Insomniac to go cross platform?

[djskribbles]

Within the same generation, sequels tend to sell less. GT4 sold less than GT3 despite a larger install base. Kingdom Hearts II sold less than KH. Spyro's best-selling title was the original with sequels selling less. Assassin's Creed II sold less than I. And so on. This is the more common pattern and it's the anomaly for sequels to outperform the originals.

+1. You could probably find way more examples of sequels selling less. MW2 is one example of a sequel selling more, but I don't think it's a given that Reach will sell more than Halo 3. In fact, I don't think it will (not taking anything away from Reach).

 

[joker454]

I agree going multi-platform is a risky move for Insomniac.

It was largely inevitable though. Sony is (finally) changing on how it handles studios, and the silly days of infinite checks funding unlimited studios will start to decline. They are instead putting together an alternate idea, somewhat different than the typical fund an entire studio forever idea, and on paper it seems like a good plan. Knowing Sony it will probably take them 10 years to execute the plan but I digress. Either way, studios should no longer expect to always get checks from Sony anymore. In that respect Insomniac were almost pressured to go multi platform. I'm curious what Sucker Punch and any other non Sony owned studios dedicated to Sony platforms will be doing this year.

 

[tha_con]

It was largely inevitable though. Sony is (finally) changing on how it handles studios, and the silly days of infinite checks funding unlimited studios will start to decline. They are instead putting together an alternate idea, somewhat different than the typical fund an entire studio forever idea, and on paper it seems like a good plan. Knowing Sony it will probably take them 10 years to execute the plan but I digress. Either way, studios should no longer expect to always get checks from Sony anymore. In that respect Insomniac were almost pressured to go multi platform. I'm curious what Sucker Punch and any other non Sony owned studios dedicated to Sony platforms will be doing this year.

Sony hasn't really changed much. They're still building their 1st Party studios yearly, with the biggest recent additions being Evolution Studios and Media Molecule.

I sincerely doubt that Insomniac was "pressured" in any way to go multiplatform. That sounds like nothing more than sensationalist imagination.

Frankly, Insomniac is and always has been independent. I've met Ted Price, and I'm pretty familiar with his thoughts. Even when I spoke to him two years ago he said one of the most important things for Insomniac going forward would be to own their own IP. The fantasy that they were pressured to do this is silly at best. Fact is, they were finally large enough (with enough market power) to secure a deal with another publisher willing to give them the rights to keep their own IP. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I sincerely doubt that Insomniac was "pressured" in any way to go multiplatform. That sounds like nothing more than sensationalist imagination.

Or insider info, Joker chatting with his mates and them telling him how contracts and negotiations are changing.

 

[Cyan]

Or insider info, Joker chatting with his mates and them telling him how contracts and negotiations are changing.

haha, I am pretty sure joker454 is our surfer girl here. Maybe he / she is surfer girl.... I think!

 

[Billy Idol]

If Insomniac are smart, they do the following:

Take a look back at Resistance 2. Take a look at their 8 player co-op mode...think a little bit.
Use this as a base, extend it, improve it with some Insomniac magic...and make this gamepay mechanics the center of the new PS3/Xbox360 IP...and after that, get prepared for selling 10+ mio copies of this game!

 

[Arwin]

Yesterday when I was looking at Monsters vs Aliens in the store (in near flawless 3D!), I suddenly realised that one of my hopes for Insomniac hasn't come true. I was actually hoping for them to work together with Pixar on a game based on Pixar IP. This is one of the first things I thought of when I saw the PS3 version of R&C for the first time, and if we didn't already know that in this case Insomniac wanted to develop as well as own this IP, I would still have had that fantasy right now. Sadly, it's not to be.

However, I do definitely hope for a type of game more in the vain of a Pixar movie rather than ANOTHER FF-ing FPS! Probably not going to happen, but I can hope, right? Thankfully next-gen is finally going to be able to reach out to the Wii crowd, so someone is going to be able to do it eventually, right? Right? Maybe even in 3D ...

 

[NRP]

I kind of agree. Co-op is a pretty huge deal to me.

