SCEE's Maguire explains why LBP, EyeToy can only be from first-party dev
Games development is expensive. No wonder third party publishers are avoiding exclusives, working on as many multiplatform titles as possible. However, SCEE's Ray Maguire argues that the most innovative creative risks cannot come from third-party ventures. Speaking to GI.biz, he explains that it's the responsibility of first-party studios like Sony Computer Entertainment to make the most innovative (and perhaps, risky) gaming ventures.
"It's really important, because if anybody has a responsibility to take a risk, to take a chance on development - and this is a huge expense - then it has to be us as a first party. There are many people who have said that everything from the original EyeToy all the way through to LittleBigPlanet wouldn't have happened from a third party publisher, because the risk is too difficult, or too much to take when you've got a potential multi-platform strategy in front of you."
Certainly, adapting LBP to multiple platforms would've created a far different experience for Media Molecule. In a gaming era where it's even more important to differentiate your platform from competitors, first-party successes like LBP can really cement a platform's position. "So we take those risks - some of them come off, and some of them don't. We've been reasonably lucky in that most of them have been okay. With SingStar, Buzz!, EyeToy and now with LittleBigPlanet we think that's typical of overall investing in something, taking a risk, but when it comes right? My God, it comes right."
