Sony's Developer Muscle

For quite a while now Nintendo has survived almost entirely on the strength of its talented first party developers, through the rough times they kept the company afloat with technically brilliant and creatively rich titles that truly made Nintendo gamers feel their console was a worthwhile investment. When the original PlayStation debuted, Sony's approach was a little different, they courted just about everyone to make games for the system, and over the years Sony picked a number of those who had developed standout titles and provided partial funding for their studios and titles, eventually snapping them up as first party developers. Fast forward to present day and Sony's amassed quite a wealth of developer talent. Let's have a look at just a few of these talented folks and what they're cooking up for Sony's new super machine.

[TheMART]

So you always directly vote cool on your own lame 'news'? Great news, very on the edge. Very hot also:

original post: Posted Jun 23, 2006 at 01:36PM

And then the names in the original article. Well urm. Great.

Names like:

Epic
Rare
Lionhead

Say 10 times more then that line up. Really. This is no news, it's fanboy post with little to no value

[specialguest]

The Mart, you shouldn't be commenting on what's news worthy. The only PS3 news worthy thing for you is bad news. I think everyone on this site knows how anti-Sony you are. You should give it a rest sometimes, especially at your adult age. Teenagers and younger have an excuse to act this way because they're immature.

[EnforcerOfTheTruth]

First of all Epic developes also for the PS3, even better, as of now they bring their main title PS3/PC only ;-)
Rare? Lionhead? LOL which great games did they deliver in the last few years? Black and White? Perfect Dark? ROFLMFAO

BTW in the article they didn't mention Sony's own studios that deliver great, innovative games like God of War and Shadow of the Colossus.

[zypher]

couldn't have said it better specialguest and XbugTerminator. if TheMart were smart he would've replaced Epic with Bungie, giving Microsoft a whopping THREE (apparent scarcasm) first-party developers that makes any worth-while games (though i haven't seen much that Rare's done that's worth-while). fanboys SERIOUSLY need to chill. they are the ones who make gaming sickeningly unattractive.

[TheMART]

Well I guess you all don't know the facts right.

Epic will be the first nr. 1 supplier for 360 with

GEARS OF WAR

and in a couple of years Gears of War 2. Killzone nowhere to be seen again.

Viva Piniata will be a great family hit and innovative by Rare

And Lionhead xbugsperminator had made Fable and will make the great Fable 2 now.

There you go guys

Gears of War
Fable 2
Viva Piniata

Great games PS64 won't have. Furthermore, Bungie, well Halo I even didn't mention because that's old news. I just gave you three of the most recently ones. But I guess you like old news like this article

[ASTAROTH]

U r pathetic man. JAJAJAJA. Besides Halo, there is nothing as atractive in Microsoft first party development. VIVA PINATA jajaja Come on dude you are awesome. jajajaj. Fable 2 ok, but the first wasnt that amazing and it copies the graphic style of ICO so this makes sense to you. JAJAJA. GOw is the only thing ineresting in your list.No matter how hard you try GOW rulesssssss!!!! My PS2 that is. Talking about GOD OF WAR. A game that I believe you havent played. JAJAJAJA you are the BEST KMART

[Jay da 2KBalla]

UT2007 is being developed for the 360.

[zypher]

for the record UT2007 hasn't be announced for the 360 (thats a rumor 360 fans have cooked up, unlike with Assassins Creed, which SEEMS PROBABLE). and anyway, TheMart listed Epic as if implying that they were a first-party developer for Microsoft, which isn't true since their most lauded title ever (UT2007) has been announced for ONLY the PS3 and PC.

[andy capps]

To jay da xbox baller - Confirmed source please?

[TheMART]

Zypher, I mentioned Epic again, for the best new game, awarded with the most awards on last E3 of 2006

Gears of War

And that game won't come to PSZero. Ever. Expect after the huge succes of that Epic being bought entirely by MS to gain all control. And there goes UT and future games only to xbox

[THELANDSOFSAND]

lol

it is difficult, slow and expensive to develop for PS3, and all developers have to supply their own servers if they want online multiplayer.

