state-of-the-industry
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GDC survey: eSports rising, consoles cresting
The Game Developers Conference revealed its third annual "State of the Industry" survey results, which found that 79 percent of North American game developers believed eSports is a "sustainable business." GDC surveyed over 2,000 developers, 12 percent of which said they are working on an eSports-style, skill-based, competitive multiplayer game. The State of the Industry survey also found that 21 percent of developers said they made most of their profits from microtransactions, whereas 29 percent said "direct sales to consumers or digital sales" was their biggest draw. This compares to 13 percent of the developers surveyed, which pointed to sales at retail as the source of the majority of their profits. Of those surveyed, 41 percent said profits for their companies were higher in 2014 compared to the previous year. Lastly, 56 percent of the polled developers said their current projects would launch on PC and 50 percent said their games would reach smartphones or tablets. 26 percent said they were currently working on a game for PS4 while 22 percent said they were developing an Xbox One game. Head over to GDC's site for a more detailed breakdown of its State of the Industry survey results. [Image: GDC]
GDC: Industry talent favors PS4 development, self-publishing
The Game Developers Conference has released the results of its second annual State of the Industry survey, highlighting trends toward self-publishing and PlayStation 4 platform development. More than 2,600 developers responded to the survey following last year's GDC event, with twenty percent noting an intent to ship their next project for the PlayStation 4. Seventeen percent of surveyed developers foresee an Xbox One release for their next game, while four percent target the Wii U. Smartphones and PC platforms continue to dominate developer focus, however. According to the GDC's survey, 51 percent of respondents want to make their next game for tablets and smartphones, while 52 percent will tackle PC and Mac platforms. This year's survey also revealed a rise in self-publishing and self-funding among developers. 64 percent of surveyed developers reported that they are not partnering with a publisher on their current project, while 52 percent revealed that existing company funds provided financial backing. More developers have turned to Kickstarter since last year's survey, as 11 percent of respondents are crowdfunding their current projects, compared to last year's 4 percent. [Image: Sony]
