Mobile gaming – the sort done on smartphones and tablets – is killing the traditional videogame industry. That’s the opinion of many analysts who’ve charted the successes of companies like Rovio and Gree, believing that they’ll soon challenge consoles for hardcore gamers’ hearts. DICE’s GM Karl Magnus Troedsson thinks that’s a load of horse manure.
“People are generally correct that things are changing, and a lot of people in this industry are acknowledging that – some people don’t want to see it, though,” Troedsson said to Edge. “But I would also say the people who are painting such a grim picture of where we’re going are wrong.”
Troedsson admits that a large number of people are playing on mobiles – but believes that it’s actually a good thing.
“Yes, people are playing more on their mobile devices, but I don’t see people playing on other SKUs as a problem for triple-A developers, it’s actually the contrary,” he said. “I think people engaging in any kind of gaming is good for all games, because it means that people will play more.“I consider myself to be a hardcore, triple-A kind of player, and I definitely play more on my mobile devices now, but I don’t play less on my other devices as a result. When I’m home, I want to play games with the absolute most hi-def, best audio, best visuals that I can get out of a gaming session. And that will come from dedicated hardware or a very high-end PC.”
Troedsson believes that no matter how much technology advances or how much power mobile devices start packing, the hardcore will always primarily stick to consoles and PC’s for their gaming fixes.
“There will always be a demand for games that require a lot of hardware to deliver a really hi-def experience,” he said. “Whether that will be delivered by CPUs and memory sitting in your room, or somewhere else, I don’t know. Probably both. But one thing is for sure, people will continue to want to play the best-looking games out there.”
I’ll admit; I’ve increasingly found myself playing simpler – but wholly engaging – games on my tablet and smartphone (Hello, Kingdom Rush!) but I don’t see a handheld or mobile seriously cutting in to my console and PC game time.
No, I have kids for that.
Last Updated: July 2, 2012
