American McGee, the creator of the criminally overlooked Alice: Madness Returns, has admitted that he wasn’t particularly impressed with last month’s PlayStation 4 announcement. Speaking in an interview with Forbes, the Spicy Horse founder said that he had hoped for more innovation in the input department from Sony’s impending next generation machine.
“I didn’t see anything meaningful [in the controls], so meh,” he said. “It’s nice that they’re moving towards what looks like more developer-friendly hardware and indie friendly distribution. It remains to be seen if the appearance matches reality. Overall, I think this generation of consoles will struggle painfully against the momentum of mobile [and] online games we’re seeing globally.”
Seeing as Spicy Horse pledged its commitment to mobile and browser-based platforms earlier in the generation, McGee’s ambivalence isn’t particularly surprising. However, we thought he’d at least be impressed with the impending console’s social functions. “At present it just looks like another distribution channel with not much to differentiate from other outlets aside from sheer horsepower,” he added.
McGee recently cited his desire to create a third entry in the Alice franchise. Judging by the developer’s comments, though, we’d be surprised if it hopped through the rabbit hole onto the PS4. That'd be a great shame, as we adored Madness Returns.
[source forbes.com]
Comments 22
Alice: Madness Returns is so good. That game goes dark places narratively...
I never tried Alice: madness returns... The average reviews and it being repetitive according to said reviews turned me off it in spite of it's dark tones which are usually my kind of party. I might go and dig it out a bargain bin....my interest in it has been rekindled.
If he wants " innovation in control input " go make a WiiU game then. Not to put down WiiU but it shows that innovative controls do not a successful console make. Its just more features the devs WONT use in the future.
I disagree. I feel that the PS4 is innovative enough, anything else would just be overkill.
On the subject of Alice. I constantly see it in the bargain bin, but I never once felt the desire to pick it up and buy it. I may go out and do so later in the week.
Now that i think of it, i would not be surprised if Mr McGee comes out later this year with some sort of exclusive deal with MS. Much like how the Beyonetta dev bashed PS Allstars then months later annouced Beyonetta 2 was WiiU exclusive.
@3Above I almost forgot about Bayonetta 2. Although, the new Smash Bros and Bayonetta 2 still isn't enough to make me want a Wii U.
So the share button and the touchpad are there for nothing then?
Touch screen and motion control are so gimicky and unnecessary.
If it ain't broke.....
Innovation is kind of a false notion. When the DS had the 2nd screen it was touted as the best innovation in years. The Vita had the back touch and its not even talked about by devs anymore. It just depends on what people are willing to support.
I loved Madness returns. But I don't worry much about what this guy says because not long ago he spoke out against EA and few days later he bowed down to them
http://www.gamepolitics.com/2013/01/21/spicy-horse-founder-offers-tough-criticism-eas-marketing-over-alice-sequel#.UVC17zuPMiA
But anyways he is only saying what he is saying cause they shifted towards mobile gaming. And if he is so much obsessed with input innovation then he should be impressed with the VITA nearly every inch of the VITA is type of input and while it is good to have many input on mobile devices. When it comes it consoles it is all gimmicks look at the Wii the WiiU Move Kinect all were held as if they were technological and revolutionary technologies but people did not care. And besides developers are struggling to make games with traditional input devices and costs are always rising and us consumers have to pay for the games... so why the hell would they and us need more complications in the development and in the way we play??
After all gaming is about sitting down and enjoy yourself in front of a screen and at the same time relax from anything that you have been doing during the day. I don't care about jumping like an idiot in front of my screen
lol the original one used to scare me a lot in like 3rd grade or whatever it was.
Yeah, screw PS4's literally outstanding power. So overrated...
I'm actually looking forward to seeing mobile gaming completely annihilate consoles in the next few years. That is, if all these people are to be believed...
Mobile gaming does nothing for me whatsoever.
@ShogunRok If that happens, I will quit gaming. FOREVER.
@ShogunRok Thats what im waiting to see. If people like David Jaffe who left consoles for mobile platforms will be as successful as they think they will be. I think of the guy who left Team ICO to go work for Zynga. As The Joker said " You were a schemer, you HAD plans, and look where that gotcha."
All aboard on the Wii U hate train, WOO WOO!!!
(And we're supposed to be "more rational" than the "Nintendo sheeples")
But seriously now, considering how the PS3 controller was just the PS2 controller, I think it's okay, the dualshock is a very good controller anyways.
@3Above That's it really isn't it? These people will look like idiots if the mobile market fails to deliver.
On a personal note, I couldn't give a damn about mobile gaming. Not in the slightest. I accept that it's become a huge market, but to say mobile games can somehow stack up to console releases is nothing short of an insult to the developers we all know and love.
What we have here is a conclusion drawn on zero information.
We don't yet know how innovative - or not - the PS4 will be, because we don't know everything about it. We know some hardware specs and some operating system features. Maybe wait until we have details of a finished product before running the mouth.
@ShogunRok I really think we will see a repeat of the Wii-centric casual market bubble. These devs will chase after the mobile audience and ride the fad wave for a bit, then the wave will bash them into the jagged rocks of reality. The same type of people who made the Wii what is was are the same people fueling mobile games, they moved on from the Wii. And the will move on from mobile games once " the next big thing " debuts. Thinking that mobile games can last more that a few more years is short sighted IMO.
Well, I suppose some people are inclined to pick sides where it's absolutely unnecessary to do so. I love my Note 2, have plenty of games on it, but I'm not inclined to have it as a console replacement. When the day comes when something like the Vita or a smartphone actually IS as powerful as a PS3 and runs through the TV, then- and only then will I buy in to the notion that mobile gaming will somehow destroy consoles.
Browser gaming is fine, but again, is very dependant on having the correct set up. There are great thing happening (well, possible at least) in Chrome, but I'd still much rather have a console.
"the Spicy Horse founder said that he had hoped for more innovation in the input department from Sony’s impending next generation machine"
so why can't developers innovate in their games instead of looking for excuses and releasing the same game over and over with a fresh lick of paint
just goes to show you can never please everyone sony tried to make their new console easier to use and develop for and they still moan
I got alice this year. Think of it as an inspiration to a generation of platformers.
my opinion :these guys going to mobile games is quite a shame. Cause if any developer knows how to make a 3d platformer and make it RIGHT these were the guys. If you buy it on psn buy the bundle its the same price and you get all the dlc. Its a damn good game, kinda of wish it would have sold better
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