Smackdown vs Raw 2013

[mccanehd]

See, I have a hard time believing that dlc is a money grabber. EA, Epic, and Rockstar have both claimed big loses in their dlc for the GTA/Gears of war/Metal of honor dlc, but since enough people buy the regular game, they are more than willing to eat the loses. Nowing this, and assuming that the creation of dlc for smackdown is a pricey addition, for such a low requested price from fans, that they are not making a huge profit, if any for putting dlc out there. (We'd have to ask Marcus to see if he would be able to answer that for us) But each wrestler added to dlc would have to be paid/ all the technology used to create the wrestlers/attires/arenas/ect would have to be paid for/and a few other expences , asking fans for a couple of bucks, can not lead to a big profit. Maybe I'm wrong, but this is how I look at it. Many fans seem to believe that dlc would lead to a big profit, but I really havent seen proof of that. (Unless your the developer of Madden) In that case, the majority of their dlc are nothing more than cheats that can be used in the game, that has to be profitable, knowing that so many people actually buy those things.

[spider007]

Why is this a bad idea? You'll get new things in the game instead of the same old "We ran out of time...maybe next year" Wouldn't you like to actually get 60 dollars worth of awesomeness instead of the same old stuff. I for one am getting sick & tired of paying for the same engine year after year. I've been buying THQ WWE titles from the beginning.I've invested over $600 on their product(I never buy used).Why the hell can they NOT put 10 guys on the screen.Frickin NHL11 have more than that on screen at once.So does Madden.You can call my idea bad and flame me all you want BUT DEEP DOWN YOU KNOW IN YOUR GUT THAT I AM RIGHT!!They still can release stuff like 'All-Stars' and Legend games. To "make their money" but if they took the time to really give us what we want,simple things like better gameplay. (are you really happy with the videos that show the new physics? the stuff just doesn't look that impressive to me I'm sorry).how about matches that you can fight in the crowd like that night on Raw when Kofi took Orton out in the crowd and then took him out with his legdrop on the table.Wouldn't you like to do that in a game. How about real-time submissions?How about having a cage match between Christian And Ziggler when all of a sudden Mysterio runs down the ramp and scales the cage and does a cross body onto Dolph.? Wouldn't you want to play that?Or a cage match between HHH and Sheamus where Orton walks down,grabs a chair and wings it into the cage and then you have a mini-game to see who gets it first.These are things that could happen if the developers have more time is all I'm saying. Fine tell me my idea is bad but dont come crying next year when the "same old game" comes out.

---------- Post added at 07:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:17 PM ----------

OK for me hearing about that DLC pack#2,I would pay 10 dollars for that even though I'm not too keen on Bulldog and Luger because I like playing as 'current' WWE.If all the guys from NXT 's 2nd season were in a single pack,I would shell out 15 bucks for it. Now if they put out 8 more DLC's ,1 every 3 months , they would indeed make money.Even if they hire a DLC exclusive staff and let the regular developers work on 2013....they would still make money. It's a win-win situation.

[mccanehd]

Spider: Your again assuming something that isnt even close to being true. They have no intention of a new engine whether they take 2 years or 5 years off, it will still be the same engine, with new hardware added to it. People assume that Yukes is willing to change engines as long as they have a few years to work on it, but thats not the case. Even if they gave you a new engine, there is no guarantee that you would like it (How many people liked the tna and Legends of wrestlemania engines???

I'm not flamming you, but you do need to look at it, another way. The comment about nhl and madden having more than 6 guys on screen, why cant smackdown, almost made me fall out of my chair, I was laughing so hard. Have you looked at the detail of those players, not even close to the detail added to the superstars. Why? because it isnt needed. Whenever they add players to the rosters during a update, they use the create a player feature to do so, that wouldnt work with smackdown, people would lose their minds. The memory and codes used for t=a match of the 6 man match, are far more than what it takes to put the 22 players on the screen for madden, that should answer your question as to why they cant.

