Interviews// Industry Insights: Theo Sanders, Ubisoft Singapore

Posted 27 Mar 2013 16:30 by Svend Joscelyne

As part of an ongoing series, SPOnG gets the unedited, open and highly informed opinions of developers, producers and more in the vast world of computer games.

Industry Figure: Theo Sanders
Job Title: Lead Producer
Company: Ubisoft Singapore
Best Known For: Ghost Recon Online

Theo Sanders is the man behind Ubisoft's free-to-play PC FPS, Ghost Recon Online. Taking a prestigious franchise to the online space has been no simple task, but the guys at Ubisoft Singapore pulled it off. The game features a strong community whose feedback constantly help improve the experience.

SPOnG interviewed Sanders previously just after the launch of the game, which you can read here. Today, he talks up the prospects of an online future, and how important indie and fresh IPs are in today's industry.

Do you feel that an always-online future would be a positive one, for both developers and gamers?

In the long-run, I think so - despite the challenges we've seen with that model in the past few weeks. There are two main challenges that need to be addressed that I think will take us there:

First, enjoying ubiquitous, affordable, and high-speed connectivity which is not true everywhere yet (as I can attest writing this offline, 12km above the South China Sea). The other, more important, is that there must always be a crystal-clear value proposition for the player. I've never heard anyone in the Ghost Recon Online community question why the game requires you to be connected. That's because without other players, there is no game to play in GRO.

When the reasons for always-online are opaque, players become suspicious. When the value is obvious, there are no questions.

Following Sony's PlayStation 4 reveal event, how successful do you think next-generation consoles will be in capturing the indie and mobile gamer?

The PS4 looks promising. It'll be interesting to see whether the players whose first gaming experience was on mobile will be compelled to explore what gaming on the big screen is all about.