This doesn't make developers flock to the PS3.

[andy capps]

Most reviews that I've seen have said that the devs were surprised at how fast they could get their engine and game up and running on the PS3 kits. Please provide a source stating that PS3 development is more expensive, slower, and difficult. You're as bad as theMART, jumping in every thread and posting the same things over and over.

BTW, great article. Nice to think of all the AAA games that are in the works for the PS3.

[EVER OLVERA]

"Most reviews that I've seen have said that the devs were surprised at how fast they could get their engine and game up and running on the PS3 kits."
Please provide actual evidence(biased developers)-thank you.

[andy capps]

The quote that I was referring to was specifically referring to a quote by one of the Killzone devs on the Guerrilla boards, which are blocked for me at work. If you search for it, it's easily found. Another example I believe, was from a video (of the producer?) of Unreal Tournament from last E3 when Epic was able to bring it over very quickly from PC to PS3. Most of my internet access is blocked at work, but this is what I could find on Deano from Ninja Theory's blog:

"I can’t exactly describe what I’ve been doing, but its extremely low level, what good console programming is all about. So thats what I’ve been doing, munging some data into formats that the different bits of the system can consume and then writing lots of code to manipulate it all as fast as possible. This is where the Cell architecture really starts to pay off, the SPUs are very powerful when programmed at a low level, with an MFC to move data and a decent integer ISA (as well as the float unit that everybody goes on about) they can do this kind of thing with ease. And because they are completely indepedent, you can use them to really leave the PU to other stuff."

"For the record, I quite enjoy developing on the PS3 and would love to see what a small indie team could do with her. As a lead, I don’t get much time programming but I actually use PS3 development as relaxation. Even been known to come in at the weekend and ‘play’ with her."

That's what I could remember off the top of my head...

[EVER OLVERA]

Actually, Epic is a first-party developer for MS. Epic is currently devided into three-thirds. One third is working on Gears of War, the other on UT2007, and the last third on the Unreal Engine itself. Currently, Epic and MS are in a contract for Gears of War. MS has publishing rights on the game and is financially responsible for the development of the game. Midway Games is publishing UT2007 for the PC and PS3. Midway is known to be a multi-console publisher. So I have no doubt that UT2007 will ONLY be a timed exclusive for the PS3. And for the record rumor has it that a secret development team within Rare is working on a title that has been in development for two years. Here's wishing for Killer Instinct 3...

[TheMART]

Quake Wars on 360

Watch the developer himself talk about PC and 360

http://www.g4tv.com/pile_pl...

[kingboy]

please i beg u go to bed..dude ur post are always childish and boring

[Karibu]

Nice to see Xbox fanboys ruined news again.

Mods, can't you do something?

[EVER OLVERA]

The same thing can be said for PlayStation loyalist.

[THE TRUTH]

THIS IS PS3 NEW ARTICLE, you dont see any 360's news article that start off with post like.............

1 -
TheMART - 3 Hours ago
So you always directly vote cool on your own lame 'news'? Great news, very on the edge. Very hot also:

original post: Posted Jun 23, 2006 at 01:36PM

And then the names in the original article. Well urm. Great.

Names like:

Epic
Rare
Lionhead

Say 10 times more then that line up. Really. This is no news, it's fanboy post with little to no value

So no vice versa isn't a point. 360 fans rarely post on there section. They come to the PS3 first and start this BS flamming, to the point where you can't even conversate with them. The Mods really need to do something about this because it's gone way too far!

[JIN KAZAMA]

If the PS3 were sooo difficult to develope for, then how come we will most probably see call of Duty 3 have the same release date as the 360 version, and it is supposed to be looking better than the 360 version. Thats old news about how the devs thought it was going to be difficult to program for, maybe its a bit more difficult that the 360, but thats because its more complex. Once they truly understand how to divide the CELL and use it properly, the PS3 will truly shine along with its Physics AI. By the way LANDOFSAND, your 360 just broke on you man, and MS was giving you crap about fixing it, how can you still be a die hard MS fanboy. TheMart, you're just a complete idiot.

