I think that i sortof put an unfair light on the industry perhaps with my last bullet point
![Smiley :)](https://pixelation.org/Smileys/snake/smiley.gif)
. First off, i really dont want to scare anyone off from the industry because in all honesty there arent too many careers out there that could be more rewarding when things are going well, the benefits are awesome, the work in general is much more exciting than most other jobs, granted you like doing your job to begin with. I would just like to point out that what crab2 points out is very true. In defense of my positions previously stated, i was pointing out things to be aware/careful of, and was not so much concerned about pointing out the great cool exciting things of the industry (i mean look at the title of the thread
![Tongue :P](https://pixelation.org/Smileys/snake/tongue.gif)
) ... But Crab2 has a really good point... you cant make good money putting out constant crap games. Huge License AAA Titles or titles which are meant to showcase new hardware and such (like Gears of War, Halo x, Ninja Gaiden Black, Final Fantasy XIIIIXIXIXI, etc) are all things that you can count on being great games, and the publishers/developers cant afford to push such titles out and have them not live up to their expectations... but a realist has to understand that this is the pinnacle opportunity in the industry. You cant put yourself into such a position as a developer unless you're a proven developer (which means youve been through your fair share of 'get the titles out the door on schedule' projects)... and then when positions come available to work on those titles, they're searching for the absolute top talent they can find that are available at the time. So while its true, there are many companies out there making great games, they also carry bread and butter licenses which cant afford to falter, or else the value of their hard earned IP falls through the floor, plus they can afford the development costs to ensure such quality. It should just be noted that such a thing is not standard in the industry, its a rather priviledged position to be in. Also, it should be said there are companies out there that are more envisionary than just 'make money', and they may have some financial means to back that up... but unless theyve inherited millions, in order to officially call your operations a 'business', you have to turn a profit so many years in your first 5, and if youre not making a dime in 5 years chances are youre not going to last. ( 2 years is a realistic expectation to turn a team around into something that will break even and begin to make profit). Also, there are smaller platforms (wireless) where cost of development is significantly less, but even then your priority is to pump those babies out quick and with quality so that A. your idea isnt beaten to the marketplace, and B. you have more games making revenue (as this means that cash isnt initially available to you from such games).
Ok sorry for the blurb.
-st0