Angry Birds Exec Says Console Games Are Dying 350
RedEaredSlider writes "Angry Birds marketing lead Peter Vesterbacka went on the offensive today against his console counterparts, arguing that the model pursued by companies like Nintendo is 'dying.' In a panel discussion at the South by Southwest Interact conference in Austin, Texas, Vesterbacka said that innovation wasn't coming from large development firms like EA and Ubisoft, but from smaller, more nimble developers like his own. Vesterbacka also pointed to the major concern over the price model for console games. Compared to mobile titles like Angry Birds that run for 99 cents, games on large consoles hover around fifty dollars. Still, the executive did admit that the business model for mobile games had yet to be completely figured out."
Duh? (Score:2, Interesting)
The market penetration of game consoles has been decreasing ever since the 80's.
And now smartphones are taking over. Only caveat is they market is even more fragmented as consoles were in the mid 80's. In those days there was basically one major console at a time. Now we have many smartphone OSes and handsets at a time.
How Ironic (Score:4, Interesting)
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Re:News at 11 (Score:4, Interesting)
Which part exactly do you have a problem with? The generic soccer mom stereotype was perhaps a bit much, but the rest is all true. Those of us that have seen games improve since the 70s and 80s don't really appreciate the steps backwards that are being caused by those who suddenly have noticed that computer games can be fun. The thing is that most of these people suck at games though, and won't enjoy anything remotely complex. I saw an interview with a World of Goo creator who said that the comments pages of mobile versions of the game were filled with morons who ask incredibly dumb questions that never get asked by people using the PC and console versions. They even added a "skip level" button for those that can't be bothered to actually play the game.
Re:News at 11 (Score:4, Interesting)
>> Before there were consoles or handhelds, there was only PC gaming.
The above comment is inaccurate and makes the rest of your post suspect.
Consoles were there in the 70s and early 80s, then "died" (or went through a protracted "dry spell," as you say), then came back during the late 80s, just in time for PCs to finally not suck and start competing.
Unless you are including microcomputers under the "PC" label (which is a stretch, to say the least), such as the Apple II and the Commodore 64. Oh wait, the Atari 2600 and the Intellivision were already entrenched in the home-gaming mainstream market for at least 3 years by the time those two started seriously competing as video game machines.
And if you factor in the hand-held single-game machines, such as those by Mattel-Electronics, Texas Instruments, Casio, and just about anybody who made silicone chips back in the day, you can put "mobile" gaming devices almost 10 years before even the venerable Mode X in DOS was popularized.
The point is that the trend has always been to go from niche to mainstream by way of commoditization and personalization of the devices. DIY kits gave way to ready-made micro-computers; early arcade machines gave way to home video game machines; and so it seems natural that complex, custom-rigged PCs will be displaced eventually by simpler, cheaper, and more personal commodity devices like mobile phones or tablets.
-dZ.
Re:News at 11 (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm aware of this. I have helped out many uninformed people when doing IT support. There is a big difference between the morons, and those that choose to learn. They both start off in the same place, but the morons stay at the "don't want to know, just make it work already damnit!" level, while the not-morons ask questions and try to help themselves first before relying on others.
Have a look at this interview [2dboy.com]. Here are some nice comments from some true morons:
“I don’t know how the heck you do this!!!!!!!!!! “Drag and drop to build the pipe”? WHAT???? Somebody please tell me how to do this!”
“I’m only on the 6th level and I hate this game. Levels are ridiculously hard from the start and are just stupid. I spent an hour on one level and still cannot beat it. Screw this crap. Worst. Purchase. Ever.”
“Don’t get it, it will get you very frustrated if you don’t beat a level bottom line don’t get it”