cliffbo
10-24-2007, 09:22 PM
Why are so many PS3 games delayed?
23-Oct-2007 Stranglehold, Skate... Army of Two. What's going on?
21 Comments
Good news: we've got the world-exclusive review of Army of Two. Bad news: we've got the world-exclusive review of Army of Two. Why? If you haven't already heard, EA have delayed their ambitious co-op shooter, until Q1 2008 - perhaps as late as March. For a fuller explanation, click here - but the simple fact remains, PS3 is getting games a few weeks later, or worse, than Xbox 360. Why? We've got some pretty solid theories...
We'll talk about this more on the forthcoming podcast, but the key issue is simple: PS3 is harder to program for than Xbox 360; and Sony are harder (or rather, were harder) to work with than Microsoft. That's why Kaz Hirai banged on about reaching out to developers and making better middleware development tools at the Tokyo Game Show. Sony know they've got a problem, and have to work double hard to win back the hearts and minds of the developers who control their fate. Only recently, Valve's Gabe Newell trashed PS3, while even Grant Collier of Infinity Ward (whose Call of Duty 4 is identical on PS3 to Xbox 360, and a real technical show stopper) admits Sony are harder to work with, citing a clumsy technical problem feedback loop.
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During the Leipzig games show, the message was the same: Microsoft provide developers with better support, and their console is 3-4 years into its life-cycle, meaning developers are comfortable developing for it. All developers agreed PS3 is powerful, indeed more so than Xbox, but it's a swine to program thanks to its complex seven core parallel processor. Upshot? Developers go with what they know, and build games with Xbox in mind - an approach, according to Lair developer Factor 5, that makes it even harder to 'port' the game across to PS3.
That's why the - admittedly slightly graphically superior - PS3 version of Skate was released two weeks after the Xbox 360 game. It's taking developers longer to iron out the bugs. Strangehold is taking even longer - it's been out on Xbox for over a month, but the PS3 version is yet to ship. We've played it through. On PS3. Using the Sixaxis. And reviewed it. But they're still ironing out bugs. It boggles the mind.
Army of Two delay? We've played the 'finished' PS3 code, and as our forthcoming review will attest, there are some issues - but, in this situation, it's a wider critique of the game, and not just a platform-specific issue. Check out our world-exclusive review when PSM3#94 hits the shelves on Thursday - and, rest assured, thanks to the potential five-month delay you won't be reading it anywhere else.
The most frustrating thing is, it's all so avoidable. As cited, Call of Duty 4 looks incredible on PS3 (easily a match for the 360 version, if not slightly better). And that's coming from Infinity Ward (Activision) a third-party developer like everyone else. PS3 can be programmed to sing (just look at Ratchet and Uncharted, both Sony first-party titles), but that development expertise just isn't being shared in the global community. Upshot? We don't think we'll be seeing the best from third-party PS3 games until at least this time next year, when the leap over Xbox 360 will become painfully apparent.
The ray of light at the end of the tunnel, as ever, is PS3's potential. Only yesterday, Activision declared Sony's machine the most advanced of all next-gen machines:
Text taken from spong.com news story:
"Speaking at the recent Web 2.0 Summit in the United States, Activision's chairman and CEO, Robert Kotick, told an audience member that he believes that the PlayStation 3 is the most advanced gaming platform available. However, he also pointed out that, "few game developers were building products that take full advantage of the console's powerful, multicore processor". In a more upbeat statement, the Activision head man did suggest that in "the next four or five years" this would change."
Four or five years? We're more optimistic - especially given what we've seen from VU Games' exciting Project A (a classic movie licence), plus what we know about Resistance 2 (which is coming). Still, we're sick of waiting for the future,
Or maybe, we just can't see it when it comes along today.
When mid-November comes, crack on Call of Duty 4, or Ratchet, or Uncharted... and savour the glorious present. They're the best any console can offer right now, and maybe it's insane to decry the thrill of now for the impossible allure of tomorrow.
Sorry. We're ranting. Welcome your comments below.
