Roberts: Next-gen won’t phase PC Kickstarter scene

Though next-generation consoles will definitely be the newsmaker of 2013, Star Citizen developer Chris Roberts has kept his money on the PC.

Kickstarter was one of the biggest trends in the industry in 2012, but did little to alter the console sector and revolved around small budget games for PC, Mac, Linux, and mobile devices.

"You’re seeing one of the reasons why it’s taken off this year is in response to the big publishers that keep focusing on the bigger titles and they’re getting rid of all the middle stuff," Roberts told Now Gamer.

"Genres like the RTS or the adventure games like Tim Schafer’s or even what we’re doing with the space sim, this is the ability for gamers to say ‘no, this is a game I want to play’."

This puts Kickstarter out of the realm of Next Generation consoles, which are expected to focus on triple-A games while serving as an all-around entertainment platform through streaming services.

Combine this with the falling cost of PC computing power, and you get a generation of consoles under serious threat from home-built and commercial options like Valve’s Steam Box.

"I think consoles will be there and they’ll do decent business but I don’t think that the next generation of consoles will be as big as the last generation," said Roberts.

"Essentially, I can build a high-end PC now that’s much more powerful than the new consoles that will be announced this year."

Additionally, the console market is tough for indie developers due to the policies of the various platform holders.

"So they’re going to be on an even footing with everyone else, whether it’s Steam Box or whatever, and then what’s the best platform?" Roberts asked.

"Is it a closed platform, which is controlled and curated like Microsoft, Apple and Sony, or is it an open platform that isn’t controlled? There are good and bad things about both sides but that’s basically the PC platform."