There's a lot in the papers right now about next generation being the last console generation, and accordingly, a lot in the papers about the "death" of so-called "traditional", time and concentration-intensive gaming versus the explosion of mobile software. Insomniac Games CEO Ted Price reckons you all need to calm down and see sense. One way of playing a game doesn't exclude another, given a bit of flexibility on the part of developers.
"I'll go back and reference a historical point. 7 or 8 years ago, people said PC was dead," he told me at a preview event for Fuse, the Ratchet studio's promising squad shooter. "What's happened to PC? Thanks to digital distribution, Steam and other services, PC has come roaring back.
"And that's great! I can tailor my play styles to what I'm doing. If I've got a few hours at home, I can fire up my console. If I'm in line at a coffee shop, I'm updating my Clash of Clans base, or playing Candy Crush Saga. I've been playing that a ridiculous amount.
"It's all good from the games industry's perspective as we have many more players coming in. It's just that change is hard to swallow. It's hard for companies to deal with sometimes. We're in an industry that's changing faster than ever and we have to accept that we're going to change too."
Insomniac is well-positioned to move with the times, on the face of it - besides a new ultra-efficient proprietary engine that's "built to last", the company has diversified into browser gaming with social role-player Outernauts. Fuse is due out in March this year.
3 comments so far...
CunningSmile on 15 Feb '13 said:
I'll go back a bit further and point out the number of people in the 1940's who claimed film was dead as everyone was buying televisions. 70 odd years later we're still packing out cinemas and buying DVDs. There will always been room for stuff that requires more than ten minutes on the bus to play, because not everyone wants their gaming to consist of just playing Angry Birds. Anyone who wants plot and variety will still be turning on the console for an evenings play.
Drainwater on 15 Feb '13 said:
And, you know, it's hard to scream obscenities at someone who just shot you in your game on your ipad...
Sandbwoy on 16 Feb '13 said:
Console gaming is insanely popular, it would be ridiculous to think that it would just suddenly die out like that. As long as there's demand for it, companies will continue to release consoles. I suppose times are changing, but that doesn't mean it's time to dig a grave for console gaming. Games on mobiles and tablets are nowhere near as good as console blockbusters.