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LFTE: The Industry Is At A Crossroads (April 10)
Having just returned from the DICE Summit in Las Vegas, where most of gaming’s best and brightest gathered to discuss the issues of the day, I found it odd that so many of the answers proposed about the future direction of gaming were so polarized.
From pontificating on the puzzling success of Farmville to discussions on the route to successful downloadable content, just about everyone I spoke to had a different idea of our industry’s future. The problem I see with where we are today is that everyone keeps declaring that his or her future is the only future that can possibly come to be. I don’t think that things need to be so binary.
I know my tastes, and I’m presuming the tastes of many who read this magazine, are geared toward the blockbusters. These big-budget, massive undertakings define the game consoles as they are today, and have been for years. But even though my tastes are defined and driven by these games, that doesn’t mean I can’t love the games that appear on Xbox Live, PSN, or WiiWare. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. I find these games charming and surprisingly refreshing, as game developers can take more chances and create products that would never make sense to risk a $40 million budget to create.
The same can be said for the mobile or browser-based gaming experiences. Ultimately, games are games, but I don’t think that just because I love a game on my phone that console games are going the way of the dodo as I so often hear. Hollywood delivers both blockbuster movies and low-budget TV programming. So can games.
As gaming continues to define itself as the entertainment medium of today and tomorrow, many new and exciting doors will open to this industry. But just because we open new doors doesn’t mean that we have to close old ones. Sure, Farmville has 80 million users, but don’t forget that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 made over a billion dollars for a reason.
The industry needs to stop saying there is only a singular future, and embrace the fact that games are in demand anywhere and everywhere they can be found, and will be for the foreseeable future.
Enjoy the issue. Cheers.
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