Activision...

[DatGuy]

Threatens to stop supporting Sony

http://kotaku.com/5296566/activision...-sony-consoles

Bear in mind there's a degree of saber-rattling to this, but still; Activision boss Bobby Kotick has warned Sony that his company - the world's largest third-party publisher - may cease support for the PS3 and PSP.

Speaking with The Times, Kotick said "I'm getting concerned about Sony; the PlayStation 3 is losing a bit of momentum and they don't make it easy for me to support the platform. It's expensive to develop for the console, and the Wii and the Xbox are just selling better. Games generate a better return on invested capital on the Xbox than on the PlayStation".

Subtle. But wait. It gets subtler.

"They have to cut the price, because if they don't, the attach rates are likely to slow", he continues. "If we are being realistic, we might have to stop supporting Sony...When we look at 2010 and 2011, we might want to consider if we support the console - and the PSP [portable] too".

In that absolute worst-case scenario, that would mean no Call of Duty for Sony consoles. No Guitar Hero for Sony consoles. No Tony Hawk, either. It probably won't ever come to that, of course, but Kotick's words are still worth noting. After all, when was the last time you ever saw a third-party publisher so openly threaten a major platform holder?

[Tagger]

There have got to be some interesting conversations taking place between these guys that we'll never get to hear about. Odds are, they've been bickering for a while on pricing issues. I'd love to hear what they are saying to each other.

[[SS]Grifter]

They're not the first developer to complain about the cost of having to develop for the console and they won't be the last either. I think it's absolutely fair for them to stand up for their work and say, "Hey, you need to help us help you."

It wasn't too long ago that Sony were pleading with the 3rd party developers to not abandon the console because of lackluster sales. I hardley think that arguing with them over the cost and how hard it is to develop for is the right way to help their still struggling console.

[Tagger]

While I love my PS3 as much as my 360, I've always sensed a pious attitude from Sony. It's ironic though. They've been doing business abroad long enough to know better.

A thought I might need some help completing: Multiplayer servers for PS3 games don't usually run as well imo as Microsoft's. Is that because Sony doesn't require the developer to maintain game servers as strictly as Microsoft? Does this kind of backside cost play into this? If it does, Sony might be countering Activision's argument on development costs by saying something like, "well, we don't require you to spend resources on server maintenance....therefore you're long term expenses aren't as high as you claim." Although, I doubt server maintenance cost gets anywhere near development costs in terms of staff overhead. Just thinking aloud on this. Man, I'd love to be a fly on the wall and hear the meat of the arguments.

[[SS]Rator]

From what i know, Sony gives devs the option to use their servers or their own. MS MAKES devs use their servers. And Sony seems to use their own judgement on which games get how many servers too. But i am not sure.

[[SS]Grifter]

Originally Posted by [SS]Rator

From what i know, Sony gives devs the option to use their servers or their own. MS MAKES devs use their servers. And Sony seems to use their own judgement on which games get how many servers too. But i am not sure.

You're right. Sony gives the developers to option, whereas Microsoft says, "You want your game online? It runs through THIS." I like it because it's more controlled and I personally feel that it has a better balance online....well unless you're Dat. Who stops feeding his hamster and the wheel stops moving.

A lot of Sony's games are also peer to peer. Like the SOCOM series (I can't speak for the last game in the series) was peer to peer. So what you have is anywhere from 16 to 32 different internet connections all fighting each other for the same amount of space. Causes lag which is no fun for anyone.

I think also the LIVE servers (where you have to initially log into) kind of help balance the load of connectivity from host to user on the peer to peer games on the 360 that have no host server.