EA founder: consoles to become 'hobby' market

Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins does not think traditional consoles are the way forward. Speaking to IGN, Hawkins claimed that the console market will never go away, but it will become smaller, and more focused on hardcore gamers who are eager for innovation.

"The console market is always going to be with us, because there’s always going to be a hardcore segment, a segment that likes innovation," Hawkins said. "But it’s going to become a smaller market, and it’s going to be more like a hobby market."

Hawkins likened the idea to that of airplanes, claiming most people simply want to be passengers, not actual pilots.

"You look at airplanes. Most of us just want to be a passenger, but there’s a hobby market for people who are really into aviation and want to take flying lessons and maybe someday have their own airplane," he said. "I think that’s what’s happening to the console market."

Though Hawkins thinks traditional consoles are becoming niche, he said gaming altogether has grown in popularity to the tune of reaching billions and billions of people.

"But there are billions of people now playing games," he said. "The gaming industry is finally becoming mass-market. It’s across two billion PCs and four billion mobile phones, and within a few years a billion tablets. In terms of total audience size, we’re getting into really big numbers.”