Gaming industry in crisis: opening keynote at Montreal International Gaming Summit
The second Montreal International Gaming Summit opened today on a sobering note, with a veteran game designer warning the game design industry is at a crossroads. "Ironically, it’s not going to be the game guy who’s going to be so cheery and upbeat," said Warren Spector, founder, president and project manager at Austin TX-based Junction Point Studios, during his opening keynote speech. He listed a catalog of potential opportunities and pitfalls facing the gaming industry, including a lack of breadth and depth in product offerings, consolidation due to big media conglomerates buying game design studios, and rising costs leading to work being outsourced offshore. "The struggle ahead is going to be dramatic, but I think it’s important to remember we work in a media of staggering potential," he said.