Peter Vesterbacka, head of Angry Birds developer Rovio, has said that console games are "dying" and that innovation in gaming has "clearly" moved to mobile.
The controversial comments come via a panel talk at the South by Southwest Interactive conference in Austin, where Vesterbacka said innovation in gaming has moved into mobile and social areas because those companies are more "nimble" and can develop and release content quickly.
As mobile gaming - including games on tablet devices like the iPad - continues to grow, console games are "dying", he said.
However, when it comes to the business model for mobile gaming, Vesterbacka acknowledged that "no one has figured it out yet" (somehow we don't think he's that worried since his smash hit has already generated an estimated $70 million).
The Rovio boss added that the key for the company is to continue experimenting and not become attached to any particular model.
Last week Rovio secured a $42 million investment to facilitate its growth.
"Angry Birds will continue to grow, and we aim to create more similar success stories," said Rovio's Mikael Hed. "We will strengthen the position of Rovio and continue building our franchises in gaming, merchandising and broadcast media."
Comments
46 comments so far...
BenJy on 14 Mar '11 said:
I disagree to an extent about extending the life of a Video Game, Valve do this very well and like no other i might add. The main reason for lack of innovation in my eyes is that gaming is no longer a basement dwelling acitivity, everyone does it now of any age as well. The casual gaming market is larger then the traditional hardcore market so games are alot more easier and alot more shorter, alot which can be completed in a matter of hours. Sadly.
justforkicks101 on 14 Mar '11 said:
http://www.2flashgames.com/2fgkjn134kjlh1cfn81vc34/flash/f-Oh-Really-3344.gif
TheLastDodo on 14 Mar '11 said:
Total bulls**t. Come back when you've sold 20m copies of a game priced at £20-£40, not 59p. When you've done that then I'll take you seriously.
Jodmeister on 14 Mar '11 said:
They are 2 completely different gaming models. some people want pick-up and play and easy put down games - that's the flash market. Some people want graphics, story, online games - that's the console and pc market.
Shadow5talker04 on 14 Mar '11 said:
Innovation, has moved on to mobile platforms because if you try to innovate for a hardcore console market and completely mess up, it's not that expensive. To mess up on a mobile platform is a couple of month of work usually between other work. However, as for innovation, most games out there have been done before, usually found on Flash websites. A comparison that's been made before, Crush the castle. All the basics of that and Angry birds are the same. Very little is new now, you just got to find something and do it your own way.
Moribundman on 14 Mar '11 said:
Edgy comedy "dying" Michael McIntyre says Stewart Lee and Doug Stanhope have had their day, and he is "where its at".
raredevice on 14 Mar '11 said:
I'd give up gaming tomorrow if all I had was my iPhone. PS3 and 360 for home time awesomeness. iPhone for visits to the mother-in-law's. Both indispensable, but in different ways, for very different reasons. Plus my iPhone games wreck my eyes. Something the 40" does not do. Why does everyone have to keep saying how great they are? Maybe we should start doing it too...
I'm the bestest, most wonderful poster on this forum. Everyone else's fingers are going to fall off because they're not as good as me.
Even though that's a joke, I feel like a c**t having written it. Sheesh.
raredevice on 14 Mar '11 said:
That's comedy!
fps_d0minat0r on 14 Mar '11 said:
i cant think of a single smartphone game i would play instead of a console game.....there you have it, console > smartphone.
btw if angry birds is so good why are they giving it away for free on android lol? maybe they know people will be p**sed of if they find out they paid to flick a bird into some bricks?
i was hyped up for it but when i downloaded it a few days ago ive not played it much since its just not as good as people make it out to be. (im on about lvl 10, still hoping to complete it if it doesnt get too boring)
i like jam donut on 14 Mar '11 said:
R.I.P.
Erm..., we?
chubster2010 on 14 Mar '11 said:
Newsflash 1 - Angry Birds really isn't innovative!
pRM8 on 14 Mar '11 said:
lol 'dying', hmm as a PC gamer I've heard that phase before for something.... I just cant remember what..
Console/PC gaming and mobile gaming are two different markets that don't really directly compete against each other, they actually co-exist together. I would say the majority of gamers have both a console/PC AND some sort of handheld, be it a PSP, DS or mobile for mobile gaming.
While I enjoy the quick short bursts of gaming on my phone while at work, on the bus or having a s**t, it isn't my main gaming platform and never will be.
Count me out if the future is purely s**tty little "App" games.
buffig on 14 Mar '11 said:
It's all really easy for him to say with the success of angry birds, but apart from that one game theres nothing else i've enjoyed on mobiles.
lordirongut on 14 Mar '11 said:
Give me Final Fantasy, Uncharted or Eternal Sonata over Angry Birds any day of the week.
And FYI, the only good phone games are ones that would have been better on consoles.
pRM8 on 14 Mar '11 said:
Yeah, for every half decent successful game there are hundreds of thousands that are complete and utter tosh.
Moribundman on 14 Mar '11 said:
If it is, that'd make the Flash gaming sites my workmates spend all day trawling the cradle of civilization...
flash501 on 14 Mar '11 said:
Is it just me or does something always seem to be "dying" at any given time in the games industry? Be it the age of consoles or PC gaming or console games now, apparently!
