Ashmo said:
With a good number, because a number still share the same mentality as the publishers. It's also the only way that some of them can afford to "play ball" with the publishers at the bloated overhead distribution "cost" many of them charge to distribute a game. Taking out ads and packaging costs is nowhere near what they require taken from the sale to the stores, and therefore the publisher gets bloated, loses focus, and in turn implodes upon itself when it is proven they are the marketing dept's bitch. The developer is often screwed in the deal, which happens often, which is another reason why I loathe many publishers. They are in fact stifling the creativity and ambition of many by screwing them over, and therefore another developer decides that there's better work in another industry.
It's something I try to teach some of the kids who occasionally wander onto the forums fanboying for someone, but it usually can't be comprehended by them.
While I do have to tip my hat to a number of European development teams, there's only a very few from France I consider to be much worth.
Delphine and a couple of others, perhaps. The rest, including Titus' development, seem to be little more than license whores and cheap clone-on-clone action. It's this kind of mentality that is not just harming the industry at large, it's making shitty licensed property games even shittier, if that can be imagined. The French Invasion of the game industry needs to be stopped somehow before they manage to turn the industry even more spineless than it is already.
Too many to count (EIDOS, UBI Soft, etc.), and more are infesting the industry already.
For a good parallel on what it's like to be in a media industry that is about as problematic as the music industry, check out this page.