14 DAY TRIAL // A lot of players are mourning the current trend of the video game industry that emphasizes the development of sequels and remakes over the creation of new intellectual property, but at least one major developer sees it as crucial to the future of big publishers.
Shephane D’Astous, who is the general manager of the studio that Eidos has in Montreal, has told Gamasutra as part of a bigger interview that, “Games are more and more sophisticated; it’s less based on one or two mechanics. I think this replaces the necessity of having new IPs.
“Innovation and ideas are important, but if you’re able to bring forward an existing IP to bring new types of experiences, I think people will buy them, because they know they can relate to a franchise they’ve played before.”
D’Astous says that a few years ago Electronic Arts has set on creating at least three new IPs in one year in order to keep the player base satisfied, but he says that now that kind of thinking is gone.
The manager added, “A major relaunch of a title like Deus Ex and Thief, we considered it almost like a new IP, certainly in the effort. So we bring back something from the cult classics. This is maybe not considered new IP, but it brings a new flavor.”
Deus Ex: Human Revolution was launched during 2011 and has been a big success for Eidos ever since, with both reviewers and fans acknowledging that the game managed to keep the core elements of the series while updating its mechanics for the modern age.
At the moment the same studio is working on a revival of the Thief series, another franchise that has a strong fan base that has very high demands when it comes to any new product.
Eidos Montreal has not offered any clear details on the game, expected to arrive later during 2012 or early in 2013.