14 DAY TRIAL // Greg Zeschuk, one of the co-founders of BioWare and long-time game developer, believes that the coming PlayStation 4 from Sony and the yet unannounced Xbox 720 from Microsoft do not have the ability to revive the falling game market.
The two companies would have to deliver a truly innovative experience in order to boost both hardware and software sales in meaningful ways and the veteran says that early signs are not promising.
Talking to GamesIndustry he states, “I worry a lot that unless Microsoft or Sony pull something magically out of a hat, it’s pretty much the same old, same old repackaged and I don’t think they’re going to change the dynamic of the retail market. I don’t see how they can – the market is what it is.”
He adds, “We are in a kind of sick market for old-school gaming – the traditional retail-based gaming – and as much as EA has moved into digital, the boxed stuff is not as robust. While digital is coming up fast it’s not filling in the gaps.”
Zeschuk says that none of the big console makers have a clear way of pushing the new market to grow quickly and replace the old one, which might lead to a slow but long-term decline for the entire industry.
Sony says that the PlayStation 4 will be a much more powerful device, with more sharing options and streaming for all of its content.
It’s unclear whether the device will be a commercial success given that it currently lacks a clear price and that the final design has not been revealed.
Microsoft has offered no information on its own Xbox 720, but rumors suggest that it will be revealed before E3 2013.
Nintendo has publicly admitted that the Wii U, launched late during 2012, is currently performing worse at retail than the company had expected.