GRAW developer: PS3 not harder to code for than 360
Despite the steady hiss of internet pundits that suggests otherwise, Ubisoft's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter development team doesn't believe that it's harder to code games for the PlayStation 3 compared to the Xbox 360. Yann Le Tensorer, who co-created the graphics engine powering GRAW and the upcoming Beowulf, re-ckons that any uphill development battles are to blame on the learning curve associated with newer hardware. "It's wrong to say it's harder to code on the PlayStation 3, it's just something that needs to be learnt," he told GamesIndustry.Biz. He goes on to stun the less observant by pointing out that "it's just a different console."
Le Tensorer isn't the first to comment on the hardware's perceived difficulty. In June, Team Ninja's Yosuke Hayashi engaged in less subtle commentary by simply telling complaining PS3 developers to "get out of the ring." The GRAW developer goes on to state, "Developers might says [sic] it's harder because it just takes time to understand the technology, we're still early in the lifecycle."
In other words, it is tougher to program for the system, but only while you're still learning the technological ropes. It seems a fair explanation for the publisher's poorly received Splinter Cell: Double Agent port and EA's lack of frames in Madden NFL 08 -- at least from a developer's point of view. Consumers may feel otherwise as they await the PS3 arrival of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2.
