Sony claims NGP to learn from PS3's mistakes, development a 'natural process'
While the press and public alike might have got hot under the collar regarding NGP's spec list Sony claiming the device will run games as graphically rich as PS3 such power potentially poses a problem for developers.
As Sony suffered to its detriment in the early says of PS3, often delivering a platform with the greatest grunt means actually developing for it is something of an ordeal especially for smaller studios.
It's a problem SCE Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida claims he is more than aware of, telling Edge that Sony has taken steps to ensure working on NGP is as easy a process as possible.
Fresh focus
"We were very focused on this area from the start," Yoshida told the magazine.
"This is a lesson learned from the PS3. We had to make the development environment for NGP as 'easy' as possible."
Yoshida claims Sony has been aided by the fact that development studios are, on the whole, more used to PS3 development five years down the line, meaning they're now more adequately able to deal with what NGP has to offer.
"Today, many teams are familiar with the PS3 and are used to including a variety of effects in their titles. Based on this expertise, and also the working habits they developed working on the PS3, we had to make development on the NGP as natural as possible an extension of the PS3, if you will."
Battle of the bigger boys
Nevertheless, PS3 development is not an area most mobile developers have experience with, suggesting Sony is far keener to court the bigger publishers over the kind of independent studios that have made their name on iOS and Android in recent years.
As a result, Yoshida states such firms will have resist simply dumping home console releases onto the handheld in order to make a quick buck.
It's a trend PSP was undoubtedly tainted by at launch, with the device lacking the key, exclusive releases needed to tempt PS2 owners to make the leap.
"The three demos youve seen prove porting is simple and quick, but it doesnt mean thats all you can expect," he concluded.
"My view of NGP isnt just as a platform for porting PS3 titles."
[source: Edge Online]