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Jamil Moledina leaves EA Partners for Funzio
Jamil Moledina, one-time executive director of GDC and the man behind EA Partners' digital business (Shank, DeathSpank, etc), has left EA to join Funzio. Those of you who follow executive departures have probably guessed already, but Funzio is a developer of social games. Specifically, according to the press release, it does "action-packed AAA quality social games for mobile, Facebook, and Google+." The only title listed on Funzio's website is Crime City, a Facebook and iPhone title about building a city (of crime, presumably). Moledina will take up the role of vice president of business development. Personally, we'll keep pretending that Moledina left EA to hang out with Funzio Auditore da Firenze, Ezio's cousin. He's not that great at killing people, but he will assassinate your funny bone ... with gags.
Developers cautiously wait to make PS3 titles
The lackluster launch lineup is slightly indicative of third-party caution when referring to game development on the PlayStation 3. In a recent interview with GamesIndustry, GDC boss Jamil Moledina spoke about just that. Most third-party hesitation is due to the complicated nature of the PS3 itself, stating the difficulty lies with both the Cell and the RSX graphics processor (not the Acura). Says Moledina, "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." While all that may be true, certainly he can't ignore the notion that maybe developers are waiting for more PS3's to actually enter the gaming marketplace? Oh well.It may be true that much of Sony's effort has been focused on their first-party titles and developers -- you have to teach yourself how to work something before teaching others, right? -- but that will change in the coming months. Robustly, as Jamil puts it. One last thing to note -- Moledina equates this launch to the PS2 launch. A hatful of decent games, but the real winners are due out next year: Lair, Heavenly Sword, MotorStorm to name a few. Hopefully he's right -- those games certainly look badass enough.
Developers still waiting for keys to PS3
In a recent interview, GDC head Jamil Moledina reiterated developers' hesitancies to begin working on PlayStation 3 projects. "A lot of the developers I know are waiting out on the first round and focusing on handhelds," Moledina told GamesIndustry.biz.From Moledina's perspective, Sony is at fault, unable to provide needed support to third-party developers. But as first-party studios gain experience with the Cell, knowledge will inevitably spread throughout the industry. "I'm generally optimistic about the platform's prospects," Moledina opined. In other words, the GDC boss is giving it a year.
