The experts agree, gaming is headed for a brighter future ahead! During the Global Gaming Summit (previously Asia Gaming Summit) segment of the Tokyo Game Show 2016, CEO of game developers and publishers from various regions shared their thoughts on where the future of gaming is headed.
Representatives from EA, Abylight Studio, AsiaSoft, Tencent and Bandai-Namco goes on stage to discuss the future of gaming entertainment
With a focus on a more global approach to gaming, top execs from Electronic Arts (EA), Abylight Studio, AsiaSoft, Tencent and Bandai-Namco discusses the growth of the gaming industry. From studying player behavior, technology trends and industry profitability, these head honchos of gaming’s top companies map out what the future of gaming lies.
MORE AGILE BUT BETTER GAMES
A report by TGS showed the year-on-year growth of the video game market. Not surprising (but quite interesting to note), mobile game had a huge surge during the past 2 years. With more and more powerful smart phones coming out in the market, game developers are able to create more complex games with sometimes more complex game mechanics.
This could be the reason why the handheld games showed a steady decline in sales starting 2013 while the mobile games market is picking up at an exponential rate.
In fact, when asked whether developers should shift its focus from creating games for traditional platform (handheld, console, PC) to mobile phone games, most of the panelist noted on the aggressive profitability of mobile and, if possible, to seize this growing opportunity now. Of course, that’s not to say that game developers are leaving the triple-A games behind as it still makes up bulk of the videogames market share. This just means that game publishers have to take into consideration that more people are willing to play (and spend) on mobile games now – and capitalizing on this behavioral trend could be a lucrative venture.
AR VS VR
While Virtual Reality (and, by extension, Virtual Reality Games) is the darling of the Tokyo Game Show, Augment Reality (AR) is far more preferred by more established game devs. We’ve seen a slew of VR titles and VR experiments happening during the Tokyo Game Show but, according to majority of the presenters, they’re taking a “wait-and-see” approach towards VR. They recognize its importance and its appeal but for some reason they want to take the safe route before adapting. I guess the game publishers want to see if VR becomes more than a current fad and be intrinsically part of the gaming lingo.
OPTIMISTIC FUTURE, MOOAAAR GAMING AHEAD
With more developments happening on the game development front, more universities offering gaming courses and more and more countries churning their own game dev companies, these 5 publishers and game developers are confident that gaming’s future is burning brighter and better than ever!
Well with what we saw during the 4 days at Tokyo Game Show 2016, we definitely agree.
For more Tokyo Game Show 2016 stories check our previous articles:
Inside the 11 Geekgasmic Halls of the Tokyo Game Show 2016! [Part 1]
Inside the 11 Geekgasmic Halls of the Tokyo Game Show 2016! [Part 2]
The Wonders and Oddities of Virtual Reality (VR) Games in the Tokyo Game Show 2016