A Rockstar boss speaks out about mobile gaming being too much about the money

As Grand Theft Auto 3 and Max Payne gear up to get released onto Android and iOS, one of Rockstar's bosses, Vice President of Creativity Dan Houser, speak up about the mobile gaming industry and how it's too much about the money and quantity and not about the quality of games developers are putting out.

In an interview with Famitsu, which was translated by 1UP, Dan Houser says that the problem with the mobile gaming industry is that a lot of developers are just pumping out games to take advantage of the money that is there to be made, instead of focusing on releasing quality games.

This is my personal opinion, but I think a lot of people in the general mobile industry are more focused on making money than making good products. We're a business, too -- we have to think about how to build revenue and we value the knowledge you need for that, but we want to conduct business with superior products. Focusing on nothing but business is depressing to me; it's boring. I want people to understand that we make games for more than just to make money.

He goes on to talk about Rockstar's mobile plan, or lack thereof:

Our mobile strategy is not at all different from our console strategy -- in other words, we don't have one. Our focus is purely on making games that we can be confident on the quality of. We've never made something because we felt it was a business opportunity or because we thought there was some niche in the marketplace we could fill.

While it is really hard to disagree with a lot of what Dan is saying, considering the saturation in the mobile gaming market on Android and iOS, it's also easy to say that when you don't have to worry about money, especially when you have hit console and PC titles that bring in hundred of millions of dollars. Small mobile game developers don't have that kind of funds which is why we see a lot of knock-off and unoriginal products floating around both marketplaces. In the end though, those developers end up failing for the most part who just pump out crappy games.

Consumers aren't that blind to the fact there is a flood of mediocre content on iOS and Android and people just don't buy and play those games. There is a market for triple-A titles and people can definitely tell quality over quantity and will always go that route, especially with Android. If you're game sucks, people aren't afraid to tell you in the marketplace comments.

Have no fear Dan, GTA 3 and Max Payne will still be a hit on Android, now can we please have an early copy of both? Thanks!

Website Referenced: 1UP via IndustryGamers