Console gaming has never looked stronger to me but, hey, what do I know?
03b2wgm on 14 Mar '11 said:
I can see what he means though, there definately has been an obvious rise in mobile gaming in recent years. I still wouldn't give up playing my Xbox for Angry Birds though.
Consoles are far from dying.
Flamey UK on 14 Mar '11 said:
"innovation"...didn't they just copy crush the castle (which copied castle clout) and up the 'cute factor'?
ricflair on 14 Mar '11 said:
I was playing games like Tank on the Amiga 20 years ago. Adjust your angle of shot, adjust your power and fire. Angry Birds is no different to that, beyond the physics.
I've a few games on my iphone and Angry Birds is the best, but that's not saying much. Compare the biggest selling mobile game and the biggest selling console/PC game and the $70m, while very nice, doesn't really compare.
Console games do suffer from lack of new ideas, but so do mobile games. Most of the iphone games using the accelerometer were done earlier on the wii and the touch screen stuff done on the DS.
The only thing innovative about mobile gaming is the pricing structure.
flash501 on 14 Mar '11 said:
While it's fun for a few minutes every now and again, I really can't see why Angry Birds is so ridiculously popular. Plants vs Zombies is easily the best IPod touch game I've played. Angry Birds doesn't even come close IMO.
shogunreaper on 14 Mar '11 said:
The fact that he's even trying to compare phone games to real ones shows he knows absolutely nothing.
You're not going to see games like UC2\GOW3, or COD on a phone, so there is no chance of console games dying unless the market for real hardcore games just ups and dies.
TheLastDodo on 14 Mar '11 said:
On my iPod Touch I have Angry Birds, Cut The Rope, Mirrors Edge (fun but not a patch on console version plus its not even FP, its a 2D platformer), Tetris (how innovative
), BIT.TRIP BEAT (taken from the Wii I believe) and Speedball 2 Evolution (theres that innovation again 
).
On my PS3 I have Heavy Rain, Arkham Asylum, LBP, InFamous, Vanquish, Mass Effect 2, Killzone 3, Uncharted 2 as a few examples of games (for a while at least) we will not see on an iPod Touch.
This year I'll be buying Crysis 2, Deus Ex, Mass Effect 3, Battlefield 3, Arkham City, Uncharted 3, LA Noire, Brink, InFamous 2, The Last Guardian, and I could keep going.
As the guy above says console gaming has never looked stronger. I've yet to see anything I would call innovative on the App Store and if something innovative did pop up, it would be worn out in a fortnights time with all the clones the App Store suffers from. Fed up of Angry Birds? Well heres p**sy Chicks.
Finally what am I going to be buying on my iPod Touch this year? Erm.........
milky_joe on 14 Mar '11 said:
How many billions of dollars has each COD game (as much as I don't like them) generated? Mario? Halo? GTA? Final Fantasy?
Angry Birds is the most successful smartphone game and it's return is dwarfed by every one of those games, and many others like them.
Financially, there's no comparison.
Innovation? As much as innovation is lacking in some console franchises these days, I'd put more faith in the guys behind those franchises to come up with the next big thing than I would anyone who has modified a flash game into a shiny new package.
Imaduck on 14 Mar '11 said:
What an arse. Nothing is "dying", not PC gaming, not console gaming. Rehashed games are dying, like GH. Indie games are doing well - ok cool, but no need to be an arrogant s**t about it.
_Marty_ on 14 Mar '11 said:
Dying eh?
Call of Duty would like a word...
Jensonjet on 14 Mar '11 said:
What an utterly pathetic statement to make.
How dumb does a developer have to be to say such a ridiculous thing. Sure, game innovation is pretty slow amongst the big game types on consoles, but to suggest it's on it's way down is about as wrong as you can get. Shows how big one can get for boots with a little success.
Perhaps next week's statement will be that TV and cinema is dead. Or that food is out of fashion. Perhaps they should just go all the way and say humanity has finally tamed nature! What a bunch of idiots.
rossva on 14 Mar '11 said:
what a load of cobblers.
That is all.
Ali_ on 14 Mar '11 said:
Developer that doesn't develop on console says developing on console is a waste of time. Developer should get out more.
MattyR95 on 14 Mar '11 said:
Just because his cheap, crappy (IMO) game has made a lot of money, primarily due it being cheap, he thinks he is ''God's gift''. The fool doesn't even develop on consoles. I also don't see how he can think that those 'games' on phones etc are innovation, they're usually watered down versions of console games.
GunstarHeroX on 14 Mar '11 said:
I played one level of Angry Birds and never touched it again. I don't see the appeal. It's boring.
It seems to me what he's saying here is "proper games are dying, and shallow, disposable quick-fix s**t like the games we make will replace them". Not a chance. Gamers will always want games.
