Volition Explains Why Saints Row IV Isn't A Next-Gen Title

Saints Row IV

Saints Row IV will launch on August 20 for current-generation consoles. But why didn't developer Volition want to wait for the next-gen systems?

During a recent SPOnG interview, Saints Row IV senior producer Jim Boone said they resisted the PS4 because they would've been "forced" into making the new project a launch title.

Boone recalled Sony pushing Volition to get Summoner done for the PS2 launch. He said it was "the most brutal game" he had ever worked on, and it was incredibly difficult to produce a launch title, especially a huge role-playing game. He also added that while people did seem to like it, the game could've been much better if they hadn't been forced into making it a launch title.

So when the original Saints Row came around, Boone said they didn't want to try and target a next-gen launch; they wanted to take their time. They're using the same approach for Saints Row IV:

"We didn’t want to try and force this thing into being next-gen. We wanted to be able to take the time to add in a lot of crazy new things, like super-powers and aliens and things like that. And honestly, I don’t think we’d have been able to do any of that if we had to build all of this new technology to work with next-gen."

As for whether or not Volition is already taking a peek at the PS4 hardware, Boone said they "have some people looking at such things" but he can't provide any details just yet. Man, I had forgotten that Volition did Summoner. I thought that game was great, although I never did finish it.

Related Game(s): Saints Row IV

Tags: saints row iv, saints row 4, saints row 4 ps4, volition

3/22/2013 11:30:03 AM Ben Dutka

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