With the Xbox One and PS4 having launched just as app-based mobile gaming hits new heights; a leading developer has suggested that the gaming sector is becoming fragmented.
Although some will argue that app-based titles have opened up the gaming sector to a wider audience, developers have warned that as mobile gaming improves, and Steam Machines launch to rival traditional consoles, the gaming industry could be pulled in too many directions at once.
“The gaming sector is fragmenting,” ArtPlant founder and executive producer Jack Wulff said speaking exclusively with TrustedReviews.
With the company refocusing its efforts from browser games to Steam releases with its latest title Entropy, ArtPlant has claimed that gamers are now falling into very different and very defined categories.
“People who look upon themselves as core gamers, who like games with a deep and meaningful skill base, they prefer to download their games and are happy with huge clients that take up a sizeable chunk of their hard drive to get the experience that they want,” Wulff said.
“More casual gamers have obviously moved over to more mobile experiences so now in the middle there is browser gaming.”
With ArtPlant having previously specialised in browser games, the developer has warned that as Steam takes a dominant hold, browser titles could be on the way out.
“It had some good years a few years ago but right now it is between two chairs,” Wolff said of the browser game industry. “We are seeing more and more people are switching across to downloadable games.”
He added: “Some gamers feel that browser games aren’t proper games. They think they are for housewives.”
Although suggesting that the gaming industry is fragmenting, Wullf has claimed that some of the new directions, such as Steam Machines, are an exciting prospect.
“PC type gaming in the living room is very attractive,” he said. “Being able to take [PC gaming] to the couch will be nice.”
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