Developers Make PS3 Look Bad, We Don't

"Ultimately, it's developers on a budget (be it time or money) that are making the PS3 unable to play ported Xbox 360 games as well as the Xbox 360. It's a development industry doing what they can to make money using development models from 10 years ago, when they clearly no longer apply. Could Sony have minimized such problems by designing a platform more like the PC or Xbox 360? Sure. Should they have? Who knows? But fanboys, please, please cool your jets. If no one calls out the bad ports, then companies will just keep sweeping them under the rug and you will keep buying them, helplessly trapped by your pocketbook or meaningless brand loyalties to own one console". - Kotaku

[Boink]

Sony designed the system, maybe if sony had made better tools, and not used hardware that nobody knows how to use, they would not be stuck.

I don't fault the developers for doing what they have to do to make money, it's why they are in business.

The 360 may be easier to program for, but MS also sent people out to help devs get used to the new platform, show them the tweaks and tricks and such. They also made tools that are easy for devs to use, and it makes sense as MS is obviously a sofware company, so the system was designed from a sofware point of view.

[Frag Monger]

I agree completely, Boink. 3rd party devs are in the business to make money. If developing a PS3 game costs them twice to three times as much as developing a 360 or Wii title, then the choice of where to invest their time/money becomes obvious.

The PS3 may have a powerful CPU, but Sony did not prepare the devs for the difficulties of programming for it - nor do anything to alleviate the cost of developing for it.

This is why the PS3 is struggling a bit & why Sony has, literally, pleaded with 3rd party devs to not abandon the PS3.

[ATLRoAcH]

For being innovative.They did something different than everyone else and are distinguished from the group.I'd rather a game be delayed than turn out to be a rushed piece of sh!t.Madden I kind of understand the release date but skate and others should been more attended to.They should do like other multi-plats and build the PS3 version separate (COD:4,Assassin's Creed) and then they would end up with a good product.

[Watkins]

But if they do use old technology and structures that is very common in the industry, wherein will the interesting bits about THAT specific console lie? Should all consoles be the same and not have any differences? I don't think so. Consoles need to be good at different things. The hardware market needs new technology to advance. I do understand that the developers just wants to make money, but I defenitely wouldn't blame Sony the way Boink seems to be doing. If we wanted to play computer games on a console. We could just plug a controller into our computer. I like new technology that has advantages in areas my PC doesn't. Ofcourse developers want to develop as cheap as possible (PC structure, they're all the same) and earn as much as possible.

But in my opinion, consoles NEED to be very advanced to last longer (Look at the PS2). The Cell for example is very complex and won't be fully utilized in a couple of years still, because when launched, it was ahead of its time (took years to develop the CPU alone, there HAS to be a lot of tricks unused still). Whilst the x360 will be tapped a lot faster, cause it was launched with a common structure that all PCs use, and there actually isnt that much to tweak in the console. For all we know, x360 is already maxed out, while we've just seen the beginning of what the PS3 can do.

I don't intend to be pro either side, even if I do own a PS3 and not an Xbox360, this is just my HONEST oppinion, this is what I believe. Please respect that.

[Marceles]

..the 360 was the first next-gen system out, and it had its share of problems, but no one cared that much because at least the graphics looked better than its competition: the ps2 and gamecube, so they saw "promise". Once the development got together for the 360, they're pouring out good games now. Now that it's the same situation for the PS3 and want to see it succeed, people can't even wait and want everything now. It's like everyone this generation had a Men In Black laser shot to their face and forgot everything in the past. The devs always can make a system look bad, and then reviewers see how the development for a system is and completely bash it until it gets that one Holy game, then everyone jumps on its bandwagon until another system can show it up. It's been a tough road this year with everyone jumping on the PS3's case, but I don't think it's been all that fair either with how it's relentlessly bashed.

[jackdoe]

Did you even read the freaking article? He was saying that they, Kotaku did not make Lost Planet look bad. It was Capcom. It has nothing to do with Sony making any sort of statement like that.

[tplarkin7]

Remember Xbox 1 and PS2? Developers didn't have any issues with porting PS2 games to Xbox 1. In fact, Xbox 1 games ran at higher resolutions and smoother frame rates.

