Sony Looks to Spur PS3 Game Development

Tue Nov 20, 2007 10:55AM EST

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Recent price cuts for the PlayStation 3 have finally turned on the juice in terms of sales, but what the troubled console really needs are more games. By slashing the price of the PS3 software development kit, Sony is clearly hoping to close the gap.

The AP reports that Sony has chopped the price for the PS3 SDK in half, to $10,250 in the U.S. from north of $20,000. By cutting PS3 development fees, more developers may be interested in writing games for the console, which is still looking for an exclusive, killer title (such as Halo 3 on the Xbox 360, or Wii Sports for the Wii).

Sony may still have a long road to hoe, however. Writing games for the Cell processor-powered PS3 is notoriously difficult; as the AP points out, many dedicated PS2 programmers gave up writing games for the next-gen PlayStation, opting instead to go with the Wii. Indeed, Gabe Newell of Valve (developer of the Half-Life series and the popular Orange Box package) has openly trashed the PS3, declaring: "Investing in the Cell...gives you no long-term benefits. You're not going to gain anything except a hatred of the architecture they've created." Ouch. (Valve ultimately farmed out the PS3 version of the Orange Box to another development house.)

So will slashing the PS3 SDK price lead to a surge in PS3 games? Hard to say: $10,000 isn't chump change, but when you consider the million of dollars it takes to develop a major next-generation game, it's hard to imagine the price cut itself making a big difference. Then again, take that coupled with the recent spike in PS3 sales, and more game developers may decide that coding for the tricky PlayStation 3 platform is a worthy investment.

Related:
Sony cuts fees for PS3 game developers [AP via Yahoo! News]

Comments on Sony Looks to Spur PS3 Game Development

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  • 6 Posted by shaunweg on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:17PM EDT Report Abuse

    PS3 = POS :( Sony had it down with PS2. They did everything right. DVD was needed progress over VHS. PS2 was easy to develope for, and the dev kits were cheap in comparison to competitors. The system was the most affordable out there as well, and offered the most games. PS3 was designed to sell blu-ray, and blu-ray was added to sell PS3. Worse, very few films are actually filmed in HD, and not all of them are on the Blu-ray format. Majority of Blu-ray DVDs are only conversions of NON-HD film put into HD format. No real need to pay double for that. The dev kit is ridiculously expensive, so less studios can produce for it, and its the most expensive system to own, so theres less reward for companies willing to produce for it. When the system isnt sporting any worthwhile games till 2008 at least, whats the point. Majority of what were once exclusives have either been added to the 360 library or have switched to be exclusively 360 products. 360 could have easily been defeated by Sony. However, Sony decided to take every mistake Microsoft made, toss in every mistake they made with the PSP, and magnify it to a more expensive scale. Instead of intending to make a quality system, they decided to try and figure out what would make the most profit, and that's selling blu-ray. The PS3 is just a tool to sell blu-ray. The only way Sony could have made things more favorable for the Wii and the 360 would to have decided not to even release the 360. Sony, what are you thinking?

  • 7 Posted by shaunweg on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:17PM EDT Report Abuse

    The only way Sony could have made things more favorable for the Wii and the 360 would to have decided not to even release the PS3. __________________________________________________________________ fixed

  • 8 Posted by bladerunner9000@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:08PM EDT Report Abuse

    Ive had an xbox 360 since before last christmas and ive never had a single problem with the 360 mostly because i bought an "intercooler" to prevent the hardware failure but my uncle bought a PS3 and his system took a crap within a few months not over a years time so now he cant play it. personally i think the nintendo wii is the best system out there because it had practically no falts and even though the graphics arent the best it is the most interactive player friendly ( if you wear the wii remote strap and dont through it into the TV )gaming counsle out there because it basically expanded the world gaming experience with a wii remote and a numchuck w/accessories. wii features : view weathr news wireless wi-fi gaming going to wii shop channel to buy classic games with either credit card ( converted to wii points/money )or you can buy wii points at the store say for example 2000 points = $20 average game cost 500 points = $5 plus you can get wireless or wired internet updateable software throuhg either playing newer and newer games and it will tell you before you play it has to update usually couple of seconds to however long it takes or go to wii settings and go to internet options ext. and perform a wii system update (has to be connected to internet for this process not for game updates ) which allows you to download more software. internet is free incase you were wondering and for certain games playing against other people with "wi-fi" is totally free as long as you have a internet connection unlike "PS3 or (under some circumstances) the 360. lastly (because my fingers hurt and i dont wat to type any more though i could go on and on about how great the wii and 360 are i wont bother you(as in people i am writing to)anymore.) fyi incase you think you are talking to a 40 year old geek that suposedly knows everything about everything i am actually only 14 years old in 9th grade. :[]

  • 10 Posted by bladerunner9000@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:08PM EDT Report Abuse

    id have to say the best game for the wii is THE LEGEND OF Zelda Twilight Princess I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I IIIIII II I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I IIIIIII I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I IIIIIIIIII I I I I I I I I IIIIIIIII IIIIIIIII IIIIII I I IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

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