Te riskant niet te innoveren op de consoles

Hello Games' Sean Murray denkt dat risicobewuste uitgevers en hun behoefte om veilige vervolgen aan het einde van de console zijn levensweg uit te geven, open kansen biedt voor indie-ontwikkelaars.

Hij noemt het gebrek aan innovatie bij de grote partijen zelfs 'gevaarlijk'. Onafhankelijke studios durven vaak wel risico's te nemen en daar plukken zij vaak de vruchten van.

"The thing that I see is that we're approaching, strange though this sounds, the end of this console cycle. I think in the next three years we're going to see the end of this console cycle and the beginning of a new one. I think whenever that happens the last few years are filled with a lot of licenses, sequel etc", aldus Murray.

"I'm really excited that there are these new ways to create games, like digital download, XBLA, PSN. A lot of the stuff on Steam is way more interesting to me than a raft of new sequels at next year's E3 for example. I'm a lot more excited for that stuff, and I think a lot of people are."

"You see the way that Minecraft, for instance, is on fire at the moment, you know? People want innovation, it's just that at this stage, publishers don't want risk - and that's what they're saying. I think that's really short sighted, to me, but then I'm a small developer. I think it would be really risky not to innovate at the moment."

Grote uitgevers zoals Ubisoft zijn er al openlijk voor uitgekomen, toen ze vorige maand al aangaven zich veiliger voelen met vervolgtitels. Daardoor ontstaat er een gat in de markt van originele titels, waar onder andere Hello Games handig op inspringt.

"The games that are not triple-A are not profitable anymore," zegt Alain Corre, van Ubisoft. "When you have a triple-A blockbuster it costs more money to develop, but at the end of the day there's also the chance of a good return on it because there's a concentration at the top of the charts. 

"To a certain extent it becomes less risky to invest more in a single game or franchise than spreading your investment between three or four games. Because if those three or four games are not at the right quality level, you are sure to lose money", voegt hij daar aan toe.

Hello Games is bekend van de PSN-exclusive Joe Danger, een spel dat door maximaal vier mensen gemaakt is. Op de eerste dag dat het spel te koop was, had de ontwikkelaar zijn investering al terug.