The next generation of console gaming has arrived with the likes of Xbox One from Microsoft and Sony’s PlayStation 4. While it seems like the new generation is only starting to unfold with more surprises coming along in the near future, EA feels that it won’t take much time before the next generation starts facing “stiff competition” from mobile devices.
Speaking recently at the Credit Suisse 2013 Technology Conference EA CEO Andrew Wilson expressed his belief that next generation consoles will be facing competitions from the ever-growing mobile technology.
"Our market is evolving at a very, very, very rapid rate," Wilson stated, as scripted by Games Industry. "I think that Microsoft and Sony have a real opportunity to build a strong following and a strong install base while they continue to be the single best way to get high fidelity, high definition interactive entertainment to your 80-inch television.”
“If you think about Microsoft's strategy--and I think Sony shares some of this in their long-term view, of being a broader entertainment device in your living room--I think they have that time. I think that three years from now, four years from now, they're going to be under some fairly stiff competition for the living room, from mobile providers, from Apple, from Google, from Roku, from Comcast, to try and own that living room experience," he added.
However, whatever his belief about the future may be, Wilson confirmed that the company will continue supporting PS4 and Xbox One, saying that EA will be present wherever the gamers are. Wilson also joked how in the next five years, “the company's biggest revenue generating platform could be a hologram that comes up from the living room floor.”
"For us, we are less focused on the device and more focused on the modality of play because we think that will continue irrespective of what piece of technology is used to deliver the [content]," Wilson stated, as scripted by .
But this is not the first time that the mobile industry has been viewed as a potential threat to the next generation of console gaming. Speaking to Polygon last month, the CEO of Rumble Entertainment Greg Richardson explained how the success of the next-gen consoles will act as a wake-up call for mobile and free-to-play developers to develop similar stuff for the mobile universe as well.
Polygon wrote, “Richardson says the new consoles will remind developers what great entertainment value looks like. It will remind many free-to-play and mobile developers that there is a standard to strive for, and to think beyond finding ways to monetize their games.”
