New videogame hardware would "help the industry to grow" and decrease commercial dependence on "big established brands", according to Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot.
"If we look at the industry's history we see that there are times when it is right to introduce new IP and times when it is harder," the exec told MCV.
"At this stage in the consoles' lifecycles it is possible to do new IP, but it will be more attractive when new consoles come along. That's when consumers are more open to trying new things."
"As consoles get more mature it is the big established brands that soak up most of the sales," Guillemot explained.
"When a new format launches, we look to use the new technology to bring new games and new ideas to our consumers. We would always hope to be more successful on new formats than our competitors."
On the other side of the Atlantic, Epic Games has also been vocal in its desire for eighth generation hardware.
Squeezing the most out of the early stages of a console cycle is part of Ubisoft's "DNA", apparently.
"Each time there is new hardware it gives our creative teams more freedom and they don't have to follow the same rules," Guillemot went on. "They can try new things because the consumer expects and wants new things.
"As an industry we need innovation. Kinect, Move, 3DS, NGP - all these things will help."
He concluded by saying that the absence of new consoles was "part of the reason why the industry is in depression. Consumers like the current formats, but there is not enough creativity at the end of a cycle to really spark the business."
Microsoft posted job listings for research and concept work on another Xbox console in March.
A good time to revisit our Seven Reasons We Don't Need A New Xbox feature, perhaps.
2 comments so far...
CunningSmile on 11 Apr '11 said:
Considering that even in the midst of a recession we are still spending more on gaming then at almost any other point in the last 30 years are we really in a depression? Possibly a creative one, but that surely has more to do with the publishers and developers then with the fact we don't have new consoles.
Why are Ubi only giving people creative freedom at the start of a new cycle? Here's a tip, encourage that freedom all the time and we might have stonking new IPs every couple of months. I love Assassin's Creed, but Brotherhood had five different studios working on different parts. Is that really creatively constructive?
And when you do come up with something new give it the same level of advertising and support as the sequels and we might know about them to buy. Too many new IPs seem sent out to die, apparently for no other reason then so the publishers can talk about how no one wants new titles.
ATATCCU on 11 Apr '11 said:
Poor publishers and developers, crying all the way to the bank. Maybe if they took a look at who and why people buy their games rather than being fixated on their shareholders!