While most people might be gaming on their phones and tablets these days compared to dedicated gaming devices, it seems the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One has at least, convinced some developers to ditch mobile — and even PC — games development in favor of releasing their stuff to now-gen consoles.
In a 2014 Tollbox Report from UK video game entity TIGA, it mentions that while Apple’s iPhone (73 percent) and iPad (72 percent) were the most popular devices for developers, the PS4 and Xbox One were luring in many developers to jump across to console games development. The report mentions that 52 percent of developers asked are planning to develop for the Xbox One, while 48 percent are considering future games development on the PS4.
However, the sudden shift in now-gen games development might have come with a cost; as 15 percent of developers are expected to stop work on PC games in the near future, with 8 percent of iPhone devs following suit, along with 7 percent for iPad development. Even with the drop off for PC, 63 percent of developers still note PC as a key platform for games development.
Dr. Richard Wilson, CEO of TIGA had the following to say:
Both Microsoft and Sony have invested heavily in engaging developers, especially indies, to make games for their platforms. This investment seems to be paying off.
It’s also interesting to note that a smaller proportion of developers plan to develop games on the iPad and iPhone in the future. This is probably due to the congested marketplace developers face given the popularity of Apple’s platform, and the challenges for discoverability this brings.
Hopefully, this means more games coming to now-gen consoles soon so that everybody wins. Do you think there will come a time when mobile games development will dry up or will the rising cost of developing for consoles be the first to give?
[Source: MCV]
