At SXSW 2011, Insomniac Games announced Insomniac Click, a division of the company that will focus on mobile and social games. Chief Creative Officer Brian Hastings called mobile and social gaming “a pragmatic necessity” in a recent blog post. It’s also telling that this announcement was made at SXSW instead of PAX East — a very shrewd move since the former draws a broad audience while announcing at the latter would have been preaching to choir.
Here’s more from Hastings on Insomniac Click:
Insomniac Games is proud to introduce our newest division: Insomniac Click. It is dedicated to creating new games for web and mobile platforms. Insomniac Click is an expansion of the company rather than a shift. With the exception of myself, everyone working in the group has been newly hired specifically for their expertise in this space. All our existing teams are still 100% dedicated to making unforgettable AAA console experiences with our proprietary blend of double rainbows and awesomesauce.
I’m thrilled about the move. I can’t wait to enjoy some Insomniac magic on the iPad 2 or on Facebook. Companies like Epic and id have raised the bar on mobile games, while BioWare is doing some fantastic work on Facebook. It’s fantastic that the companies we love on consoles are extending their reach to mobile and social platforms. They kind of have to…even though some people hate these platforms. Ha!
What do you think of Insomniac’s foray into the land of mobile and social gaming?
I don't use Facebook or LinkedIn. If they put product out that requires them I won't be a part of it. If they push out to iOS I'll see what they do.
Though I'm beginning to think that what happened to PC gamers with the dumbing down of game clients will happen to console gamers with these mobile/social aspects.