Microsoft: We won't sacrifice original IP
Companies that invest in innovation will emerge from recession healthier, says Lewis
As the overarching economic conditions continue to bite, much has been said about the plight of original IP - and that it's under threat as consumers spend on what they know best, and publishers look to reduce risks on unknown quantities.
But Microsoft has no intention of sacrificing its "focus on exciting IP" and will continue to invest in innovation in order to emerge from any ongoing recession in a "healthy" state.
That's according to EMEA VP for the corporation's Interactive Entertainment Business, Chris Lewis, speaking in the first part of an interview published on GamesIndustry.biz today.
"I think you'll see some [IP under threat], yes - but I also think, and I can only really speak with authority about our own games development work, be very confident we'll continue to innovate, and focus on exciting IP for the future," he said.
"Be very confident that we see that ultimately as central to our ability to continue to be successful, because I think if you batten down the hatches and simply work where you know you're already strong, that doesn't give you the future growth that we're all hungry for.
"I think all the big, mature companies are thinking that way - because if we're in the eye of the storm right now in terms of the economic situation, then clearly we'll come out. We will come out of this situation, people will start spending money again, banks will start issuing credit in a slightly more flexible way and we'll come out of it.
"The healthy companies will be the ones that have invested sufficiently during that phase that they've got exciting IP and innovative things happening for when that recovery starts to happen. I don't know when that is... I'd love to know, but I tend to think very positively about the opportunities that it subsequently creates."
Among the new titles the company brought to market in the build up to the 2008 Holiday season were Lips, Scene It and You're in the Movies.
The first part of the interview with Chris Lewis, in which he also assesses the performance of the Xbox 360 platform over the past year, is available now.