Game Developer Research Debuts 'State Of Game Development' Report

Author: by Staff

Gamasutra sister service Game Developer Research is pleased to announce the debut of its seventh report, the '2008 State Of Game Development Survey'. The in-depth 180-page report was compiled by surveying almost 2,000 video game professionals from North America and beyond who read Gamasutra.com or subscribe to Game Developer magazine. It includes answers to over 55 questions about the platforms Western game creators develop for, the market sectors they are working in, the tools they use, and the amount of money they spend on them. Some of the highlights of the report which Game Developer Research is revealing to the public at this time include the following: - Overall, 70% of those replying are making games on the PC or Mac, with 43% creating for console and 28% for web platforms - with just 16% making games for handheld platforms such as the DS or PSP. - Of the surveyed console developers, which represent a notable cross-section of the entire industry, 73% are creating games for Xbox 360, 58% (including some of the same respondents) for the PlayStation 3, and 42% for the Wii - with 15% still creating games for the PlayStation 2. This implies that the greatest amount of Western console developers by sheer numbers are creating games for Microsoft's console - but due to team size differences, this doesn't necessarily imply that more games will appear on the Xbox 360 than other consoles. - Again, of the largely North American and European developers surveyed, Nintendo DS had the largest amount of creators by numbers, with 75% of those handheld developers surveyed making games for it - and with 45% making games for the PSP. Another particularly interesting result that discussing trends in programming language. Of those responding, 76% are currently using C++ to make games, with 31% using C#, and 19% using Java/J2ME in their programming efforts. In addition, 9% of those replying still use assembly language in some way. The remainder of the survey offers a wealth of extra data into the purchasing habits and development choices of the game development industry, with market share information in areas as diverse as AI tools, game engines, 3D art software, compilers, books, motion capture suites, and computer hardware. In fact, the survey covers every submarket of purchases made by game makers. This will be of interest to technology companies in the game development space, as well as those looking to enter the market or to survey general game industry trends. More information on the full, paid '2008 State Of Game Development Survey' - including a full table of contents with questions asked - is available now via the Game Developer Research website.