The gaming industry has changed radically in the past five years, with trends like social games, free-to-play and motion control shaking up the established base. While it’s an exciting time to be in the industry and cover it, it’s a scary time for those in the traditional games business.

“We have not been this uncertain about what’s coming next in the games industry since Epic’s been around for 20 years,” said Mike Capps, president of Epic Games. “We’re at such an inflection point. Will there be physical distribution in 10 years or even five? Will anyone care about the next console generation? What’s going on in PC Can you make money on PC if it’s not a connected game? What’s going on in mobile?”

“Tons of really scary things… It used to be, ‘Well, of course PlayStation 3 will be successful because PS2 was amazingly successful,’ he added. “But can you say for sure that you know everyone’s going to jump to the next generation I sure hope so I’m going to try to make some great tech that will make everyone want to. But it’s scary.”

While Epic has achieved some success with Infinity Blade on iOS, Capps acknowledges that cheap apps are a major threat. “If there’s anything that’s killing us [in the traditional games business] it’s dollar apps,” he lamented. “How do you sell someone a $60 game that’s really worth it … They’re used to 99 cents. As I said, it’s an uncertain time in the industry. But it’s an exciting time for whoever picks the right path and wins.”

Source: IndustryGamers {link no longer active}