think about how it is in hollywood. if your movie makes slightly more than it costs to make, then it is a success. how many taito classics are out there right now. thats the way they are treating these games, squareto classics....how sad.
I agree with the general tone of your post; however, I do feel compelled to make a clarification: It isn't enough for a movie to be considered a success if it makes "slightly" more than it costs to make. The true expense of any production must also figure in its
implicit costs. For instance, in the production of a video game, the personnel and equipment that are devoted to this project cannot be used for another project whenever they are working on this one. Had that hypothetical "other project" been more profitable, then the game that is actually produced incurs additional, implicit costs. Calculating implicit costs can be difficult, and often devolves into the realm of statistical guesswork. But suffice it to say that no company contents itself with "slight" profits, when the possibility of greater profits hangs so tantalizingly close. That drives the
blockbuster mentality, where profit becomes more important than the quality of the product...which is one of the main reasons your remark rings so sadly true.