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Is Returnal AAA, AA, or Indie?
- Thread starter starfoxxxy
- Start date
More than 40% voted on AA...
It's AAA.
www.gamesindustry.biz
Does it have the same budget as something like TLOU, GOW or Horizon? Most certainly not. But that doesn't make it AA.
It's AAA.
Housemarque goes AAA with new project
"The era, the ten-plus years that we've been mostly working on smaller, downloadable, arcade-inspired console games has…
www.gamesindustry.biz
Does it have the same budget as something like TLOU, GOW or Horizon? Most certainly not. But that doesn't make it AA.
Hard to make a case of anything being indie when it's bankrolled by Sony, is made not only by Housemarque but has XDev and other studios (like Climax at the very least) behind it. And the developers themselves refer to it as AAA, but obviously everyone is entitled to an opinion since the whole AA/AAA feels like nonsense and everyone defines it differently.
The price jump happened this year so not many examples. Do you genuinely think Returnal will sell millions heck 100 of thousands more if it was less by 10-20€? I'm talking life time sales. Because Returnal will get price cuts and will sell at lower price points to people who want it at the lower prices.
Same people who gonna wait would buy it if it started at lower price point, but the demand curve really hasn't shifted.
There are business models that benefits from lower entry of price like online games so we get F2P.
MHR would have sold at a higher price by less units(quantity demanded is not the same as demand) but will still got the same life time sales.
It's an indie AAA title, a rare and charming thing. Even though roguelikes aren't really appealing to me, I can definitely appreciate the combination of AAA production values and indie adherence to a non-conventional vision that make the game such a breath of fresh air in this industry. After all, what has come to define AAA as much as the budget for me is that the games are invariably safe in the concept. Sure, something like TLoU2 took a lot of narrative risks but the gameplay is refinement on an established, successful set of mechanics. So I look to independent developers to give me something a little less conventional, a little more experimental, or to revive genres the mainstream seems to have moved past.
This should be put in the OP lolMore than 40% voted on AA...
It's AAA.
Housemarque goes AAA with new project
"The era, the ten-plus years that we've been mostly working on smaller, downloadable, arcade-inspired console games has…
Does it have the same budget as something like TLOU, GOW or Horizon? Most certainly not. But that doesn't make it AA.
Can't we switch to calling it Blockbuster/ big-budget, mid-budget, indie sorta like the movie industry? I doubt the budget on this game is in the first category so put it in the middle of those (freely admit I could be wrong).
It's either by budget or just some meaningless buzzword imo (Which is what most people use it as evidently).
It's either by budget or just some meaningless buzzword imo (Which is what most people use it as evidently).
As the devs already said, it's an AAA game.
Lower-tier AAA game, but still AAA.
Jedi Fallen Order is an AAA with a level of jank and amateurism that makes it look like a Focus/Embracer production.
Returnal seems the exact opposite, and on another league of handcrafting.
Returnal seems the exact opposite, and on another league of handcrafting.
AA for sure. In my mind. Hard to explain.
Maybe there's no difference anymore, once a platform holder gets involved?
Dunno, but Housemarque games don't come off as games that had massive massive production budgets.
Honestly, doesn't really matter. The one thing I think most people can agree on is that $70 feels like a deterrent for a lot of people.
Maybe there's no difference anymore, once a platform holder gets involved?
Dunno, but Housemarque games don't come off as games that had massive massive production budgets.
Honestly, doesn't really matter. The one thing I think most people can agree on is that $70 feels like a deterrent for a lot of people.
Not sure about the budget. From the gameplay and marketing seems to be on higher end of AA similar to hades.
The publisher decides which it is, is merely an investment rating and not something reflective of quality or production values per se. AAA means the publisher thinks there's a high change that the development costs will be covered and profit is expected.
Sony pushed them? We can see it doesn't look AAA? Really? Have you played it? Have reviews said that? Again, I'll stick with what they say until I can play for myself. The studio said AAA. So that.
All that needs to be said.
At the end of the day I can't help feeling like this is another "Is Returnal worth $70" discussion and we have had this discussed to death already
That's why I always tell my wife after we go out for dinner, "Hope you enjoyed that AAA meal!"
Or when we go to Lowe's and load up on gardening supplies for the weekend: "Look at that AAA garden!"
Supergiant Games has like 20 people.
Housemarque had more than 70 when they were starting the project, plus help from Sony (like XDev).
Not even remotely the same.
