GamesBeat Next: Why creators are the future of the gaming industry
The overarching theme of this year’s GamesBeat Next conference is “Playing the Edge” — in other words, the technologies, innovations and initiatives sitting at the edge of the gaming industry that have potential to become industry game-changers. User-generated content is one of the areas with the most promise, says Dean Takahashi, Lead Writer at GamesBeat. He spoke with Nicola Sebastiani, chief content officer at The Sandbox, during a special preview session for the conference, about how developers can power brands and creators with immersive experiences and tools.
“We are at a critical time in gaming right now,” Sebastiani says. “We are entering what I call or what I like to think of a creator economy, where UGC is taking over and where everybody can just start a studio and build and make something and ideally make a living with it. You see that it really impacted the video industry during the past decade — think of YouTube — and I think we’re in a great position to be successful in this tidal wave.”
The decentralized nature of user-created content provides that extra leverage and sense of ownership to creators, and gives the power back to the community, he added, and that’s not only a unique selling point, but will pay dividends in the future.
Creators are at the forefront of gaming, Sebastiani says, especially as the barriers to create and make games and other interactive entertainment are lowered, which is foundational to the growth of the industry. The barrier that remains is the difficulty of users making significant revenue from their work.
“And in mobile, in the traditional gaming industry, the pie is very top-heavy,” he says. “The winners take most of the revenues. I would like the rewards to be more spread out
Read more on venturebeat.com
