Monstermind maker: Facebook games 'will be like the Atari Eighties crash'

Now, this is just getting out of hand. Bossa Studios co-founder Henrique Olifiers seems to think that, if the copycatting practices in social games persist, then the industry is doomed. In so many words, that's what Olifiers told GamesIndustry.biz in an interview. The Monstermind creator likened the path social games are headed down to the Atari crash in the '80s, when several blatantly similar iterations of the same games flooded the console.

"Social games for me were always on the cutting-edge until they became copycat, and after they became copycat I said, 'Well, this is not going anywhere,'" Olifiers told GI.biz. "This will be like the Atari Eighties crash. Everybody and their grandmother had a version of Space Invaders, and these guys are going to do the same thing."

The issue of copycatting, from accusations thrown at Zynga to lawsuits flung 6waves Lolapps' way, has come to a head in early 2012. While this issue isn't necessarily unique to social or mobile games--it's plagued the game industry for years--it's nevertheless an issue. That said, it's unlikely that copycatting will drive social games into the ground, given their instantly-global distribution and rapid release schedule.

But that's not to say game makers and gamers should be any less wary of it. And Bossa seems to have the right idea for how to make sure, regardless of whether it's likely, stop the social games world from crumbling. "[Our games] should look and feel like nothing else on Facebook," Bossa lead designer Mike Bithell said. "We're working really hard top use these amazing tools, because there are so many things in Facebook that, if used right, make it better than Xbox Live."

Are social games are headed for a fall? Are you getting tired of the alleged copycat games on Facebook? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.