There may be more transistors inside the PS3, but it's clear that the hardware designers did a bad job. It's like an architect designing a house with no doors. You have to climb into a window to get in and out.

[bluebrad1974]

I completely agree boink. What's sickening is that sony's motivations for the ps3's architecture are so blatantly obvious. In house engineered cpu (Cell) and an in house movie format (blu-ray) is obviously more important than gaming, but excellent for sony's hdtv, movie, and home theatre divisions. The problem isn't the devs the problem is that sony handed devs a homemade VCR and told them to figure out how to make games for it. Bubbles for you boink.

[S1D3 EFFEC7]

Better development tools = more time concentrating on things that matter, like making the game fun for instance.

[Richdad]

Firstly its that bad port on PS3 have near about vanished now. Also it was Sony to create a hardware with not enough software backing like for example Intel focussed on software backing for core2duo and they gain the lead again from AMD. Also we take a look at the other side of the coin, its hard for a developer to focus on all different platforms where every console is equally dominant, not all developer are made of money to do so, this is one reason for ports of games are not appearing on PS3.

[Foliage]

"A true PS3/360/Wii fanboy should be complaining louder than anyone else when a bad game hits their console. Never be insulted by talk; be insulted by the guy stealing your money."

If only xbots felt that way about their RRODs.

[mboojigga]

You know what I find funny about these types of comments. The fact that you have a PS3 that is very very reliable and a 360 that yes MS has stated that the system has issues. Why, WHY do people continue to buy the system with issues vs the reliable system with no issues?

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Just a couple of reasons I can see why people still get the system and the system continues to outsale the PS3. It doesn't matter if someone RROD and had to buy a new 360(although MS covers this) the fact is you see where the loyalty lies for the fact that games come out on the 360 and they are good games. The 360 has the highest attachment rate vs the other 2 consoles. The Wii sales moreconsoles(where are the games for that thing) but look at the software attach rate for both systems.

[feejo]

I don't see any problems just check my blog and you will see how much games in end of 2008 there will be. I don't ask myselve any question about ability for developpers: YES THEY CAN make alot of games. Better than Xbox, we need to wait for that.

[CaliGamer]

Same thing I have been saying, Madden is a good example of this. Both systems got screwed in their own way, but people were still gloating about what version was better, all the while EA was just sitting back collecting their cash.

Its cool to have debates over what system is better, exclusives, etc., but when it comes to bad ports, all gamers should be up in arms regardless of what system they own. It is obvious that the PS3 is a very capable system that has gotten some half a$$ed ports, and I am all about letting the developers know this, what I don't understand is the people who enjoy seeing this and throwing it in PS3 owners face just because they own a 360, knowing that if the 360 got some bad ports they would also be upset.

Sony has a hand in this, and I think we have seen a change in their attitude lately as to how they relate to developers, but the developers hold a large portion of the burden. I haven't really gotten upset about bad ports seeing as how the PS3 is only a year old, but at this time games released on the system ports or not should be identical or better than the 360 versions.

Consumers have a responsibility too, we need to demand better products from these developers also (I'm talking to all you Madden fans). Roster updates and miniscule control enhancements do not justify releasing a new full priced game each year, despite that people continue to buy Madden year after year.

[mgbass13]

Yeah really. If MS had no 3rd party support the whole RROD would've ruined them. Just goes to show you, you can have junk hardware with a decent CPU, but as long as you have the games, you have the people buying it. I mean, wrap it in a towel? That's unexcusable. Sony created a platform that gives developers the ultimate freedom to create any size game they want to. Unfortunatly they can't figure it out yet and are more worried about money rather than creating something revolutionary. Good article, though. Give these devs another couple months, these same problems appeared at PS2's launch, although they were solved much more quickly. I have faith in Sony, the playstation line has done more for gaming than anyone besides Nintendo.

[Ravenator529]

You're right. They took a page from Sony's book when designing the 360. It's funny how people forget that the most successful gaming system in the history of video games (PS2) was plagued with the dreaded DRE, or to spell it out.....

DISK READ ERROR.

Microsoft pushed faulty hardware to get on the market first. Just the same as Sony did with the PS2.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Ummm....you said developers are more worried about money rather than creating something revolutionary. Umm....well they are a business after all...they are in this for the money. Contrary to popular believe all these guys may have passion for video games but they make them and sell them to make money. And if the design of a system is limiting or cutting into that profit more than another console...well then they are going to tend to design games for the one that makes them money. It's simple economics.

