Good read.
I've always thought the industry, like all great institutions, would eventually collapse in on itself. Thanks to the advancement of tech and popularity of gaming, AAA games have become incredibly expensive to make. With studio closure and all these strong-arm tactics, the event horizon seems incredibly close.
He makes a lot of good points as to why I love indie games and their developers. They don't often focus on making a blockbuster title. They just make awesomely fun games, at a fraction of the cost of their counterparts. They harken back to the early years of gaming.
That's the way to drive innovation and change, instead of watering every big game down to appease the masses.
And that's why I'm really excited for the PS4. While the PS3 had its struggles, these last couple years have been great for indies. It's still hard for them to be profitable, but putting them in the limelight in the coming generation may just set them up for success and trigger a massive shift in game development.
Plus, as Cerny has stated, the easy to design for architecture streamlines the process. If the AAA studios can increase efficiency, reduce development times, and cheapen the entire process, we could see a healthier industry where people aren't as harshly punished for taking risks.