Thanks
Dan D
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=174214&site=psm
23-Oct-2007 Stranglehold, Skate... Army of Two. What's going on?
21 Comments
Good news: we've got the world-exclusive review of Army of Two. Bad news: we've got the world-exclusive review of Army of Two. Why? If you haven't already heard, EA have delayed their ambitious co-op shooter, until Q1 2008 - perhaps as late as March. For a fuller explanation, click here - but the simple fact remains, PS3 is getting games a few weeks later, or worse, than Xbox 360. Why? We've got some pretty solid theories...
We'll talk about this more on the forthcoming podcast, but the key issue is simple: PS3 is harder to program for than Xbox 360; and Sony are harder (or rather, were harder) to work with than Microsoft. That's why Kaz Hirai banged on about reaching out to developers and making better middleware development tools at the Tokyo Game Show. Sony know they've got a problem, and have to work double hard to win back the hearts and minds of the developers who control their fate. Only recently, Valve's Gabe Newell trashed PS3, while even Grant Collier of Infinity Ward (whose Call of Duty 4 is identical on PS3 to Xbox 360, and a real technical show stopper) admits Sony are harder to work with, citing a clumsy technical problem feedback loop.
Advertisement:
Click to learn more...
During the Leipzig games show, the message was the same: Microsoft provide developers with better support, and their console is 3-4 years into its life-cycle, meaning developers are comfortable developing for it. All developers agreed PS3 is powerful, indeed more so than Xbox, but it's a swine to program thanks to its complex seven core parallel processor. Upshot? Developers go with what they know, and build games with Xbox in mind - an approach, according to Lair developer Factor 5, that makes it even harder to 'port' the game across to PS3.
That's why the - admittedly slightly graphically superior - PS3 version of Skate was released two weeks after the Xbox 360 game. It's taking developers longer to iron out the bugs. Strangehold is taking even longer - it's been out on Xbox for over a month, but the PS3 version is yet to ship. We've played it through. On PS3. Using the Sixaxis. And reviewed it. But they're still ironing out bugs. It boggles the mind.
Army of Two delay? We've played the 'finished' PS3 code, and as our forthcoming review will attest, there are some issues - but, in this situation, it's a wider critique of the game, and not just a platform-specific issue. Check out our world-exclusive review when PSM3#94 hits the shelves on Thursday - and, rest assured, thanks to the potential five-month delay you won't be reading it anywhere else.
The most frustrating thing is, it's all so avoidable. As cited, Call of Duty 4 looks incredible on PS3 (easily a match for the 360 version, if not slightly better). And that's coming from Infinity Ward (Activision) a third-party developer like everyone else. PS3 can be programmed to sing (just look at Ratchet and Uncharted, both Sony first-party titles), but that development expertise just isn't being shared in the global community. Upshot? We don't think we'll be seeing the best from third-party PS3 games until at least this time next year, when the leap over Xbox 360 will become painfully apparent.
The ray of light at the end of the tunnel, as ever, is PS3's potential. Only yesterday, Activision declared Sony's machine the most advanced of all next-gen machines:
Text taken from spong.com news story:
"Speaking at the recent Web 2.0 Summit in the United States, Activision's chairman and CEO, Robert Kotick, told an audience member that he believes that the PlayStation 3 is the most advanced gaming platform available. However, he also pointed out that, "few game developers were building products that take full advantage of the console's powerful, multicore processor". In a more upbeat statement, the Activision head man did suggest that in "the next four or five years" this would change."
Four or five years? We're more optimistic - especially given what we've seen from VU Games' exciting Project A (a classic movie licence), plus what we know about Resistance 2 (which is coming). Still, we're sick of waiting for the future,
Or maybe, we just can't see it when it comes along today.
When mid-November comes, crack on Call of Duty 4, or Ratchet, or Uncharted... and savour the glorious present. They're the best any console can offer right now, and maybe it's insane to decry the thrill of now for the impossible allure of tomorrow.
Sorry. We're ranting. Welcome your comments below.
Thanks
Dan D
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=174214&site=psm