November 28, 2006 - As head of the Game Developers Convention, Jamil Moledina is constantly in talks with developers about the newest game technologies. We've known for a while that the PlayStation 3 is the most powerful console ever developed, and, depending on who you talk to, one of the most difficult to develop for. According to Moledina, many developers are ready to jump on the PS3 bandwagon but haven't been shown how to wield the power of the Cell processor.
Speaking with Games Industry, Moledina said, "It's a relatively complex platform to develop for, considering it has a very unique multi-core processor with the Cell. A lot of developers are new to figuring out how to work with that structure, as well as the RSX, the graphics processor. It's always a challenge for developers to dedicate resources to next-generation titles like this -- consider the cost, resources, and time it takes to make these games."
Rather than take a gamble with hardware they do not yet understand, Moledina says many developers are looking to handhelds for the time being. "A lot of the developers I know are waiting out on the first round and focusing on handhelds; they're creating DS and PSP titles because that's actually a much simpler migration from the current-gen."
But now that the PS3 is out, Moledina believes Sony will start sharing the love with developers outside its first-party circle. "A lot of Sony's effort has been focused on helping first party understand how to develop games for it," he stated. "I think you're going to see that knowledge shared more robustly now that those first-party titles are in the can, as it were, or close to being complete."
Moledina also noted that the PS3 launch "reminds me very much of the original PlayStation 2 launch, where there were a hatful of pretty good titles."
