Unless I am misunderstanding the quote, it seems as though Mr. Antoniades is stating that keeping his people paid requires accepting any offer the publisher throws at him; including rehashes of older AAA titles.

I guess my question is why can't the studio develop a new, innovative idea and pitch that? I know publishers are less likely to pay for the development of a game if it isn't a well established franchise, but I think part of the problem, specifically with AAA titles, is that nobody is willing to take that leap and invest in a new, innovative approach to the standard way of doing things.

Isn't that the crux of the "indie games are where innovation comes from" argument? At some point shouldn't a studio or developer (ala Ryan Payton) give up and do their own thing in the indie scene? A scene where they're free to be as creative as possible and the cost of development is much lower.

Link to article: http://www.joystiq.com/2011/09/06/ninja-theory-head-wary-of-aaa-retail-model-despite-following-it/

Look at your first paragraph. Then look at your last.

@Coreymw said:

Mr. Antoniades is stating that keeping his people paid requires accepting any offer the publisher throws at him

...they're free to be as creative as possible and the cost of development is much lower?

The cost of development is lower because there are less people. If they made indie games, they would have to fire a bunch of people...unless of course they took the Double Fine route and had several teams. That may simply not be possible the way that their company is structured. It also has its own inherent risks.

You're right, it is lower because there are fewer people and typically a shorter development time. What I am stating is that this guy claims it's hard to be innovative when you can just develop for an established franchise to ensure people are being paid. Basically, it doesn't pay to be innovative in the AAA space. Are we to assume the AAA space is only for established franchises? Obviously there are some studios that are able to innovate, a little, but on the whole of it there isn't much innovation going on in the AAA space right now.

Fuck that guy. And fuck Ninja Theory. And fuck Capcom. And fuck DmC.

@Enigma777 said:

Fuck that guy. And fuck Ninja Theory. And fuck Capcom. And fuck DmC.

That hardly adds to the discussion. Can you elaborate?

@Coreymw said:

@Enigma777 said:

Fuck that guy. And fuck Ninja Theory. And fuck Capcom. And fuck DmC.

That hardly adds to the discussion. Can you elaborate?

Sure, no problem.

Fuck that guy!

@Enigma777: Ahh, yes, much clearer now. Thank you.