With new platforms and consoles
available and more people playing games on smartphones and tablets, the future
appears to be open to a vast array of possibilities.
We asked four industry players
what they think the next year will look like. Each offered a few specifics and a
broader view about what will be important to game makers and players.
Many expect 2013's releases of
new hardware and software platforms -- most notably, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox
One consoles -- to spur creativity in game development and delivery.
Here's what they told us:
Console wars: PlayStation 4
vs. Xbox One
Ken Levine, creative
director, Irrational Games
"2013 was the year of the left
field: crowdfunding, the Steam box, in-house streaming. 2014 is the year we're going to
start to see how that changes the space. The majority of old-school developers I
know now have gone into more personal, niche titles; (it) reminds me of when
many of the great PC studios (BioWare, Bungie, Bethesda) started developing
console games in the early 2000s.
"Being in gaming is like being in
music in the '60s, but there's a new British invasion like every three years. I
think disruption is generally a good thing. It keeps us on our toes as
developers and usually yields dividends for gamers."
