AT Computers

The first day of the UK-based Develop 2010 conference has brought forth spirited discussion from the developers of renowned games like Joe Danger and Bejeweled, while also encouraging a GameStop executive to speak out.

A pertinent theme coming from the first day of the Develop Conference is the short-sightedness of some publishers. Sean Murray, one of the developers of the hit PlayStation Network game Joe Danger spoke out about how he received feedback before release from publishers asking for the game to be less fun and to replace the game’s namesake motorcyclist with a monkey. Additionally, Murray revealed that the current structure of Xbox Live Arcade has made it difficult for smaller games to stand out, calling XBLA a ’slaughterhouse’ for those developers. The more platform agnostic developers at Popcap also spoke out about publisher apathy at Develop, noting that back when the company’s hit puzzle game Bejeweled was completed in 2000, no company was willing to pay $60,000 to publish the game, which went on to sell tens of millions of copies on the PC, consoles, and Apple’s portable platforms.

While the major retailer doesn’t have any speaking sessions scheduled for the Develop Conference, GameStop made its presence felt at the event when an executive from the company’s European wing, Niall Lawlor, spoke out during a session featuring InstantAction CEO Louis Castle who called the retailer’s practice of selling used games were “parasitic.” “We discovered the used business was a way of preserving our margins,” Lawlor said. “We don’t like being in the used business.”

Castle replied that the used business will even lead to retail malaise, stating “Pretty soon everyone is losing money. Used is accelerating the decline of profitability for publishers.”

SOURCES: PopCap couldn’t sell Bejeweled for $60k [Develop]
GameStop: without second hand sales we wouldn’t be here & XBLA is a “slaughterhouse” for smaller developers [GamesIndustry.biz--subscription only]