Xbox 360 and PS3 too complex for new breed of gamers

Mike Bantick
Wednesday, 13 June 2007 10:26

Your IT - Entertainment

The chief of Square Enix – developers of the mega-successful Final Fantasy series – believes the next-generation games consoles will miss the next wave of gamers because they are too complex.

Sure they are powerful graphical and multimedia beasts, but Yoichi Wada, CEO of Square Enix reckons the relative ease of development and popularity of the handheld gaming platform is the way of the future.

“There is a new breed of gamers in the market – we have to make games for all kinds of people,” said Mr Wada, in an interview with the FT. “In the old days, we could just focus on the PlayStation or the GameBoy, but the environment has changed completely.”

Square Enix is targeting handheld devices heavily over the next year with Final Fantasy Tactics and Dragon Quest IX for a start, in particular the Nintendo DS has a huge focus; “We chose the Nintendo DS because the widest array of people use it, including people who previously did not play games before,” said Mr Wada.

And why not, the DS is the largest selling game platform ever with over 35 million units being flogged to death all over the world.  And although they don’t get the recognition of their larger home console brethren, the handheld market is a every sophisticated one.

With its touch sensitive screen, and wi-fi capability the Nintendo DS offers game developers a host of possibilities in a small, easy to develop for package.  Likewise the Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) has another portfolio of features that could be exploited by canny programmers.  Although not in the same league as the DS, the PSP with its exquisite LCD screen has a solid market share to entice developers.

Meanwhile, although the home console has been the platform of success for Square Enix products in the past, Wada is not impressed with this round of technology chest-beating by the big players; “There are too many specs – and you also need a high-definition TV, a broadband connection and a deep knowledge of gaming – these consoles are mismatched to today’s environment. In a year or two years they will fare better,” Mr Wada said.