Peter Vesterbacka, head of Angry Birds developer Rovio, has said that console games are "dying" and that innovation in gaming has "clearly" moved to mobile.

The controversial comments come via a panel talk at the South by Southwest Interactive conference in Austin, where Vesterbacka said innovation in gaming has moved into mobile and social areas because those companies are more "nimble" and can develop and release content quickly.

As mobile gaming - including games on tablet devices like the iPad - continues to grow, console games are "dying", he said.

In a veiled shot at Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata's own views, Vesterbacka scoffed at the traditional model where companies charge $40 to $50 for a game that's "difficult to upgrade".

However, when it comes to the business model for mobile gaming, Vesterbacka acknowledged that "no one has figured it out yet" (somehow we don't think he's that worried since his smash hit has already generated an estimated $70 million).

The Rovio boss added that the key for the company is to continue experimenting and not become attached to any particular model.

Last week Rovio secured a $42 million investment to facilitate its growth.

"Angry Birds will continue to grow, and we aim to create more similar success stories," said Rovio's Mikael Hed. "We will strengthen the position of Rovio and continue building our franchises in gaming, merchandising and broadcast media."

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/29 ... birds-dev/

Either he's been taken out of context or he's a bit mad, but there's no doubt the industry needs to sort out it's budgeting, whether internally or for profit...

Mobiles are just scaled down consoles these days in terms of hardware, dev access and the kinds of games that come out in terms of performance and cost

I think it's taken out of context but he has a point

A game that is quick to capitalise on an 'in' thing and be first to market stands a better chance of making the money over one that is slow, mobile is less to develop in terms of size so they can churn out game after game relatively cheaply

I would say that mobile games are very cheap to develop so can be developed by anyone, while console games need huge teams to develop and multi million dollar budgets, as a result the risk of a console turkey killing the company are great whereas that risk is minimal with a mobile game. With so many other entertainment options available to the consumer buying a £2.99 mobile game is nothing compared to the cost of a £60 console game, especially with a recession looming, or even simple austerity.

Mobile games are the equivalent of the kid in his bedroom with a ZX Spectrum or a BBC Micro. As long as the dev kits are readily available, I think we’ll see some good, and hopefully innovative, things emerging from those just starting out.

Remember - Jet Set Willy was innovative in the 1980s.

And why it will not financially ruin many of the developers. They would have created the game in many occasions even without an app store to make money from them.

The App Store is the key here. For $99, you can start selling. Write something worthwhile, and you’ll make that back, and hopefully a lot more. That kind of facility wasn’t around in the 1980s.

Yes I think that it might actually be the crucial factor as well. If $99 gets you access to potentially millions of customers then it is as cheap as setting up your own web store without the hassle.