Cliff Bleszinski bets against next gen consoles

The very popular Game Designer Cliff Bleszinski, mostly known for his work on Gears of War and Unreal Tournament, spoke against next generation consoles on his blog. After mentioning how the transition to digital is inevitable and only a matter of time, he commended Steam:

Customers can smell from a mile away when you’re treating them like children, peeking your head into their bedroom on a regular basis in an attempt to catch them doing something. Here’s the thing about Steam. It doesn’t FORCE you to be online. The ecosystem of Steam is so brilliant, from the community, to the summer sales, to the indie games, that you WANT to get online.

He then added that he believes more in the PC, mobile and tablets platform for the near future.

My money is on the PC, mobile and tablets for the near future. I wandered around E3 looking at (too many) fantastic games shaking my head and worrying about how many are going to be deemed a failure due to the fact that yes, it may have sold 4 million copies, but it cost too much to make and market, so it was a wash.

For sure, next generation consoles will have to work hard against rising platforms if they want to retain their privileged spots in the gaming industry.