A2M boss predicts end to low budget, poor quality games

Artificial Mind and Movement boss Rîmi Racine has predicted that there will be a smaller range of games available as the next-gen console cycle gets underway - which should benefit gamers in the long run.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz at the Montrîal International Games Summit last week, Racine said, "I think the industry will grow. There will be less skus on the market; I think that on next-gen you'll see less projects.

"I think the barrier of entry is higher, so there are going to be better games. You won't be able to throw out very bad games at very low budgets - that doesn't make any sense for the market. You were much more able to do that in the past," he continued.

"Hopefully, for the consumer, it's going to be better entertainment. If the industry wants to grow, the titles have to be better overall."

A2M recently completed work on two Nintendo Wii titles, Happy Feet and The Ant Bully, and projects planned for next year include five DS games plus two next-gen titles. According to Racine, the studio has already embarked on a shift towards much bigger budgets and development teams.

"We've done games on PSone with ten people, 12 people, and we're doing next-gen games with a hundred people... Even on current gen, we've signed budgets that are double what we did in the past," he said.

"We're probably going to do next-gen for two and a half times the regular kids and family stuff on current gen, so in terms of managing, I think it's a challenge."

The full interview with Racine will be published on GamesIndustry.biz later this week.