[rrmoelker]

They deserve it, but I've heard some rumors that game programmers are pushed to their limits with deadlines and cuts.

I've got a feeling marketing is eating up most of the budget for all AAA titles. I can understand seeing how consumers seem to love the hype train. Does anybody have a clue on the actual size of marketing in big productions? I couldn't find any facts.

[CliffyA]

From a 2009 article, "EA now typically spends two or three times as much on marketing and advertising as it does on developing a game." http://venturebeat.com/2009/08/26/eas-chief-creative-officer...

And there's some random numbers throughout history in this article, such as Modern Warfare 2 costing $40 to $50 milion to develop and a total launch cost of $200 million. http://kotaku.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-make-a-big-video-...

And yes game dev is a lot of hours for less pay than your fantastic Silicon Valley wages.