Trends for the Game Industry in 2012

With the start of 2012, there are some strong trends that are changing the game industry in a big way. We take a look at some of them and what to expect.

Smartphones and tablets are changing the portable gaming market in a big way. Although most games on iOS and Android are smaller experiences than say Uncharted on the PSP (or the newly released PS Vita or 3DS), there is no doubt that games on the iOS and Android ecosystems are exploding in terms of development support, user base, and revenue coming into 2012. Smartphones and tablets are offering ways for smaller and indie developers to get noticed and sell their game to potentially millions without needing a huge budget or marketing campaign. Expect a lot more Android tablets and continued strong sales of the iPad to push games on larger 5-11″ screens. As Android devices are now pushing 720p resolutions, expect Apple to not lag behind in this area too much longer. Market share for Android devices sky rocketed in 2011, and we expect the Google OS to grab even more of the market in 2012. This means more developer support from game developers.

Say hello to the PlayStation Vita. 2012 will usher in a lot more power to handhelds with the release of Sony’s true successor to the original PSP. The big question though remains…. Are gamers really interested in that much power in a handheld, or will the 3DS at a much lower price outpace Sony’s latest offerings like it did with the DS? There seems to be a big push as mentioned previously that the mobile market is garnering a lot of attention from developers and gamers alike. Is the PS Vita going to take the gaming world by storm, or will it lose market share to devices like the iPhone and Android devices… Time will tell. What we can expect though is Sony pushing the PS Vita hard to gamers and developers. A price cut might be needed though to get it the market penetration they are seeking.

Different ways of interacting with video games will also take center stage in 2012. Kinect is coming to PCs, and others like Apple with Siri are taking voice controls first offered from Kinect seriously. The industry clearly is heading into a direction towards different ways of playing and interacting with games and media. Expect this to continue in 2012 with several companies offering competing technologies that offer the gamer and content consumer ways to get immersed into digital content.

All in all, expect a lot of focus and attention towards the mobile sector for the game industry. I think it’s safe to say we will see a lot of competing products fail, and a few moving forward taking the spoils of war. Also we should continue to see voice integration as well as motion controls make a big push in 2012.