'Consoles Are A Problem' and 'A Step Backwards,' Says Oddworld Creator
Though many celebrate consoles for bringing video games into the mainstream, developer Lorne Lanning believes that consoles are holding the industry back due to rising development costs.
"I think the consoles are a problem," he told GameDaily BIZ. "Years ago I was excited about consoles, but anything that makes development more expensive, rather than better, faster, cheaper, I think is a step backwards."
The creator of console titles such as Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee (PC, PSX) and Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath (Xbox), Lanning sees the PC market as more exciting because the platform allows "for more smaller games to be sold that can be delivered to anyone who's connected at much lower price points."
He added: "There's a big difference between spending $50 or $60 on a game and hoping I love it and buying a game for $5 and then buying additional content for that game, so by the time I have invested $50 in it I really love it and I've personalized it a lot more to what I'm interested in."
Curiously, Lanning makes no mention of the cheap downloadable games that are available to PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii owners. While full-fledged console titles are usually priced between $40 and $60, downloadable releases are typically priced between $5 and $15, with more content often available post-release.
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