Developer Sucker Punch started life nearly a decade ago with its first release on the Nintendo 64. Since that time, however, the studio has created titles exclusively for Sony platforms, including the Sly Cooper franchise and recent electro-shocky superhero game, inFamous. Co-founder Brian Fleming recently spoke out on his company's love-in with Sony, explaining that Sucker Punch's platform exclusivity has less to do with money and more to do with simply enjoying what they do.
According to Fleming, while going cross-platform puts a game in front of more potential eyeballs, "it also introduces a whole bunch of problems and compromises and difficulty that doesn't make making games a lot more fun. In fact, I think it subtracts from that."
While the exec notes without reservation that the studio is in this business to make money, he adds that you "have to be careful about being greedy." He adds that the pursuit of dollars has to be weighed against other things, like enjoying what you do for a living, publisher relations and game quality. We'd be hard pressed to argue, especially since our obsession with inFamous has only grown since the game first shocked our hearts.
Reader Comments (105)
Posted: Jun 11th 2009 9:08AM StormEagle said
That's easy. They know where the power lies.
Achievement Unlocked: Comment Without Reading The Post
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Achievement Unlocked: Comment Without Reading The Post
Posted: Jun 11th 2009 9:22AM StormEagle said
Yeah but I'm not posting from my PS3, I'm posting from my Windows XP PC.
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Posted: Jun 11th 2009 11:51AM Drago Dracini said
for the record you don't get achievements on XP either... just vista... just clarifying. ;p
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Posted: Jun 11th 2009 1:10PM Bagels said
Soory to jack your post, Storm Eagle, but I have an announcement that needs to be as close to the top as possible:
The following pages of comments are people argueing about and making personal attacks around the subject of VIDEO GAMES. Meanwhile, the rest of society, including the people making these games, keeps moving on. If you would like to rejoin such society, please leave now.
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The following pages of comments are people argueing about and making personal attacks around the subject of VIDEO GAMES. Meanwhile, the rest of society, including the people making these games, keeps moving on. If you would like to rejoin such society, please leave now.
Posted: Jun 11th 2009 9:08AM The angry pro consumer gaming ga said
I've gotta Sony must be doing something right with developers because they mostly give the company a lot of praise for the working relationship (first party), unlike the ones that have left MS which mostly give negative remarks.
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Posted: Jun 11th 2009 11:43AM The angry pro consumer gaming ga said
Even companies that were with MS at the time gave out statements they weren't happy with the working relationship, and they you have people like David Jaffe who are not under SONY and yet love working with them.
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Posted: Jun 11th 2009 12:38PM SoCoolCurt said
"Hmm, what does that make Kojima Productions?"
The popular girl at school that everyone fights over, except she sleeps with everyone at one time or another anyway.
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The popular girl at school that everyone fights over, except she sleeps with everyone at one time or another anyway.
Posted: Jun 11th 2009 9:10AM ShadyHaitien said
"have to be careful about being greedy." ...I like that. I personally think game quality is better when companies focus on one platform.
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Posted: Jun 11th 2009 9:13AM (Unverified) said
"you have to be careful about being greedy."
We're all looking at you Activision
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We're all looking at you Activision
Posted: Jun 11th 2009 9:16AM DeathroW22 said
Yeah, what can go wrong?
Sony fund their game 100%, they advertise it and because it is an exclusive title - they get more attention.
And they also have the support of the the huge list of first party studios that sony have.
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Sony fund their game 100%, they advertise it and because it is an exclusive title - they get more attention.
And they also have the support of the the huge list of first party studios that sony have.
Posted: Jun 11th 2009 1:33PM Sly C said
wizzletweets, your post was a legendary fail. that's the first one i've seen in a LONG time.
http://knowyourmeme.com/i/2816/original/legendfail.jpg?1243541009
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http://knowyourmeme.com/i/2816/original/legendfail.jpg?1243541009
Posted: Jun 12th 2009 1:41AM sonicspike41 said
+1 just for including such an awesome picture I've never seen before.
Oh, and I guess I liked the actual comment as well.
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Oh, and I guess I liked the actual comment as well.
Posted: Jun 11th 2009 9:20AM waynski1457 said
Sounds like odd reasoning, especially when you consider the usuall "PS3 IZ H@RD TO PR0GR@M 4!" argument.
But that gets thrown out the window when you realise that they make amazing games. Seriously, inFamous almost (aaalmost...) makes me forget that we don't have another Sly Cooper yet. I really should get around to getting a PS3 one of these days.