[WVUFan]

hy the hell can they NOT put 10 guys on the screen.Frickin NHL11 have more than that on screen at once.So does Madden.You can call my idea bad and flame me all you want BUT DEEP DOWN YOU KNOW IN YOUR GUT THAT I AM RIGHT!!They still can release stuff like 'All-Stars' and Legend games. To "make their money" but if they took the time to really give us what we want,simple things like better gameplay. (are you really happy with the videos that show the new physics? the stuff just doesn't look that impressive to me I'm sorry).how about matches that you can fight in the crowd like that night on Raw when Kofi took Orton out in the crowd and then took him out with his legdrop on the table.Wouldn't you like to do that in a game. How about real-time submissions?How about having a cage match between Christian And Ziggler when all of a sudden Mysterio runs down the ramp and scales the cage and does a cross body onto Dolph.? Wouldn't you want to play that?Or a cage match between HHH and Sheamus where Orton walks down,grabs a chair and wings it into the cage and then you have a mini-game to see who gets it first.These are things that could happen if the developers have more time is all I'm saying. Fine tell me my idea is bad but dont come crying next year when the "same old game" comes out.

Would it make any difference to alot of the people on this board if they did take a year off to improve the product? Regardless of what they do, there's a number of people who will not be satisfied. Those who want better "gameplay" see that word in different ways. Some see "improved" gameplay as move moves and "cooler" ways to use them. Some see better gameplay, like you do, as more people in the ring at once. Some see it as a better AI for single player, and some don't care about AI because they don't play much single player and would rather see multiplayer improved.

Regardless, SOMEONE will be pissed that something they wanted will be left out. I just wish people would recognize that, for the most part, this series has steadily improved over the years. The graphics have gotten better, there are more options and modes, and it really seems to me the developers are trying to release a good game that the AVERAGE player will enjoy.

Hardcore Smackdown players are alot like hardcore Madden players -- regardless of what the developer will do, you will not be happy. It's a no-win situation for THQ/Yukes.

I personally do not care if they have Nexus in the game, or really any WWE wrestler, as I use the game primarily to create my own guys, and I enjoyed the Create-a-Belt feature, because that's what I use the game for. I also recognize that not everyone else shares that opinion, and I was happy enough with the things they did do with Smackdown 10 that I didn't get into a tizzy about what they left out. The same will hold for Smackdown 11. Someone will hate the game because of one reason or another, without acknowledging who they did add or the improvements they did make.

It's just disappointing, is all, that we as fans cannot stop for a moment and just enjoy what we have, rather than complaining about what we don't.

[mccanehd]

WVUfan: Some complaining, is actually very helpful for the next game, so its not all bad, it when the fans start useing the Lazy comments, and thq sucks comments, thats when they are no longer useful. I mean honestly, why would you expect to be taken seriously when you are claiming they are lazy or that they suck, when you are clueless to why those things are not added or something is taken out. If you really want to be taken seriously, then act like you diserve to be listened too, demanding attention does nothing but put people off.

[spider007]

OK so they dont have to make a brand new engine but they need the time to imprve the game is all I'm saying. And I'm sorry but they should drop the PS2 version already.It is 2010 after all.They didn't keep on making N64 games 6 years after the fact.If it's "all about the money' then they should really consider my idea. Because it has "cha-ching" written all over it. 10 DLC packs at $10 bucks(average) a pop is another 100 dollars per customer....times 5 million!! And this isn't a stupid idea because it has you guys thinking,doesn't it!

---------- Post added at 08:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:35 PM ----------

I never said "THQ is Lazy" or "THQ sucks" because they dont. All I did was think of a new idea BECAUSE of all the negativity of the posters on here like Mariners or Seiryaga. Excuse me for even trying,but I still think my idea would work because of DLC opportunities for the future.

[PHOENIXZERO]

See, I have a hard time believing that dlc is a money grabber. EA, Epic, and Rockstar have both claimed big loses in their dlc for the GTA/Gears of war/Metal of honor dlc, but since enough people buy the regular game, they are more than willing to eat the loses. Nowing this, and assuming that the creation of dlc for smackdown is a pricey addition, for such a low requested price from fans, that they are not making a huge profit, if any for putting dlc out there. (We'd have to ask Marcus to see if he would be able to answer that for us) But each wrestler added to dlc would have to be paid/ all the technology used to create the wrestlers/attires/arenas/ect would have to be paid for/and a few other expences , asking fans for a couple of bucks, can not lead to a big profit. Maybe I'm wrong, but this is how I look at it. Many fans seem to believe that dlc would lead to a big profit, but I really havent seen proof of that. (Unless your the developer of Madden) In that case, the majority of their dlc are nothing more than cheats that can be used in the game, that has to be profitable, knowing that so many people actually buy those things.

