Though it remains to be seen if Bungie’s space MMO is or isn’t actually “a thing,” one publisher definitely isn’t messing around when it comes to putting bald marines into persistent space. Commenting during yesterday’s Wedbush Morgan conference, THQ CFO Paul Pucino confirmed that the company have already invested $50 million toward the development of 2013’s Warhammer 40,000 MMO “Dark Millennium Online.”
Pucino stated:
The production budget is high-end of a core game. Somewhere in the area of $50 million or so to get these games to market, certainly in that range for Dark Millennium. What you want is a game like this to be successful and the development budget gets higher.
It can continue to generate over a long period of time – 5,6,7, 8 years of high operating margins and a significant amount of cash.
The comments come in the wake of what many see as THQ’s ongoing statement of intent with respect to competing in the big leagues. Upcoming speculative fiction title Homefront is quoted as being a “Call of Duty/Battlfield” contender, with Pucino also commenting on the company’s aggressive sales projections for the FPS and the challenge it faces in order to turn a profit. Once you get over that lofty sales point, however, you’re on the gravy train from there. He continued:
When you just think in terms or profitability, the owned IP, there’s a threshold of break-even of about 2 million units per game, so you have to sell somewhere in the area of 2 million copies of a game like Homefront to break even. Once you get past that you’re generating incremental operating margins as high as 60 per cent.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz
BIGAL-1992
2 million copies? I know they want the game to do well, but that could take months if it’s a ‘long-tail’ sell, which I could see happen.
dnlgee
It’s doomed.
Armonster9000
Yup
Moakesice
I`m going to buy it so thats at least 1 copy!
moshi
I’m going to buy it when it drops in price after a few months, would that help matters.
dnlgee
^ This. Maybes. I’m willing to give it a go, wouldn’t pay full price for another generic FPS.
BIGAL-1992
I’m with moshi on this one. I’ll probably get it, but not for a while, until the price drops.
moshi
well that 3 more copies sold just 1999996 to go.
scavenga
I’m getting it day one, paying for it with trade ins. Then I’m gonna gun through it and trade it in for a pre-order of Mortal Kombat.
aerobes
I’ll be getting it. It’s the only thing I have enough interest to buy new until LA Noire arrives.
Moakesice
yeah im buying it with store credit so not much out of pocket so dont mind paying 1st day prices
Foxhound_Solid
Maybe down the line but no intention of buying this at the moment. Next purchase for me is Motorstorm 3 :-D
yogdog
Dark Millenium is gonna be the first MMO I play, really looking forward to it. Homefront will be getting my money eventually as well.
rht992
i feel kind of sorry for them. its just not a contendor with Killzone and Crisis coming out so soon and i’d rather save my money to get Resistance instead of this
rht992
or the new battlefield
djhsecondnature
Except Resistance doesn’t come out for about another six months at least…
Smallville2106
Not that bothered about this game tbh. I may pick it up down the line off the internet when it’s cheap.
hornet1990
Just read the review of Homefront in Edge and its quite disappointing – didn’t do well at all.
I won’t spoil it, but lets just say average by Edge standards… and a fairly damning write up. Was looking forward to this one too.
Shadowrider50
The guy in pic looks like devil