Epic's Mike Capps: Game industry at 'an inflection point'
According to Epic president Mike Capps, the times are definitely a-changing for the games industry. Capps recently told Industry Gamers that the future of the games industry has not been so "uncertain" in twenty years. He questioned whether or not physical retail distribution of games will still exist in five to ten years, what will become of next-generation consoles and how PC gaming will fare.
His number one concern, however, seems to be the current trend of incredibly cheap mobile games. The one thing "killing" traditional game creators, said Capps, is "dollar apps," adding that it could be hard to sell a $60 game to a consumer used to paying pennies.
Capps isn't the first traditional game creator to express concern over the ever-growing stream of cheap games. During a GDC keynote earlier this year, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata had harsh words for inexpensive mobile games, asking whether or not they really offer a "high value." Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime recently offered similar comments, noting that Nintendo isn't interested in publishing the work of inexperienced developers, a stark contrast to the relatively open publishing structures in iOS and Android development.
Of course, mobile developers aren't keeping quiet. Peter Vesterbacka, head of Angry Birds developer Rovio, recently fired back at Fils-Aime, stating that it made sense for traditional game publishers to defend their "$49 piece of plastic." For what it's worth, while Capps admits that times are uncertain, they are also "exciting" for developers and publishers that make the right choices. In other words, there's going to be a showdown.
