Heavy Rain cost 50 million, made 130 million

Bear in mind that in contrast to the guy who wrote the original article, I'm denominating everything in dollars and including marketing costs as part of the cost of production (though of course they aren't the same thing). Interestingly, Sony spent more on marketing and distribution than they did on the game. I think that makes sense. If one is trying to sell people on a concept, you need to make them aware of it. With sequels/familiar concepts one can just kind of ship a game and let the fanbase mobilize itself, but with original games marketing and the developers (who have to explain their game to anyone willing to listen) have to do some heavy lifting.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-04-19-heavy-rain-cost-16-7-million-to-make-and-made-sony-more-than-100-million

Quantic Dream's Guillaume de Fondaumiere revealed to a Digital Dragons audience in Poland today that PlayStation 3 exclusive Heavy Rain cost just 16.7 million to make - even with all those emotional polygons stuffed in.

With Sony's marketing and distribution on top, the total spend looked something like 40 million. But, Fondaumiere said, "Sony earned more than 100 million with this game. It's very profitable."

As for my take on Heavy Rain, I will quote a recent post. Also, I thought the VR tech (seen below) was really cool.

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I loved Heavy Rain though I recognize its imperfections (really hated the walking controls and the VA was pretty bad in spots). There were just too many great moments. A non-spoilerly favorite for me was the moment when Ethan was alone with his remaining son. You had a to do list, but you could do stuff out of order, ignore the list completely, or do other things, and your kid had his own routine he would go through unless you pushed him to do stuff like his homework or made dinner for him.

Critically, David Cage is a guy who is willing to take risks, but he's also willing to listen to criticism. His next game (Two Souls) seems to have been informed by criticism of Heavy Rain the same way Heavy Rain reflected criticsim of Omikron (Heavy Rain had its problems but it didn't replicate Nomad Soul's mistakes).

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I'm not sure what currency converter you used, or whether you mistook the Euro sign for a pound £ sign, but at current exchange rates 16.7m Euros = approx. $21.8 million , and 40m Euros = approx. $52.3 million.  100m Euros = approx. $130.6 million.  If the 'total spend' (including marketing) was 40m Euros, then the marketing cost alone would have been around 23.3m Euros (or $30.4 million).

It seems pretty crazy to me that the marketing budget was more than the development budget.  I'm glad to see the game doing well, but did they really need to spend that much on marketing?  No wonder making games is becoming so costly, if the marketing budgets are so high.

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JASON!!!!!!dvader654

Heavy Rain cost $60 million made $150 million. 

There Carnage, much better. :P

I really enjoyed the game, even though the ending was spoiled for me.

Anyways, it is pretty cool to see a game (especially one that falls into a relatively niche genre) can excel without adding all the junk publishers are saying are required to make a profit. Heavy Rain didn't have multiplayer, didn't have obscene amounts of DLC, didn't need microtransactions, and didn't require an online pass to access half of the game (I know, it didn't have online...besides the point).

I'll buy Beyond when it releases...I really like what Cage does.

white_sox

Yeah, I don't like every original game that comes down the pike, but I appreciate designers who go their own way rather than just letting the Top 10 be thier guide.

Heavy Rain cost $60 million made $150 million.

There Carnage, much better. :P

S0lidSnake

True, done.

BTW, this also proves how easy it is to make a massive profit in this industry even on $20 million games. I am not sure how valid the $40 million figure they spent on marketing really is since I dont remember seeing a single ad for the game in the U.S, but David Cage had previously gone on record saying that it had cost $20 million to develop and had sold at elast 2 million copies. 

I did some math and if we are to assume that the 2 million copies were all sold at $60. Take out the retailer cut ($12) and you are left with a cool $48 per copy. Since Sony is the publisher, they dont have to pay the $6 royalty to themselves. So that just leaves the $5-6distribution costs per copy.

So $42 * 2 million copies = $84 million. A cool profit of $64 million on just the first 2 million copies of the game.

BTW, this also proves how easy it is to make a massive profit in this industry even on $20 million games. I am not sure how valid the $40 million figure they spent on marketing really is since I dont remember seeing a single ad for the game in the U.S, but David Cage had previously gone on record saying that it had cost $20 million to develop and had sold at elast 2 million copies. 

I did some math and if we are to assume that the 2 million copies were all sold at $60. Take out the retailer cut ($12) and you are left with a cool $48 per copy. Since Sony is the publisher, they dont have to pay the $6 royalty to themselves. So that just leaves the $5-6distribution costs per copy.

So $42 * 2 million copies = $84 million. A cool profit of $64 million on just the first 2 million copies of the game.

S0lidSnake

BTW, this also proves how easy it is to make a massive profit in this industry even on $20 million games. I am not sure how valid the $40 million figure they spent on marketing really is since I dont remember seeing a single ad for the game in the U.S, but David Cage had previously gone on record saying that it had cost $20 million to develop and had sold at elast 2 million copies.

