Are big publishers becoming dinosaurs?

Source 1: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/187542/44_of_surveyed_game_developers_plan_to_try_crowdfunding.php#.UTLTeDAe2So

Source 2: http://gamasutra.com/view/news/187292/GDC_State_of_the_Industry_research_exposes_rise_of_indies_smartphone_games.php#.UTLXAzAe2So

Source 3: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribble#Physiology

For a long time, the majority of the gaming market has been dominated by the big name publishers. Indie games were small and obscure, often only gaining widespread recognition if picked up by a publisher. As of this year, the top 20 Publishers in the world are (from 1st spot to 20th) Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, Capcom, Warner Bros. Interactive, Ubisoft, Konami, Sega, Activision Blizzard, Namco Bandai Games, Take-Two Interactive, Telltale Games, Square Enix, Bethesda Softworks, THQ, Altus, Xseed Games, Paradox Interactive, and Focus Home Interactive. The list goes on, actually. Many developers become tied to a publisher as the cost of development is often high, and few smaller developers can afford to make and also distribute their games.

At least, that's how it used to be.

This year, a survey done at the Game Developers Conference found that a whopping 44% of developers were planning to get their funding through crowdfunding (EG. Kickstarter) (see Source 1). Phenomenally, an even larger 53% of the developers surveyed considered themselves "indie." These numbers keep growing, as success after success of crowdfunding spring forth. Does this signify a massive change in how game development is going to be funded? 

Just as with the F2P movement, crowdfunding is not only here to stay, it is becoming a thriving model for financing game development. Between the likes of Double Fine and OUYA, crowdfunding as a primary source of income for developers is proving to be not only viable for developers, but a hit with consumers. Big name publishers often restrict game content and all too often meddle in the development process of games made by external development studios, which time and again ha resulted in the games releasing either buggy or with cut corners, especially in the last couple of years. External development studios also often have their hands tied and are caught into suffocating contracts to these publishers as well. Is it any wonder that many developers are reluctant to seek financing from a big name publisher?

Now another option has not only shown itself, it's quickly becoming a viable option. Many indie developers have begun crowdfunding their games, and thanks to the digital distribution and widespread advertising available thanks to things like Steam's Greenlight, many amazing games are coming out that are not in the clutches of the big name publishers. Sure, those publishers aren't biting the dust yet, but as THQ showed us, they're not invincible Gods. Between mergers and bankruptcies and poor sales and layoffs, the giants of the game industry are slowly but surely dying off, one by one, while indie developers funded by crowdfunding are multiplying and thriving like a commune of tribbles on viagra (see Source 3).

Does this spell the doom of big publishers? I'm not so sure. But I do feel that they are definitely no longer the only option on the block, and will soon enough go the way of the formerly standard subscription model of MMO games.

~Peter J.T. Langdon