Train2Game students have seen a huge rise in studios producing mobile games in recent years, and will be aware that it’s potentially a great way to get a product into the market. (Just ook at how well micro studio Hogrocket has done in this Train2Game blog interview)

However Grand Theft Auto developer Dan Houser believes a lot of publishers and studios have turned to mobile only to make money, with less focus on developing quality titles.

“This is my personal opinion, but I think a lot of people in the general mobile industry are more focused on making money than making good products,” the Rockstar man told Japan’s Famitsu Magazine.

And Houser revealed he believes the focus on making money ‘depresses’ him, and thinks games are more than an exercise in making money.

“We’re a business, too — we have to think about how to build revenue and we value the knowledge you need for that, but we want to conduct business with superior products. Focusing on nothing but business is depressing to me; it’s boring. I want people to understand that we make games for more than just to make money.”

“Our mobile strategy is not at all different from our console strategy — in other words, we don’t have one,” he said.

“Our focus is purely on making games that we can be confident on the quality of. We’ve never made something because we felt it was a business opportunity or because we thought there was some niche in the marketplace we could fill.”

Big developers including Bioware and Activision have recently looked into the possibility of developing for mobile.

Some believe mobile, and Apple in particular, are a threat to consoles, Houser argues that while an important area, in won’t swallow up the entire games industry.

“I don’t think mobile is going to swallow up video games, but it’s an important topic. The massive phenomenon we saw when portable game systems came out has already spread over the mobile market, but we’ve experienced successes and failures in portables in the past.” Houser concluded.

Rockstar have had a high profile week, with the Train2Game blog reporting that the developer finally officially revealed Grand Theft Auto V. See what Train2Game students want from Grand Theft Auto V here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game Facebook page.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on Housers’ comments? Are some developers focusing on making money from mobile rather than producing quality products? What’s your opinion on Rockstars commitment to making quality games?

Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

[Source: Industry Gamers]