Adam Roberts, VP of Vinvendi Games Europe, proposed that the game industry get back to basics by being more creative and innovative, rather than becoming mired in the production of copycat titles. His remarks were given to GameIndustry.
Adams expounded upon what he perceived as the inability of game companies to expand their horizons, in as far as unique game development is concerned. “With the decline of independent studios, and the disturbing reality of watching competitive publishers struggle to keep afloat, it becomes almost inevitable that any new IP (intellectual property) which enters a creative environment is steeped in uncertainty and fear.”
But is there a place for the many game clones in today,s game market? Adams explained it this way by saying, “These games obviously have their place in any financially sound line up, but as we ourselves know, had [Vivendi] failed to recognize the importance of originality in addition to these elements, we too could have faced stagnation and an untimely demise.”
How does a game company balance the need for producing popular titles, which are often copycats, with that of original IP games? Adams said, “Ask any hardcore gamer what their favorite game was of the past 12 months, and the likelihood is that the answer won’t have been a financial success. Conversely, ask any casual gamer the same question and the chances are that the answer will have performed well in the charts, but received average review scores."
“What we want to achieve, as a company moving forward, is a unification of critical acclaim and popular appeal by employing the very finest people in house and working with the best external teams available.”
His vision for Vivendi, as well as the game industry is this; “…it,s my sincere hope that – as more publishers…bring development in-house – we,ll increasingly see a change in this culture of limitation. What we strive to see is for our creative teams to become more focused on creativity, and less embroiled in the day to day management of business.”
With the arrival of the next gen machines coming on the scene, it will offer the game industry a unique opportunity to take advantage of the abilities of the new platforms. Hopefully, this will translate into unique and commercially successful games for developers.