However if games like these herd the casual crowd off to Facebook and phone games and gives proper gaming back to those who appreciate it, great. Gaming was better before everyone did it.
kmcroc on 14 Mar '11 said:
Do not think all those involved in the gaming industry are going to let a cash cow die or ceased to existed cause of some mobile game.find it kind of hard that they will let this kind of revenue disappear.just don't see that happening don't care how popular angry pigeons is .
http://vgsales.wikia.com/wiki/Video_game_industry
gmcb007 on 14 Mar '11 said:
These mobile game devs are stupid, smug pricks. Why don't they sit and spend months and months of painstaking programming and designing to make a console game instead of bragging how their app games are the best things since sliced bread. Yes they make nice time fillers but nothing really amazing or needed in the games industry.
The Bossman on 14 Mar '11 said:
Mobile games are nearly always s**te, and console games have the power of millions of pounds of development power behind them. Mobile games will always be a 5 minute refresher, they'll never have the sophistication and storytelling that console games have. He can say all he wants about console games dying, but the simple fact is it's more alive than ever. What a ridiculous statement to make.
Angry Birds ain't that great either, so tell him to stop blowing his own trumpet for 5 minutes and develop a game that's fun to play.
chronicwombat on 14 Mar '11 said:
'what a load of b*****ks' springs to mind
KippDynamite on 14 Mar '11 said:
While he has some valid points, he is just speaking to investors. For every Angry Birds there are about 50,000 poops that generate no revenue nor jobs.
the nutty boy on 14 Mar '11 said:
snake on my black and white nokia(with sticky out ariel) rocks!!yeah death to all my consoles
almanac2015 on 14 Mar '11 said:
Perfectly said. For a reason unknown to me, mobile gaming is getting more popular but console gaming is nowhere near dying.
rbt2 on 14 Mar '11 said:
All the time boring repetitive gash like Angry Birds is being made, console gaming's got nowt to fret about.
That last bit rhymed.
solamon77 on 14 Mar '11 said:
I guess this guy is flush with confidence right about now. It seems he is confusing his growing market (casual mobile games) with our mature market (core console games). Furthermore, just because one market is growing, this doesn't mean it's going to kill the other markets. Consoles still thrived post-GameBoy. We've been doing great all the while the iPhone was taking off. Why? Because console games offer an experience you can't get on the iPhone, iPad, iWhatever, etc.
I don't even think the iPhone is a threat to the more traditional handhelds. Just like console gaming, the PSP2 and 3DS offer types of gaming you just couldn't replicate on the iPhone. Plus, the iPhone has terrible controls (come on, your thumbs obscure the screen) and no matter how awesome the games are, they are 2nd fiddle to the fact that the iPhone and iPad have other more primary uses.
When I look at the apps store, I'm reminded of how gaming looked on the Atari 2600 pre-crash. Sure, the 2600 had THOUSANDS of games, but so many of them were terrible and so many of them made there way to bargain bins that money was getting siphoned away from new games. Who would buy a new game at $50 when you could pick up 10 new games out of the bargain bin for the same price. The AppStore's biggest sellers are now and will always be free apps (somewhere close to 92% of all downloads). What does this say for anyone trying to make a living here? It says that success is a large part serendipity.
I think iPhone-type gaming is actually going to draw more people into traditional gaming (as they enjoy what they play and hanker for something more) than siphon them away. It will be similar to a person who buys a piece of beef jerky and then gets a craving for a nice steak. The jerky market doesn't spell doom for steak restaurants (Steak Chef: "Oh no! Who will come buy my steak now that they can eat beef jerkey on the go!?"
) and casual mobile gaming isn't spelling doom for the consoles.
gmcb007 on 14 Mar '11 said:
Its became popular with the new smartphone crowd and they will buy anything avalible on their phone.
Domin666 on 15 Mar '11 said:
Why do the makers think they are God? Console gaming round my end seems to be doing great,step out to the real world now and then.Creativity thrives on cheap crap games as there is no massive machine to oil and feed.When a game is made by less than 10 pepole in under 2 years it will be poor quality if not entertaining to play.For £40 games you need better than angry birds to compete in the large boys arena.
Ali_ on 15 Mar '11 said:
Angry Birds is just a glorified Flash game with zero depth. A game for people incapable of playing games. It's Yeti sports for the iPhone generation and nothing more.
sonic_uk on 15 Mar '11 said:
Not the "console is dying" thing again. How many times in the past ten years have we heard this? Tell that to the millions of people around the world who play their console daily. And all this coming from a...wait for it... Amateur Mobile Phone developer. lol.
He claims to be innovative, so making a Worms rip off with a bad control system is innovative is it? Does he really think people will give up gaming on their 40 inch Hdtv's with a proper joypad to game on a tiny 3 inch screen with a bad control system instead? He's living in a fantasy world.
Don't get me wrong, Mobile gaming has its place and I do enjoy playing games on my Android phone. Its Useful for killing time on a train journey or in a waiting room for example, but the way he's talking its as if he thinks its going to be the next revolution in gaming which it isn't.
liveswired on 15 Mar '11 said:
lol, And how many console games has this joker produced? and how many original games has he produced? NONE!
Nollog on 17 Mar '11 said:
How would this guy know?
Angry birds is profiting off a free flash game.
When those all dry up, they're out of business (dying),