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==Game development== The core development process for a console game is very similar to its counterparts and primarily differs in the high level concept due to demographics<ref name="RollingsAdams2003_2">{{cite book |author1=Andrew Rollings |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qc19ChiOUI4C |title=Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams on Game Design |author2=Ernest Adams |publisher=New Riders |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-59273-001-8 |page=174}}</ref> and the technical back-end.<ref name="CrawfordCrawford1984">{{cite book |author1=Linda L Crawford |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H0k1NgAACAAJ |title=The Art of Computer Game Design: Reflections of a Master Game Designer |author2=Chris Crawford |date=January 1, 1984 |publisher=McGraw-Hill Osborne Media |isbn=978-0-07-881117-3 |page=46 |quote=Finally, my experience in game design is primarily with personal computers, so my suggestions are not completely applicable to arcade game designers or home video game designers.}}</ref> Consoles developers will usually make a development kit available to game developers which they can use to test their games on with more ease than a consumer model. Early console games were commonly created by a single person and could be changed in a short amount of time due to the simplicity of the games at the time.<ref name="RollingsAdams2003">{{cite book |author1=Andrew Rollings |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qc19ChiOUI4C |title=Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams on Game Design |author2=Ernest Adams |publisher=New Riders |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-59273-001-8 |page=13}}</ref> As technology has improved, the development time, complexity and cost of console games has increased dramatically,<ref name="Fullerton2008-2">{{cite book |author=Tracy Fullerton |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OjIYWtqWxtAC |title=Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games |date=February 8, 2008 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0-240-80974-8 |page=238 |quote=The de facto standard language for today’s PC and console games has been C++ for a number of years}}</ref> to where the size of a team for an eighth generation game can number in the hundreds.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Credits – Battlelog / Battlefield 4 |url=https://battlelog.battlefield.com/bf4/credits/ |access-date=April 15, 2017 |website=battlelog.battlefield.com |language=en}}</ref> Similarly, the [[Game programming|programming languages]] used in video game development has changed over time with early games being developed primarily in assembly. As time went on developers had more choice on what they could use based on the availability on the console but some languages became more popular than others.<ref name="Fullerton2008-22">{{cite book |author=Tracy Fullerton |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OjIYWtqWxtAC |title=Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games |date=February 8, 2008 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0-240-80974-8 |page=238 |quote=The de facto standard language for today’s PC and console games has been C++ for a number of years}}</ref> In comparison to PC and mobile games, console game developers must consider the limitations of the hardware their game is being developed for, as it is unlikely to have any major changes between the development phase and release. PC and mobile technology progresses quickly and there are many different configurations of their hardware and software. This is beneficial at the start of a console's life cycle, as the technology will be cutting edge, but as the console ages, developers are forced to work with ageing hardware until the next generation of consoles is released. Earlier consoles games could be developed to take advantage of the fixed limitations of the consoles they were developed for, such as the [[MegaDrive]]'s capability of fast scrolling influencing design decisions made for ''Sonic the Hedgehog''.<ref name="Schell2008">{{cite book |author=Jesse Schell |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LP5xOYMjQKQC |title=The Art of Game Design: A book of lenses |date=August 4, 2008 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0-12-369496-6 |page=407}}</ref> ===Console development kits=== {{Main|Game development kit}} Console or game development kits are specialized hardware units that typically include the same components as the console and additional chips and components to allow the unit to be connected to a computer or other monitoring device for debugging purposes. A console manufacturer will make the console's dev kit available to registered developers months ahead of the console's planned launch to give developers time to prepare their games for the new system. These initial kits will usually be offered under special confidentiality clauses to protect trade secrets of the console's design, and will be sold at a high cost to the developer as part of keeping this confidentiality.<ref name="fund game dev">{{cite book | title = Fundamentals of Game Design | first =Earnst | last = Adams | page = 105 | date = 2014 | isbn = 9780321929679 | publisher = [[New Riders Press]] }}</ref> Newer consoles that share features in common with personal computers may no longer use specialized dev kits, though developers are still expected to register and purchase access to [[software development kit]]s from the manufacturer. For example, any consumer [[Xbox One]] can be used for game development after paying a fee to Microsoft to register one intent to do so.