Game Developer Research today released their report "2009-2010 State of Game Development Survey." 800 developers were given 55 questions to answer on the state of the development industry. While there were increasing layoffs in the industry, there was a rise of smaller independent studios, as evidenced by a seven percent growth of developers employing 50 or fewer employees and a two percent slide in companies with 500 people or more.
On the mobile side of things, development increased 25 percent compared to 12 percent last year. Nearly 75 percent are supporting iPhone and iPod Touch, which is more than double those working on DS and PSP titles.
PC is still a popular platform for a wide variety of developers, with over 70 percent of developers reporting working on at least one PC title (which includes online only and social games). 41 percent of developers are working on games for consoles, with 69 percent working on Xbox 360 and 61 working on PS3; roughly equivalent to last year. Wii development, however, dropped from 42 percent last year to just 30 percent this year.
“Like any other medium of entertainment, video game development is subject to change with the ebb and flow of the economy and any hot new trends, and this year’s survey continues to reflect this evolution,” says Simon Carless, global brand director of Think Services Game Group. "The full, detailed survey document, with its plethora of raw data and wealth of insight, is an important resource for any industry-watchers looking to navigate the changing seas of the games industry."
1 Comments
February 8, 2010
I never understand why third parties moan about Nintendo not "doing enough" for them. What is Nintendo supposed to do, host seminars on how to create an excellent video game? Here's the hardware, now go create games. The problem is creating games better than Nintendo. Its first party content tends to overshadow everything else, far more than Microsoft and Sony's.