14 DAY TRIAL // Video game developer and publisher Capcom would like to see the creators of next-generation home consoles take a few cues from the PC and the smartphone space, which has been evolving at a much faster pace during the last few years.
Christian Svensson, who is a senior vice president at Capcom, told Gamasutra that, “In many ways, I hope that first-parties react to what's happening in the PC and smartphone space, in that the barriers between developer and consumer are much lower there.
“Console makers need to be aware that that's what they're competing against, and that's increasingly what the customer expectation is, in terms of responsiveness and engagement.”
One of the big requirements for Capcom is faster distribution of digital content, which can only be done with an improved infrastructure and with a re-designed certification process.
Svensson added, “I'm hoping for a much more fluid means of providing updates to consumers, being able to have a much more rapid turnaround in between when content is submitted and when content goes live to consumers, to provide a higher level of service to them. I'm hoping that the networking and the processes in the future are built with that in mind.”
At the moment both Microsoft and Sony are denying that they are working on new home consoles, but rumors are constantly appearing about the feature set of both the Xbox 720 and the PlayStation 4.
Most analysts believe that both companies are aiming to make official announcements during 2012 and actually launch next-gen consoles next year, integrating both motion tracking and vocal commands to their core hardware.
Meanwhile Nintendo has officially confirmed that it has plans to launch the new Wii U home console on all major markets before Christmas of this year, with a touchscreen-enabled controller and more processing power.