Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is an action/adventure game that didn't sell very well, even though it had a great pedigree. R. A. Salvatore created the game universe, Todd McFarlane did the artwork, Grant Kirkhope did the score, those types of people. People played the demo and liked it, myself included. I said I was going to pick it up when some money came along, but some money didn't come along, which is what I am guessing happened to a lot of people.
So the company that made the game is shit out of luck, because they took out a loan from an entire state to make it, using the game itself as collateral. That right there is a big risk, and they rolled snake eyes, but hey, it happens.
Things fall apart all the time, and projects don't move, but something seems off about where gaming is when Curt Schilling, a guy from outside the industry, but more vocal and passionate about video games than most in it, creates a great game, sent it out into the world, and has that happen, and a legendary game guy like Tim Schafer, albeit someone with an axe to grind with the industry he has been butting heads with for decades, can promise the idea of a future game, and get millions to make it just off of a name and a promise. Well, not off I guess, just askew.
It's like video games is becoming rap. The last of the video game old guard are dying, with gaming just a small but lucrative portion of the new money players corporate portfolios, there are more video game creators, critics, and stakeholders than there are fans, a hot name can ship your album platinum off of pre orders with quality content being more luxury than necessity if the hype is right, and actually it may even be a detriment, because these days it seems like work, better to go with violence. I wonder if this is how it starts.
