Games industry must make "fundamental shift" - Denny

Sony Worldwide Studios exec Michael Denny has warned that the games industry must be prepared to make huge changes as the digital era gets underway.

Speaking at the London Games Summit this afternoon, Denny described the industry as being "at a crossroads", with many people "undecided, perhaps even divided" over what the future holds.

He argued that the current console transition is taking place in a world very different from that of five or six years ago, before the arrival of the iPod and websites such as YouTube and My Space.

"Consumers have more choice, want better things and have louder voices," Denny said.

He went on to discuss the importance of user-created content and to observe that niche products will become more popular as distribution models change, stating, "The hit driven market will continue, but hits must compete with niche products... The era of one size fits all is ending."

According to Denny, the move into a new era will require "the most fundamental shift in planning, content creation and management that our industry has ever seen".

He described downloadable content as one of the "biggest weapons" developers and publishers have at their disposal, arguing that it can and should be used to "complement retail launches, encourage consumer loyalty and extend products' life cycle, helping to prevent trade-ins".

Sony's e-distribution initiative, which was first announced at this year's Develop conference, has been met with an "overwhelming" response from developers, according to Denny. He added that many studios are also highly enthusiastic about the possibilities opened up by the PS3's tilt controller and built-in hard drive.