/ciol/media/agency_attachments/c0E28gS06GM3VmrXNw5G.png)
Follow UsHELSINKI, FINLAND: Tablet devices such as Apple Inc's iPad could eventually beat consoles as the main driver for the gaming industry, the founder of online gaming firm Bigpoint said.
Also read: Changes in video games prompt optimism for 2011
"It could well be that tablet PCs will be more important for the gaming industry than the consoles," Heiko Hubertz, chief executive and founder of online gaming firm Bigpoint said in an interview.
Hubertz said thanks to tablets' increasing computing power they could replace consoles for home use, not only for on-the-go gaming.
Also read: Android video games dominate mobile confabq
Apple created the market for tablets with its iPad only last year and many phone makers and computer vendors have since joined the boom. Research firm Gartner expects 70 million tablets to be sold in 2011.
Bigpoint, employing more than 700 and offering games such as "Seafight" and underwater adventure "Deepolis", was valued at $350 million in a deal in April.
{#PageBreak#}
The firm has some 200 million registered users for its games which can be played directly within an internet browser and require no download.
U.S.-based ABI Research estimates that the online gaming industry's sales will grow to more than $20 billion in 2012, challenging traditional makers of video games.
Hubertz said the firm was screening "many, many mobile companies" as it seeks to acquire a stronger foothold in mobile gaming.
"Cross-platform gaming is one of the main future trends in the gaming sector, meaning that players can not only play their favourite game at home but also on the bus, at school or wherever they are," Hubertz said.
Hubertz said Bigpoint would publish different titles for Facebook this summer, starting this month.
"Facebook is very important for us. Even if they force everyone to pay with Facebook credits," he said.