Digital space 'getting harder' for developers
Limited capacity of console platforms makes doors to digital market harder to open, says Hello Games MD
The MD of independent developer Hello Games, Sean Murray, has told GamesIndustry.biz that he believes publishing titles in the digital space is becoming harder for developers as more titles are released in the download sector.
Murray, whose four-man company recently announced it was working on Joe Danger, echoed comments previously made to GamesIndustry.biz by Team 17 boss Martyn Brown in saying that while there are opportunities on platforms such as Xbox Live Arcade it's becoming more difficult to break through - particularly as budgets for some of those games recently broke through the USD 1 million barrier.
"For us the main thing is the gameplay, but as well as that I think the game that we're making does have high production values and we don't think our game is more worthy because it was only made by four people," he said. "Hopefully it will have a personality that other games don't have, but we feel we have to compete, that's not an excuse.
"We're making the best game we possibly can - but... as a developer it is a shame that, while I don't think the door is closing on those [digital download] platforms, it is getting a lot harder to open, and there are a lot of people saying that.
"That's just economics in some ways - it is a closed market. There are only a certain amount of slots, and they're maintaining those to hopefully increase quality for the consumer. The only thing that is a shame in that is that more traditional titles will end up being non-XBLA," he added.
He went on to talk about the risk posed by the increasing importance of franchises, in terms of new ideas.
"I think at retail, if you look at the keynotes from E3, the majority of announcements were sequels, definitely," he said. "That puts games as more of a form of software, almost, where it's just different versions, and improving versions, rather than something that's full of new ideas.
"I think having said that, you look at some platforms like the Nintendo DS, and it has the widest, weirdest range of titles on there. You can play anything on a DS, and there are so many different genres."
The full interview with Sean Murray includes more details on how and why Hello Games was set up, and is available now.