How do the subsidiary companies work? Why no one is developing games for my successful console?

[neldot]

I'm 10 years into the game and acquired a software company 2 years ago. I then gave her additional funding too. I didn't change the other administrative options. But from what I can see, no new games have been developed from my subsidiary company since then and no profit has been made.

Also, I have a console in the market since 4 years, and it is the second best platform after PC with a 12,5% share of the market, but no software Company other than my own one has ever developed a single videogame for my console. Why? (I ticked the checkbox with the option to let other Companies develope software for my console).

Thanks in advance.

[joemarais]

For your first point, I believe it is a bug but could also be a mechanic. The companies usually have a track record of how long it takes for them to produce a game. However, with companies that have low value, they could have not had a game developed in years, and when you buy them their behavior doesn't change and they don't make games (which in turn makes them cost less to buy). I would get around this at the moment by buying a company, checking it's games and making sure they make a game at least every 18 months. If they dont or havent bought a game, just resell immediately.

Secondly, I believe your publisher relationships have an impact on this, because in one legendary play through I got lucky, self developed in the third year, but then no one made games for my console. But in another I got unlucky and had to have publishers until year 6, but when I made a console the smaller developers that published my games made a few for my console.

TLDR; Buy company with a game made recently. Get good publisher relationships.

[neldot]

Thanks Joseph, I will look into what you suggested.

[Lychee the saber snow leopard]

Never thought about publisher relations. I shall try and publish some of my games through the publishers and see how they respond. I would assume that even after you are well established this should hopefully still work in getting them to want to push for games developed on your console.

On a note though... I've had two consoles come and go... First having 24 games, second having 28. I only created 10 of the 24 games on the first console and 9 of the 28 games on the second console. Early on I had to have publishers push out my games. I have two 3 hearts, one 2 heart, and two 1 hearts.

I also wonder if publishing other developer's games on your console when they offer a contract plays in part. I decline most but I've published 15 games from other developers. Is it possible taht in doing so and making them some money helps with their decision to purchase developer kits to make games on your console as well?

[Justa Guy]

Well in my exprience owning other companies just makes things worse. Yes you can click the 'only make games for me' option but it seems like companies you own suck. No matter how good they were before you bought htem or how many stars you upgrade their value to once you buy it their rate of games drops down to once every couple years at minium and they barely make any money.

Even a 5 star company set to reject bad games still only publishes 70% games at best in my exprience. Add to that companies you own no longer pay for dev kits or licencess your game engines it seems to be a bad idea to buy out companies for the most part.

The only real advantage seems to be if you own them all and select to only make games for your console every one elses market share tend to be lower. If you manage to do that before the last gen of consoles your only competion will be the PC and maybe the Mac. Though it's suprising how high a MS systems can get with zero games on them. Even your own funny enough.

As it stands now pushing the market share on your console till the last generation is kind of pointless. You'll make millions just on the console no matter what profit setting you use, even with no games and less than 1% share. Since it resets to 0% every new console that you release working at the shares seems sort of pointless.

[Trifler]

I think if you set it to auto-reject games below a certain number of stars, then they are actually making a game, but since it didn't meet the threshold, it was deleted without even telling you. So, make sure your auto-reject isn't set to five stars.

Also, if you always publish the games your subsidiaries make yourself, then it seems they don't get any money (it all goes to your company). So, I let them keep some of the games they make.

[yutterh]

Originally posted by Trifler:

I think if you set it to auto-reject games below a certain number of stars, then they are actually making a game, but since it didn't meet the threshold, it was deleted without even telling you. So, make sure your auto-reject isn't set to five stars.

Also, if you always publish the games your subsidiaries make yourself, then it seems they don't get any money (it all goes to your company). So, I let them keep some of the games they make.

Yeah even when I do that they still make nothing. But I had companies that made a game right after and for a while then all of a sudden, nothing. I monitor the other companies and see if they are making games. Some companies pop up and make a plethora of games and then I buy them upgrade them and leave everything else, then I don't get a single game lol where also I buy a crap company and sometimes they sky rocket and make great games for me and a lot of them. Then they die out for years before making games again. It's pretty inconsitent honestly and what I feel need to be the next step in updates. Getting your compatitition right.

[stocky102000ii]

the whole equation thats used for the stock values of the developers needs addressing.On my current legendary playthrough I owned all companys by 1984ish one company brought me 3 games to publish in 1985 which i marketed took the company value from 14 mil to 400 mil. Net profit I made was between 10-20 mil per game for those 3 yet the stock value shot up 400 million and the monthly fee shot up to 2 mil a month 3 years later not seen another game from them and they currently drain 25 mil a year in monthly fees. Either the rate that the stock increases needs to be reduced a lot or the monthly fee needs to cap out at some point.

Once I saw how the value increased so much it became instantly appparent if you want to buy all devlopers undeer no circumstance publish games for anyone you do not already own.

If the company them selves publish the game it will make normally no more than a mil or so putting only 5 mil on the value of stock if you publish the same game and market it well and make 20 mil for them then the value will rise by 100 mi meaning it will now xost you an extra 100 mil to buy said companyl. So golden rule for sure if you want a monopoly is only publish for yourself NEVER a third party you don't own.

