PC, Xbox 360 Dominate Game Development

A new survey from Game Developer Research shows that most developers are creating PC games, and for console developers 360 is number one.

According to the 2008 Game Development Survey, a new 180-page report from Game Developer Research that questions nearly 2,000 developers from North America and elsewhere (mostly Europe), the PC still rules the development roost. 70 percent of those surveyed said they are making games for the PC/Mac, compared to 43 percent who are making console games, 28 percent who are making games for web platforms and 16 percent who are making portable games (DS, PSP).

Interestingly, on the console front, console developers seem to show a preference for Microsoft's Xbox 360. 73 percent are creating games for 360, 58 percent (including some of the same respondents) for PS3, and 42 percent for the Wii. 15 percent are also still creating games for the PS2. "This implies that the greatest amount of Western console developers by sheer numbers are creating games for Microsoft's console-- but due to team size differences, this doesn't necessarily imply that more games will appear on the Xbox 360 than other consoles," explained Game Developer Research.

In terms of portables, of those developers making handheld games, 75 percent said they are creating games for the Nintendo DS compared to 45 percent for the PSP – not too surprising considering the massive installed base of the DS.

The rest of the report delves into trends in programming language, purchasing habits and development choices regarding tools, game engines, etc. The report is selling for the price of $2,495 at the Game Developer Research website.

via GameDaily

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