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PC gaming be about to overtake its console-based rivals. That’s the opinion of Creative Assembly, the developer behind the BAFTA-winning Empire: Total War. Mike Simpson, the studio’s creative director, believes that the current generation of consoles is starting to lose momentum, and that the PC will be the platform to cash-in.
We spoke to Simpson at last Friday’s BAFTA ceremony, shortly after his game picked up the Strategy gong, and found him in an understandably up-beat mood:
“You’ll get a generation of consoles that will come out that will make PCs look expensive, for a while – but PCs get better every year. Consoles stay the same. The current consoles are starting to fall behind and it’ll be a long time before the next generation comes out. It’s time for the PC to dominate again, for a little while.
“I think that we are definitely showing that there are things you can do with the PC that you cannot do with any of the other formats. They give you … a game which is at such a scale, consoles just can’t handle it.”
Simpson isn’t the only one who’s optimistic about the future of PC gaming. His sentiments were echoed by James Russell, lead game designer on Empire: Total War.
“I think it’s a cycle,” said Russell. “When the next generation of consoles comes along they have a phase of domination for a year or so, but then PC always overtakes and the cycle repeats itself.
“I’m really pleased that BAFTA has given this award to an epic PC gaming experience. I think it’s a real vote of confidence in that form of gameplay, and we’re really proud.”
While it’s hardly surprising that The Creative Assembly team are feeling chipper after their much-deserved win, their comments follow a similar claim that Peter Molyneux made recently at the SXSW conference in Austin.
“Gaming is being reborn on the PC,” said the Fable guru, speaking to a reporter from Switched.
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