Insomniac to go cross platform?

[Shifty Geezer]

You are contradicting yourself within your own post. If concentrating on a single platform isn't a good business model then how can it not be worth it to migrate to the PS3 even though its not DirectX based.

On a per-case basis, some developers see the effort of porting to PS3 as too costly, notably because of the tech requirements and you can't just take your engine over.

Whether or not, exclusivity makes sense is dependent on individual circumstances.

An opinion I have shared before. Some Insomniac content is remaining PS3 only (they have a PS3 engine and don't care to refactor it for a market they don't think exists in sufficient numbers outside of the PS3 platform, I guess). Overall though, previously platform-exclusive developers are going multiplatform, and the reasons for that are economic, nothing else.

Furthermore, being exclusive creates a lot of indirect marketing for titles...

But the economics of exclusivity clearly don't favour it, because every 3rd party has gone cross-platform. Final Fantasy, anyone?! Seriously, it's plain to see, everyone and their dog is wanting to take their games across platforms and not be specific to one console, except in a few fringe cases.

Plus, for small developers with limited resources it makes sense to go exclusive.

Insomniac isn't a small developer. Of course for small developers it makes sense, hence lots of exclusive content on the DLC platforms.

 

[Gerry]

Do you mean like Final Fantasy XIII?

For every multi-platform title where the PS3 version sold better, Joshua can probably quote 10 titles where the reverse is true, so I don't think getting all worked up about his comment is going to do you any favours.

 

[DuckThor Evil]

In my opinion, Epic benefited greatly by going exclusive with Gears. Gears was literally the game of holiday 2006. If Epic had gone multiplatform, Gears probably would have not debut in 06 but later. The PS3 UE3 engine wasn't anywhere as near as mature and fully functional as the 360 engine at the time that Gears was originally released and I can't see how Epic could have fast forwarded the development of the PS3 UE3 engine without negatively affecting the 360 engine development. A spring 07 release would of meant no holiday bump and a still rather limited PS3 userbase. A holiday 07 release would mean competing against Halo3 and COD:MW.

I mostly agree with your post, but I also think Epic would have done well, if they had ported Gears to PS3 after the X360 version was already out and got it's sales already. No need for a simultaneous launch and Epic would probably had lot's of the same benefits they got now, just by Gears being timed exclusive. I like exclusives though!

 

[Brad Grenz]

For every multi-platform title where the PS3 version sold better, Joshua can probably quote 10 titles where the reverse is true, so I don't think getting all worked up about his comment is going to do you any favours.

Sure, but it's not hard to see how Insomniac's fanbase being concentrated on the PS3 at the moment could tilt the sales in the PS3's favor, just as happened with FFXIII.

 

[Gubbi]

Sure, but it's not hard to see how Insomniac's fanbase being concentrated on the PS3 at the moment could tilt the sales in the PS3's favor, just as happened with FFXIII.

Fans of the franchise will of course give PS3 sales a boost since the first two Resistance games was on that platform.

However shooters do well on the 360, multiplayer shooters especially so.

Cheers

 

[ShadowRunner]

Fans of the franchise will of course give PS3 sales a boost since the first two Resistance games was on that platform.

However shooters do well on the 360, multiplayer shooters especially so.

Cheers

Am i missing something? I thought it was only new IP that will potentially be going multiplat, in which case it wont be anything to do with Resistance and may not even be a shooter.

 

[Arwin]

Am i missing something? I thought it was only new IP that will potentially be going multiplat, in which case it wont be anything to do with Resistance and may not even be a shooter.

It's possible they'll do another shooter in a new universe of course, but we'll see.

 

[N_B]

Yes, it's just a deal for EA to publish their new IP, they still have freedom to develop Resistance and Ratchet, which are Sony IPs and certainly still exclusive.

 

[obonicus]

Fans of the franchise will of course give PS3 sales a boost since the first two Resistance games was on that platform.

However shooters do well on the 360, multiplayer shooters especially so.

Cheers

Sure, but the idea was that it would sell best on 360. Which might even be true, I just think that the influence of parity on sales is fairly minor, at least if PS3 owners are anything to go by.

 

[(((interference)))]

Hmm, PS3 owners are still getting a better trade deal because they get Bungie.

IMO Insomniac haven't been too successful this gen with the jump to serious titles, unlike Naughty Dog with Uncharted - Resistance was a pretty bland FPS, didn't really compete with Halo, COD, BF or KZ2 even - there was lots of window dressing but basic gameplay was lacking.

They're not exactly the tech leaders on PS3 either -that's pretty much Guerilla, Naughty Dog and SCE Santa Monica.

Can Naughty Dog go MP? Or are they owned by Sony?

 

[assurdum]

Hmm, PS3 owners are still getting a better trade deal because they get Bungie.

IMO Insomniac haven't been too successful this gen with the jump to serious titles, unlike Naughty Dog with Uncharted - Resistance was a pretty bland FPS, didn't really compete with Halo, COD, BF or KZ2 even - there was lots of window dressing but basic gameplay was lacking.

They're not exactly the tech leaders on PS3 either -that's pretty much Guerilla, Naughty Dog and SCE Santa Monica.

Can Naughty Dog go MP? Or are they owned by Sony?

No. It owns to sony. However Insomniac although works exclusively for 15 years for sony, it was an indipendent studios. Not change so much this agreement with EA; the relationship with sony remains the same. It just expand its work to multi with an another internal studio from what I have understood to have more profit.

