Right, I think this might mark the exact moment when I realised that videogame publishers have actually gone a bit mad. I mean, I know they’ve been a little odd and over-enthusiastic for a while now but this job advert from Microsoft, uncovered on GAF, is really pushing the envelope on nuttiness.
[drop2]Microsoft is advertising for a new Executive Producer. That’s the role which has control over coordinating a project from the very beginning. An executive producer will audition concepts, select a development studio, liaise with that team and ensure everything ties together neatly on time and on budget. It’s an important job and Microsoft looking for a new EP to work out of its Redmond base of operations is interesting enough. “But it’s not crazy yet,” I imagine you say!Well, the thing is, Microsoft has decided that their next generation of first party IP games will not be “Triple A”, as we’ve become so used to hearing. Their job advert wants Executive Producers who are ready to usher in the dawn of the “AAAA” age. That’s right, strap in people, we’re going quadruple on the As.
As the GAF poster points out, this might ordinarily be seen as a typo and laughed off as something a bit silly that nobody would ever be nutty enough to introduce to their vocabulary. But the ad uses the term “AAAA” multiple times.
Let’s be clear, the “AAA” moniker has never had anything to do with the actual quality of a game, it has always referred to how prestigious the project is seen as being within a publisher’s studio. So, Call of Duty games are always triple A but then, so was Homefront. Of course, the more prestigious a game is seen as being by a publisher, the higher the development budget is allowed to creep and the more astronomical the marketing budget will be.
Having read about some of the marketing budgets for current generation triple A games, I dread to think how many big PR parties will have to be rushed together in order to spunk the budget for a quadruple A game. Perhaps they’ll even hire some proper celebs instead of the cast of TOWIE.
Source: Microsoft Careers
Deathbrin
What do each of the A’s stand for?
3shirts
Each one stands for AAA, it goes deep.
lewis815
Awesome Automatic Amusement – Quad A’s I couldn’t tell you, that’s just crazy talk.
cc_star
I’m gonna hold out for AAAAA
hazelam
way to think small.
AAAAA-X
that’s the ticket. ^_^
because an x makes everything cooler right?
Vaile23
these days, it’s a small i…
iAAAA !
Klart
I call, and raise to quintuple A.
Omac_brother
Got to be a typo. But then again, AAAA seems like the next logical step. A game with a budget so big, the marketing involves the purchase of the moon to put a 30,000 foot bill board on.
hazelam
with ms hype it could be, Super Champion edition Pacman.
gazzagb
The AAA/AAAA rating doesn’t really have any quantitative value, so regardless of how many A’s there are, it’s still kinda pointless to give something quad A’s.
halbpro
Oh god what does this even mean? They’re going to throw infinite money at it? I DON’T KNOW ANY MORE.
nofi
Someone on GAF said that extra A was stolen from Obsidi*n.
yogdog
Brilliant!
Kevatron400
Of course, it might just have been a typo, right? A typo that they accidentally used 3 times on the posting…
hazelam
yeah but that would be boring, this is way more fun. ^_^
The Lone Steven
So they’re the bar stewards who stole the A from my last name, give it back! :p
So what happens if Sony decides to invent another level of hype? E.g. AAAAAA+++++++ would it mean we would see them trying to outdo each other? *grabs popcorn just in case that does happen.*
Does this mean it that MS will pour billions into a AAAA game? Instead of millions?