Feature: 'Question of the Week Responses: Developer Consolidation'

In one of today's main features, Gamasutra has the results of last week's Question of the Week, which asked our professional audience: “What do you think of the continuing trend of major publishers acquiring significant independent game developers? Is industry consolidation necessary for reasons of stability and growth, and what does it mean for the future of game creation?" In the following excerpt, Lorenzo Wang of ESC Entertainment offers a positive outlook on the situation: "While industry consolidation is never necessary, given how significantly easier it is to produce and distribute games independently today, there's a certain boon to it that I think is overlooked. Bringing bright and successful developers into the fold, whether it be less than amicable like with Katamari and Namco, or robust like with NCSoft and its new guildies, will both improve the visibility of rare talents, and also gain (a touch of) corporate appreciation for maverick designers. What the industry really needs is "celebrity directors" like Tim Schafer, Miyamoto, Cliffy B, or Kojima. Once you can disentangle their names from a corporate brand, the proper credit will hit the proper people, and they just might be properly funded in the future. There are many talents in the industry, and consolidation is fine so long as that doesn't obscure due renown. We might even get better games out of it." The rest of his thoughts, as well as those of other industry professionals, are available in the full Gamasutra feature. (no registration required, please feel free to link to the article from external websites).