Blizzard Will "Definitely" Return to Console Development Someday
World of Warcraft [http://www.blizzard.com] Production Direct J. Allen Brack says that someday the company will "definitely" go to work on console development.
Blizzard is essentially a money-printing factory and in defiance of industry trends, it got that way on the backs of three PC-exclusive mega-franchises. But there was a time, many years ago, when the studio created games for other platforms as well and Brack said in a recent interview that despite its success on the PC, Blizzard will one day go back to work on console games as well.
"It's obviously because we've made only PC games for the last 15 years, but there's a perception, I think, that Blizzard is anti-console, and that's absolutely not the case," he told StarCraft II [http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4220/fifteen_years_of_warcraft_the_.php?page=3]. Some real-time strategy games have tried to happen on the console. Some of those have been successful, but overall, our experience is that it's going to be a better game on the PC, ergo it's developed on the PC."
"It's very similar with World of Warcraft. We developed the game for the PC. It's a very PC-centric control scheme and the way of playing the game is PC-centric," he continued. "But we're a company of gamers. I have two consoles at home. Sam [Didier, senior art director of StarCraft II] has consoles. We're a culture of gamers. We will definitely work on a console game at some point. I have no doubt about that. It's just {a matter of} what game. What makes the most sense?"
At the same time, Didier noted that the interest in console development didn't signify a declining interest in the PC. "I don't see the PC market as being bad. I mean, we didn't have 12 million players ten years ago. Whatever the format, console or PC, I think if there is a good game, it's going to be played," he said. "We're working on PC because it's familiar to us and it's relatively easy and it's not changing formats every other year and there aren't three different versions. Console, we have to worry about [those things]. I think the PC is really a good market to target."
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World of Warcraft [http://www.blizzard.com] Production Direct J. Allen Brack says that someday the company will "definitely" go to work on console development.
Blizzard is essentially a money-printing factory and in defiance of industry trends, it got that way on the backs of three PC-exclusive mega-franchises. But there was a time, many years ago, when the studio created games for other platforms as well and Brack said in a recent interview that despite its success on the PC, Blizzard will one day go back to work on console games as well.
"It's obviously because we've made only PC games for the last 15 years, but there's a perception, I think, that Blizzard is anti-console, and that's absolutely not the case," he told StarCraft II [http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4220/fifteen_years_of_warcraft_the_.php?page=3]. Some real-time strategy games have tried to happen on the console. Some of those have been successful, but overall, our experience is that it's going to be a better game on the PC, ergo it's developed on the PC."
"It's very similar with World of Warcraft. We developed the game for the PC. It's a very PC-centric control scheme and the way of playing the game is PC-centric," he continued. "But we're a company of gamers. I have two consoles at home. Sam [Didier, senior art director of StarCraft II] has consoles. We're a culture of gamers. We will definitely work on a console game at some point. I have no doubt about that. It's just {a matter of} what game. What makes the most sense?"
At the same time, Didier noted that the interest in console development didn't signify a declining interest in the PC. "I don't see the PC market as being bad. I mean, we didn't have 12 million players ten years ago. Whatever the format, console or PC, I think if there is a good game, it's going to be played," he said. "We're working on PC because it's familiar to us and it's relatively easy and it's not changing formats every other year and there aren't three different versions. Console, we have to worry about [those things]. I think the PC is really a good market to target."
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