The Future of Video Games – 2 of 2: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Lately, I’ve been thinking about where I reckon the games industry is heading, what with PlayStation 4 and Xbox One – only three months away from launch – arguably little more than shinier versions of toys we’ve already played with. Where is the innovation? Where are the experiences only made possible by this new and exciting technology? Where is the next generation of console gaming, rather than these upgrades we’re set to buy – technological DLC packs, if you like – that merely extend this generation?

In part one of this blog mini-series, I claimed that the way people consume media and play games has changed. People try out a media experience, make a snap judgement and quickly embrace or discard it, with few people willingly experiencing linear or largely-linear media multiple times, since alternative or new experiences are so readily available. Meanwhile, the mainstream games industry (the console side, at least) is desperately clinging to ‘what works’, old expectations, and even older ways of doing things. Look at Nintendo, and their surprising refusal to attempt to innovate since 2006 – within the industry they practically redefined 30 years ago, no less.

So where exactly do I think we’re headed? I believe that it’s how we buy and play our games that will determine the imminent shape of things to come – and I think it’s Apple who are quietly leading the charge.

Currently, most full price games offer you what I call a ‘set menu’. You pay the price stated and know what you’re getting – typically a single-player campaign, sometimes a multiplayer suite and, usually, an incomplete game; like a pizza with three missing slices, DLC completes the package. But what are your choices if you don’t like everything in a set menu? Soon, you’ll go ‘a la carte’.

But what are your choices if you don’t like everything in a set menu? Soon, you’ll go ‘a la carte’.

For anyone unfamiliar with the term, ‘a la carte’ dining is where you choose what you want to eat from a restaurant’s menu, with each dish priced individually and, typically, more expensively than if you had them as part of a pre-selected set menu – even if the dishes are identical. However, a single ‘a la carte’ dish can work out considerably cheaper for you if you don’t fancy a whole three course meal. Interestingly, this is exactly how buying music via iTunes works, where the ‘set menu’ is an album, with its individual songs offering the ‘a la carte’ option.

How will we know if we even like what’s on the menu? Via a free sample of the finished article – a significant taste of what the full experience offers, rather than a completely separate demo; again, exactly how the free clips function when browsing music via iTunes.

Can such a purchasing model be applied to games? Well, yes – and it already is.

Two of my favourite releases of recent years started life as full-price Nintendo DS games. In their move to iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, both games now offer their first two chapters for free, with the quiet confidence to know that, if you like your first taste of the wonderful experience they’ve prepared, you’ll happily put your money where your mouth is – precisely how the street food vendors of Camden’s bustling market operate. From there, these games offer ‘a la carte’ or slightly cheaper ‘set menu’ options: buy each of the games that comprise Ace Attorney: Phoenix Wright Trilogy HD individually, or save £2 by getting all three in one go.

Likewise, Ghost Trick can be bought via three bundles of chapters, or save £2 by opting for the (superb) full game. Small savings in the grand scheme of things, sure, but massive savings compared to the game’s debut price tags – £11.99 compared to upwards of £80 for the three Phoenix Wright games upon their release, or £6.99 compared to around £25 for Ghost Trick in its original form – and no longer a costly gamble due to the lengthy free samples that were unavailable upon their debuts. And as universal apps, buy either game once and it’ll work on all your iDevices, unlike much of Square Enix’s iOS output.

But what about a la carte gaming on ‘proper’ consoles? I think that’s just around the corner. Recently, as reported by Eurogamer, I caught my first glimpse of how this reality could come to pass…

[youtube]http://youtu.be/7s32Q7MxvH0[/youtube]

(Skip to 1:21 on the above video to avoid copious cheese)

While nothing in the above clip suggests that players will be able to buy their preferred game’s modes separately, the fact that they can at least be downloaded in the order the player chooses is a huge and significant step towards widespread adoption of a la carte gaming.

But Apple’s stealthy bid to make a dent in the games industry doesn’t stop there. Due to launch in a matter of months, iOS7, the forthcoming operating system update running Apple’s portable devices, is set to usher in standardised game controller functionality. Soon, iOS gamers will have input devices of a quality comparable to a current gen Xbox or PlayStation controller… and then some.

Couple this with the expected compatibility increases of AirPlay – the ability to wirelessly display your iDevice’s output on an HD TV via the £99 Apple TV device – and the heavily-rumoured iPhone 5C – functionally identical to a current iPhone 5, only made of cheaper materials to bring down its significant cost – and you have the ultimate gaming set-up: a truly portable system offering touch and traditional digital input that you can continue on your TV the moment you walk in through the front door. And importantly, playing your game away from home will still be possible even if you are without an Internet connection and your home device is without power – unlike the Wii U’s ‘Off-TV Play’ and the PlayStation 4/Vita’s ‘Remote Play’. With Google’s recently unveiled ChromeCast, all signs point to Android devices following suit as quickly as they can.

So – my vision of the future: ‘a la carte’ gaming that’s as portable as you are, with substantial free samples to whet your appetite.