For the last few generations, consoles have been met with successors that have sought to capitalise on their predecessors with more power, better hardware and impressive visuals. But is this predictable cycle coming to an end soon, with consoles being less interested in creating a game that is one step away from photorealism?
THQ boss Brian Farrell, while speaking at Gamesbeat 2011, thinks so. "We believe Apple is going to be there, Google is going to be there. Our view is that the next generation of consoles, if there are consoles, are going to be less about technology and more about service orientation of the gamer.â€
“The dedicated handheld market is going to find an audience, but it isn’t going to be as broad because of the competition from other operating systems. What the market is telling us, is consumers want a very quickly consumable mobile experience; it doesn’t necessarily have to be deep.â€
Apple and Google have had success recently with a wide variety of media, and with a loyal following numbering in the millions, its not hard to see the two industry giants venturing into gaming territory, albeit a market that they will probably populate with smaller, instant games that are focused on gamers on the move. something that EA has gotten a head start on with the acquisition of Popcap games.
Source: Computerandvideogames.com
Last Updated: July 14, 2011