GDC11: ‘Mobile is a huge opportunity’ says Autodesk

Autodesk vice president Marc Petit has made it clear that the company sees offering tools and tech for developers making games for mobile platforms as a huge oppotunity.

Previously the tech outfit, which enjoys enormous success crafting solutions for almost every creative industry involving 3D design, has made a mark on the games industry providing tools for high end console and PC development.

However, as the power of devices like the iPad and NGP increases, so does Autodesk’s interest in the space.

“The numbers in the mobile space are staggering,” Said the company’s senior vice president Marc Petit, speaking at a special Autodesk press event in the build up to GDC. “It’s a real opportunity.”

“What we’re really looking at at Autodesk is that the mobile world has displaced fixed internet,” he later added. “The world of browsers and browser plug-ins is going to fade pretty quickly because mobile is global now. 3G will become the way to deliver the internet to the entire planet. That’s going to change the entire ecosystem.”

Autodesk has previously seen its products used in the development of casual, social and 2D titles, but as mobiles and tablets become increasingly powerful, the structures and teams for developing games are starting to mirror those that create triple-A games; meaning Autodesk is becoming increasingly well positioned to move on the space.

The company also believes revenue from mobile games will exceed that of console games in 2015.

“Everything is up for grabs and the platform is very different, so we see this as a huge land of opportunity,” concluded Petit.

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