Consoles might have dominated the gaming industry five years ago, but they’re no match for… smartphones and tablets. Honestly, five years ago, I’d probably have slapped me for saying that. Actually, I wouldn’t have known what a tablet even was.
“I would argue that one of the least interesting things about the games industry was that every 5 years you’d see a new console or platform from everybody at about the same time with about the same or similar upgrades or services,” EA’s John Riccitiello tells IndustryGamers.
“You’d sort of harvest it and then it’d cycle back. We got used to it. It’s what seemed normal. But it’s not a particularly smart way to run an industry… bulges in technology investment followed by harvest. And let’s be realistic. Consoles used to be 80% of the industry as recently as 2000. Consoles today are 40% of the game industry, so what do we really have?”
On the subject of whether or not Nintendo’s Wii U is launching “too late”, Riccitiello reckons it doesn’t even matter.
“We have a new hardware platform and we’re putting out software every 90 days. Our fastest growing platform is the iPad right now and that didn’t exist 18 months ago. So the idea that we’re categorizing the industry as being [cyclical]… Nintendo is off cycle with what? I mean, the point of reference is gone. And so Nintendo is bringing out a new platform that brings together some of what we’re learning from new media and new platforms like the iPad and then integrating that with a console. It’s the perfect time for that in the industry,” he explains.
Is Fruit Ninja really the future, though? Let’s hope not.
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