Are Video Games In Danger?
by Louis Bedigian

Rumors are common in the entertainment industry.  "Brad and Angelina are dating!"  Heard that one a lot.  "Jay-Z will make another album!"  Heard that one too.  "Top executives are exchanging high-ranking positions for 'friendly favors.'"  That's one rumor I wish I had never heard.

When rumors come across our table, we either cross our fingers and hope they're true (will Sega ever make another Nights Into Dreams?), question their authenticity, or laugh hysterically at the prospect of it actually coming true.

I recently heard about something that wasn't so funny: outsourcing.  It's just a rumor (for now), but the fear is that it won't be for long.

What does this mean for gamers like yourselves, journalists like us, and the guys who develop the games in America, Japan, Europe, and the rest of the world?  It means that, if a publisher decides to outsource its games, all the in-house jobs will go away.  All the programmers, artists, beta testers, etc., would lose their jobs because they get paid more than the new, outsourced development team.

This is only possible if the new team exists in a country where the dollar (or Yen or Euro) stretches further.  That's the whole point of outsourcing.  Otherwise the salaries would be the same, and outsourcing would be no different from firing one local team and hiring another.

Notice that when a company outsources something, the CEO's position stays intact.

"This will help our industry grow," is one excuse that computer industry executives love to use when outsourcing.  It's likely that game publishers will use the same excuse if they decide to go over to the dark side.  "We'll be able to create more games for less.  We'll have to expand our U.S., Asian and European divisions to accommodate the influx of games..."

When asked about the so-called "expanded divisions," economists claim that new jobs would be created in order to handle the outsourced products in each country (for example, new jobs in shipping, marketing, PR, etc.).  That isn't always the case, however.  Even when it is, the number of jobs lost on the technical (development) side are far greater than the number of jobs gained on the business side.

In response to the presumed claim of more games, who said we need more?  I want more great games.  Having more games in general means nothing.  You won't get the latter from an inexperienced team in India, you'll get it from Capcom, Namco, EA, Nintendo, Bungie, Square-Enix -- the people that made great games in the first place.

Many publishers work with or own development studios in multiple countries.  That's wonderful.  We have a lot to learn from them, and they have a lot to learn from us.  Video games are great because the ideas come from more than one source.  Diversity has kept this industry young, an industry that is fast approaching the point where grown ups are able to say, "We didn't have games like that when I was a kid."  Scary, isn't it?

The world needs to know that there's a big difference between having an international games division and having a games division that outsources its development.  No matter what happens, no matter what game publishers tell you, don't support outsourced games. 


Catch Louis Bedigian on upcoming episodes of PC Chat Show.  Hear him rant about the industry, contemplate innovation, and praise those who get it right. http://www.pcchatshow.com/