And the next BIG series is... (1 Viewer)

[Morgan Jolley]

Hitman!

http://gamespot.com/gamespot/stories...910217,00.html

A third installment with a budget of $43.3 million dollars and a movie deal in the works says to me that Hitman has now become a BIG franchise.

I don't even think MGS2 or FFX had a $43.3 million budget.

 

[Eric C. Mylonas]

While I could be wrong, I get the distinct impression that someone put a decimal point in the wrong spot.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Considering how much money Eidos might be sitting on because of games like Tomb Raider, I think the decimal is in the right spot.

Most likely, they're using the money to hire more staff to increase the production values at the same time as making the next game get finished quicker (it has a release date of next spring).

Chances are that they might not even use all that money, or that some of it could go to things like CGI or marketing.

 

[Eric C. Mylonas]

Go look at their stock price and you tell me how much money they're "sitting on." Granted, that's only a fraction of the company as it's traded on the NASDAQ, but I think you get the point (the stock, at the height of TR, traded above $20/share for some perspective).

Spending 30+ times the nominal game dev budget (1.5 million) on one game (a sequel, with a pre-existing engine) is utterly ludicrous.

If this isn't a mistake it completely explains why Eidos has come so close to being bought out and/or almost gone bankrupt multiple times.

 

[DeanWalsh]

That can't be right... maybe thats the budget for the film?

 

[Jay Mitchosky]

Scary. Although the film could be cool.

 

[Eric C. Mylonas]

If I was a betting man, that's where all my money would go.

Note: Shen Mue was the highest budgeted game to date and that cost a mere 20 or so million.

 

[BrianB]

If I was a betting man, that's where all my money would go.

Same here. There is not the smallest of chances that the Hitman 3 game has a budget of $43 million. Not a chance. That's a stupendous amount of money that Eidos couldn't afford to put out, regardless of potential returns on investment.

Not a chance.

 

[Neil M]

I wouldn't believe the 43.3 million figure either but given that there is a movie involved, I wouldn't be surprised. I'm sure Eidos will be looking to get lots of money just for the rights to make the movie so they want studios to think that they are fully dedicated in creating a successful franchise. 43.3 million will do that. They are probably willing to sacrifice the money in the hopes that they can create a great game and create a fan base for future movies. According to Eidos, they sold 1.8 million copies of Hitman 2 and it still hasn't been released on the cube. It seems ridiculous now but it could really pay off in the long run. It also could bite them in the ass.

And the $43.3 million budget can't be for the movie since no studio has commited to it yet...according to the article.

 

[Graeme Clark]

I'm sure Eidos will be looking to get lots of money just for the rights to make the movie so they want studios to think that they are fully dedicated in creating a successful franchise. 43.3 million will do that.

It MIGHT, but it's certainly not needed. I'm sure that's a mistake also.

 

[pitchman]

I happened to see a chunk of Entertainment Tonight this evening and caught their report on the upcoming Matrix films. In conjunction with that, they spent several minutes talking about the soon to be released (May, I think) Matrix video game. They touted it as one of the more ambitious and most expensive games ever made with a development budget of over $20 million. If this Hitman number is correct, it's certainly one for the record books!

 

[BrianB]

According to Eidos, they sold 1.8 million copies of Hitman 2 and it still hasn't been released on the cube. It seems ridiculous now but it could really pay off in the long run. It also could bite them in the ass.

It *still* doesn't add up. To make back $43 million, the game would have to sell at least 4 million by my back of envelope calculations. And that's just to come out even.

Eidos do not have that kind of money sitting around.

 

[paul h]

I can see it being the combined budget for film and game but that much on the game alone is ludicrous. I enjoyed Hitman2 but cant see part 3 selling 4m copies.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

If Hitman 2 sells another million and then Hitman 3 sells the same amount as H2, they'll come close to breaking even.

I'm guessing this budget is going to be something like the budget for the Final Fantasy movie (the money is being spent on equipment, staff, etc. and the actual development costs).

 

[Allen_Appel]

I've been seeing this $43.3 million figure (and it is the game budget only) from a number of different sources, so I'm inclined to believe it. Why it's so high, I can't imagine.

 

[Eric C. Mylonas]

The rumor comes from a Danish film site called Screen Daily which doesn't mention where or how they came by this number--they state it as an obvious fact. If they knew how much money the average game costs to develop, I'm willing to bet they'd make more than a passing remark on its cost.

Until I see Eidos or I/O Interactive stating that they have a 40 million-plus dollar budget for the game, I will consider it a translation or decimal error (let's get real: the game does not have a budget this big).



They are all reporting the same story that originated at the above-mentioned site--Internet cannibalism is all too alive and well in '03.

 

[BrianB]

I'm guessing this budget is going to be something like the budget for the Final Fantasy movie (the money is being spent on equipment, staff, etc. and the actual development costs).

And look how well that 'investment' went for Square.

I'll say it again (like Eric): this figure is utter nonsense. I take an interest in the financial figures for UK (and some foreign) game companies and Eidos do not have that kind of money to invest in a game or studio right now.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

And look how well that 'investment' went for Square

Sure, the movie was a bomb, but Square has been able to pull themselves a little out of the toilet. They've already broken even and are now making profit on FFXI.

 

[BrianB]

And think how much of a profit they'd have made if they hadn't sunk so much money into that studio!! It was a *shit* investment, Morgan. No dressing it up will make it otherwise. "A little out of the toilet" - listen to yourself!

 

[Allen_Appel]

Square should have put some of that investment into Final Fantasy's screenplay, then it might not have been a bomb. If the Hitman 3 budget rumor really is just regurgitated from a single website, then the supposed game "journalists" who've been reporting it need to learn the meaning of the word.