GDC 2009 Summary

Games Developers Conference for 2009 is over. The show has attracted 13000 people this year which is a little down on previous years, but with the current economic situation, European developers have probably decided to wait for GDC Europe later in the year, resisting the temptation of the California sunshine.

Where we find the industry at the end of the show is concerning. Publishing in most senses is generally screwed. They have little or no intention in investing into new IP and even a self funded completed title isn't guaranteed to turn a publisher head. This is all a symptom of a lot of publishers being publically listed and with the stock market depressed, they have access to far less cash for investment into new projects. What isn't helping is the cynical attitude displayed by a lot of publishers. Of course the market is challenging but even more so if your decision making processes are driven by cynical people with no vision or insight.

Developers on the whole were philosophical about the whole situation. 'We've been here before and we survived ...' was a bit of a mantra from the development community on the whole. For most of them its a question of creating closer relationships with their existing publishers, a new client isn't coming along any time soon for most of them. Other than that its a matter of being a lean, well run business (as it should be anyway) that has its costs under control and has a very clear idea of the direction its heading.

New formats are offering a lifeboat to some companies in the industry. iPhone was the 'hot' platform of the show, everyone looking to break into that market. Games can be created in 3-6 months and the rewards are high if the production values match. It gives another small platform that new companies can cut their teeth on. XNA also looked a good route forward for smaller companies aspiring to get into XBLA.

Games developers everywhere should believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel, because for those of us old enough to remember, the industry has been in this state a couple of times and it always recovers. Its just a case of being able to sit out the misery until that recovery comes and have the right capacities in place to benefit from the upturn.