Rovio boss Peter Vesterbacka has fired off at console developers at the South by Southwest Interactive conference held in Austin.
Vesterbacka, whose company is responsible for the mega-hit mobile phone game Angry Birds, predicted that console games on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 are “dying” due to a lack of innovation.
Instead, the future lies in mobile and social gaming, where companies are more likely to take creative risks, Vesterbacka said.
Vesterbacka also criticised the high price of traditional console games, which regularly exceed $100 at the time of release. By contrast, an average Apple iPhone game costs around $3.
Despite his bold claims about the rise of ‘social’ gaming, Vesterbacka went on to downplay the ‘casual vs hardcore’ debate. According to Vesterbacka , Angry Birds players can be just as involved and addicted as console gamers.
Vesterbacka acknowledged that mobile game companies were still “figuring out” how to create a successful business model. Angry Birds – which is available for free at the Apple iStore and Android Marketplace – has surpassed an astonishing 100 million downloads. Despite dwarfing Call of Duty: Black Ops in terms of individual purchases, the game has turned a much smaller profit.
We think there will always be room for big budget console and PC game releases. While it's true there has been a dearth of innovation of late, the sophistication of new graphics engines are forever providing new levels of immersion. What do you think? Will games like Angry Birds eventually kill off the likes of Deus Ex and Crysis 2? Let us know in the comments section below...
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