Mitch Lasky
Hearing lack of innovation in gaming bemoaned is not uncommon. Mitch Lasky, former VP of EA Mobile and current 'general partner' at tech venture capitalist firm, Benchmark Capital, says that Sony and Microsoft are to blame.
Speaking at the DICE Summit 2008 in Las Vegas in an on-stage debate, Lasky deflected blame for lack of innovation being laid on the consolidation of publishers and developers - the most high profile of which in recent months has been Activision/Vivendi/Blizzard's strange marriage.
SPOnG certainly isn't in disagreement that innovation is in short supply in the games industry right now. A quick look at this week's Charts reveals that seven out of the Top 10 games are either sequels or based on well-established properties such as The Simpsons.
Lasky's comments mirror those of Blast Entertainment's CEO, Sean Brennan, at Northern Exposure last year, when he decried next-gen development budgets, saying, "What a joke. What embarrassment”.
With regard to consolidation, Lasky argued with Keith Boesky that the absorption of smaller developers does not necessarily kill innovation. Lasky's claim is that the smaller developer's innovative spirit is retained by being absorbed. Boesky, a former president of Eidos and is now at Boesky & Company,which works with companies to develop gaming properties has other ideas.
He claimed that once the financial concerns of big publishers are thrown into the mix, innovation goes out of the window. “[Big publishers] gotta make their numbers. It’s all about mitigation and growth [to them]”, he said.
Recent high profile consolidations in the games industry include EA's purchase of BioWare and Pandemic, Activision's surprise buyout of Blizzard and the mammoth coming together of Activision and Vivendi.
Is it consolidation or big budgets that is killing innovation in the games industry? Maybe both? Give us your thoughts in the Forum.
Source: Next Generation
Speaking at the DICE Summit 2008 in Las Vegas in an on-stage debate, Lasky deflected blame for lack of innovation being laid on the consolidation of publishers and developers - the most high profile of which in recent months has been Activision/Vivendi/Blizzard's strange marriage.
“Don't blame consolidation. Blame Sony and Microsoft for jumping the budgets up to $30 million for a console game. That's not consolidation's fault. At this point, the console game business and PC boxed game business is closed unless you want to dance with the devil.”
SPOnG certainly isn't in disagreement that innovation is in short supply in the games industry right now. A quick look at this week's Charts reveals that seven out of the Top 10 games are either sequels or based on well-established properties such as The Simpsons.
Lasky's comments mirror those of Blast Entertainment's CEO, Sean Brennan, at Northern Exposure last year, when he decried next-gen development budgets, saying, "What a joke. What embarrassment”.
With regard to consolidation, Lasky argued with Keith Boesky that the absorption of smaller developers does not necessarily kill innovation. Lasky's claim is that the smaller developer's innovative spirit is retained by being absorbed. Boesky, a former president of Eidos and is now at Boesky & Company,which works with companies to develop gaming properties has other ideas.
He claimed that once the financial concerns of big publishers are thrown into the mix, innovation goes out of the window. “[Big publishers] gotta make their numbers. It’s all about mitigation and growth [to them]”, he said.
Recent high profile consolidations in the games industry include EA's purchase of BioWare and Pandemic, Activision's surprise buyout of Blizzard and the mammoth coming together of Activision and Vivendi.
Is it consolidation or big budgets that is killing innovation in the games industry? Maybe both? Give us your thoughts in the Forum.
Source: Next Generation
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Comments
James 7 Feb 2008 15:51
1/7
I think you'll find it's Developers and publishers mainly EA that are the innovation killers, Nintendo have proved you can throw innovational hardware at developers but they just don't seem capable or arsed in using it, yes i'm talking about the Wii and DS.
after nintendo brought out the tech demos that were wii sports and mario party, all we have seen since is third party devs trying to milk this kind of shovelware.
publishers seem to be in it for a quick buck, and EA are the worst of the lot with their purchasing of devs left and right, so tell Mitch to stick his EA security card up his arse.
after nintendo brought out the tech demos that were wii sports and mario party, all we have seen since is third party devs trying to milk this kind of shovelware.
publishers seem to be in it for a quick buck, and EA are the worst of the lot with their purchasing of devs left and right, so tell Mitch to stick his EA security card up his arse.
deleted 7 Feb 2008 16:06
2/7
By this its seems to be saying that innovation can only come from small budgets and Indie developers.
