Current platform proliferation is great for developers, says BioWare Mythic VP

The current proliferation of video gaming hardware, from consoles and mobile platforms to social network gaming, is the first to happen for the industry that is actually a great thing for developers, rather than a period that we need to survive. This was one of the running themes of a Develop conference keynote from Eugene Evans, VP of EA's BioWare Mythic studio, during which he chronicled his 30 years in the industry from his Liverpool-based, computer magazine beginnings to his work at BioWare now. Throughout the video game industry's existence, whenever a proliferation of gaming hardware has occurred, usually two companies have eventually come out on top, argued Evans -- for example, during the Nintendo SNES and Sega Genesis period. Before that happened, however, there would be a number of different machines that diluted the market, meaning that developers had to consider making and porting games for lots of different platforms. This is most evident at the start of the 90s, when there was Atari systems, Amiga systems, the Mac, and the beginnings of the PC, alongside the home consoles. "There is always great opportunity and threat when the number of platforms proliferate," he added. However, the number of options that developers now currently have is more of a blessing than a curse, especially with the rise of free-to-play games, Evans argued, noting that free-to-play is the "most consumer friendly price point for games." "Free-to-play is the democratization of game pricing," he added, with customers able to take the approach that if they end up liking a game, they can then choose to give money to the developer. Evans was keen to stress that he doesn't think free-to-play will be the be all and end all for games, as there will always be room for blockbuster AAA titles. Looking to the future of console games in particular, Evans believes that the most successful company in the next generation of consoles will be the one that makes use of its prior community integration. "For the first time, they have connected communities from previous consoles," he explained, and the success of the next generation depends on how Xbox Gamertags, PSN accounts and the rest are brought forward.