If you believe movie studios they'll tell you the films they produce don't produce a profit, even after bringing in hundreds of millions alone at the box office and clearly doing so, Forrest Gump is a shining example of Hollywood accounting practices there's also Peter Jackson's squabble with New Line regarding the profits for the Fellowship of the Ring or Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix where a receipt from WB was leaked online or Don Johnson's suit regarding Nash Bridges.. Just like studios, game publishers can cook the books to make something look like it lost money, it's something many other businesses do.

If DLC wasn't making publishers money they simply wouldn't have developers produce it. It might not be big profits but it's a profit none the less. However it doesn't make sense to keep producing it for a game when they could release a new one and make a lot more money than DLC provides, it's typically like the appetizer before the meal.

If T2/Rockstar really lost money on the GTAIV DLC it's because of T2's own stupidity in taking that 50 million dollar advance from MS that they had to pay back. But while they said sales were less than expected (before being released on PC and PS3) that really isn't a indication they lost money on it. I don't recall if they ever released their own sales data on the physical or downloadable versions but at least with the download version, I would strongly doubt it. All I've seen is estimates for the physical copy from when it was still exclusive.

Anyway, like I said, it wouldn't make sense to take a year off anyway THQ is the one that wouldn't allow that, regardless of the deal with WWE. If they wanted a new engine they would put the money out there for Yuke's or another developer to build it while simultaneously still producing the next SVR. If THQ really wanted to do a total revamp it's something they would have set forth work on five years ago.

But taking a year off wouldn't make the wrestlers even more out of date, since all that stuff could be done in the same amount of time that it takes now. It's not like they would start doing that right at the start of a project they know will take two years to complete. They would work on everything but the models/signature moves once everything else is in place. In the mean time they'd use place holders.

[spider007]

I think that's rubbish. If only half of the faithful SvR buyers buy only half of the DLC packs that's still 2.5 million times 50 bucks.(The price of ONE WWE PPV! I dont think WWE would pass that up if they get half of that.

[Mariners4Life]

I actually like the idea but the gameplay overall needs to be close to perfect but its years away from that.

[spider007]

OMG You actually AGREE with me. LOL ^^^^ But all kidding aside,that's my whole point.That they take their time to do the gameplay right.Everything from submissions to basic moves and rest holds.When was the last time you saw a 2 second armbar or chin lock in the WWE. I dont want to have a 2 minute resthold in the game,that would be stupid.But at least 20 seconds where each time you pull or wretch a limb it shows a little damage to that area. A leglock while not having the power to end a match could possibly slow down the pace if a leg shows damage to it.Just the little things they can do to add to the gameplay.

[mccanehd]

Pheonixzero: The problem with your statement is that these developers have backers and stockholders they must answer to. They are not allowed to cook the books, its illegal, and I dont remember anyone filing a lawsuit against any of these companies for giving out faults statements. Trust me, they have people check every year.

As for the new engine, it goes back to the same place, there is no way thq could convince stockholders to allow money used for a new engine. Bottom line, why spend more money, if you cant guarantee that you can remake a profit on it. THQ cant guarantee more people would buy the game with a new engine, than the people who buy it with the old one. There is no plus side here.

The yearly smackdown game is an agreement that WWE put in the contract that they have with THQ. Now this yearly agreement could also be with Yukes and Havok, among others as well. What that means is, let say THQ says they need an extra year for the game. They would be legally responsable to pay each company the possible gross for that missed year. So lets say your thq, how do you tell your stockholders and financial backers that you have a zero in income for the next year, but you have millions of dollars in expenses, because you have to pay all the companies what they would lose for missing a year, plus your own company as well. Again, this is a business first.

[SOLO CYPRESS]

this is what i've been saying all along spider! i agree
70902D02-B95B-AF02-F648-161DC2C8F44A
1.03.01

[Mariners4Life]

Sooner or later, all we going to get is DLC for games.

[PHOENIXZERO]

Pheonixzero: The problem with your statement is that these developers have backers and stockholders they must answer to. They are not allowed to cook the books, its illegal, and I dont remember anyone filing a lawsuit against any of these companies for giving out faults statements. Trust me, they have people check every year.

