Randy Pitchford/Ken Levine talk the future of gaming, creating games with passion

On a recent podcast, both Randy Pitchford and Ken Levine discussed what they see in the future of gaming.

Randy Pitchford: “I would expect that within four years from now, we will be in a new cycle of some kind, and there’s more certainty than there was two or three years ago about what that next cycle should look like.”

Ken Levine: “At this point I have no desire as a developer and zero desire as a gamer to see the next generation come out where I’m sitting right now. Connectivity exists today on the platforms, and that’s definitely the thing I like in a platform like Steam or something. I don’t have to worry about that ***–wherever I am, my games are with me, and if I don’t have my game with me, I can have it in a few minutes.”

Randy Pitchford: “Yes, that’s what we want. We are there; not all of our customers are there. …When a new platform comes to be, it could be predicated on this new way of thinking.”

Then Mr. Pitchford moved on to discuss creating games with passion, and trying to figure out if the player could even tell.

Randy Pitchford: “It’s kind of like when you meet a girl — ‘Would I do her or not?’ You can make that decision in five seconds, and the customer’s going to do the same thing. ‘Are they just trying to monetize me, or are they offering me real value?’”
Ken Levine: “The developers who do the cash-in thing, they don’t last very long. People get wise to it very quickly, and it’s not actually a good thing. From a raw business model, it’s not a good path to be on, for a publisher or a developer.”

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