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Casual Connect Europe: Mobile will have 'caught up' with next-gen console tech in 2-3 years, says Fishlabs

Schade on the smartphone surge

Casual Connect Europe: Mobile will have 'caught up' with next-gen console tech in 2-3 years, says Fishlabs
Mobile tech is accelerating at a faster rate than consoles, and will match the performance of next-gen systems within the next two to three years.

That's according to Fishlabs CEO Michael Schade, who – while delivering a talk at this year's Casual Connect Europe in Hamburg – suggested mobile tech is already superior to that employed within forthcoming consoles by some measures.

On fire

Schade spent much of his time showcasing the visual prowess of Fishlabs' Galaxy on Fire series, with the next game in the franchise – Galaxy on Fire 3 – set to push the boat out even further.

Such lofty ambitions are built on the knowledge that mobile tech considers to advance at speed, said Schade, pointing to the ever-closing gap between the hardware built into high-end consoles and that deployed within popular smartphones.

"We set out with the aim of bringing console quality graphics to mobile platforms eight years ago, and people had a great laugh at us," said Schade.

"But we predicted it would be doable within 10 years."

Schade believes new consoles from Microsoft and Sony likely to be revealed later this year will be matched by mobile devices "within two or three years."

"Also, the next consoles will all be full HD – but that's something mobile already has, so from a certain perspective, mobile is already ahead of console."

The extra mile

Mobile developers looking to ride the graphical wave, however, need to take charge of their own source code, he said.

"Full control of your own source code, your own tech, is vital if you want to go the extra mile graphically," Schade concluded.

For console games that make the leap to mobile, however, Schade warned that publishers need to make sure they "brush up" the visuals for smartphone devices, citing versions of Tomb Raider by Square Enix and 2K Games' Sid Meier license as franchises that have failed to generate masses of revenue in part due to their less than sparkling visuals.

Quality, Schade concluded, is everything, and consumers can see if you've cut corners – even if the original game looked cutting edge on console a few years ago.

With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.