[ATLRoAcH]

I'm not saying your wrong about the "disc read error" but my PS2 still works great(doesn't play some cds).My PS2 was my first and only DVD player until I got my PS3.Thats one reason I think Blu-ray is important to the PS3 because now I won't need a Hi-def player and not only that but my PS3 also upscales my DVDs up to 1080p.Last generation a friend of mine had every system(XBOX,GameCube,and PS2).First his Xbox went out followed by his gamecube.But his PS2 he got used from a friend of mine who had taken it apart multiple times and kept in the back of his truck throughout the winter still works.My friend despised the PS2 at first but now he knows what true quality is.My friend has still not stepped into the next generation but when he mentions getting a 360 or a wii I just remind him of old times.Sony is pure Quality.

[Watkins]

I agree with Kutaku in some areas, but I think there's more to it than that.

[chrisin3]

was hard to

[ShiftyLookingCow]

It seems Sony is not as good in the dev tools category as Microsoft is. That plus the added complexity of Cell and its limited but powerful SPUs make developing games harder. But still if someone is going to make a port and ask full 60 bucks, they better make a good port otherwise just forget and dump it.

[Lightning Mr Bubbles]

Dirt by codmasters god delayed and the end result was a better version on PS3, and their reward was lousy sales.

Now Cliver Barkers Jericho looks well on par on both consoles and released at the same time.

I mean a lot of developers have already developed on the PS3 once. A few had to delay the games, some didn't.

Like EA has plenty of development time now, and Madden 08 seems to be the last mess up. FIFA 08 and NBA Live 08 are on par with the 360 versions.

[mgbass13]

I'm not faulting them for wanting to make more money but anyone can see from TV to movies to the music industry, the more money that floats around, the bigger the budgets get, the more redundant same old same old crap gets pushed out as well. Deadlines get shorter, execs get dollar signs in their eyes, and originality is pushed to the side. Why spend years creating the next revolution when you can crap out another sequel or clone of another game. The industry is headed in that direction fast, and there is a serious lack of originality on the horizon. Gaming is more "business" than ever now and quality is going to suffer.

[SpenserTracy]

These devs are like morning tired children. Not wanting to get out of their bed to go to school. And if they sleep to long they will wet their own bed.

[Komrad]

it hasn't stopped devs from making wii games look so 'rad'...

[Qayin]

I agree 100% with that article. Gamers should unite, instead its human nature and history to hate something because its deferent. They hate on the PS3 and Sony fans every chance they get. This is not a war its not between us its between the companies. This is out of control. It seems a some fanboys hate each other over a videogame system. Edit: Razer im NOT talking about Sony im talking about gamers. Just beacause I like PS3 (ohh and I own all 3 systems check my gamer tag Qayin on live and PSN) I should suffer come on! I dont dislike you another human being or want to see you with less quality games because you like 360 more that is crazy! Like I said its out of control.

[razer]

OH the poor Sony fanboy is sooo beat up..

More like Sony arrogance! Sony and it's sheep expect the gaming world to rotate around it.. Newsflash! Times have changed and Sony is not dictating what is happening in gaming any longer..

Sony isn't a team player and never have been..

[jessupj]

You always seem to be bashing sony and see no fault with MS.

[athlon770]

why is that the exclusives all get a 8.0 or better scoring then? The multiplats are developed for the 360 which is a 3 core system, but that is not how games see the system. Developers build games around two cores and the third is strictly used for decompression algerithims. When a game is ported over to the PS3, it is not automatically using all 7 cores, it uses 1. It takes the developer time and energy to do a port correctly and they just don't want to do that. Can you blame them? I say I am on the fence with that question. Without a good port, how can you expect anyone to buy the game for the "other" system? And since ports don't sell, why invest money into them?
Yet the fact remains that all of the exclusive titles are showing a small part of what the PS3 is capable of. R&C is getting 9's and 10's, yet ports are still getting from 6's to 8's. How does that work out? Sony does need to help the companies get on track, but the companies also need to get off their arses and pick up the pace on designing for the PS3.

