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If your passion is video games, you probably already know what we mean by AAA video games. It is even possible that your great goal is to work, someday, in the development of a triple A game. Therefore, in this post we will talk about this rating, its origin, present and future. If you are interested, keep reading!
Three A video games, a successful advertising label
The AAA video games, commonly known as triple A, are those developed by large companies in the industry with high development and marketing costs. If you are more into movies, these are the blockbusters of the industry. As an example, the one that illustrates the post: the best-selling game in 2017, Call of Duty: WWII (developed by Sledgehammer Games and published by Activision).
This rating is informal, it has no regulation and, in fact, there are different interpretations of its meaning. Perhaps, to understand it better, the ideal is to go to its origin!
The term AAA video game emerged in the second half of the 1990s as an advertising label. The big developers of the time, such as Electronic Arts or Sony, began to use it at conventions to refer to the video games that involved more investment and from which they expected a greater return.
In this way, they generated a great media buzz and prepared the ground for a greater impact on their target audience. If we are still talking about triple A video games in 2018, it's because it was such a success!
One of the high points of triple-A video games was experienced a decade ago with the seventh-generation video game consoles. Investments in the marketing of major titles equaled development costs, putting them on a par with movie campaigns. As an example, Rockstar Games invested in Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) $100 million, a figure it would surpass in the fifth installment (2013) with $265 million.
Present and future of AAA video games
If we refer to AAAAA video games only in terms of investment, a project that passes the $15 million barrier can be considered within the category. The average investment is around $50 million, with projects that put development before marketing and others that are capable of quadrupling advertising costs compared to purely creative work.
The last major milestone in triple-A video games is Destiny (2014): Activision acknowledges a total investment of $500 million, making it the most expensive of all time. This is very significant, as since the middle of this decade there has been a great transformation in the industry and in the treatment of this type of projects.
Large development companies are increasingly aware that one misstep, one bad sales rate, can end their existence. Some, such as Epic Games, have eliminated triple A projects and are prioritizing the game as service model: it has certainly worked for them, just look at the bombshell that Fortnite (2017) has been.
This does not mean that these productions are over. In fact, the current eighth generation of video game consoles has generated more expenses, but it has also been able to create new ways to recoup the large investments.
How do you earn new revenue? Through subscriptions, premium models with exclusive extras, expansions, the possibility of purchasing content or additional integrated functionalities. In addition, the transfer of the developed software and the elimination of much of the physical format has also brought joy to the accounts of the companies. This new model is called AAA+.
However, the most critical voices with the big video games, coming from the sector itself, criticize the excess of marketing, the reiteration of old formulas and lack of originality. As happens in the cinema, the most ambitious investments are directed towards large series, sagas or established brands.
In the face of the lack of creativity and as a collateral effect, a whole universe of video gamesindies has emerged that do take risks with new themes and technological innovations. In fact, the concept Triple-i has appeared to catalog those projects that are really ambitious on a creative level and/or with a good budget achieved outside the industry.
Some of these video games have achieved successes of enormous magnitude, such as Minecraft (2011), a true phenomenon from Sweden's Mojang that has opened the door to other independent developers and has taught new paths to the established industry itself.
As explained by video game professionals, gamers and specialized media, the triple A label should ideally be used for those projects that combine originality, quality and excellent response from critics and the public.
However, the AAA video game is still the great standard that indicates a project to keep track of! Even more: it is the Holy Grail for any developer, that project that every professional wants to work on at least once.
To reach such a project, it is necessary to have a great talent, but also to have acquired advanced technical knowledge. Over several months, sometimes years, you must be able to work with the utmost precision and integrated into teams of hundreds of people. For example, Ubisoft had more than 900 people in different parts of the world working on Assassin's Creed Origins (2017) for more than two years.
If you share the dream of working on a triple-A project, you're just in time to get closer to it. At FX ANIMATION Barcelona 3D & Film School we teach the Career specialized in 3D Art and Design for Video Games and the Master in 3D Art and Design for Video Games, whose next editions will start in autumn 2019.
Alongside our team, you will immerse yourself from day one in the most current techniques, creative processes and software. For example, you will become a great expert in Houdini, the most used VFX tool in big companies, learning with certified teachers: remember that we are a Houdini Official Training Center by Side FX! At our school you will receive the necessary training to work on projects that require excellence down to the smallest detail, in a practical way that will allow you to quickly integrate into any development company.
Check out all the information and contact us, you will be closer to working on big video game projects!
