"True Power" Of PS3 Uncovered In 2008?

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Last year, it was relatively obvious that the Nintendo Wii stole the show in terms of overall hardware sales and the Xbox 360 nailed down a lot of the best software (Bioshock, Halo 3, Mass Effect, etc). However, with PlayStation 3 sales steadily climbing and a 2008 lineup that appears to easily outstrip the competition, many - including several prominent developers - believe 2008 could be the "year of the PS3."

Not surprisingly, after a year of learning Sony's complex new system, most developers (sans EA, of course), have a much better grasp on the process. According to GamesRadar, a lot of teams are simply getting more familiar with the system, and PS3 owners will soon reap the rewards of their efforts. Insomniac Games chief creative officer Brain Hastings believes his studio's third-generation PS3 engine will offer us another "transitional leap of quality." We trust him, because Insomniac has already delivered Resistance: Fall of Man (with Resistance 2 on the way this year) and Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. Epic's Mark Rein has pointed out time and time again that the PS3's ability to support user-generated content is extremely valuable, and it's perhaps the biggest reason Unreal Tournament III came to the PS3 first.

And here's more from lead console programmer at Traveller's Tales, Dave Connell-

"Once you put the effort in and start to understand the hardware, you can see PS3’s huge technical potential," said Connell, who also mentioned that one must understand the PS3's intricate SPUs (synergistic processor units) if they wish to access the system's true ptoential. "We are going to see the quality of PS3 titles improve for many years to come as people get to grips with them," he added. "It might turn out that things we’ve not even thought of end up best demonstrating the power of PS3."

These are hardly the only guys who believe things are definitely looking up on the PS3, so now all we need is the software to prove it. Thankfully, in just glancing at the lineup for Sony's console this year, one is most certainly encouraged: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Killzone 2, Gran Turismo 5, Resistance 2, LittleBigPlanet (and PlayStation Home), Final Fantasy XIII, etc. And those are just the exclusives...

2/8/2008 Ben Dutka

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