[Lightning Mr Bubbles]

They have no excuse with GRAW 3. There's gonna be a few more delays but I think the industy is catching up, pretty soon it shouldn't be a problem.

[skynidas]

thats true!

[Tryst]

I will never ever buy an EA game again. I held this opinion for over 5 years now. They absolutely do not care about quality, as their release prove.

If you notice, the best developers are like 'we ship the game when its ready.' Yes they are in the business to make money, but take this for example, if Factor 5 had released Lair as a very good game (and spent time on fixing the controls), the reviews would have been awesome. They didn't and look what happens. The same will happen with Area 51 on the PS3. Spending time on getting a game to be good, or even functional, goes along way to ensure a healthier income.

[DJ]

and it seems to be the case with PS3 as well. It just takes time to get used to custom architecture, and thankfully developers are gaining more experience on Sony's platform. Sony has worked very hard to give developers the proper tools to help accomplish their goals, which is quite evident with the PSSG and Playstation Edge (which was released to all developers free of charge). The fact that the SPUs are able to run both Assembly and C & C++ very well is a testament to the amount of time that STI spent making the hardware accessible to as many programmers as possible. There’s also some other tools from IBM, such as Octopiler.

The reason Cell and RSX are so difficult to dive into initially, despite the huge amount of reference material, is that it’s radically different from any PC architecture, even moreso than the Xbox 360. But the results, as we’ve seen with countless PS3 titles, is staggering. I seriously can’t wait to see what the titles for 2008 and 2009 end up looking like.

[jessupj]

I have no idea why you have so many disagrees when most of your post was factual contect, ie it is true! cept maybe your heading.

[mgbass13]

Amen brother.

[spectyre]

is to complain with your wallet. In other words, don't buy it.
The great thing about having two competetive consoles is they are always trying to one-up each other. Let the first party games and third party exclusives set the standard and screw multiplatform for a while.
Look at what Gears, Halo, Bioshock did for the 360.(sorry, not an xbox fan, thats all I could think of atm.)
PS3 has some major hitters coming out in the next 6 months R&C, Uncharted, LBP, MGS4. These games will sell consoles.
What multiplatform game compares to any of the above listed games.(For arguments sake, the PC isn't considered a platform in this post.) If game developers don't make enough money off their games they will either make better games that are optimized for the respective system, or they will fade away. Either way, it will be the gamers who win.

[mighty_douche]

...SHALL SET YOU FREEEEEE!

[Mwaan]

Is the fact that developers feel obligated to release their games simultaneously for both 360 and PS3. They also want both versions to be equal in performance and content. Instead of doing that or making exclusive games for either system, why not make exclusive versions? Play on the strengths of both systems. Maybe give the PS3 version a longer single player because of the unlimited storage and maybe focus more on the online multiplayer for the 360 version and give them free exclusive downloadable maps or something. Everybody would win. Fanboys from both sides would think that they had the best version and people with both systems could potentially buy both versions. Just a thought.

[mboojigga]

Because it is expensive for some developers to do it that way thats why and again your talking about a developer taking a chance on the lower installed base and even if it had a longer single player feature still doesn't gurantee the game will be good. See the latest Jericho review for example.

[gololo]

well...it's a steep learning curve, specially with new architectures...once devs start mastering the PS3 environment, we will start seeing great games...and people don't expect multi-platform games to be much better on one system and not the other....exclusives are the ones that will shine (either for 360 or PS3).

[bluebrad1974]

This holds true for both consoles. However, there isn't anything exclusively for ps3 that can't be done on 360 and vice versa.

[KINGDRAMA]

360 is windows based. the architecture was there for years moron.

[Proxy]

... the best games are text based dos games...

[khellendros1]

I didn't buy my PS3 for it's multi-platform games. I got mine for the exclusives but what I hate is to get a game that is a piece of sh!t port. There is no law that says you have to make a game for the PS3. I would rather them not make the game if it's not going to done right. If they going to complain then stay with the 360 because truthfully I don't want a game from a company who doesn't take pride in making the best possible game for EACH system. So what if it takes more time to optimize the PS3, you are getting more revenue from that extra console. That's why I won't be buying any more EA games until they change their ways.

