An interesting op-ed piece popped up on GameDaily over the weekend simply and unequivocally entitled, "The Video Game Business Is Broken."

It's a timely piece - with lots of valid arguments made by Game Daily's CEO and Publisher, Mark Friedler, who cites soaring costs, huge risks, a reduction in creativity, and a stagnation in market growth as clear signs of this crisis.

And whilst SPOnG doesn't like to be a mongerer of doom, we feel at the same time that there are some fundamental flaws in the games business as it currently works, and have to agree with many of the points raised by Friedler.

The nub of Friedler's argument is this: "The next-gen systems require publishers to place very large bets with each title. This will mean decreased risk taking and just regurgitated sequels of big brand franchises."

He continues: "How many publishers will take risks with multi-platform original IP? This is clearly not good news for the consumer as innovation has driven our industry from the beginning. The irony is that the amazing tools, capabilities and quality of the new systems may very well doom what is most important, which is the game itself. Reconciling what a creative team wants and what the executive suite needs in terms of profits will be a growing challenge for many companies."

In the current time of transition from current gen to next gen, Friedler urges publishers to think of 'games as media' observing that: "the key words of successful game products (like World of Warcraft) and new platforms (like Xbox 360) are community, participation and engagement. As games involve users more, they grow more attached and participation drives community, which in turn builds value. Think about ABC's Lost series and the almost rabid communities built around that and the fierce loyalty it's driven."

He then goes on to warn of 'Upside Down Metrics' specifically with regards to PS3, which, "requires a level of financial investment that clearly puts it beyond the impulse buy of a mainstream entertainment enthusiast. Will Blu-ray be enough to drive its sales to the mass market?"

He goes on to voice further concerns about pricing of games; growing the market (noting correctly that Nintendo are one of the only forward-thinking companies in this area);

Are we entering into what investor Stewart Alsop of Alsop Louie Partners refers to as, "not just another console transition but a fundamental change of market"?

Thankfully, in his esteemed opinion, it's not all doom and gloom and the end of the genuinely creative first burst of video gaming's history: "The good news is that consumers love games and new markets have been opened with casual games appealing to women. The industry needs to rethink the fundamental premise of create a game, replicate disks, ship to retail, advertise and hope for the best."

Let us know your thoughts in the forums below. Do you agree with the points made? If so, what do you think the industry as a whole and games publishers specifically can do to overcome these deeply entrenched problems.

(Source: GameDaily.com)