[THELANDSOFSAND]

WRONG AGAIN JIN!

you are going for a record in incorrect information?

[achira]

the first parta games of sony will rock !!! ms has nearly no first party games. sony will win the console war, again !!! oh, and ut will only come to pc and ps3, haaaha

[PS360PCROCKS]

Themart, NEVER mention Viva Pinata as a killer app ever again. That game is for 6 year olds, no one here will play it. Lol please pick something like Forza I dunna or Bullet Witch that gameplay looks freaking rediculously cool. Everyone should check that video out on the 360 side, it's a REALLY cool video, the gameplay looks awesome.

[ASTAROTH]

I Want a 360 just to play VIVA PINATAAAAAA!!!!
I cant wait. Now I believe that you work at Mc Donalds. You work in the Quality Assurance Department of the HAPPY MEAL toys!!!
JAJAJAJJA What a gamer you are!!. For XBOX 360 ROCKS, Have you played Project Sowblind in the original Xbox?? If not try it dude. ITS REALLY AMAZING!!

[THE TRUTH]

Bullet witch has no U.S. release date, I'm not sure if anyone can confirm this game is coming State-side..... Too bad 360 is region free like......... well you know

Bullet Witch
Publisher: Microsoft; Release Date: 7/27/2006
Already being advertised in Japan, AQ's action-adventure title doesn't fit into the most popular Japanese game genres, such as RPGs, dating sims, some racing games and all the weirdest stuff from Nintendo. Set in 2013, the game tells the story of a desperate fight between man, who is on the verge of extinction, and demons. You play as a witch named Alicia. Although the game clearly features some fantasy elements, it actually takes place in a realistic world setting. The game promises to make full use of the Xbox 360's visual capabilities for its enemies, including giant dragon-like demons. No word on its release in the US.

http://xbox360.ign.com/arti...

[PS360PCROCKS]

yea makes me want to cry, PLEASE PLEASE AQ INTERACTIVE, NO REGION LOCKING!!!!!!!!!!!

[DG]

from a company perspective its more attractive to develop for the PS3. Accountants judge facts from numbers and sony has a loooong trail of money (100 mil + units x 2 gen. Can you say B.A.N.D.W.A.G.O.N) PERIOD!

[THE TRUTH]

here some info that all gamers may find usefull about how "hard" the PS3 is to develope for:

PS3 Chip a Developer's Dream?

IBM wants developers to know that the Cell processor will not only be powerful, but easy to develop for. Sony recognizes that developers have to wrestle with the PS2 architecture when trying to get the most out of the console, and the company doesn't want to make the same mistake twice.

Coming to grips with new technology and architecture is always a challenge for developers when starting to work on titles for new hardware—each platform has respective strengths and weaknesses and it's the developer's goal to be able to discover those strengths and maximize them while trying to minimize the effects of the weakness at the same time.

Allaying fears
It's a good thing then that the transition into the next-generation of consoles should be fairly smooth, particularly for the PlayStation 3 and the Cell processor being used to power Sony's next system. At least that's what IBM is now claiming.

[ "The learning curve for this platform should be significantly better than previous ones," H. Peter Hofstee, IBM researcher ]

One of the big fears surrounding the development of the Cell chip and its use in the PlayStation 2 successor has been that programmers would be overwhelmed with an abundance of power and would need quite a bit of time in order to take advantage of the advanced circuitry. The chief architects of the Cell processor, which is a joint project between Sony, IBM and Toshiba, recently made it a point to assure game developers of Cell's ease of use and relatively painless learning curve.

H. Peter Hofstee, a researcher for IBM's Systems and Technology division, while at an IBM press event, told CNET News.com, "We're very much aware of the need to balance between innovation in architecture and the ability to leverage that innovation. The learning curve for this platform should be significantly better than previous ones."

