- Nov 24, 2019
- 283
- 260
It always amazes me how people have no notion of the value of money.
So, let's talk numbers.
For starters, lets disregard "small details" like the passage of time, fluctuation in Patron count etc., and get the total project budget for its estimated lifetime (5 years).
US$ 8500 (aprox., we have to deduct payment processor taxes) * 60 months = US$ 510,000.00
...This is a surprising reasonable budget for a game this size.
Numbers are tricky things, you always try to compare them with “how much do I get” or “how much does the stuff I use cost”, which is a terribly bad comparison base. Instead, you must compare to “how much does a game production and marketing usually costs?” and “how much does a game tends to receive in net revenue during their lifetime?”.
Consider that because HHG is free, there won't be more HHG income after the final release (any income would be related to whatever game Komisari starts working next, or sheer charity). It is actually supposed to get that much money in 5 years.
So yes, Komisari makes too much money (US$ 8500/mo)... Compared to an average Joe and maybe even to a senior developer. But compared to the project itself, half million is actually cheap.
And this is looking at budget. If you were looking at profit, in other words, “is it worth the time, the risks, and the work, to make this instead some other thing?”, you probably would not accept a cash flow below US$ 1,500,000.00 (it actually depends on thousands of factors, including the investor, assume this as a personal prospect if needed)
From the looks of this, Komisari is barely making enough to cover a basic budget, let alone making a profit, let alone actually milking anyone or anything. Commercially speaking, "milking" is when your return rate is above the market average, although it receives a different term ("star") if you are increasing the costs along the profits (star projects are good).
Therefore. You can start accusing Komisari of milking anyone when they starts making more than US$ 25,000.00/mo and only if they do not increase the game quality to match this (Remember the "star"?).
You can disagree with Komisari decisions regarding how they manage the project schedule, assets, etc. but claiming they gain too much is an argument which won't hold water.
So, let's talk numbers.
For starters, lets disregard "small details" like the passage of time, fluctuation in Patron count etc., and get the total project budget for its estimated lifetime (5 years).
US$ 8500 (aprox., we have to deduct payment processor taxes) * 60 months = US$ 510,000.00
...This is a surprising reasonable budget for a game this size.
Numbers are tricky things, you always try to compare them with “how much do I get” or “how much does the stuff I use cost”, which is a terribly bad comparison base. Instead, you must compare to “how much does a game production and marketing usually costs?” and “how much does a game tends to receive in net revenue during their lifetime?”.
Consider that because HHG is free, there won't be more HHG income after the final release (any income would be related to whatever game Komisari starts working next, or sheer charity). It is actually supposed to get that much money in 5 years.
So yes, Komisari makes too much money (US$ 8500/mo)... Compared to an average Joe and maybe even to a senior developer. But compared to the project itself, half million is actually cheap.
And this is looking at budget. If you were looking at profit, in other words, “is it worth the time, the risks, and the work, to make this instead some other thing?”, you probably would not accept a cash flow below US$ 1,500,000.00 (it actually depends on thousands of factors, including the investor, assume this as a personal prospect if needed)
From the looks of this, Komisari is barely making enough to cover a basic budget, let alone making a profit, let alone actually milking anyone or anything. Commercially speaking, "milking" is when your return rate is above the market average, although it receives a different term ("star") if you are increasing the costs along the profits (star projects are good).
Therefore. You can start accusing Komisari of milking anyone when they starts making more than US$ 25,000.00/mo and only if they do not increase the game quality to match this (Remember the "star"?).
You can disagree with Komisari decisions regarding how they manage the project schedule, assets, etc. but claiming they gain too much is an argument which won't hold water.
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