[djevolve]

amen

[IntelligentAj]

It's all about the learning curve. Of course the PS3 is going to be hard to program for. It just came out a year ago and Dev's have been working on it for maybe 2 years(Not sure when they got the final kits). Give it some time, The best games for a system don't normally come out until the 2nd or 3rd year after dev's have had more time to develop games for the system. "Experience is the best learning tool"

[KINGDRAMA]

MAYBE SONY shouldve made a PS2.5.........just like ms did wit da xbox1.5.

[bluebrad1974]

spam

[GothicDeunan]

I agree with this article and feel that over time this problem, game development-wise(for the ps3) will pass and people will be saying "remember when" in between their kick-butt gaming sessions and when they are looking at a library that will rival the number of titles for the PS2(in the years to come).

[djevolve]

EA games suck and they just put out nothing but crap, there you go I said it and feel alot better. Some one tell madden to shove it.

[jazzmanb]

the reality here is that the ps3 isnt that powerful,thanks to the core and bottlenecked architecture and split up ram...the system is powerful,but when its all said and done,it wasnt designed w / gaming in mind...

[jessupj]

..........i'm speechless, i have nothing to say to that

[Z501]

can it run Folding @ Home.
Do the math.

^^^^^
Above
Some consumer want more than a gaming consoles.
If you JUST want a gaming console buy a Wii or 360.
It's that simple.
If you want more,get a PS3.

[Lord2008]

and then tossed it away like the piece of crap it was.

also If you JUST want a gaming console buy a 360
If you want more,get a PC

It's that simple

[bluebrad1974]

Heavenly Sword was originally being developed for the original Xbox. Here are some screens.

[S1D3 EFFEC7]

I will keep playing games on my 360 until the big games arrive on the PS3.

[HarryEtTubMan]

The gaming industry would BLOW if everyone jusy copied each other and didn't think to try something diffeernt for HIGH POWERED CONSOLES. The weren't intrested in making a fake console/outdated PC. Thats all... ans the more time that goes by the more you will see the power of the PS3

[Daddy Brooklyn]

What we need to understand is that the problem is ports. Stop porting from one source to multi-platforms. Developers should take the time to learn each console equally and the games will all be great. They will also earn the respect of gamers and fans which would make them more money in the long run, regardless of what console a person owns.

[Nameless]

Interesting

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

Why do Droids/PS3 fans have more excuses than games?

[DeZimatoR]

It was like this in the PS2 'era' too. 'Uahhhhh its too hard to program for, Dreamcast is the way to go!!!11' And we all know how that ended up though ;)

When Sony starts pumping out some REALLY big games (starting alread with ratchet) and the PS3 starts selling like crazy you'll see the 3rd party devs changing their opinion immediaty.

As some of you folks said already, their in this for the money :)

Could Sony give more support to 3rd party devs? Surely, but maybe they are just too busy with other stuff right now to worry about that. And the 3rd party studios they ARE helping already (like Epic and Infinity Ward) are showing some awesome stuff (UT III and CoD 4 in this case).

So yeah, its a matter of time more then anything

[midgard229]

the people who make good games on the ps3 have no trouble, like itagaki (creator of ninja gaiden) said, if your gonna worry about how hard it is, then y are u in the bussiness?, first off, if im gonna make games, if im gonna get in that industry then i wanna make something i can enjoy and make money off of it. not do a bad job and and not even like it them selves.

the ps3 can pull amazing things if people wanna learn how to use it. sure sony shud make it easier, but they just made a new dev tool to help. its like when the PC first came out people didnt know what the heck to do, and now that people take their time to understand it, they know how good it is.

great things dont come easy, and things that come easy are never good nor polished.

people working on the serious games like Metal gear 4, final fantasy 13, these things are taking a while, and they are pulling out new incredible things that have never been done before. this is next gen, not a face lift of the last gen.

wii took the different approach and focusing on a new way to play, 360 is the xbox with higher graphics power and thats it. dont get me wrong, i still luv 360, but ps3 has more possibilities, but people just have to work for it, and us as gamers shud demand more for our money, not less.

[Boink]

the people making the games you just talked about have the big $$$ to do that kind of stuff.

small to medium devs don't have 20-30 million $ and the time to spend 2-4 yrs developing and waiting for profits.