I did some math and if we are to assume that the 2 million copies were all sold at $60. Take out the retailer cut ($12) and you are left with a cool $48 per copy. Since Sony is the publisher, they dont have to pay the $6 royalty to themselves. So that just leaves the $5-6distribution costs per copy.

So $42 * 2 million copies = $84 million. A cool profit of $64 million on just the first 2 million copies of the game.

S0lidSnake

I don't think its easy (if it were easy developers wouldn't be dropping like flies) but I think its possible provided that developers/publishers are realistic about their budgeting (for Tomb Raider 4.5 million copies sold was not enough, for RE5 5 million copies sold wasn't enough).

Its my pet theory that smart developers should avoid the urge to do something just because everyone else is doing it. If everyone has multiplayer but only a handful of games boast multiplayer modes that gamers actually spend time with, unless one's game is one of that handful, there's no sense in spending money to include stuff nobody cares about (did anyone previously indifferent to the franchises buy the latest GoW or TR for the multiplayer?).

As much as I've derided Heavy Rain I really should concede the game contained some genuinely brilliant aspects that, if utilized within a better construct, could lead to something pretty innovative.

I specifically recall that scene with the son that Carnage alluded to and agree that it was an incredibly poignant and nuanced moment; something certainly unique to this medium. I also specifically recall playing as the detective and using his VR system to toss around a handball while waiting in an office.

What I'd love to see is that level of minutia grafted onto a game where the interactivity is as ambitious as the overall concept instead of being saddled with dull, leaden mechanics that make much of the game feel like a throwback to Dragon's Lair.

Any word on how Cage's next game actually plays?

As much as I've derided Heavy Rain I really should concede the game contained some genuinely brilliant aspects that, if utilized within a better construct, could lead to something pretty innovative.

I specifically recall that scene with the son that Carnage alluded to and agree that it was an incredibly poignant and nuanced moment; something certainly unique to this medium. I also specifically recall playing as the detective and using his VR system to toss around a handball while waiting in an office.

What I'd love to see is that level of minutia grafted onto a game where the interactivity is as ambitious as the overall concept instead of being saddled with dull, leaden mechanics that make much of the game feel like a throwback to Dragon's Lair.

Any word on how Cage's next game actually plays?

Grammaton-Cleric

It seems pretty crazy to me that the marketing budget was more than the development budget.  I'm glad to see the game doing well, but did they really need to spend that much on marketing?  No wonder making games is becoming so costly, if the marketing budgets are so high.

Gallowhand

The cost of advertising is flatly insane and in many cases that cost exceeds the budget of the product.  

This is especially true in filmmaking as the advertising budget often decimates the bottom line for those films which do not perform at their expected levels.

This trend is clearly becoming prevalent in gaming as well, which is more than a bit disconcerting.

I'm not sure what currency converter you used, or whether you mistook the Euro sign for a pound £ sign, but at current exchange rates 16.7m Euros = approx. $21.8 million , and 40m Euros = approx. $52.3 million.  100m Euros = approx. $130.6 million.  If the 'total spend' (including marketing) was 40m Euros, then the marketing cost alone would have been around 23.3m Euros (or $30.4 million).

It seems pretty crazy to me that the marketing budget was more than the development budget.  I'm glad to see the game doing well, but did they really need to spend that much on marketing?  No wonder making games is becoming so costly, if the marketing budgets are so high.

Gallowhand

Advertising is an expense for a business, and it's a big one if you want to do it right. When I first opened my business, I was spending more per month on advertising than I was on rent. It's the nature of the beast for anything you're trying to sell. It can't be bought by people who don't know it exists.

JASON!!!!!!dvader654

As much as I've derided Heavy Rain I really should concede the game contained some genuinely brilliant aspects that, if utilized within a better construct, could lead to something pretty innovative.

I specifically recall that scene with the son that Carnage alluded to and agree that it was an incredibly poignant and nuanced moment; something certainly unique to this medium. I also specifically recall playing as the detective and using his VR system to toss around a handball while waiting in an office.

What I'd love to see is that level of minutia grafted onto a game where the interactivity is as ambitious as the overall concept instead of being saddled with dull, leaden mechanics that make much of the game feel like a throwback to Dragon's Lair.

Any word on how Cage's next game actually plays?

Grammaton-Cleric

I haven't watched most of the footage but based on what I've seen it will be decidedly more fantastic and action oriented than Heavy Rain. That doesn't fill me with rage or anything, but honestly, I think what was coolest about HR was the non-action bits (talking with people, choosing from mundane actions) though some of the fantasy/sci fi bits were fun (nods towards the VR helment). Anyway, here's a bit of gameplay which isn't too spoilery. Looks like it is a bit more freeform (assuming one can impact everything in the room).