the money to do that needs to come from somewhere...or if a game tanks - you need to compensate and that money usually comes from "Madden 2046", "Pocahontas the Game" and "The Sims - College Frat Parties".

Interesting article on similar subjects with Bing Gordon, EA CCO, on Gamasutra:

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/1 ... e_that.php

It’s true though; the mainstream is really stagnant. Nobody seems prepared to make risks because publishers like cash-money, and the majority of the paying public doesn’t really seem to care they’re playing the same FPS again only pumped through a more spangly engine.

There are plenty of innovative games out there, though they're lost by the wayside for being cult or hardcore. But you can't expect them to come from production-line behemoths who know a roster update of a sports game will get a hundred times the profit.