In an interview the MCVUK, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has blamed the current console generation’s unusually long cycle for a lack of innovation in game development, or – as he puts it – “part of the reason why the industry is in depression”.
The Xbox 360 has been out six years now, and the PS3 for five. Guillemot reckons it’s time to move on.
“If we look at the industry’s history we see that there are times when it is right to introduce new IP and times when it is harder,” he says.
“At this stage in the consoles’ lifecycles it is possible to do new IP, but it will be more attractive when new consoles come along. That’s when consumers are more open to trying new things.
“As consoles get more mature it is the big established brands that soak up most of the sales.
“When a new format launches, we look to use the new technology to bring new games and new ideas to our consumers. We would always hope to be more successful on new formats than our competitors.”
Of course, deliberately holding back that innovation until the next console cycle probably doesn’t help anything.
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