Game Developers Betting Heavily on Mobile

Pretty sure this is a first:

If you only read one gaming statistic this week, let it be this one: In a pre-conference survey, GDC 2013’s organizers found that 58 percent of gaming professionals attending either last year’s conference or this one plan to release their next game on smartphones or tablets. That’s a tad greater than commitments to the Xbox 360, Microsoft’s next console, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U and Wii combined, which together garnered “next game” pledges from 56.5 percent of developers.[Emphasis in original]

Keep in mind that mobile games sell for a few bucks, while the big console games retail new for $60.

The more interesting number, and I wish they’d reported this, is what the combined developer interest is in the dedicated portables, like Gameboy and PSP. My guess is: A lot less than Android and iOS.

(H/T, The Bearded One.)