Square Enix: Longer Console Generation Paved Way for iOS, Browser Games

Microsoft and Sony have made mistakes this generation, both in terms of what was deemed important when their respective consoles first launched and in failing to keep up with newly set digital standards we've come to expect thanks to apps on phones and PC platforms like Steam. One thing I've never considered is the knock-on effect of extending the console lifecycle, outside of things like more dated graphics, and it's the very thing that Square Enix tech director Julien Merceron has highlighted during an interview with GamesIndustry.biz.

"We have Sony and Microsoft talking about this generation lasting 7,8,9 or even 10 years and it's the biggest mistake they've ever made," he said.

"This generation has been way too long, and I say this because you have a lot of developers that work on a new platform, and perhaps will not succeed, so they will wait for the next generation, and will jump on that platform. You could not do that with this generation though. So these developers went elsewhere to see if the grass was greener.

"They found web browsers, they found iOS, they found other things and a lot of them won't come back to the hardware platforms," he continued. "So you could look at it that thanks to Microsoft and Sony and the length of this generation, it helped the emergence of other platforms and helped them get strong before the next hardware comes out."