Developers underestimated PS3 - Sony

via Eurogamer


Shuhei Yoshida, the man who recently replaced Phil Harrison as head of Sony Worldwide Studios, has conceded the PS3's been lagging behind when it comes to third-party software - until now.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz Yoshida admitted there was "disappointment" during launch year over the number of third-party games available. "I'm sure that third party publishers had planned to release their titles day-and-date with the launch of the PlayStation 3, or day-and-date with the launch of the title on the Xbox 360, but because the 360 hardware was out earlier, the games were built based on 360 architecture," he said.

"But still, they must have been planning, thinking they have enough time, to port the second game to PS3 and release at the same time with the same quality. So they massively underestimated the effort that was needed to re-architect the game to properly take advantage of the PS3's multi-core architecture."

Yoshida said Sony was "pretty happy" with the first-party titles that were released in launch year, even if they didn't all arrive on time. "But it's impossible to bring the level of support that we feel is important for the PlayStation 3 platform without the third parties' continued support," he went on. "That was the miscalculation by both us, and from third parties.

"But I think after the end of last year, there are more and more titles are coming out on the same day [as Xbox 360] and the same quality, and we can start to see some additional things on PS3 because of the space available on Blu-ray."

Full interview here at Games Industry

Hello:

I disagree a little with these declarations. Sony has a point in his favor. PS3 is the most powerful computing machine ever. You can read it in newsletters all over the Net. Computer engineers from almost every specialty transforms many PlayStation 3's into supercomputers in order to acquire most precise data in model simulations and other stuff that requires lots of processing power. That Cell chip certainly is capable of many processes with ease.

But game development is another story.

I don't know the whole facts. Correct me if I'm wrong. Since the original PS, Sony delivers a high-powered machine without the proper software that can tap the full potential of its consoles. It's 2008 and still most games from PS3 has underperformance issues comparing to the same game on Xbox 360.

Not even Sony can tap the potential of its own creation. Several weeks ago on DCEmu a headline reads "Resistance 2, 720p, 30fps". Two years after the first one and still aren't able to run on 60fps and in full HD.

That is mainly the big problem 3rd party developers has with PS3. And also the reasons to extend the time to deliver the games. You can still read that now. Alone in the Dark will come soon on Xbox 360. Sony's version will not be available until fall, if Atari is lucky enough to iron out those problems.

And Blu-Ray? Sony's proprietary HD media disc also transforms the console experience to another level: Mandatory install on the Hard Drive. Although you can install things on the original Xbox, there is NO MANDATORY install of the full retail game on the HDD.

I hope this will answers some questions to many. Any more comments or suggestions?