Why is this game in particular generating so much conversation about its price, budget, and anticipated quality?
The fact that these things keep coming up in every single discussion about Returnal makes me think that something is deficient in the game's marketing
The fact that these things keep coming up in every single discussion about Returnal makes me think that something is deficient in the game's marketing
I'm not saying it categorically isn't a AAA game (however you classify that) but this can't be overstated. If your publisher is pricing it at €80. As a dev you're either telling people it's AAA or saying it's overpriced. It's PR.
This seems to be ignored, but I agree the marketing hasn't done a good job of selling this game as worth €80, hence why these conversations keep popping up.
Misplaced pre-conceptions about roguelites being of lesser quality and Housemarque being historically known for indie games, as if they're suddenly boxed into that and can't go into AAA production or something.
If this was a strictly narrative driven adventure, I bet none of this conversation would be happening 🤷♂️
To me, this definition is the essence of what "AA" used to mean.
In relativistic terms, it IS a mid tier budget/scope game. And it skirts the safe route taken by most firmly "AAA" games.
Oh it's absolutely an attempt to justify the price, at least partially.
Indie AAA was coined by Ninja Theory for Hellblade that was self-funded and cut a LOT of corners to still maintain a AAA appearance. This isn't that, it is fully funded by Sony and its a natural progression from the relationship they have built with them releasing so many well received PSN games since the early PS3 days.
I think they just wanted to tackle the AAA scene and went with a gameplay style/concept that was natural for them and an evolution of what they do so well. Not much more to it than that, it has a budget of what they needed for their AAA game. And AAA budgets are allover the place now, with The Last of Us 2 being closer to a AAAA game....
Still, it is exactly as they say. Just their own attempt at a AAA game with Sony, and Sony is backing them and promoting the game at that level too
I wonder whether the term 'rogue-lite' has affected some people's perception. Say rogue-like or lite and I think a lot of people automatically jump to lower-budget title.
If the game had instead been described as a AAA narrative-led 3rd person shooter by PlayStation Studios would we keep hearing 'Nah, it's not a AAA title'?
If the game had instead been described as a AAA narrative-led 3rd person shooter by PlayStation Studios would we keep hearing 'Nah, it's not a AAA title'?
I find that "should be a certain price," is almost always a more basic way of saying "I think this would sell better if it were a certain price." In the case of Returnal, I think that's probably true; the game really does feel like it's not going to end up making the big splash it really needs to. It's unfortunate, really just for the developers but, well, that's on Sony's back if it does happen.
OP
OP
I could also see people writing this game off as a budget title if it were priced as a budget title. Pricing is similar to their other AAA means they feel confident about the scope of it.
A lot of AA game had around 100 people working on it like Divinity OS 2, pillars of eternity etc.
Again, it could be very well be a AAA in terms of budget and manpower but as I have said "from what I saw in terms of game play and marketing it looked like a AA game to me"
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Does it matter? the game looks fire, wow we really gotta kill the AAA,AA, and indie bs. When there's indies that are better than triple As
Half the people here thinking that it isn't AAA is probably an issue for the game since it's priced as a AAA game
How is Control's gameplay "deeper" than Returnal and what does that have to do with it being an AAA or AA?
Hahah yeah of course, that's part of the point, it's not necessarily tied to quality, or price IMO. It's budget and generally size of the team. What I was trying to say there is that just because anyone can price their product high does not immediately make it something that's 'aaa'. Certainly doesn't stop actual large, big budget teams from making a bad game though, as we've seen time and time again. Game development is hard!
There are genuine "indie" games that have the look of a "AAA" game and vice versa
So the question is entirely pointless since the 3 options are broadly meaningless.
Returnal looks like it could belong to any or none. Anyway, it doesn't look like a game I'd enjoy from what has been shown so far
So the question is entirely pointless since the 3 options are broadly meaningless.
Returnal looks like it could belong to any or none. Anyway, it doesn't look like a game I'd enjoy from what has been shown so far
Another way to look at it is, how many AAA games release a year by your own definition? Is it closer to 10 or 25? If you think it's around 10 or less, you probably don't consider Returnal AAA. If you think it's closer to 25 or more, I find it hard to imagine you wouldn't include it.
AA.
It's a Rouge like too. It's gonna be the next Hades which is also AA. Indie games have lost all meaning. That's the problem with this thread.
It's a Rouge like too. It's gonna be the next Hades which is also AA. Indie games have lost all meaning. That's the problem with this thread.
