Mark Rein (of Unreal fame) had several positive things to say about the PS3.

While he loved the 360’s online integration with PC’s, he also preferred the developer freedom and control over online functionality that the PS3 allows. Let’s hope this freedom attracts more developer attention and innovation.

He also said the PS3 is “in better place for launch” compared to the 360. That’s pretty obvious but it’s still good to hear.

Clearly, PS3 had much more to show with PS3 at E3 2006 than 360 did at 2005. Developers were getting final PS3 hardware around E3 where 360 developers didn’t get final kits until mid/late August (according to IGN). The 360 has progressed a lot since then, but this definitely bodes well for a smooth PS3 launch to see them so far ahead.

Mark Rein Interview

I’m really looking forward to the Tokyo Game Show, scheduled to be held Sept 22, 23 & 24, and I was checking out their website & noticed a list of exhibitors that have been confirmed for the event.

I won’t list all of them but here’s a couple of the big hitters that will be present:

Capcom
KOEI
Konami
Namco
SEGA
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
Square Enix

I’m hoping to see Devil May Cry 4 & Resident Evil 5 from Capcom. A new Dynasty Warriors game from KOEI. A new MGS4 trailer from Konami. Some gameplay footage of Ridge Racer 7 from Namco. Some more playable demos from Sonic by SEGA.

I’m also expecting Sony to reveal some more info & footage of SingStar, Eye of Judgment and possibly another big title that they are secretly working on. I’m also hoping Sony release a ton of info about the PS3’s online capabilities & to announce an official list of launch games & the price of the games.

Last but definitley not least is Square Enix & I’m banking on them showing some new footage of FFXIII.

That’s just a few things that I’m predicting from TGS ‘06. What are you guys & girls hoping to see at the TGS?

List of Exhibitors Confirmed for TGS ‘06

Gamasutra has an interview from ‘Video Game Journal’ with Ted Price of Insomniac Games, makers of the PS3 launch title Resistance: Fall of Man. It’s a long interview, well worth the read, though there’s not anything really earth-shattering in there.

It looks like Insomniac has a great emphasis on innovation, including lots of interesting weapon types. Price explainis. “We can do things like having Auger projectiles that tunnel through objects. We can have Bullseye bullets that not only bend around corners to track enemies but can be collected in “traps” that can be detonated when enemies approach. We have a rocket launcher where you can stop the rocket in mid-air and have it hover above cover positions – essentially converting the projectile into an artillery shell.” I have Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal for the PS2, and it too contains a wide variety of weapon types. I’m looking forward to checking out the ones in Resitance.

Price also talks about online, noting that you’ll be able to go online on day one and play with up to 40 people on a map. Even though I’m not the best at FPS’s, I do enjoy them, so I might give that a whirl, because online is free! What interests me, of course, are the modes other than deathmatch. My friends and I have fun playing King of the Hill in Halo 2. And playing Call of Duty 2 on the PC my coworkers and I really enjoy Search and Destroy. I wonder what kind of interesting modes Insomniac will have for Resistance.

The last interesting thing I’ll comment on is their engine. Insomniac is creating their own proprietary engine for Resistance that they hope to use and build upon in subsequent PS3 games. Price believes that in order to get the most out of the PS3, you’ll need an engine tailored to the PS3’s hardware, and not a cross-platform doit-it-all kind of engine. I’m doubtfull - we’ll have to see. There’s nothing stopping engine developers from tailoring their engine for each supported platform on the bottom end, while at the same time providing the same gaming API on the top end. On the other hand, developers might need more of a connection to hardware than that. As they say, the proof is in the pudding, and we’ll see how well Resistance stacks up on the PS3 once released.

Interview: Insomniac’s Price On Resistance , PS3, And More

SCEA PR manager Ryan Bowling informed Next-Generation that a number of development kits have shipped to studios, saying:

“The best and brightest development teams are hard at work creating familiar franchises and original IP for the PS3 including – EA, Konami, Sega, Rockstar, Activison and our own internal studios just to name a few,” Bowling stated.

He also offered the latest PS3 dev kit shipment figures, in an effort to exhibit Sony’s commitment to developers. “To date we have shipped more than 10,000 development systems to 208 companies in 11 countries, the largest number ever for a PlayStation platform.”

Let me see - 10,000 dev kits to 208 companies means an average of 48 dev kits per company. That’s a lot of developers! I wonder if artists need dev kits too, or just the programmers?

At any rate, an average of 48 dev kits to 208 developers means there’s a lot of people working on PS3 games. Of course lots of those will be for evaluation only, or go unused, but still. These are the kind of numbers I like to see!

SCEA Third-Party Manager Joins Ubisoft