Ever since Nintendo President Satoru Iwata commented during his GDC keynote that the mobile apps ecosystem is devaluing games and therefore hurting the industry, many have weighed in on the ongoing debate. Most recently, Silicon Knights head Denis Dyack told us that Nintendo is right and that the commoditization of mobile games is "affecting the industry in a very negative way." Alan Wake developer Remedy Entertainment begs to differ, however.
IndustryGamers spoke to Remedy EVP Aki "AJ" Järvilehto about the studio's successful foray into iOS with a revamped Death Rally (their first IP) and we asked specifically about this devaluing games argument. Remedy, which put Death Rally on sale for just $0.99, doesn't see what all the moaning is about.
"I think the market is changing in a radical fashion. Barriers of entry are literally being blown away. New business models are booming and this is not about devaluation," commented Aki. "Facebook is doing tremendous things to gaming and attracting completely new people to enjoy different more casual and social games. I can't see how the fact that mainstream consumers are finally embracing our industry could be negative. After all isn't that what we've been hoping for since forever?"
"Games and gaming as an experience is certainly changing - platforms are evolving and developers and consuming is evolving with it. On iOS we think it's totally awesome that you can buy a game like Death Rally, 6 hours of console quality gaming with high production values, with just $0.99!"
We'll be bringing you the full interview with Remedy soon.