 

[Arwin]

No. It owns to sony. However Insomniac although works exclusively for 15 years for sony, it was an indipendent studios. Not change so much this agreement with EA; the relationship with sony remains the same. It just expand its work to multi with an another internal studio from what I have understood to have more profit.

Yes. Insomniac has always said, in many, many interviews, that they are an independent studio that can release games on whatever platform they want to. This has been going on so long that I wouldn't be surprised if they did a multi-platform title just to prove that they're not just saying that.

 

[Rolf N]

Odds are the 360 version would be the better selling title.

EA's last few quarterly reports show the opposite.

Insomniac has significant incentive to make sure it has parity. Seeing as even with the PS3 being the lead for design decisions at a lot of studios it still is doing well. if Insomniac is now multiplatform they really should embrace it instead of just trying to cash in on a crap port on the larger platform.

Agreed. They're fighting uphill anyway, because they have no history on the platform. Making a good first impression should be helpful.

 

[dobwal]

Odds are the 360 version would be the better selling title. Insomniac has significant incentive to make sure it has parity. Seeing as even with the PS3 being the lead for design decisions at a lot of studios it still is doing well. if Insomniac is now multiplatform they really should embrace it instead of just trying to cash in on a crap port on the larger platform.

It would require alot of investment outside the development itself, which for an unproven IP seems a little risky. It would also slow development if Insomniac took it upon themselves to take their engine and convert for use on the 360. I think it would behoove them to work in conjunction with EA R&D department, who have pratical experience with the 360 to fast track the transition and then use an EA internal team to develop the port. Just because Insomniac would outsource the port doesn't mean they give up creative control of the port.

It would give Insomniac a chance to build up their 360 talent and knowledgebase while not drastically affecting the development on their new IP. It would be similar to what Bioware did with Dragon Age as they used outside dev for help with their transition to multiplat development

Insomniac doesn't seemed to be flush with cash, it could really hurt their ability to sustain themselves if they pour a ton of money and time into the transition and this new IP turns into a dud.

 

[dobwal]

EA's last few quarterly reports show the opposite.

Where?

In their GAAP numbers, where EA is accounting for deferral of revenue. Non GAAP numbers which reflect revenue actually generated within that quarter continually show that the 360 generates more revenue than the PS3.

 

[Arwin]

i think I read somewhere that R&D guys at Insomniac have had 360 devkits for a long time, and personally I think they'll not need a lot of help, and aren't very likely to use an existing third party engine at all. I'm willing to bet they enjoy developing on a different platform again far too much (and of course stuff like EDRAM isn't particularly foreign to them either. ).

I'd actually regret if they went for parity - I have no issue at all if they manage to use the strengths of each platform to good effect. That said, they're probably going for parity anyway.

 

[dobwal]

Hmm, PS3 owners are still getting a better trade deal because they get Bungie.

PS3 owners get whatever Bungie IP, MS decides it doesn't want to publish. While I guess with Insomniac, (if the multiplat transition proves to be successful) they will target their most promising IPs for multiplat unless Sony provides incentives for exclusivity, which I think is smart because Insomniac will have a better leveraged position from which to negotiate with Sony.

In the end, unless MS and Sony totally misses the boat, the best IPs will come out exclusively on the consoles these devs are traditionally known for.

 

[Arwin]

Ha, Eurogamer is pretty swift again! Interview with Ted Price ...

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/insomniacs-ted-price-article

 

[patsu]

It would require alot of investment outside the development itself, which for an unproven IP seems a little risky.

I agree going multi-platform is a risky move for Insomniac. The safer route is to find and focus on an interesting game first, generate the awareness and desire, then port over. Then, do a sequel with parallel development.

IMHO, Insomniac's game is about gameplay. It is hard to appreciate the experience just by looking. Their game concept is tame compared to other over-the-top presentations and ideas. This is why we hear some people complained about "bland" games.

R2 SP has set pieces and over the top scenes (e.g., gigantic bosses, physics water, etc.), but they didn't have time to polish it thoroughly together with a totally separate 8P co-op mode, and 64P MP mode.

I expect the PS3 fans to drive their new IP sales initially. If their new IP has over-the-top concept and presentation that are attractive to new comers, then perhaps the Xbox 360's larger user base will come into play. Otherwise, only the ones "in the know" would buy it. The rest will be good/bad word of mouth. If Insomniac is lucky and executes well, it may take 1-2 iterations to get right.

Again, all IMHO. I could very well be wrong.

 

[dobwal]

i think I read somewhere that R&D guys at Insomniac have had 360 devkits for a long time, and personally I think they'll not need a lot of help, and aren't very likely to use an existing third party engine at all. I'm willing to bet they enjoy developing on a different platform again far too much (and of course stuff like EDRAM isn't particularly foreign to them either. ).

I'd actually regret if they went for parity - I have no issue at all if they manage to use the strengths of each platform to good effect. That said, they're probably going for parity anyway.

Having dev kits doesn't mean they have a lot of practical knowledge in actually developing a full fledged 360 title. They don't need to use a third party engine, but to go it alone or with little help would be akin to reinventing the wheel. EA's has resources who have done multiplat for 5-6 years and have worked on 3rd generation 360 titles. Why not use them and avoid some of the pitfalls that many devs have experienced over the years with multiplat development.

Given how Insomniac has a history of working with other devs to push the PS3, it would seem a little contradictory for them to take the opposite tack with pushing the 360. It would quicker for them to assimilate the knowledge base of EA R&D than to acquire that knowledge like its 2005. If they're looking at a release schedule within the next 18-24 months and don't want a 360 sku that looks like 360 games from 2 years ago then they must highly leverage the resources they easily have available to them and thats EA.