Wii:Holds 47 Percent Of Global Console Revenue

A recently-released investment report from Ibis Capital highlighted the growing costs of game development, the risks of being independent today, and that the Wii holds 47 percent of global console revenue. The report estimated average development costs for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 games at $15-$30 million per title. With games that cost that much, game companies need to sell between 500,000 and 1 million units to break even, excluding overhead. Marketing costs can amount to as much or more than the cost of actual game development, the report said. That’s compared to Xbox, PS2 and GameCube games that cost around $3-$5 million to make on average, Ibis said, while Wii games cost $5-$7 million.