Johan Andersson of Paradox Interactive says that despite conventional wisdom, game consoles are actually helping niche PC titles find a market and achieve greater commercial success.
“Generally we feel it is good for the industry as a whole that more and more people are finding their way to gaming,” he said in an interview with Eurogamer. “People have been saying for years that the PC market is declining, yet we’ve seen massive growth and success in our niched PC segment instead.”
Based in Stockholm, Sweden, Paradox Interactive produces historically-based strategy games for the PC, and is best known for the epic Europa Universalis franchise, a series of real-time “grand strategy” games that take place in Europe from the mid-1400s to the late 1700s. Following its success with Europa Universalis, Paradox has released other historical strategy games including Hearts of Iron, based on World War II, and Crusader Kings, covering the period from 1066-1453.
“I don’t want to predict where PC gaming in general is going,” Andersson continued, “but for us, the increase in consoles has made the market more segmented, and consequently made it easier for us to reach our target audience and vice versa.”
Despite the popularity of console systems, Andersson doesn’t see Paradox moving away from it’s PC base. “We are always open to new opportunities and there are certain platforms that lend themselves well to the type of strategy we do, handheld variants like the Nintendo DS,” he said. “But our main focus will always be on what we do best and to cater to our target audience and our niche.”
