Cliff Bleszinski states video game industry in "massive state of turmoil"
Despite now being retired, Gears of War creator and game designer Cliff Bleszinski has kept himself relatively busy these days. For one thing, he's still very much active in the gaming industry including, acting as the keynote speaker at the 2013 East Coast Games Conference today. It was at this event that the man so fondly known as "Cliffy B" let it be known that if he was to come out of retirement, now would not be the time.
Cliff goes starts off with a surprising comparison and some interesting predictions.
Weighing in the 80's crash and the market today seems like a bit of a stretch. While it's true the economy is far from full recovery, video game sales are still very strong. That wasn't the case thirty years ago when the entire medium was on the brink of going away for good. My belief is that Cliff has taken the number of studio closings and layoffs that have been happening lately and is making a larger presumption than needed on them.
The part about people who "love playing games on their iPad" isn't something I would take too seriously either. Mobile games have been super popular on iOS and Android devices these days but it's a different gaming experience than what you get on a console. I don't hear a lot of people dropping their Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 in favor of playing the next Angry Birds or (in the case of Epic Games) Infinity Blade. It's simply a different market targeted towards a different audience.
Cliff Bleszinski wielding the Lancer from Gears of War
In regards to speaking at today's conference, Bleszinski comments about his love of creating games. He also makes a final statement that seems to speak on the vilifying of the medium.
I want to believe a majority of us would stand up for the integrity of this hobby which we love when it is challenged. Whether it's the Roger Ebert "video games aren't art" claim or the recent blame passed over from the Sandy Hook incident, gamers have and will make a stand. It's good to hear someone from the industry unafraid to speak their mind on it.
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g1 DISCUSSIONS
Andrej
In other news: Jesus is coming, Armageddon is near, nuclear war is upon us and an asteroid will destroy us all.
ruinedmirage
"...some sort of demonic thing in pop culture", huh? Good thing he doesn't make tabletop RPGs. Video games today are a hell of a lot more acceptable as entertainment than the "manual games" and gamers I gather with every weekend ever were (even before the Odyssey).
Samuraispartan7000
I trully think the digital age would have already been here at full force if game publishers actually wanted to make it attractive to people. Why would I download a 59.99 dollar game on the PSN network and wait for six to eight hours of download time when I can go to GameStop, buy the same game used at a cheaper price tag, talk to my buddies that work there, go get my haircut, pay my bills, do my laundry, and walk my dog in a shorter amount of time?
It's just fucking ridiculous. And while on the subject of Apple, I wouldn't actually mind seeing a console from them considering the fact I can download games like Plants and Zombies for free, have it ready on my iPhone in less than a minute, and spend anywhere from 8 to 10 hours on the main campaign alone. A time period that most average console games have difficulty lasting that long for.
To be honest, I wouldn't be too sad if consoles went the way of the dodo. PCs are just seem like the non-retarded versions of the 360 and Playstation 3 and Wii U, Apple has products of simple but lasting value delivered to you with an effeciency that makes all the other consoles look like they are stuck in the Stone Age. And considering where technology is now, I really don't know why we can't just have a dualshock style controller with a portable touch screen on it, and wirelessly hooked up to our smart TVs.
Do we really need the clunky and preshistoric "box" anymore? I don't think so.
Palmerama
Your ignorance astounds me! The digital age is nowhere near ready! There is a big difference between downloading Plants vs Zombies to downloading a full AAA game. For a start it all comes to down to bandwith & how good people's internet is. Alot of people have limited broadband and can't afford to use it all up downloading games that are X many GBs big. This is something people like Cliff don't seem to understand. There are still many hurdles to overcome before the digital age has taken over.
Apple do have a console, it's called the iPad. Though it's a completely different platform to the Xbox or PS3. They can (and do) easily work side by side. How are they the retarded cousin's? I play my 360 as much as I play my PC. My PC isnt a huge gaming rig & is only fairly competant at playing modern games but I can't afford to upgrade it. So the games I can't play on my PC I play on my 360. Easy solution.
The problem with technology is tha tit's ludicrously expensive! The new iPad is £600! I don't know anyone who has a smart TV as their well over a £1000! I know people how havent got HD TVs! So yes we do still need these "boxes" as you so put it!
ZMowlcher
People choose consoles because not everone can afford to drop a thousand dollars for a decent gaming computer. I can't figure out why pc people can't understand that. Consoles are here because they're easy to use. All you gotta do is plug it in. PC's need allot of effort to maintain.
Falcovsleon20
I'm sorry but considering the business practices of companies like Activision normally pull on us to scam money, I don't think we're ready for a digital download only market.
Steam and Apple know how to handle this format of gaming well. I'm not convinced every other company does or wants to and unless that changes, the last thing they need to do is hop onto that bandwagon.
Plus Cliffy B's an asshole nowadays anyhow. Why should I listen to what he has to say?
felixtheswordsman
The problem with the industry right now is that it's heading towards a type of singularity. The games are still becoming bigger - larger budgets, multiple studios, and incredibly high marketing spending. It's almost starting to seem like it's getting too big. Game development costs are outpacing the growing market and as a result there's less and less risks being taken. Games that would have been made five years ago (Dead Space and Mirror's Edge being two good examples) are being shelved in favor of proven money-makers (Dead Space again). The industry is headed to a point where every game HAS to be a triple-A title to keep companies afloat and the companies that fail in that are getting shut down. We're going to reach critical mass, I think, in the next generation and I don't know what will happen.
Edit: As a side note, I do think some of the things that have come from the "downloadable" markets has been beneficial for the industry. I've really enjoyed games like Lost Winds (Wii), Shadow Complex (360), Flower (PSN), and Dust: An Elysian Tail (360). Unfortunately, I don't think there's enough of it and already the major publishers have been neglecting to make much for the services - three of the games I mentioned were published by their respective system owners. I'm thinking cheaper downloadable titles either take off or relegate themselves to indie studios.
Evil Ivan
Everything became about exponential growth with the success of the PS1. Technology advanced radically. Video games swelled into larger, more time-consuming experiences. Production and marketing costs ballooned. Sales targets metastasized to the point of absurdity.
Sensible folks understand that exponential growth cannot go on forever, and insisting on such growth after the well has run dry usually brings the situation to a thunderous end.
I wonder if Sony and Microsoft's stubborn promotion of motion controls is less a form of mimicry and more a desperate attempt at keeping market expansion going.
caboose_-1
Not the first place I've heard that we're in another video game crash or soon to be in one. The industry isn't as strong as you think though. THQ and other studios are closing down, Nintendo is hurting, and Sony is hemorrhaging money right now. Add in that the FPS bubble, which is the biggest part of the industry, might be close to popping...We could see a lot worse times ahead for a lot of known companies.
I will admit that it's not all bad, there are exceptions to every rule. But that doesn't mean we're not heading for a reckoning in the near future.
Evil Ivan
Some believe the next crash has already begun, and that we're in the initial stages of it.
The economics of console gaming have become unsustainable. Denis Dyack may be considered a joke now, but he knew what he was talking about when calling attention to this fact several years ago. I think these hardware manufacturers and publishing behemoths have just about devoured all the growth potential established by Sony's original PlayStation.
At least the video game business can become exciting again should a harsh reset occur. Industry collapse doesn't necessarily entail an absence of software; perhaps the platforms will change. Who knows what might happen.