You've heard it a hundred times by now, but it's worth repeating: Android, iOS, and the mobile market in general have had a huge impact on the way we buy and play video games.If next-gen systems like the PS4 and Xbox 720 want to perform well, they're going to need "blow people away."
At least, that's what Marcin Iwinski, co-founder of The Witcher 3 developer CD Projekt, thinks. Iwinski said that both the PS4 and Xbox 720 need bring developers and gamers closer together if they really want to succeed.
"I'm really curious what the platform holders will deliver this generation because they really have to surprise and blow people away," Iwinski said to Edge recently. "The technology is one part, and then there's the method of delivery - this is the part I'm super-excited about. We have GoG.com and direct relations with consumers there, of course there's Steam, and I'm really excited to see what will happen on the next-gen consoles, because iOS and Android consoles have completely turned it all upside down."
Not only are iOS and Android cheaper to developer for, but if developers have more control over what kind of content they want to create and make available for consumers (as long as they can avoid Apple's dreaded censorship policies). If the PS4 and Xbox 720 want to keep up, they'll need to eliminate the obstacles currently getting in the way of console development by smaller teams.
Additionally, Iwinski said that the PS4 and Xbox 720 should allow for more interaction between the developers and their audience.
"Here's the developer, here's the gamer - they should talk," he said. "If there's a chain of people in the middle, that is kind of muffled. The more direct the communication, the better the games are. It's that simple."
The Witcher 3 is currently scheduled for a 2014 release on the PS4 and, presumably, the Xbox 720.
