Unity CEO: Consoles Are In Desperate Need For Innovation

Unity CEO: Consoles Are In Desperate Need For Innovation

During a discussion at the GamesBeat Summit Unity CEO, John Riccitiello, lamented the console industry's lack of innovation.

"Console desperately needs re-invention in terms of some of the game mechanics," he argued. "We play the same game literally since 1997, the advent of 3D gaming. So many of the mechanics are exactly the same. There is some innovation - the Titanfall guys did a really nice job. I don't think the game mechanics of BioShock Infinite are that innovative, but my God that's a beautiful world. I wanted to live there. But there's not enough innovation."

This lack of innovation isn't exclusive to console game makers only. Riccitiello also lambasted mobile games market for being dominated by clones and unoriginal sequels. "There is too much 'I want to make that game, but I want to make it a little more this way or a little more that way,'" he said. "Or 'Hey, maybe I can have five candies connect instead of three.' That just doesn't feel like enough."

Elsewhere in the discussion, Riccitiello suggested that PlayStation 4 overtook Xbox One simply because Sony paid more respect to gamers.

"I think it was a little bit like a game of pool," he explained. "Microsoft was focused on the shot after the one they needed to make... but they missed the first shot and they didn't get another shot at it. Sony worried about the shot they needed to make, which was [to] win the hearts and minds of the gamers. They did a better job of execution with that. Frankly, the broad scope of entertainment may be a bigger idea, but not with an unfocused execution... Sony nailed it. They paid respect, more respect, to our community than the other guys."