The platforms that interest game developers

[quote=Searz]At GDC (Game Developers Conference) 2500 developers were asked what platform they were interested in developing for. The results are quite interesting; [img=http://www.sweclockers.com/image/red/2013/03/01/Devplatforms.jpg?t=original&k=d89fc805] The numbers for Wii U, 3DS and PSVita look pretty bad.[/quote]

[quote=caucheka]>android home consoles fucking seriously? then again, all the devs for tablets/smart phones will be able to put their games on it pretty easily.[/quote]

[quote=Pheyniex]well, seriously, i think the consumer is either stupid or is playing ignorant if he doesn't want a device that can englobe most of those functionalities. I mean, why the fuck would i want a tablet. i carry my laptop everywhere...[/quote]

[quote=Searz][quote=Pheyniex] well, seriously, i think the consumer is either stupid or is playing ignorant if he doesn't want a device that can englobe most of those functionalities. I mean, why the fuck would i want a tablet. i carry my laptop everywhere...[/quote] I doubt the consumer is "playing ignorant" :P It's not directly relevant to the topic since PCs aren't included in the poll(even tho Steam Box will kind of be a PC), but I'll give you a brief summary of facts surrounding different kinds of devices/formfactors. Here are some HUGE differences you really need to think about: [b]Desktop > Laptop for gaming[/b]. Laptop CPUs and GPUs laptops are often ~50% weaker than their desktop counterparts because they have MUCH more strict limitations on heat and power drain. Just comparing the power draw of a laptop to that of a desktop PC should give a good idea of the HUGE difference: gaming laptops range from 35-70W, gaming PCs range from 250-600W. [b]Tablet > Laptop for portability[/b]. Let's compare a few things: a typical 7" tablet is 1x12x20centimeters (240cm[sup]3[/sup]) and weighs 300-400g. A typical 10" tablet is 1x26x18cm (468cm[sup]3[/sup]) and weighs 600-700g. A typical 15" gaming laptop is 4x38x25cm (3800cm[sup]3[/sup] and weighs 3000-3500g. A typical 17" gaming PC is 5x40x28cm (5600cm[sup]3[/sup]) and weighs 3500-4000g. We're looking at numbers 10 times larger at the extremes. The difference in how easy a tablet is to take with you compared to a laptop is HUGE. A 7" tablet is something that is smaller than a book and weighs about the same as one, while a gaming laptop is a big chunk of hardware that both weighs a considerable amount and takes up a lot more space. Most tablets also have 5-10 hours battery life, while gaming laptops are at 2-6hours. So in essence the typical tablet has double the battery life of a laptop. [b]A laptop can do a lot of things, but it doesn't excel at any of them. It's a jack of all trades, but master of none.[/b] It has it's pros, and I do see why some people like them, but for gamers I personally don't think a laptop is a good fit. Considering that you get ~100% more performance for the same money on desktop PCs you can easily buy a PC that is stronger while still being cheap enough to buy a tablet too for the same money a gaming laptop would cost.[/quote]

[quote=Pheyniex]hence, simply buying a laptop is plenty. i'm just a bit saddened that i can't take it out of my pocket to make a call just about anywhere. still don't care. i take my laptop with me, most of the time. also, pen and paper is still awesome.[/quote]

[quote=Searz][quote=Pheyniex] hence, simply buying a laptop is plenty. i'm just a bit saddened that i can't take it out of my pocket to make a call just about anywhere. still don't care. i take my laptop with me, most of the time. also, pen and paper is still awesome.[/quote] Your comment makes little sense. You're responding to parts of my comment that are unclear from the way you're writing it. Use quotes properly so there's no confusion..[/quote]

[quote=FishmanDerp]Tablets and their simple-minded games are killing the hardcore gaming market harder than Kinect ever will. Appealing to casual gamers is just way too profitable to ignore right now, unfortunately... Also, I'm not surprised by the lack of Nintendo love. Most games that aren't endorsed by Nintendo sell terribly on their consoles.[/quote]

[quote=caucheka]which sadly is getting them in this pickle. they try to let 3rd parties be successful, because they always get flak for having hardly any third party support, and nothing happens. actually, what happened is that a lot of those third party ports were very poorly done, real lack of quality control on nintendos part. then everyone got upset nintendo has hardly any first party games on the thing. myself, i usually stick to gaming on my pc, with a ps3 for exclusives (both ps3 exclusive and console exclusive).[/quote]

[quote=Searz][quote=FishmanDerp] Tablets and their simple-minded games are killing the hardcore gaming market harder than Kinect ever will. Appealing to casual gamers is just way too profitable to ignore right now, unfortunately...[/quote] No, I will most certainly have to disagree with that statement. Casual games will never kill hardcore games. There will always be a market for hardcore games, as proven by this site's existence; MobaFire wouldn't exist if there wasn't a market for hardcore games. (yes, LoL is pretty damn hardcore compared to Angry Birds) The casual market is a new market, it contains new products for new audiences, it does not for the most part affect the hardcore gaming market at all. And even on Android we're likely to see a decent amount of hardcore games soon with the rise of portable and other gaming "consoles" running Android. We've got OUYA (which you should know about) and the Gamestick which are small devices meant for cheap entertainment in your living room, and then there's the Project Shield, a portable console from Nvidia. Also read my comment on devices and form-factors above, if you've the time :) [quote]Also, I'm not surprised by the lack of Nintendo love. Most games that aren't endorsed by Nintendo sell terribly on their consoles.[/quote] Yea, any game that isn't first-party Nintendo will never really interest most people, and for good reason too. The Wii U version will likely be the worst version of the game with the lackluster power of the hardware and the weird controller (a controller that honestly brings more bad things to the table than it does good). I honestly wish Nintendo would stop making consoles and just publish games for other platforms (because I do LOVE most of their games). The Wii and Wii U are both terrible consoles for real gamers. They haven't made a good console since the Gamecube in my opinion (that includes the DS and 3DS, although they're certainly better than the Wiis). [quote=caucheka] which sadly is getting them in this pickle. they try to let 3rd parties be successful, because they always get flak for having hardly any third party support, and nothing happens.[/quote] [b]Them having incredibly unique controls and sub-par performance for their console are big reasons why.[/b] Porting a game like Assassin's Creed 3 for the Wii U will hardly move any volumes of anything. The game was not made with the controller in mind and will at best have some tacked on features like a minimap on the controller. Having a unique control-scheme on a console will probably hurt a console more than it will help in this day and age(especially if it's terrible, like on the Wii U), because of the pain in reworking the controls completely. The Wii U version will also likely(like 99% likelihood) have inferior graphics compared to the the PC version.[/quote]

[quote=Nighthawk]Not gonna lie, I'm more interested in developing on smarphones (a lil bit on tablets) too, the amount of people you can reach with your product is pretty extreme, even if they aren't gamers. Almost everyone owns a phone nowadays, and it hardly takes a lot of marketing to get your game seen, someone who is just looking for something to play while they wait for the bus and bam, they see your game without you paying anything for marketing. Not to mention the game industry for smartphones and tablets and stuff is still in it's diapers, there are a lot of companies looking to hire and expand and that means jobs that weren't there before as well as good income. In the future it probably won't be as great as it is now for devs, but it sure is now.[/quote]