I can understand that argument because small indies with not a lot to spend must make the most of what they do, where as EA can sit on the back of the Simpson or NFS and watch it fly, but let snot forget that these big players used innovation to get where they are, and as far as I can see the most profitable company in gaming today is also the one who is spending tons of cash on Developing and at the same time adding more innovation than all other Devs combined, Nintendo
I can understand that argument because small indies with not a lot to spend must make the most of what they do, where as EA can sit on the back of the Simpson or NFS and watch it fly, but let snot forget that these big players used innovation to get where they are, and as far as I can see the most profitable company in gaming today is also the one who is spending tons of cash on Developing and at the same time adding more innovation than all other Devs combined, Nintendo
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Plasmoid 7 Feb 2008 18:20
3/7
Woah, so he's saying that Microsoft and Sony have banned developers from developing for PC, PS2, Xbox1, Wii, DS and PSP and are charging $30 million per game for 360 releases!?!?!?!
No... its a case of game developers spend money to 1 up game developers spending more money.
Little Big Planet, Home, XBLA and all that seem to bringing innovation.
And wait, a VP of a mobile gaming division who specialise... no not even that, ONLY do ports of really old games and bad franchise cash ins, is blaming Microsoft and Sony for stiffling innovation....
Yes Mr Kettle, Mr Pot is of Black.
No... its a case of game developers spend money to 1 up game developers spending more money.
Little Big Planet, Home, XBLA and all that seem to bringing innovation.
And wait, a VP of a mobile gaming division who specialise... no not even that, ONLY do ports of really old games and bad franchise cash ins, is blaming Microsoft and Sony for stiffling innovation....
Yes Mr Kettle, Mr Pot is of Black.
alexh2o 8 Feb 2008 00:15
4/7
I think you mean the purchase of Bizarre... all this consolidation has got you confused! ;)
Tyler 9 Feb 2008 20:59
5/7
Nintendo is one of the few companies that actually believe innovation will actually bring in new gamers as well as hardcore ones. Innovation is the key to making this industry grow. All I see Sony and Microsft doing is just making alot of games eye candy, thinking that will drive sales. Im sorry, but I dont see Microsoft or Sony making any kind of innovative games or creative ones at that. Nintendo has been taking innovation to the max and I see them continuing to do that. Pikmin for the GCN, I feel, was a innovative and creative game made by the mastermind himself, Shigeru Miyamoto, and both games sold really well. It shows you, a game could look weird, but it could play wonderful. Sorry Sony and Microsoft, but you dont have the talent or creativeness to make the industry grow, Nintendo got you beat in every single way.
deleted 9 Feb 2008 22:21
6/7
Tyler wrote:
Nintendo is one of the few companies that actually believe innovation will actually bring in new gamers as well as hardcore ones. Innovation is the key to making this industry grow. All I see Sony and Microsft doing is just making alot of games eye candy, thinking that will drive sales. Im sorry, but I dont see Microsoft or Sony making any kind of innovative games or creative ones at that. Nintendo has been taking innovation to the max and I see them continuing to do that. Pikmin for the GCN, I feel, was a innovative and creative game made by the mastermind himself, Shigeru Miyamoto, and both games sold really well. It shows you, a game could look weird, but it could play wonderful. Sorry Sony and Microsoft, but you dont have the talent or creativeness to make the industry grow, Nintendo got you beat in every single way.
innovation doesnt mean unsual, strange or weird, innovation means creativity, and to say MS and Sony dont have that is wrong, after all MS and Sony Innovated this gen just in different direction than Nintendo,
While nintendo went for new and inventive gameplay types, controls and aiming at casuals, MS and Sony went for HD, Downloads, and Connectivity, that still great use of innovation and it should be aplauded as much as nintendo is, after all put 360 and PS3 sales together and you get a higher base of High Definition, Technically Supieror Hardware and Home Connectivty Sold than the casual games market, showing that although the wii is popular more people are lusting for Visuals and Technology as well as gameplay and unsual controls. both can work well together and i feel nintendo should of made a small loss on each console selling at £199.99 at launch but fitting it with HD, and all round better graphics, it would of made mario galaxy, zelda and even Wii Sports that bit more sweeter and still sold a s**t load.
DoctorDee 10 Feb 2008 09:35
7/7
haritori wrote:
innovation doesnt mean unsual, strange or weird, innovation means creativity, and to say MS and Sony dont have that is wrong, after all MS and Sony Innovated this gen just in different direction than Nintendo,
Sorry! What was innovative about this generation? It's just the same as the last, but faster, with more polys, more powerful CPUs. This gen was wholly predictable the day the PS1 was released. Hard drives and downloads aren't innovation, they are a way of fixing bugged game releases with patches, and getting more money out of users with "add ons".