The cell microprocessor was recently confirmed to be a multi-core chip comprised of a 64-bit Power processor core and multiple synergistic processor cores capable of massive floating point processing. Sony/IBM Cell-based workstations, expected to roll-out later next year, could potentially provide up to 16 teraflops of power, which is the equivalent of 16 trillion mathematical operations per second.

Don't repeat the same mistake
Of course, the PlayStation 2's power and "Emotion Engine" were hyped for some time before the console's release as well, and the PS2 soon became notorious for the difficulties it posed for programmers. While the PS2's main processor isn't very powerful, its two vector units and memory bandwidth are. The challenge for developers has been to fully utilize both vector units, but that's something that has proved difficult for many, and consequently there are plenty of PS2 developers who really only make use of one of the specialized processors.

The difference, however, with the PlayStation 3 and the Cell processor, according to Hofstee, is that not only will the console be powered by Cell, but so will the aforementioned workstations being used to create the games. "We think it's going to be a much more seamless and speedy process for developers using these workstations," explained Hofstee.

The word of the day: convergence
In addition to its uses in the PlayStation 3, workstations, and consumer electronics (such as HDTVs), the Cell chip's incredible power will also be taken advantage of to power scientific supercomputers, streaming media servers, and image analysis systems, IBM revealed at the event.

Hofstee essentially described the Cell technology as the merging of two worlds—a "convergence between what we think of as supercomputing and what we use in the entertainment space." He continued, "We've created something that is very flexible. Having a more generic architecture will allow people to do new things."

Whether developing games for Cell-based architecture will really be as easy as IBM claims it is we won't truly know until more developers working on the games speak out on the subject. One fact that is encouraging, though, is that IBM has a good track record. Just look at the IBM-developed Gecko processor that is used in the Nintendo GameCube—most developers have nothing but good things to say about programming for it.

http://www.n-philes.com/for...

[PS3sux360inchWiiWii]

There is a lot of this talk on all sides with no links or proof! When a 360 posts fact/fiction quote/article without a link a PS3 fan demands a link and vice versa. There is even plenty of this going on in this post alone!

Also anyone bashing Viva Pinata calling it a kiddy game! Im 22 years old and Im buying it for it's unique gameplay. I grew up with Intelivision/NES (regular Nintendo) as my first 2 systems. I played Metal Gear on NES when I wasn't even like 8 years old, does that make that franchise kiddy now? lets get serious we are all kids at heart as we all know any for of game is considered a toy. No matter how old I get I can still throwdown on the games I grew up with, kiddy or not! loosen up or you could miss out on some great games and that goes for everyone!

[PS3sux360inchWiiWii]

any FORM of game (well unlike tag, hide-n-seek, etc.. if you don't understand what I ment... see a doctor)

[PS360PCROCKS]

um he said a killer app, it's not a killer app

[PS3sux360inchWiiWii]

You have to have something to dip into the younger audience! and the younger audience is just as big as adult if not bigger! why do you think Nintendo's products are so huge?

[PS360PCROCKS]

Mario not Viva Pinata, I am not saying it wont be a good game for kids, it's not a killer app for a machine aimed at obviously older kids and adults.

[ASTAROTH]

It could be a good game ,but the piont here is that this game is not going to sell 360. ITS NOT A KILLER APP!! 360 audience is older than this. This game is more suited for the Wii. Tell me if you are going to buy a PS2 only to play KATAMARI DAMASI. I have this game and is a very good one, but reality is that few people bought it. So ILL excude Viva Pinata from the list of 360 killer aps. Try harder fanboy.

[ASTAROTH]

Im not saying the game is bad. I had to play it first. It could be the best game ever made, but maybe not the killer app 360 owners are waiting for. And were just pissing off the K MART, thats all.

[THELANDSOFSAND]

Viva pinata is going to be a great game, have you guys played animal crossing?

its not all about cars, blood and swords you know! get some variety in your gaming!

[ASTAROTH]

Nobody is saying VIVA PINATA sucks, yo a$$hole. The only thing we said that is not a system seller as beleived by you fanboys. Wake up guys. It is not a killer app by any means.