Nowadays it is the end of a career, which back then would have been a reason for wild parties – this is what the developer behind Baldur’s Gate reveals.
Gaming has changed drastically in the past few decades. What was once a small hobby for nerds has now become a huge industry. What was celebrated as a groundbreaking success a few years ago is now just a drop in the ocean and could be considered a flop. This is what one of the creators of the original Baldur’s Gate reveals.
More insights into the development of the latest Baldur’s Gate 3 were available here:
We spoke to the winners of the DCP 2024 and got insights into the development of Baldur’s Gate 3
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What was said? Brian Fargo is one of the developers behind classics such as the original Baldur’s Gate or Fallout. He compares the gaming market of 25 years ago with the current one, clearly amused. He shows a series of pictures on X and writes:
Back then, you got an award if you sold 50,000 or 100,000 units [eines Spiels] sold, today is the end of your career.
He also shows pictures of the awards that he and his team received at the time. For example, they received the “Platinum Award” for Baldur’s Gate having sold over 150,000 copies.
If a game today achieved sales figures like that, it would probably be considered a flop. Imagine if Baldur’s Gate 3 had only sold 150,000 units – when it sold 100 times more – over 15,000,000 copies so far.
Why has this changed so much? The cases that Fargo is talking about lie far in the past. Almost 25 years ago, when Baldur’s Gate (1) was released, gaming was still a niche topic and mainly something for young people and “computer nerds” – today it is a mass market and an industry that is bigger than film and music combined.
But with this larger target group comes greater expectations. At the same time, production costs have risen dramatically. This is because increasingly realistic graphics, sound and increasingly complex game systems simply require many more employees to implement them.
Production costs have risen dramatically, while prices for full-price titles have remained relatively constant. In order for a large company or AAA production to be considered successful, multiple copies must be sold to be profitable.
Games from small developers or “indie titles” can usually survive on fewer sales and are considered a success by the creators earlier – but in most cases the costs are only a fraction of what a AAA studio with a publisher would have. But the boss of Baldur’s Gate 3, who almost gave up, shows that things can be really good without a publisher.