Former Microsoft Games VP Says Consoles Won’t Lose to Mobile Gaming

Every few months, we’re told some element of our gaming world is dead, from our PCs to our singleplayer games. Well, the newest concern is the impact the tremendous success of mobile gaming has on consoles. But this time former Microsoft Game Studios VP Shane Kim is going on the record to state the opposite. Speaking with IndustryGamers.com, Kim is unconvinced that a market coup is in the works.

Though an advocate of mobile gaming himself – seeing as recently joined the team at mobile developer Zipline Games – Kim simply believes there’s room for everyone. He admitted that mobile games have a sizable impact on the market, but as far as the console market is concerned, he “would never say that it’s going to go away completely.”

If the idea of mobile games performing a takedown on your beloved consoles sounds idiotic, don’t be too quick to dismiss it. Developers like Mike Capps, president of Epic Games, have expressed their own concern about the popularity of iPhone and Android games. Tom Bissell, author of Why Video Games Matter, wrote an honest piece on how attractive, clever, and digestible mobile games are tearing up the market, leaving some highly polished, narrative games in the proverbial dust. The scare is there.

If I’m forced to pick a side, I would have to agree with Shane Kim that the market is expanding. It’s bringing in new players who may start on Angry Birds and end up with Gears of War. Beyond that, the success of downloadable titles is bound to be pulling more people from their phones onto consoles. But, it would be foolish to shrug off successful mobile device games, as they could very well be a whole new evolution within the gaming market.