How much should a video game cost, and how should you charge? Leading British developer David Jones, who created Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto with DMA Design (now Rockstar North), admits that’s a tricky question, as new distribution channels open up new revenue possibilities for studios.
Jones, who founded Dundee studio Realtime Worlds in 2002, released the company’s debut title, Crackdown for Xbox 360, five years later through Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) and the traditional boxes-on-shelves route. It earned Realtime Bafta awards but, for the next release, APB, Jones may eschew tradition for online payments.
“We sold about two million copies and collected various awards, including a couple of BAFTAs,” Jones said. “But what was interesting with Crackdown was the additional downloadable content we created following the game