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.polygon.com/2016/3/30/11318568/xbox-one-dev-kit | title = Starting today, anyone can turn their Xbox One into a dev kit for free | first = Brian | last = Crecente | date = March 30, 2016 | access-date = July 31, 2020 | work = [[Polygon (website)|Polygon]] | archive-date = September 2, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210902105644/https://www.polygon.com/2016/3/30/11318568/xbox-one-dev-kit | url-status = live }}</ref> ===Licensing=== Since the release of the Nintendo Famicom / Nintendo Entertainment System, most video game console manufacturers employ a strict licensing scheme that limit what games can be developed for it. Developers and their publishers must pay a fee, typically based on [[Royalty payment|royalty]] per unit sold, back to the manufacturer. The cost varies by manufacturer but was estimated to be about {{USD|3-10}} per unit in 2012. With additional fees, such as branding rights, this has generally worked out to be an industry-wide 30% royalty rate paid to the console manufacturer for every game sold.<ref name="ign licensing">{{Cite web | url = https://www.ign.com/articles/2006/05/06/the-economics-of-game-publishing | title = The Economics of Game Publishing | first = Ralph | last = Edwards | date = May 6, 2020 | access-date = August 11, 2020 | work = [[IGN]] | archive-date = May 20, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210520180001/https://www.ign.com/articles/2006/05/06/the-economics-of-game-publishing | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-19/epic-games-fortnite-battle-with-apple-and-google-can-be-traced-to-nintendo-tax | title = Epic's Battle With Apple and Google Actually Dates Back to Pac-Man | first1 = Takahashi | last1 = Mochizuki | first2 = Vlad | last2 = Savov | date = August 25, 2020 | access-date = August 25, 2020 | work = [[Bloomberg News]] | archive-date = November 6, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211106025128/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-19/epic-games-fortnite-battle-with-apple-and-google-can-be-traced-to-nintendo-tax | url-status = live }}</ref> This is in addition to the cost of acquiring the dev kit to develop for the system. The licensing fee may be collected in a few different ways. In the case of Nintendo, the company generally has controlled the production of game cartridges with its lockout chips and optical media for its systems, and thus charges the developer or publisher for each copy it makes as an upfront fee. This also allows Nintendo to review the game's content prior to release and veto games it does not believe appropriate to include on its system. This had led to over 700 unlicensed games for the NES,<ref>{{cite book | title = The NES Encyclopedia: Every Game Released for the Nintendo Entertainment System | first = Chris | last= Scullion | date = 2019 | chapter = Unlicensed Games | pages= 216 | publisher = Pen & Sword Books Ltd. | isbn = 978-1526737823 }}</ref> and numerous others on other Nintendo cartridge-based systems that had found ways to bypass the hardware lockout chips and sell without paying any royalties to Nintendo, such as by Atari in its subsidiary company [[Tengen (company)|Tengen]].<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.vice.com/en/article/how-third-party-game-devs-reverse-engineered-their-way-onto-your-consoles-nintendo-sega-atari/ | title = How Third-Party Game Devs Reverse-Engineered Their Way Onto Your Consoles (and Into Your Heart) | first = Ernie | last = Smith | date = March 18, 2017 | access-date = August 11, 2020 | work = [[Vice (magazine)|Vice]] | archive-date = June 20, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200620183356/https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/9amg87/how-third-party-game-devs-reverse-engineered-their-way-onto-your-consoles-nintendo-sega-atari | url-status = live }}</ref> This licensing approach was similarly used by most other cartridge-based console manufacturers using lockout chip technology.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Production Protection to Copy(right) Protection: From the 10NES to DVDs | first = Casey | last = O'Donnell | journal = IEEE Annals of the History of Computing | pages =54–63 | volume = 31 | issue = 3 | doi = 10.1109/MAHC.2009.49 | date =2009 | s2cid = 14026551 }}</ref> With optical media, where the console manufacturer may not have direct control on the production of the media, the developer or publisher typically must establish a licensing agreement to gain access to the console's proprietary storage format for the media as well as to use the console and manufacturer's logos and branding for the game's packaging, paid back through royalties on sales.<ref name="ign licensing"/> In the transition to digital distribution, where now the console manufacturer runs digital storefronts for games, license fees apply to registering a game for distribution on the storefront{{snd}} again gaining access to the console's branding and logo{{snd}} with the manufacturer taking its cut of each sale as its royalty.<ref name="ign licensing"/> In both cases, this still gives console manufacturers the ability to review and reject games it believes unsuitable for the system and deny licensing rights. With the rise of [[indie game development]], the major console manufacturers have all developed entry level routes for these smaller developers to be able to publish onto consoles at far lower costs and reduced royalty rates. Programs like Microsoft's [[ID@Xbox]] give developers most of the needed tools for free after validating the small development size and needs of the team.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.destructoid.com/what-do-indie-developers-think-about-the-id-xbox-program--272223.phtml | title=What do indie developers think about the ID@Xbox program? | work=Destructoid | first=Brett | last=Makedonski | date=March 20, 2014 | access-date=February 7, 2015 | archive-date=November 26, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126034955/https://www.destructoid.com/what-do-indie-developers-think-about-the-id-xbox-program--272223.phtml | url-status=dead }}</ref> Similar licensing concepts apply for third-party accessory manufacturers.<ref name="ign licensing"/>
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