Games industry heading for crash ‘for same reasons as 30 years ago’
The head of department of technology and flexible learning at LIT Tipperary, Seamus Hoyne, told attendees at LIT Tipperary’s annual Games Fleadh that the industry was facing the same problems that caused it to crash 30 years ago.
“The video game industry crashed 30 years ago this year because there were too many consoles on the market at that time.
“We are now verging on the same problem again because there are so many games, across so many platforms.
“There is huge optimism for game developing here because of the undisputed raw talent, but companies need to really stand out if they are to succeed in this very crowded space today,” he said.
While there were warnings about the futureof the industry, other game developers said that the Government had failed completely to live up to the promises of the past.
CEO of exGamers Studios, Stephen Byrne, said that the Ireland has failed to live up to the ambitions produced in the 2011 Forfas Action Plan.
“Ireland has delivered in servicing but not in games development. We are way behind here in terms of the goals of the action plan for the sector. We can make games to beat the band but where we have trouble is on the marketing side.
“Our market is not Ireland but Asia and the US. As a company we are fortunate in that we have a publisher now, but a lot of game developers don’t get that far,” he said.
Mr Byrne said that without the marketing support no Irish game will ever achieve the meteoric success of the likes of Flappy Bird.
“Games is an entirely different beast and needs a specific programme. If you look what happened with Flappy Bird; that earned $50,000 a day in its peak from advertising. That’s what can happen if your game becomes a hit, but it will not happen for Irish game developer companies if marketing supports are not in place,” he said.
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