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Good thoughts!
In the end, "Triple-A" is nothing more to me than a term I never use and absolutely hate to read/hear.
In the end, "Triple-A" is nothing more to me than a term I never use and absolutely hate to read/hear.
I always thought AAA was just a loose term to dictate budget. Essentially the diametric opposite of indie.
I was also confused about AAA and other "ratings" because the first things I think about when I see AAA are "American Anthropological Association" and AAA batteries. Then recently someone explained to me the AAA, A, B whatever. Nice post!
The budget-and-media-blitz definition is the most realistic... especially the media blitz since development budgets scale up or down depending on their platform. AAA games are the ones even non-gamers might have heard about and the ones everyone who actually pays attention is probably sick of hearing about by the time they launch.
Let's take Modern Warfare 2 as our example AAA game. Huge budget, huge sales, although to be honest... so-so. I didn't find it very compelling at all.
Lost Planet 2 is a commercial failure but it had the money behind it, at least people know what you're talking about lol. I'd say it's still AAA even if it's not great or popular.
Demon's Souls was probably a pretty expensive game to develop, but when Atlus released it here there was like no marketing whatsoever and it succeeded on praise from the press and everyone who's played it. Not AAA.
I haven't played Blacklight but it's pretty clear that the developer's intention was to focus on doing an awesome job on the core features of a FPS game... graphics, multiplayer, gameplay, level-up perks... and save money skipping stuff like campaign mode, story, advertizing, doing the menus really quick, etc. It should be possible to pull off, maybe not this time. Maybe Blacklight 2: Tango Down Harder will nail it.
Let's take Modern Warfare 2 as our example AAA game. Huge budget, huge sales, although to be honest... so-so. I didn't find it very compelling at all.
Lost Planet 2 is a commercial failure but it had the money behind it, at least people know what you're talking about lol. I'd say it's still AAA even if it's not great or popular.
Demon's Souls was probably a pretty expensive game to develop, but when Atlus released it here there was like no marketing whatsoever and it succeeded on praise from the press and everyone who's played it. Not AAA.
I haven't played Blacklight but it's pretty clear that the developer's intention was to focus on doing an awesome job on the core features of a FPS game... graphics, multiplayer, gameplay, level-up perks... and save money skipping stuff like campaign mode, story, advertizing, doing the menus really quick, etc. It should be possible to pull off, maybe not this time. Maybe Blacklight 2: Tango Down Harder will nail it.
Unfortunately, I have to agree with your cynical definition. Blacklight:Tango Down, to me, is proof of this concept.
Companies often call themselves AAA so that they can appear first in the phone book. So if you need to call a tow truck, the first number you'll see in the phonebook is AAA Towing, and so you may be more likely to call them.
A AAA game is basically the first game you think of in a specific genre or on a specific console. If someone says "What's a good 3rd person action game?", God of War 3 is likely to be the first to come to mind. That's all it means really.
A AAA game is basically the first game you think of in a specific genre or on a specific console. If someone says "What's a good 3rd person action game?", God of War 3 is likely to be the first to come to mind. That's all it means really.
I think it is the name of a car or something else. What do you say...?
Acai Max Cleanse
Acai Max Cleanse
I think I would have to agree with your more cynical response. It does seem to be a made up phrase. How can something like Blacklight be AAA, but something like Portal not be? It's somewhat of an arbitrary phrase.
I think AAA is thrown around all too much and its become meaningless. I think AAA should mean of extremely high quality or the best of the best. I don't think you can shoot for a AAA game, but after the fact you can go...hm you know, Super Mario Galaxy is the best 3D platformer I've ever played - AAA title.
In the state of the industry today AAA means a combination of budget, franchise, pedigree (developer/publisher), media coverage, hype, etc. Which is all a bunch of bullshit really. Plenty of "AAA games" turn out to be utter shit.
In the state of the industry today AAA means a combination of budget, franchise, pedigree (developer/publisher), media coverage, hype, etc. Which is all a bunch of bullshit really. Plenty of "AAA games" turn out to be utter shit.
AAA titles are what critics expect to enjoy massive success.
On my end, it doesn't matter what rating or score they give a game. If it's considered AAA, or not worth a second look.
If I enjoy it, I'll play it, regardless of budget and critical success. If I dislike it, I couldn't care less how many people loved it, and how much they loved it, I won't get it.
On my end, it doesn't matter what rating or score they give a game. If it's considered AAA, or not worth a second look.
If I enjoy it, I'll play it, regardless of budget and critical success. If I dislike it, I couldn't care less how many people loved it, and how much they loved it, I won't get it.
I was just asking myself that question yesterday, when reading a comment by Peter Molyneux who is on record for say "Triple A is here to stay", as though a concept contrary to that was in question.
In that interview, he was being asked if "casual" or "social" gaming was going to take over. His response was that both casual and AAA games can exist together.
To me, that implies that to Molyneux, AAA means big budget, complicated controls, and mandatory time investment. I doubt he would classify Mario Galaxy 2 as AAA.
To me, AAA is just a rank. It's the same as 9/10 and 10/10. So for me, Castle Crashers, No More Heroes 2, and Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations are all AAA games.
That's just my opinion though, which is why I would never use the term "AAA" in any objective way.
In that interview, he was being asked if "casual" or "social" gaming was going to take over. His response was that both casual and AAA games can exist together.
To me, that implies that to Molyneux, AAA means big budget, complicated controls, and mandatory time investment. I doubt he would classify Mario Galaxy 2 as AAA.
To me, AAA is just a rank. It's the same as 9/10 and 10/10. So for me, Castle Crashers, No More Heroes 2, and Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations are all AAA games.
That's just my opinion though, which is why I would never use the term "AAA" in any objective way.
