Epic: $1 apps are killing us

Epic Games president Mike Capps is fretting that the $1 apps that can be bought for Apple and mobile devices is making it difficult for them to convince gamers to pay for $60 games.

Capps told Industry Gamers, ”If there’s anything that’s killing us it’s dollar apps. How do you sell someone a $60 game that’s really worth it… They’re used to 99 cents.”

Capps added that the industry is currently in uncharted waters: “We have not been this uncertain about what’s coming next in the games industry since Epic’s been around for 20 years,” he stated. “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?

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

We’re sure gamers will line up to buy Gears of War 3. It could be the $1 apps are forcing publishers and developers to release good games that they want to pay $60 for.