How good should a good game be? As review scores of 7s and 8s now don't seem all that impressive to the average gamer, the pressure is placed on studios to create something that feels like a must-play title, rather than a release people can wait for a discount to play.
That's what largely seems to have driven the delay of Bioshock 4 at Take-Two. At least, when speaking with IGN, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick offered that explanation for the sequel's recent overhaul and longer development time. "I think it's a reflection of the fact that as entertainment businesses mature, consumers seek quality and everyone realizes that the consumer is highly demanding and properly so," he said.
"The strategy of this company has always been to make the best entertainment, not necessarily the most entertainment. Of course, sometimes we've fallen short, but frankly a precious few times. And I think some of our competitors have realized maybe a little late in the day that consumers are not okay with okay. Good is the new bad, great is the new great. And our goal here is to make everything exceptional."
Zelnick then admits he didn't mean to critique other studios as making games is "really hard stuff, and you don't want to criticize someone for sticking with their creative talent, supporting them and trying to get a great result."