‘Expect platform consolidation’ says Tim Sweeney

Smartphones, tablets, consoles, handhelds, and PCs all vie for consumer attention.

Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic, told the audience at DICE Summit 2012 he thinks this is too much.

"Over time these platforms will be whittled down to a competing set of platforms to maybe three winners worldwide across everything: computers, game platforms, smartphones," said Sweeney.

He pointed out that tablets have now passed PCs in sales- an impressive feat considering just how new this platform is.

The CEO nodded to advances in sensor technology, embodied by Microsoft’s Kinect, as showing the way of the future in games.

These and other technological advancements give Sweeney high hopes for the industry, and he predicts a "thousandfold increase" in computing power in future platforms.

"There are a lot of technical challenges. We’ve barely scratched the surface of the consumer implications," said Sweeney.

"What we can do with an iPad or iPhone today is limited by our experience of our computers and history. When a whole new generation of kids is raised with these devices pervasively around us it’s going to lead to entirely new worlds."