It definitely reaches a point where the only sensible option is to sell your holdings due to the now very silly 50 mil a month fees your paying out, or do like I did on one playthrough and pretend to be Gordon Gecko from Wallstreet and buy them out and close them all as soon as you buy them.

Also regards to the original topic I know its obvious but you have made sure in your console prodction settings you have ticked the box saying @Allow games from thrid party developers" I actually put my 2nd console on the market for 18 months with this option not ticked and was wondering why noone was putting my games out haha. On my current playthrough I think lmost all my companys have my console as one of its platforms once for some bizzare reason they actually chose to devlop the same game twice for my console lol, it was pc, my console, my console. master system. So lloking at that it would seem they have some kind of random platform generator at work.

I don't really think the amount of games on the console beyond a certain point matters. My current one has 86 games on it only the PC has more games and I only own a 4% market share even after selling the consolo for $99 losing $400 per console (roughly 180 mil a week loss haha)

Wow this post got long to anyone who got this far well done ^^

Have fun in game all.

[yutterh]

Originally posted by stocky102000:

the whole equation thats used for the stock values of the developers needs addressing.On my current legendary playthrough I owned all companys by 1984ish one company brought me 3 games to publish in 1985 which i marketed took the company value from 14 mil to 400 mil. Net profit I made was between 10-20 mil per game for those 3 yet the stock value shot up 400 million and the monthly fee shot up to 2 mil a month 3 years later not seen another game from them and they currently drain 25 mil a year in monthly fees. Either the rate that the stock increases needs to be reduced a lot or the monthly fee needs to cap out at some point.

Once I saw how the value increased so much it became instantly appparent if you want to buy all devlopers undeer no circumstance publish games for anyone you do not already own.

If the company them selves publish the game it will make normally no more than a mil or so putting only 5 mil on the value of stock if you publish the same game and market it well and make 20 mil for them then the value will rise by 100 mi meaning it will now xost you an extra 100 mil to buy said companyl. So golden rule for sure if you want a monopoly is only publish for yourself NEVER a third party you don't own.

It definitely reaches a point where the only sensible option is to sell your holdings due to the now very silly 50 mil a month fees your paying out, or do like I did on one playthrough and pretend to be Gordon Gecko from Wallstreet and buy them out and close them all as soon as you buy them.

Also regards to the original topic I know its obvious but you have made sure in your console prodction settings you have ticked the box saying @Allow games from thrid party developers" I actually put my 2nd console on the market for 18 months with this option not ticked and was wondering why noone was putting my games out haha. On my current playthrough I think lmost all my companys have my console as one of its platforms once for some bizzare reason they actually chose to devlop the same game twice for my console lol, it was pc, my console, my console. master system. So lloking at that it would seem they have some kind of random platform generator at work.

I don't really think the amount of games on the console beyond a certain point matters. My current one has 86 games on it only the PC has more games and I only own a 4% market share even after selling the consolo for $99 losing $400 per console (roughly 180 mil a week loss haha)

Wow this post got long to anyone who got this far well done ^^

Have fun in game all.

Yeah I agree, they make no sense in the things they do. Definitely something I would like fixed. Getting them to behave normally and not so random.

[Trifler]

Stocky, I read in another thread that fans are extremely important for gaining market share for your console.

[stocky102000ii]

Originally posted by Trifler:

Stocky, I read in another thread that fans are extremely important for gaining market share for your console.

Yeah that will difintely be a factor I only have 400k fans but market share on consoles really is not worth worrying about too much until like someone else mentioned the last generation is all that matters really. Your quite often best just price gouging the consoles before that point rather than go for market share and by the final generation you have millions of fans so you do get a much greater scale of sales and market share of course :)

[stocky102000ii]

"Yeah I agree, they make no sense in the things they do. Definitely something I would like fixed. Getting them to behave normally and not so random."




Being able to share pefect sttings you have found with them and actually choosing the platform they publish on would be great.

One of my subsidiaries gave me the game of the year once I was really happy and went and promptly printed a gazzilion of them without looking what platform they had released them for. This turned out to be my brand new console 0.1% market share and 3 other random crappy systems totalling about 7% of the market so the game of the year that year sold a massive 12,000 copies haha

[yutterh]

Originally posted by stocky102000:

"Yeah I agree, they make no sense in the things they do. Definitely something I would like fixed. Getting them to behave normally and not so random."




Being able to share pefect sttings you have found with them and actually choosing the platform they publish on would be great.

One of my subsidiaries gave me the game of the year once I was really happy and went and promptly printed a gazzilion of them without looking what platform they had released them for. This turned out to be my brand new console 0.1% market share and 3 other random crappy systems totalling about 7% of the market so the game of the year that year sold a massive 12,000 copies haha

damn hahahaha and you made a gazillion of them too lol ouch must have been painful lol

[Trifler]

In my current game I found that after using the same genre for three games in a row, my subsidiary stopped making games. I finally tried changing the genre and they're making games again. I don't know yet if this is specifically because of some cap on using the same genre in a row or if changing the topic just served as a reset to get them going again.