And they’re not alone, with developers all over trying their luck at something a little bit different – look at Molyneux for example.
Who’s fault is this? Well, Square Enix’s Julien Merceron says that the extended lifetime of this generation (remember, we all expected to be seeing PS4 and Xbox 720 around about now) hasn’t really helped.
In an interview with GI, the company’s worldwide technology director said that “maybe we don’t want long generations”.
“We have Sony and Microsoft talking about this generation lasting 7,8,9 or even 10 years,” he added, “and it’s the biggest mistake they’ve ever made.”
Merceron continues, saying that because of the extended lifespan of the current consoles, developers that would normally wait for the next generation to jump in haven’t been able to do so. “So these developers went elsewhere to see if the grass was greener. They found web browsers, they found iOS, they found other things and a lot of them won’t come back to the hardware platforms.”
“So you could look at it that thanks to Microsoft and Sony and the length of this generation, it helped the emergence of other platforms and helped them get strong before the next hardware comes out.”
It’s a great interview, and perhaps a little lazy to cherry pick such an excerpt, so please head through and read what else he has to say, including thoughts about the uncanny valley and what he thinks next-gen will be all about.
Youles
Well, it’s a shame that some (probably talented) “developers went elsewhere”, however I can’t imagine too many casual facebook gamers are going to help sustain those developers by spending £40 within their browser games. Certainly iOS games seem to be doing incredibly well although there is a lot of free games and competition.
Zephyre
Not sure I get this arguement. Is he basically arguing that because Sony/MS haven’t launched a new console (with the additional games sales this brings) devs are turning to browser/ios games that suffer exactly the same problem? I’m assuming IOS games work the same way as android in as much as you buy it once, you can download as many times as you like.
Forrest_01
“We have Sony and Microsoft talking about this generation lasting 7,8,9 or even 10 years,” he added, “and it’s the biggest mistake they’ve ever made.”
Of course, as we all have the moolah to buy a new console every 2 years don’t we??
Also, since when are Web browser/iOS games greater than full blown console titles? They are usually throw away products that people pick up for 5 minutes & then put down again never to retun. Or is that just me?
Granted, they more than likely cost a hell of a lot less time & money to develop, but is that what we are about now? A quick cash in & sod everything else?
This saddens me.
PA_Kid
Can’t have it both way boys. Are new platforms extremely onerous in the early years for development and ROI or are the lack of new systems pushing devs away?
Forrest_01
Not sure what this has to do with the Republic of Ireland. :)
colmshan1990
Nobody in my country could possibly afford a new console unless they call themselves ‘politician.’
So yes, new platforms are indeed particularly onerous in ROI. :P
KeRaSh
I kind of agree with him. While I understand why Sony and Microsoft want to extend a console’s lifecycle, it does stand in the way of technological advances. Let’s be honest, by today’s standards the PS3 and 360 hardware is pretty limiting. I don’t think the logical next step would be iOS or browser based gaming but more RAM would make things a lot easier for devs, which could lead them to PC development.
We still have very good games coming out for these old consoles but after seeing Watch Dogs I can only imagine what will be possible when the next generation comes around.
TSBonyman
With both PS4 and Xbox8 seemingly on the horizon i think that shows that the oft-mooted ten year cycle doesn’t preclude the next iteration of console appearing alongside. Sony and probably Microsoft too have been working on their next-gen for the last two years, i.e. when PS3 and Xbox were only 4 or 5 years old, so for me the argument that they are stunting progress falls a bit flat.
Anyway, console games and social games are two very different spheres of the gaming world. I can understand why some of the regular game devs have a desire to cash-in on the social game scene and i don’t begrudge them trying to make a fast buck in a market that is all about making a fast buck, but as soon as they pursue casual games at the expense of proper games , that will be the big mistake imo.
So far, the biggest mistakes for me have been the endless dlc, online passes, pre-order exclusives that take the piss by splitting content up,free to play games that for the most part have fuck all to offer sp gamers and operate on a pay to win policy, MP wedged into games that didn’t need it, paying in advance for games that are about 1/5th of the way into development, ntm the foolishness in trying to put core games onto devices that don’t have a control system to make it viable in the first place.
There have been plenty of mistakes alright this gen. They should fix what they are doing before moving onto something else. That’s my opinion.
JBoo
I am still waiting for a good game from Square Enix ‘THIS GEN’ never mind next-gen LoL:D
RudeAwakening
What about Deus Ex HR?