Itagaki: current console model "isn't going to work"

Console gaming isn't going to survive if the industry just keeps doing the same old stuff, according to Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki.

In a feature article from Famitsu translated by Polygon, Itagaki gave his impressions from E3 2013.

"In a world where our customers now have their attention divided by their PCs, their tablets and their smartphones, simply having consoles expand upon what they previously were isn't going to work any longer," he said.

"Having a system that just reads controller input, makes a screen image and outputs it to the TV isn't going to work, no matter how rich the media it's producing.

"It seems like every first party is trying to get a feel for what makes a console truly special, and that's something developers are going to have to feel on, too."

The full article, available through the link above, contains similar comments from yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, Sonic director Takashi Iizuka and Capcom producer Motohide Eshiro, but other Japanese developers like Final Fantasy producer Yoshinori Kitase and Level-5 boss Akihiro Hino seemed enthusiastic about western development and the upcoming hardware transition.

Itagaki left Temco Koei in 2008 after 16 years with the publisher. he established a new studio, Valhalla Games, but its first game, Devil's Third, was dropped by THQ and is yet to find a new publisher.

Thanks, GamesIndustry.