SAN FRANCISCO: The booming popularity of play on smartphones or tablet computers in a realm once dominated by videogame consoles was a hot theme at the major Game Developers Conference that ended here on Friday.
Seminars, talks and panels ran the gamut from how to get smartphone games noticed in the growing sea of “apps” to behind-the-scenes looks at the creation of blockbusters tailored for consoles or personal computers.
“You are seeing this massive cornucopia of games now,” Tech Savvy videogame analyst Scott Steinberg said on the final day of the weeklong GDC. “There is an explosion in the type and variety of games and a tremendous number of ways to play.”
The power of small studios and independent developers has risen along with demand for fresh and entertaining games to play on mobile devices or online as services in the Internet “cloud.”
Meanwhile, new-generation consoles from Microsoft and Sony are expected to be released this year, reviving interest in immersive blockbuster titles while ramping up connections to content streamed online.
Industry tracker ABI Research said that successful launches of new Xbox and PlayStation models later this year could get console sales growing again after years of decline. “Mobile gaming has certainly diminished the opportunities for console manufacturers in the casual game market and this has impacted Nintendo the hardest,” said ABI analyst Sam Rosen.
“The evolving business models and added competition have also created additional pricing pressures that encourage price cuts sooner than manufacturers would like.” ABI said that Nintendo’s freshly-released Wii U console has faced a “challenging market” since the Japanese firm shipped nearly three million units during the holiday season at the end of last year.
Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, along with established videogame titans, wooed developers at GDC while independent mobile game makers shared tips on how navigate the expanding world of play. Games remain the most popular applications downloaded to mobile devices. Hit games are “absolutely vital” to the success of smartphones or tablets and have expanded the range of players, Windows Phone senior marketing manager Casey McGee said while at GDC to promote the software giant’s mobile platform.
McGee contended that players are demanding games that can be played in small doses on the move as well as titles to enjoy at home on consoles when time provides.
AfP
