Retail is Dead: The Sequel-Busting Truth (Page 2 of 2)
- April 02, 2008 13:10 PM PST
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PSN and XBLA: Finding a Niche
Though XBLA has been around for more than three years, PSN for less than two, downloadable console services are still a relatively young. For a console owner who's new to downloading games, they might find that XBLA has a handful of great original titles accompanied by a lot of classic arcade remakes.
Innovative games like PSN's PixelJunk Monsters show that downloadable games can be fresh HD experiences.
"XBLA has been particularly good for indie games, indie developers and gamers too," says Josh Williams, CEO and CTO of independent games development community GarageGames. "I love it, personally."
Loads of remakes like Pac-Man: Championship Edition thrive, and even simple games like the card game Uno are extremely popular. There isn't a mega list of new, original titles on XBLA, but there are some. The wonderfully addictive Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved shows just how popular and successful a creative new idea can be.
PSN seems to be finding its forte in quality over quantity. Games like Everyday Shooter, Super Stardust HD and PixelJunk Monsters are proving that you can get a great HD experience for $10 or less. On this service you'll find less arcade remakes and more inventive concepts. Here, developers can take bigger risks with originality.
Hight says it's all in the selection process. "We (Sony) are pretty strict. I look at about 20 proposals a month and not everything makes it to our network...we also want things that are very innovative. We're very concerned about the quality of our games to the extent that we don't want a lot of quantity in our service." For PSN games, he provides the analogy of a eating at a fine restaurant. "Everything on the menu is memorable, even if it's only two pages long. And while the Cheesecake Factory has everything under the sun, nothing is really memorable, even if there is something for everyone."
HD classic remakes on XBLA like Pac-Man Championship Edition, are thriving.
Williams think both services are strict in terms of quality. "As far as releasing games on each platform, I'd say PSN development is actually less strict and a little easier to get through. However," he continues, "the Xbox 360 is easier [to develop for] than for PS3 because the documentation is fuller."
Capcom creative director Kraig Kujawa agrees. "It's been a bit more challenging for some of our development partners to learn the PlayStation 3," Kujawa says. "But when they've done it once, they're off and running. The PS3 is actually a couple of our developers' strong suits now."
It's All in the Games
Whether you're into HD arcade remakes or creative new downloadable games, there are plenty to choose from on either Sony or Microsoft's services. And even though these digital download services on both consoles are still relatively young (the Nintendo Wii's WiiWare doesn't even launch until May in North America), downloadable games are on the rise. Expect a great number of talented developers to be drawn to these services are they gain in popularity. Make no mistake. These games are the future. As a result, we--the gamers--are privy to great stuff for a lot less money. Now that's a win-win.
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