Big vs. Little

Sure, you’ve heard of those big game developing companies: EA, Infinity Ward, Treyarch, Activision, and Blizzard. But what about the little guys, you know, the less known developers? Why should they make an independent game development company when the big companies pay to have people make the games? Indie developers, as they are called, make games even though they sometimes lack the budget and the manpower to create games effectively, but one could say if they are more motivated, and if they don’t have a deadline, they produce better quality games. Many new genres are thrown aside by big companies who want to make the sure bet. This can be seen in the massive amount of first person shooters that are on the market. For example new Call of Duty’s are being chugged out each year because their maker wants to keep rolling in the dough.

What they don’t realize though, is that fun and famous games can be produced by independent developers as well. Take Minecraft for example, it was made by a completely unknown developer, but it has reached over 3.5 million in sales. Sure, it might be an anomaly, but that’s why there are only a few huge game companies, because the ones that make the money do better than the ones that don’t. Indie Developers have more freedom to do what they want, and they don’t really have a deadline to meet. It isn’t uncommon for a developer to stop working at the big companies to go off and make their own. It’s the American dream at work.

Although being an Indie Developer has its advantages’, being in the big leagues with EA and Activision can get you more resources at your disposal, like more developers, which means you can make a bigger, more diverse game. It also has a bigger budget, which is a major factor that decides whether a game gets shipped out or not. Also many people trust big game companies to make solid games that are fun to play. The list goes on about whether big or small video game companies are better or not. The only real thing that matters though is if the game is good, the rest is the company’s problem.