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But that gets thrown out the window when you realise that they make amazing games. Seriously, inFamous almost (aaalmost...) makes me forget that we don't have another Sly Cooper yet. I really should get around to getting a PS3 one of these days.
Posted: Jun 11th 2009 10:34AM CtrlBurn said
I don't know that the PS3 is "hard" to program for, it's just very different from other platforms. It's hard to go from X360 programming to PS3 programming, but that's just because it's such a big change. If you're working with PS3 code all the time, it's likely a lot easier to stick with that than to make the change in the other direction to X360 or Windows.
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Posted: Jun 12th 2009 1:49AM sonicspike41 said
Anyone else remember when the PS2 released and everyone criticized it for being hard to program for? I still can't believe how many exclusives games the PS2 ended up getting, despite generally being the worst console from a hardware point of view.
I guess they must have done so well last generation that now everyone already has a general idea of how to program for them, though that still wouldn't explain games like Flower or many of the other great titles from smaller groups.
Perhaps Jumpshot is right, having access to a network of people who do nothing but make AAA first party titles must really be nice.
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I guess they must have done so well last generation that now everyone already has a general idea of how to program for them, though that still wouldn't explain games like Flower or many of the other great titles from smaller groups.
Perhaps Jumpshot is right, having access to a network of people who do nothing but make AAA first party titles must really be nice.
Posted: Jun 12th 2009 1:58AM waynski1457 said
I understand that the programming argument applies mostly to multi-plat games, but I just figured I'd throw it out there.
Like I said in the original post, Sucker Punch makes great games and they can do what they want for all I care because they are so awesome.
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Like I said in the original post, Sucker Punch makes great games and they can do what they want for all I care because they are so awesome.
Posted: Jun 11th 2009 9:21AM (Unverified) said
Psh, they're only staying exclusive because they're all pathetic Sony fanboys!
Am I doing this right Sprinkles?
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Am I doing this right Sprinkles?
Posted: Jun 11th 2009 9:33AM (Unverified) said
I don't know about "pathetic" seeing as I don't know those people....
But of course they're sony fanboys....
Anyways if this bait you're doing a horrible job of it. Bottom line is that it's THEIR RIGHT to develop for whatever company they choose to do that for. And they happen to prefer only sony which is their prerogative.
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But of course they're sony fanboys....
Anyways if this bait you're doing a horrible job of it. Bottom line is that it's THEIR RIGHT to develop for whatever company they choose to do that for. And they happen to prefer only sony which is their prerogative.
Posted: Jun 11th 2009 10:01AM (Unverified) said
LOL @ copa.
tmac does many things everyday that should earn him one day bans.
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tmac does many things everyday that should earn him one day bans.
Posted: Jun 11th 2009 10:35AM doom saber said
At least Sucker Punch's comment is more professional than the ones commin out of Valve regardin on why they don't make games for the PSIII.
It doesn't matter if Sucker Punch's makes games for one system over the other as long as they don't badmouth theother in trying to fuel this so called console wars.
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It doesn't matter if Sucker Punch's makes games for one system over the other as long as they don't badmouth theother in trying to fuel this so called console wars.
Posted: Jun 11th 2009 9:23AM (Unverified) said
I agree with all those saying that you get better quality focusing on one platform. There are a lot of extra work and/or compromises involved in trying to make a game multiplatform. Both will likely cause a game to be weaker than if it'd been exclusive. More work spent on making it multiplatform means less time to improve the game idea and mechanics, and more compromises obviously limits the end result.
It's true no matter what console you look at. While some games are realtively easy to make multiplatform (sports, licences, generic FPS, etc.), and should continue to stay that way, we need more exclusives (on all sides) to push the envelope of each platform.
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It's true no matter what console you look at. While some games are realtively easy to make multiplatform (sports, licences, generic FPS, etc.), and should continue to stay that way, we need more exclusives (on all sides) to push the envelope of each platform.
Posted: Jun 11th 2009 9:36AM (Unverified) said
I admit focusing on one platform usually ends up a better product, but usually you end up with two good products with timed exclusives as well. Resident Evil 4 on Gamecube looked half-way decent on PS2, even with the graphic limitations. Bioshock on PS3 some argued looked better then the X-box 360 cause it took almost a full year after the 360 version until it was released.
So usually when they take the time to port the product, you usually come out with two great looking games. Unless you have the money to work on both versions independently, side by side...
Best example of this is Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. That game looked amazing on both systems, because they had two different development teams working seperately to use the best features and programming techniques for each system. Companies like Capcom and SquareEnix have the money to shovel two different teams for one game, that's probably why we see alot of Capcom games nowadays have almost zero graphic differences in games like Street Fighter 4 or Resident Evil 5.
