One Sad Thought From GDC
I'm at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco this week. Although it has given me many thoughts, it's also keeping me pretty busy. (So is finishing up the Vehm script in time for the weekend, but that's another story.) I may write more about GDC later, but there's one overriding thing about the mobile games discussions here so far that I must unburden myself about right this minute:
There's no indication that anyone here gives a shit about games qua games.
There is almost exactly zero passion for gaming at GDC Mobile whatsoever. Its all handsets and operators and brands and revenue splits and distribution and how Cingular sponsors a professional rodeo rider.
And I think that's really, really sad.
Comments
Lucky! I want to be at GDC.. Oh well.
Pretty sad that nobody seems to give a crap about mobile gaming there.. Everything I ever hear from industry people is that it's this huge untapped market of gaming goodness. Wonder what the deal is.. This is the GAME Developers Conference, right? Not some wireless technology thing or E3 or anything.. this is supposed to be GAME oriented.. or am I missing something?
Pretty sad that nobody seems to give a crap about mobile gaming there..
They care very deeply about the business and industry of mobile gaming, but there wasn't anyone in the mobile conference ó at least not presenting, sitting on panels, and so on ó who gave any indication that they were excited about designing and playing games on mobile platforms. Games really seem to be just a commodity on mobile phones. One tennis game is the same as another tennis game, one word game stands in for any other word game, etc.
Everything I ever hear from industry people is that it's this huge untapped market of gaming goodness.
It is and it isn't. While there are more than a billion handsets floating around in the world (compared to just more than 100 million Playstations, IIRC), most people are not using them to play games, so the statistics are a little misleading.
Also, most of the people who are playing games on their mobile phones are not playing gamers' games. Instead, they're playing casual games ó Scrabble, Jeopardy, hangman, etc., ad nauseum.
Mm, good points. I've gotta say, too, that were I to have a mobile phone I probably wouldn't play games on it either. I'd rather go pick up a Nintendo DS or something. I tend to prefer my phones for talking and my portable gaming gadgets for gaming.. Perhaps most folks feel the same way.
I'd say that sounds like a challenge for someone to try and bring together, but NGage isn't doing so hot.. Maybe somebody just needs to think of a better way to do it.