LucasArts now leading development with the PS3


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According to GameSpot, the new baseline for LucasArts will be the PS3 now developer support has finally caught up to a decent level, and the Force Unleashed has been demoed for the first time by the publisher which nearly made KOTOR3 instead.
"Multiplatform development was one of our biggest challenges," he told the jam-packed hall in the basement of the Moscone Center. After George Lucas famously urged the studio to "go build that game" upon seeing the first test reels from TFU, they began work straight away on Xbox 360 dev kits in late summer 2005--because that was all the studio had.

"It took a very long time for us to reach a multiplatform mentality," said Blackman. The reason? "Until early 2006," LucasArts had no PS3 dev kits whatsoever and, for the sheer sake of moving the project forward, focused on Microsoft's console. "It took months to get enough dev kits to everyone," rued the developer.

The problem was, once LucasArts finally had enough PS3 dev kits to supply the staff members that required them, 360 development of The Force Unleashed was months ahead. Worse still, the 360-optimized early version of the game "didn't translate well" when ported onto the PS3, given the differences between the hardware architecture of the two consoles and the complexity of PS3 development. This led to more complications and pushed the simultaneous launch of The Force Unleashed back further.

Now, however, the impressive-looking game is on track, and Blackman says that, after some hard-learned lessons, LucasArts now has a strategy for future multiplatform titles--develop the PS3 version first. "Our next project will use the PS3 as the baseline, and then apply that to the Xbox 360," he said. He made no mention of the other versions of The Force Unleashed.

Source: http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=25500

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I remember yonks ago Phil Harrison said there would be a time when developers start to develop on the PS3 first and then port to other consoles as it would be easier.

it seems in recent months its really starting to happen.

I can see how it would be easier to develop on new hardware like the PS3 and its Cell and then port it over to the Xbox360 which is much more understood in development.

Just means everyone gets better games. :D

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Yup,

this

Worse still, the 360-optimized early version of the game "didn't translate well" when ported onto the PS3, given the differences between the hardware architecture of the two consoles and the complexity of PS3 development.

is the problem we have to get around with multiplatform games.

You either build both from scratch, or build on the platform first that can be ported easier.

Well you don't have to do that, but if you don't do one of them, things can get sloppy.

I'm sure the days of PS3 owners getting totally outclassed ports are over - Minor differences may always exist, but those mean squat to the majority of people.

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why don't they release a game for 360 then ps3 later?

Maybe they don't want to?

But in all seriousness if they do that they are most likely paid to do so or they don't care for the PS3.

But let me ask you this: Why don't they release a game for the PS3 and then the X360 later?

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Maybe they don't want to?

But in all seriousness if they do that they are most likely paid to do so or they don't care for the PS3.

But let me ask you this: Why don't they release a game for the PS3 and then the X360 later?

This led to more complications and pushed the simultaneous launch of The Force Unleashed back further.

I think he meant with this specific game with the above comment.

What I would say though, if the 360 version was 100% complete and the PS3 one needed another few months I'd understand one coming out earlier, but in the gaming world, with any game not = 100% done another few months or so gives you some more polish.

Developers will want to/and try their hardest to release multiplatform titles at the same time, it's just the best way to do things.

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Game looks amazing. Natural Motion was using TFU to demo the Emotion Engine for physics, AI, and animation. It's the same engine that will be in GTA4 and the Indiana Jones game.

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Maybe porting from PS3 to 360 will be easier because anytime someone (EA) ports a game from 360 to PS3 it tends to suck it, big time.

+1. Burnout Paradise is a great example. It was designed on the PS3 then ported to the 360, and it's turned out well on both consoles, but this might be the first time I choose a PS3 version of a multiplatform game over the 360 version (Virtua Fighter 5 doesn't count, as I got it before the 360 version was even announced).

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any multiplatform game should be built for PC first (if thats one of the platforms), if not then the complexness of the PS3 makes it the best quality choice for developers who aren't trying to just cash in on a x360 game port.

kudos for Lucasarts for doing the right thing!

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