Square is also having two teams make Final Fantasy 13. That's why there probably won't be huge differences either... except for the amount of discs the game comes on...
Bottom line, Sucker Punch doesn't have the money for two teams.
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So usually when they take the time to port the product, you usually come out with two great looking games. Unless you have the money to work on both versions independently, side by side...
Best example of this is Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. That game looked amazing on both systems, because they had two different development teams working seperately to use the best features and programming techniques for each system. Companies like Capcom and SquareEnix have the money to shovel two different teams for one game, that's probably why we see alot of Capcom games nowadays have almost zero graphic differences in games like Street Fighter 4 or Resident Evil 5.
Square is also having two teams make Final Fantasy 13. That's why there probably won't be huge differences either... except for the amount of discs the game comes on...
Bottom line, Sucker Punch doesn't have the money for two teams.
Posted: Jun 11th 2009 9:24AM CrimsonRyan said
I wish Konami would take some notes here.
Seriously.
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Seriously.
Posted: Jun 11th 2009 9:35AM baby sea tuna said
That wouldn't really work since manyof their most profitable IPs are dogshit like DDR which probably pulls record numbers on the Wii, when compared to other platforms.
I see what you're getting at though, and you're right, MGS: Lightning-whatever should be exclusive...TO THE 360!
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I see what you're getting at though, and you're right, MGS: Lightning-whatever should be exclusive...TO THE 360!
Posted: Jun 11th 2009 9:44AM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said
I could see if you said Kojima....but Konomi NEEDS to be Multiplatform with their shit....the best selling game they have has got to be that Soccer game....
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Posted: Jun 11th 2009 9:45AM CrimsonRyan said
Konami is probably the only Japanese company ever that don't have morals. Its not even about MGSr, they have always been like they are.
They need a good bop on the head.
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They need a good bop on the head.
Posted: Jun 11th 2009 11:43AM PedoJokerBear said
u didnt really have to throw in "rrod machine" in that paragraph, it threw your whole argument into fanboy nonsense. its a shame cause you were sounding reasonable.
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Posted: Jun 11th 2009 9:30AM ACLerok212 said
Valve should hire this guy for his PR skills alone. Taking notes, Tom Leonard?
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Posted: Jun 11th 2009 9:33AM R Planteer said
And a guy that just professed his love for Sony is going to swap to a company that only develops for the PC/360 is going to change jobs because....?
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Posted: Jun 11th 2009 9:35AM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said
Well dude from Valve DID say that the PS3 is becoming to BIG to ignore and they are going to start developing in house for it.
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Posted: Jun 11th 2009 9:57AM ACLerok212 said
I'm not proposing an actual swap, R. Just making a point. You can explain exclusive development professionally, like Fleming here, without mocking the other console. Or you can do this => http://ps3.ign.com/articles/993/993592p1.html and make it seem like your company isn't smart enough and doesn't have the technical talent and know-how to do so.
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Posted: Jun 11th 2009 10:16AM Troy Powers said
I was just thinking to myself, "This isn't far off from what the Valve guy said, except this guy didn't make his team look like a bunch of lazy morons."
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Posted: Jun 11th 2009 9:34AM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said
I hope they stay that way at LEAST long enough to do 2 or more inFamous Titles....
and I get what they are saying about having to do thing differently with multiplatform games...I mean they have to essentially make changes to games because one system is different from the other, When you are exclusive to one system you can better learn said system, which is why Games like Uncharted 2 looks better than damn near anything a thrid party dev will ever do on PS3...One System has a HDD Standard another doesnt...thats part of what leads to shitty ports right there. Then there is the fact that a multiplatform game can easily fall by the side if its not different enough or have brand recognition. If Haze had been a multiplatform title it would have just been tossed aside by most folks. but because it was exclusive a lot of people bought it for that, even if it was shit.
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and I get what they are saying about having to do thing differently with multiplatform games...I mean they have to essentially make changes to games because one system is different from the other, When you are exclusive to one system you can better learn said system, which is why Games like Uncharted 2 looks better than damn near anything a thrid party dev will ever do on PS3...One System has a HDD Standard another doesnt...thats part of what leads to shitty ports right there. Then there is the fact that a multiplatform game can easily fall by the side if its not different enough or have brand recognition. If Haze had been a multiplatform title it would have just been tossed aside by most folks. but because it was exclusive a lot of people bought it for that, even if it was shit.
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