PS3 Commentary: The Light Side

Now that we’ve plumbed the seedy depths of everything about Wednesday’s announcement, it’s time to go au verso and to scale the heady heights in search of a more optimistic view.

Game developers and publishers around the world are no doubt collectively letting loose sighs of sweet relief as they are given a precious few months to polish their initial offerings of sacrifice at the altar of PS3. While a later date was already on the cards for most game developers and publishers, seeing as how Sony would neither confirm nor deny a Spring release for regions outside Japan, the announcement gives everyone a concrete date to strive towards.

This is “a Good Thing.” Why, you may ask? It may come as a shock to some, but most games don’t make a profit. Most games don’t even raise a blip on the average gamer’s radar. You could put it down to a lack of marketing on the publisher’s part, but some of it also comes down to game developers signing themselves up for to unachievable milestones. Crunch time comes, and it’s a mad rush to get something vaguely playable two months before the gold disc needs to be stamped and on its way to a production run.

It’s a malaise the industry has been ailing from for many years, and while the advent of the PS3 certainly won’t slow it down, the extra innings will allow any of the laggers to get into gear and to push out a game worthy of a what we all know in our hearts will be a spectacular launch.
Now that we’ve plumbed the seedy depths of everything about Wednesday’s announcement, it’s time to go au verso and to scale the heady heights in search of a more optimistic view.

Game developers and publishers around the world are no doubt collectively letting loose sighs of sweet relief as they are given a precious few months to polish their initial offerings of sacrifice at the altar of PS3. While a later date was already on the cards for most game developers and publishers, seeing as how Sony would neither confirm nor deny a Spring release for regions outside Japan, the announcement gives everyone a concrete date to strive towards.

This is “a Good Thing.” Why, you may ask? It may come as a shock to some, but most games don’t make a profit. Most games don’t even raise a blip on the average gamer’s radar. You could put it down to a lack of marketing on the publisher’s part, but some of it also comes down to game developers signing themselves up for to unachievable milestones. Crunch time comes, and it’s a mad rush to get something vaguely playable two months before the gold disc needs to be stamped and on its way to a production run.

It’s a malaise the industry has been ailing from for many years, and while the advent of the PS3 certainly won’t slow it down, the extra innings will allow any of the laggers to get into gear and to push out a game worthy of a what we all know in our hearts will be a spectacular launch.