Sony: Our Triple-A Software Will Bring Consumers to PS3

IndustryGamers recently met with Scott Rohde, Vice President of Product Development at SCEA, to talk about the PS3 development strategy and the company's new motion-sensing controller unveiled at E3.  

One thing that's often been cited in terms of developing for the PS3 platform is its level of difficulty, but as developers like Insomniac, Naughty Dog, Guerilla Games and Sucker Punch have demonstrated, it's all about how to really leverage those powerful SPUs in the PS3. Rohde thinks we're only “scratching the surface” of what the PS3 can really do. 

“The way I like to look at what the PS3 can do is that we're still peeling back layers of the onion and finding even more that the SPUs can pull off. From first-hand experience, when you talk to developers and they realize – especially when talking about a sequel – that they can throw a lot of tasks at those SPUs, freeing up the main processor to do a lot more than they thought, that's exciting to developers. It's exciting for them when they see they've just scratched the surface of what PS3 can do,” he said.

Rohde is also extremely proud of his first-party strategy. The PS3 lineup is starting to look more impressive, and Rohde fully believes that consumers will be drawn to the console because of that. 

“We firmly believe in our first-party software strategy. I think it's not a short-term strategy; it's a very long-term, calculated strategy to say that we put the bulk of our investment into exclusive first-party titles, and they're all must haves,” he said. “When you look at this lineup of triple-A titles coming in the next 12-18 months, it's very strong and it's going to bring more people to the PS3, which is something we calculate and we're excited about.” 

“Something we like to hang our hats on is it's not just the studios we own; we have a lot of strong relationships with other independent external developers as well,” he added. “You saw a bit of that with United Front Games showing off Mod Nation Racers, which sort of came out of thin air. Those are good partnerships for us.” 

We asked Rohde how he felt about the first-party studio system, especially as it compares to Microsoft's, which has been diluted with Bungie going independent again and studios like Ensemble and FASA being closed. Rohde noted, “I think the main difference is that to us it's all about driving innovation on our platform, and that's our focus. It's never our focus to say we need to be X size – it's all about the initiatives we're supporting across our different platforms.” 

As for the upcoming PS3 motion controller (launching next spring), Rohde has very high hopes for the new gameplay experiences it will bring.

Dr. Richard Marks demonstrating the motion controller at E3

“I've worked first-hand with the technology for a long time, so we have a lot of first-party products in the works – it's our job as first-party to innovate and make sure when the product is launched there's a good set of software out there. And we also have very good third-party support; they're all very excited about the device,” he said. “What I'm excited about with the device – you saw the precision it offers – but there's something magical about the little colored ball. When you have something in your hand and what you're seeing on the screen affects what's in your hand, it's a very different experience than what gamers are used to. The archery demo in particular just feels very natural.” 

We asked Rohde about concerns from an installed base perspective. After all, these motion-sensing controllers and the camera are add-ons, and historically accessories don't sell tremendously well. What kind of software support can we really expect?  “I think our approach from first-party, and you're seeing this from third parties as well, is we'll make some games that are tailored directly for that experience and we'll make sure that a lot of our existing franchises support a new way to play with the motion device,” he stated. 

With that in mind, we immediately asked Rohde if Sony could patch old games to update them for new motion controller gameplay. “Theoretically, absolutely,” he said, “We're always looking at those kinds of opportunities, and because the PS3 is always connected we can do that if it makes sense for us on any given product.” 

The block demo

Sony, of course, is biased towards their own product, but the company genuinely feels its motion technology gives them an advantage over Wii or Project Natal. Although it wasn't conveyed very well at E3, Sony is particularly pleased with how their motion technology enables players to work with depth of field and reach into or pull back from the TV screen.  

“When we talked with Dr. Richard Marks... one thing that he explained that got him the most excited and was the hardest to make sure everyone else 'got'  was that little block demo and being able to accurately depict depth of field. That's what's missing in the Wii, even with Wii MotionPlus, that other axis,” said Rohde. “So that's going to be difficult to do without a controller. He was like, 'We've already done hands-free control with EyeToy, and what we found in that phase was that buttons ended up becoming necessary.' So what he was excited about was that I could actually go [into the direction of the screen] and have that ability to reach into something accurately.” 

IndustryGamers  is certainly looking forward to playing around with all this new motion tech. It'll be interesting to see which one really successfully finds widespread adoption with the masses.