• Console Games are 'Dying': Angry Birds Developer

    Console Games are 'Dying': Angry Birds Developer

    Nachiket Mhatre, Mar 14, 2011 1155 hrs IST

    Opined that casual gaming is a misnomer and social gamers are just as hardcore as a console gamer

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Speaking at the South by Southwest Interactive conference, Peter Vesterbacka from Rovio, observed that console games are "dying". He also refuted the fears about the industry moving into a casual mode with the resurgence of casual social and mobile gaming; especially with Rovio's recent announcement about Angry Birds surpassing a whopping 10 million downloads. Then again, such comments prophesising the doom of a rival camp aren't uncommon in the industry. But with console camp drumming the death of PC gaming since long, it's amusing to see a relative newcomer return the favour.

Speaking at the interactive conference, Vesterbacka was all ridicule for the $40 price tag on traditional console games, which according to him doesn't make sense as its "difficult to upgrade". However, Peter's reasoning was refuted by fellow panel member Tero Ojanpera from Nokia. Ojanpera argued in favour of the relevance of consoles, since, according to him, there's still market for console games as gamers won't be plugging tablet devices into their televisions any sooner.

Vesterbacka, however, conceded the fact that "nobody has figured out" a long-term, reliable business model for this new wave of social gaming. He cited the success story of Angry Birds and contended that there is credible a business opportunity with Rovio's model. He also appeared rather desperate to drop the tag of "casual games", and used the example of the movie industry by arguing that since the term "casual movies" does not exist, "casual gaming" is moot by the same logic. He stated that gamers can be as passionate and involved with mobile and social games, as they are with any hardcore console game.


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Discussion Board
(3) Comments
Socius
,Calgary, on Mar 14, 2011 01:57 PM
Lol. Who the hell is he to comment on console gaming? He's a casual game developer. He caters to the same people who buy Wii's. No one's going to drop their Call of Duty for angry birds. Casual games are popular right now because most people have portable systems capable of playing games that are less involved and simpler to play and stop playing. Things like angry birds. The game is really nothing spectacular. It's something that could be coded in a week's time, just as the developer of Chicks & Vixens for WP7 demonstrated. Once more portable devices like the Sony NGP and Nintendo 3DS become popular, "Hardcore" gaming will expand once again. Keep in mind that a console game sells for $60. So if one title sells just 1 million copies, that's $60 million total $$. Whereas angry birds after 10 million copies doesn't reach more than a 1/3rd of that. And 1 million copies isn't exactly the biggest selling console game either. I think it's very ignorant of him to make such statements. I'm not by any means against portable gaming. I have an iPhone 4, iPad 2, WP7, and Sony PSP. But my portable gaming and console gaming are completely different interests and tasks. And most of my friends refuse to even get games for on the go because they say that when they want to play games, they'd rather sit in front of a 65" hdtv.
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Kris
,Schaumburg, on Mar 14, 2011 10:51 PM
you are correct !!!
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Kris
,Schaumburg, on Mar 14, 2011 10:50 PM
This is the most stupid thing i have heard !! Casual games might be catiching up and Angry Birds surpassing a whopping 10 million downloads doesnt meant console game is going to end !! please open eyes on console game stats also !!! I think he have not seen a console game yet !!
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