GDC State of the Industry 2017 Survey

[+Asmodai MVC]

First here's the link to the source.

 

Now my work blocks me from downloading the full survey results so for now I'll just comment on the article linked above.  There is a lot of coverage at game sites about what this survey shows so this serves as a start should the neowin community wish to discuss it.

 

My initial thoughts based on the article (I'll update later when I read the full results if there seems to be interest in this topic):

 

Game Makers are optimistic about Nintendo Switch:  Personally I think this is misleading given that it seems to be based off of them saying they thought it would do better than the miserable (sales) failure that is the Wii U.  I too think it will do much better than the Wii U but that's a VERY low bar to set and saying it will do better than that isn't really all that optimistic.  To be a real success for Nintendo I think it will need lifetime sales on the order of 30 million compared to the roughly 14 million the Wii U currently has (and is unlikely to go much higher).  That may seem like a lot but that's less than half any portable console Nintendo has ever released as well as lower than the NES, Super NES, N64, and Wii so it's not a crazy high bar.

 

Most game makers are unsure about mid-cycle console refreshes:  This is what I've been hearing as well but the games media has been trumpeting the end of the console cycle as if it's a given.  I think this quote sums up what I've been hearing as well quite nicely:

 

Quote

“Consoles have benefited from being fixed platforms, single specs to focus on. This mid-cycle ‘refresh’ breaks that benefit,” wrote another. “Developers will now either need to build two games, release a lowest common denominator on the more powerful platform, or release a compromised version on the lower-powered platform.”

There is also a lot in the survey about Vive being favored over the Oculus Rift.  I'm not sure if the full survey goes into this deeper but the word I'm getting is that this isn't necessarily due to hardware preference but because of the massive difference in markets.  Vive has Steam which is where most PC gamers are and Oculus as their own MUCH smaller market.  Developers go where their customers are.  Also there's a bit of hesitation due to the Zenimax/Facebook lawsuit over the Rift's development and Carmacks involvement.

 

Well, hopefully that's enough to get discussion started... I'll wait to see if anyone even cares to discuss this before I write any more.  Happy Gaming!