Mark Rein (Epic Games) says they are receiving PS3 dev kits sooner for this launch than they did for the 360 launch.
Mark states that they received the final development kits for the Sony PlayStation 3 around the time of E3. He notes that Microsoft was unable to get 360 final units before or at E3 - they came after.
This could mean that Sony is in a better place, relative to ship date, then Microsoft was a year ago. The developers have their kits sooner, they are building familiarity with the tools and learning the ropes for the new console slightly ahead of the historical 360 release.
What games will be ready at launch to prove that these earlier development kits "paid off"? No news from Sony on a full launch title release set so its still up in the air.
Other murmers from the development community is that the PS3 is tough to develop for compared to other consoles. Does that mean the extra breathing room they received from getting the console early is still going to leave developers scratching their head and working night shifts to get PS3 launch titles out on time without massive bugs and glitches?
That is a question that cannot be answered until consumers get their greedly little hands on this power-house console.
As a side note: Ryan Bowling, a PR manager for Sony, said that 10,000 developer kits have been shipped to 208 companies in 11 countries. Largest ever for a PlayStation platform. This may seem suprising but remember that this is quoted from a PR manager. Things to consider:
1. Shipped means it has left the dock, not always "in the hands" of its destination company.
2. Shipped does not mean utilized. 10,000 kits are produced and out the door but how many are powered up right now running test code?
Mark states that they received the final development kits for the Sony PlayStation 3 around the time of E3. He notes that Microsoft was unable to get 360 final units before or at E3 - they came after.
This could mean that Sony is in a better place, relative to ship date, then Microsoft was a year ago. The developers have their kits sooner, they are building familiarity with the tools and learning the ropes for the new console slightly ahead of the historical 360 release.
What games will be ready at launch to prove that these earlier development kits "paid off"? No news from Sony on a full launch title release set so its still up in the air.
Other murmers from the development community is that the PS3 is tough to develop for compared to other consoles. Does that mean the extra breathing room they received from getting the console early is still going to leave developers scratching their head and working night shifts to get PS3 launch titles out on time without massive bugs and glitches?
That is a question that cannot be answered until consumers get their greedly little hands on this power-house console.
As a side note: Ryan Bowling, a PR manager for Sony, said that 10,000 developer kits have been shipped to 208 companies in 11 countries. Largest ever for a PlayStation platform. This may seem suprising but remember that this is quoted from a PR manager. Things to consider:
1. Shipped means it has left the dock, not always "in the hands" of its destination company.
2. Shipped does not mean utilized. 10,000 kits are produced and out the door but how many are powered up right now running test code?