As for the new engine, it goes back to the same place, there is no way thq could convince stockholders to allow money used for a new engine. Bottom line, why spend more money, if you cant guarantee that you can remake a profit on it. THQ cant guarantee more people would buy the game with a new engine, than the people who buy it with the old one. There is no plus side here.

The yearly smackdown game is an agreement that WWE put in the contract that they have with THQ. Now this yearly agreement could also be with Yukes and Havok, among others as well. What that means is, let say THQ says they need an extra year for the game. They would be legally responsable to pay each company the possible gross for that missed year. So lets say your thq, how do you tell your stockholders and financial backers that you have a zero in income for the next year, but you have millions of dollars in expenses, because you have to pay all the companies what they would lose for missing a year, plus your own company as well. Again, this is a business first.

The backers are the publishers, much like studios also have backers in various forms but big studios are mostly owned by publicly traded corporations. Hollywood's bookkeeping practices is a long standing practice to get them out of paying royalties and other things. Also, cooking the books in and of itself isn't illegal, it's what is done to do so that CAN be and up until 2002 there were a lot more ways to do so, it can still be done and be legal but the methods to do so aren't as broad. Most corporations do it by via loopholes or straight up dishonesty and a little thing like the law won't stop them. If they get caught, they'll just pay a small fine in form of a settlement and continue on. There is no requirement for them to voluntarily open their books for the public and shareholders don't care as long as they're getting their stock dividends (and it's not dropping like a rock) and the company looks healthy. If you think game publishers are that far off from film studios or any corporation when it comes to ethics then you're only kidding yourself.

Hell, look at the mess that was the WWE vs Jakks/THQ suit that was only settled last year as an example of shady dealings. Then there are a number of developers who have over the years filed suit against publishers over not seeing profits (or as much as they should have) for games they've produced.

Again, the only time the books really get opened up are in lawsuits that involve breeches of contract and involve audits by third parties or SEC investigations and even then that's not guaranteed to amount to anything. Audits are something though that has almost always nailed studios to where they either settle without running the risk of getting exposed or end up having to pay out barring appeals.

Let's also not pretend to know what the terms of the WWE/THQ licensing deal are out side the obvious basics, we don't have any better idea than anyone else outside of THQ as to what their agreement really covers. But I do agree that there's no way a year would be taken off for the SvR series.

[Bill_4_SDHCTP]

To Marcus/THQ...I notice that a lot of your answers contain the phrase " because of this being an annual title" Well here's an idea,why don't you skip a year and give us 9 more DLC packs to keep our beaks wet and then give us ....Smackdown vs Raw 2013: The Ultimate Wrestling Experience!! in the summer of 2012. Some of these DLC packs can contain movesets,arenas,weapons,superstars and divas. This would give you over a year and a half to deliver the best game in THQ history.Maybe by then you will even find a way to put more than 6 guys in the ring at a time! What do you think? Are you up for this challenge? Please pass this on to Cory,Bryan,Tank or anyone else of importance at THQ. And don't say "because we are committed by WWE to put out a yearly title" because you are also committed to the WWE Universe to give us what we want....THE BEST WRESTLING GAME EVER!!. Thank you for your time.

SPIDER007- i was thinking the exactly same thing. i think its a great idea...we will never see thq do it...sad though.

---------- Post added at 09:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:19 PM ----------

They would still lose money if they went that route...and There not in the business of losing money.

trust me wwe/thq/yukes are going to make money no matter what

[taker4eva1539]

interesting idea, wont ever happen though

[Xarmark77]

I would weight for 2-3 years if it meant that a true quality game could be made...this game is just going to have be a piece-meal type of situation...where bits and pieces will be added and hopefully gel together OVER TIME...period.

[Radman McAwesome]

Interesting idea, but like many others have already said, it won't happen in the foreseeable future.

[spider007]

Should I send this idea to THQ? Or would that be a waste of time?

[Radman McAwesome]

Should I send this idea to THQ? Or would that be a waste of time?

If you REALLY REALLY want to, then go for it.....though the chances of your e-mail (or whatever medium you use to communicate this idea) actually being read is extremely slim. Your call.