Crutch Games

You can draw quite a number of paralells between game publishing and music publishing. For starters, both support a number of both major-league and minor-league companies who do the publishing, and fans of the output of the major players have usually never heard of the output of the minor players whose fans, in turn, treat the produce of the major players with undisguised contempt. In both fields it is not uncommon for those at the artistic end of the industry to create their own tiny publishing companies to ensure their efforts can reach the small section of the public who are aware of them. It also not uncommon for small publishers to rely on one major signing for income - but here we see a major difference. In the music world, such labels normally use their income to keep funding new and exciting bands. Similarly in gaming some publishers with a big title on their hands use the proceeds to keep funding new and exciting games, but unlike the music industry a minority of publishers or designers just sit on their golden egg like it will keep them in business forever: their one marketable product has become a crutch game.