@Arwin
If Insomniac wants to sell a lot of games and make a lot of money, they should stick to the "FF-ing FPS" games. The 3D Pixar stuff is nice and all, but it wouldn't sell that well I think.

 

[Billy Idol]

Yesterday when I was looking at Monsters vs Aliens in the store (in near flawless 3D!), I suddenly realised that one of my hopes for Insomniac hasn't come true. I was actually hoping for them to work together with Pixar on a game based on Pixar IP. This is one of the first things I thought of when I saw the PS3 version of R&C for the first time, and if we didn't already know that in this case Insomniac wanted to develop as well as own this IP, I would still have had that fantasy right now. Sadly, it's not to be.

However, I do definitely hope for a type of game more in the vain of a Pixar movie rather than ANOTHER FF-ing FPS! Probably not going to happen, but I can hope, right? Thankfully next-gen is finally going to be able to reach out to the Wii crowd, so someone is going to be able to do it eventually, right? Right? Maybe even in 3D ...

As much as I love R&C, I love a well made FPS too!
So it is kinda hard to agree/disagree with you here :smile:

 

[Billy Idol]

Co-op is a pretty huge deal to me.

Yeah to me as well. And I simple cannot understand why devs don't take notice of this?!
The reason my buddy and I have two copies of Gears 1&2, of HALO 3 and UC2 is simple because of the co-op! For me it is quite obvious: include campaign mode online (maybe offline as well) : sell more copies of a game!
I wished that GG instead of revealing 3D in KZ3, they would have revealed KZ3 campaign online co-op mode - if they had done this...internet would have break down :smile:

 

[Arwin]

I kind of agree. Co-op is a pretty huge deal to me.

@Arwin
If Insomniac wants to sell a lot of games and make a lot of money, they should stick to the "FF-ing FPS" games. The 3D Pixar stuff is nice and all, but it wouldn't sell that well I think.

Maybe not today, but forward looking I think 2-3 years from now the HD consoles should have reached a different audience. Worst case you can always cram in a Wii port as well. EA would probably like a version on all possible platforms anyway.

And while I agree that currently FPS-s are the top selling titles, they are also the most competitive genre with many contenders vying for that same top-spot. Whereas 'family friendly' titles are severely underrepresented. And there is going to be little question that the next few years, both HD platforms are going to push strongly for that to change.

I actually think though that whatever they are doing next, it won't be a 'simple' FPS, but something altogether a little more ambitious. I really have no idea whatsoever what it will turn out to be at this point. It could really be almost anything. Maybe they'll throw in some Animal Crossing type persistent world stuff.

 

[patsu]

Insomniac pre-announcing new game:
http://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=cb09314f6783e80d1081664ab&id=b7c28e40d3&e=8e9d2595ea

It’s been a long road since we launched Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time to your rave reviews last Fall. While we haven’t had any new game content to show you since then, that’s about to change in a big way. And yes, we realize we’re announcing an announcement, and that we announced this newsletter announcement via a Twitter/Facebook announcement earlier this week. We feel a little bad about announcing the announcement of an announcement – but on the other hand, you’re excited and so are we.

The earlier post mentioned a PS3 game, but it's possible that they make multiple announcements.

We’re bringing our new game to a very special Penny-Arcade Expo panel on Saturday evening (September 4th), at 6:30pm in the Serpent Theatre. G4TV’s Adam Sessler will moderate a panel with key creative talent from Insomniac Games as we discuss (and demo!) our upcoming PlayStation 3 project. It’s going to be a really fun session, and you will see things no one else has laid eyes on!

 

[RenegadeRocks]

This is on Insomniac's Twiiter feed !

The instant we announce our game we will blast a newsletter w/ the trailer and screenshots! Sign up of you need to! http://bit.ly/b0OkQd #fb

 

[Mr. Domino]

Going by their newsletter it's likely a game from their new studio at NC.

 

[dragonelite]

I heard a rumor they are making resistance 3 with a other inhouse sony studio.

 

[flynn]

I heard a rumor they are making resistance 3 with a other inhouse sony studio.

PS3 exclusive then?

 

[nightshade]

Resistance is a sony owned ip, so its bound to be PS3 exclusive.