ThaMaskedGamer
03-30-2007, 11:36 AM
In an interview about GOW Mark Rein had some glowing comments about the PS3 and its capability. Despite his regard for the system, don't look for any PS3 exclusives though, it is just not profitable according to him. Here is the link to part one of his interview:
<a href="http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=23676">Shifting GEARS</a>
Here is the interesting part of the article:
<b>So, if Rein's so confident about the PS3, why not produce a console-exclusive title? After all, Epic has enjoyed huge success with Gears of War - it became the fastest-selling Xbox 360 game following its release last November, with more than 2 million copies sold in under a month.
"The Xbox 360 thing was very much a function of Microsoft coming to us back before Gears really was Gears - it was a prototype of a game we wanted to do in Unreal Engine 2. They came and said, 'Look, we want this to be one of the early, standout games on our new system.' At the time, we didn't actually know the specs of the new system, so it was a bit of a gamble," Rein reveals.
"It was never pitched 'You'll be our Halo' or anything like that, but we thought, if we could be like a Halo to them, that level of importance - that more than pays for the fact that it's on one platform. So that was kind of the dream in the beginning. Then 360 came along and it was a really good system, so that was clearly an amazing opportunity for us."
According to Rein, Epic won't be making a platform exclusive for PS3 - but that's to do with timing rather than the console's specs. <i>"I think that bird has flown the coop already on PlayStation 3 - they're not making launch titles any more, and we couldn't just start up a game tomorrow as an exclusive because it takes a few years.</i>
"We are doing games for PS3 - Unreal Tournament - but I think the opportunity to do an exclusive has passed.<i> I don't see Sony offering us a really great deal today to make that ass-kicking PlayStation 3 game, because by the time we finished, there would already be hundreds of great games on the platform.</i> Gran Turismo, Killzone - they'll be on the sequels to those games by the time our game would come out, so it's just a timing thing.
"For the next generation? Anything could happen... But that's five, six, seven, eight, nine years away, nobody even knows that yet." </b>
Its kinda odd. He said "We are doing games for PS3 - Unreal Tournament..." That's not games that is a game! Then he kinda praises MS while taking a dig at Sony. He says MS came to them and asked them to get something started, which was the genesis of GOW. Then he says they didn't know the capabilities of the system, yet we all see the end result and how relatively fast they were able to make that game. Yet he says it would take "years" to make an exclusive kick-azz game on PS3. Kinda odd. Maybe i'm reading more into it. It seems to me he is kinda taking two digs at Sony, #1 they are too cheap #2 it takes too long to make an exclusive game on PS3.
His excuse that the game would have to compete with other good games is poppycock. If that was the case, nobody would be releasing exclusive games after launch year on any system. But we are seeing plenty of exclusive games. Plus if a game is a killer game then it will sell well no matter how much competition there is.
Anyway, maybe i'm doing too much reading in-between the lines. One thing is for certain though, if you want your console to be different, you gotta take the bull by the horns and guide it in that direction. I'm playing GOW now on insane, and boy am I happy MS was motivated to entice them to make this game. I look forward to the sequel. I'm sure MS recouped whatever extra compensation they paid for this game, in full! Meanwhile Sony, you can't be passive and you gotta take risks beyond the hardware. It is no longer a 'privilege' to make a game on a Playstation platform, in fact it seems more and more like a punishment or a chore.
<a href="http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=23676">Shifting GEARS</a>
Here is the interesting part of the article:
<b>So, if Rein's so confident about the PS3, why not produce a console-exclusive title? After all, Epic has enjoyed huge success with Gears of War - it became the fastest-selling Xbox 360 game following its release last November, with more than 2 million copies sold in under a month.
"The Xbox 360 thing was very much a function of Microsoft coming to us back before Gears really was Gears - it was a prototype of a game we wanted to do in Unreal Engine 2. They came and said, 'Look, we want this to be one of the early, standout games on our new system.' At the time, we didn't actually know the specs of the new system, so it was a bit of a gamble," Rein reveals.
"It was never pitched 'You'll be our Halo' or anything like that, but we thought, if we could be like a Halo to them, that level of importance - that more than pays for the fact that it's on one platform. So that was kind of the dream in the beginning. Then 360 came along and it was a really good system, so that was clearly an amazing opportunity for us."
According to Rein, Epic won't be making a platform exclusive for PS3 - but that's to do with timing rather than the console's specs. <i>"I think that bird has flown the coop already on PlayStation 3 - they're not making launch titles any more, and we couldn't just start up a game tomorrow as an exclusive because it takes a few years.</i>
"We are doing games for PS3 - Unreal Tournament - but I think the opportunity to do an exclusive has passed.<i> I don't see Sony offering us a really great deal today to make that ass-kicking PlayStation 3 game, because by the time we finished, there would already be hundreds of great games on the platform.</i> Gran Turismo, Killzone - they'll be on the sequels to those games by the time our game would come out, so it's just a timing thing.
"For the next generation? Anything could happen... But that's five, six, seven, eight, nine years away, nobody even knows that yet." </b>
Its kinda odd. He said "We are doing games for PS3 - Unreal Tournament..." That's not games that is a game! Then he kinda praises MS while taking a dig at Sony. He says MS came to them and asked them to get something started, which was the genesis of GOW. Then he says they didn't know the capabilities of the system, yet we all see the end result and how relatively fast they were able to make that game. Yet he says it would take "years" to make an exclusive kick-azz game on PS3. Kinda odd. Maybe i'm reading more into it. It seems to me he is kinda taking two digs at Sony, #1 they are too cheap #2 it takes too long to make an exclusive game on PS3.
His excuse that the game would have to compete with other good games is poppycock. If that was the case, nobody would be releasing exclusive games after launch year on any system. But we are seeing plenty of exclusive games. Plus if a game is a killer game then it will sell well no matter how much competition there is.
Anyway, maybe i'm doing too much reading in-between the lines. One thing is for certain though, if you want your console to be different, you gotta take the bull by the horns and guide it in that direction. I'm playing GOW now on insane, and boy am I happy MS was motivated to entice them to make this game. I look forward to the sequel. I'm sure MS recouped whatever extra compensation they paid for this game, in full! Meanwhile Sony, you can't be passive and you gotta take risks beyond the hardware. It is no longer a 'privilege' to make a game on a Playstation platform, in fact it seems more and more like a punishment or a chore.