Naughty Dog Voices Concerns Over Transition To Next-Gen PS4

ransitioning from current-gen to next-gen systems have always been one of the darkest fears for developers. This transition alone can make or break a studio. Naughty Dog, the guys behind Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Daxter and of course the Uncharted Series, are just as susceptible to the effects. The Sony PlayStation 3 has been a success, even in times with such financial turmoil. Amongst others, its success is in part due to the development of exclusive PS3 games such as the Uncharted Series.

In an interview with Eurogamer, Naughty Dog studio co-president Evan Wells had this to say:

“The geek inside you is always excited about a shiny new toy, but then the practicality of it starts to set in: this is going to be a lot of hard work. When you’re going to new technology, every day is a slog, progress is slow and it really takes a different kind of attitude and mentality to get through that kind of push and it’s not right for everybody.”

He went on to say that the transition from PS2 to PS3 brought some of the worst days for Naughty Dog.

“…we lost people on a weekly basis – people just couldn’t get through it”

According to fellow co-president Christophe Balestra, Naughty Dog has made a few mistakes during the transition from PS2 to PS3 and will try to make sure that it doesn’t happen this time.

Naughty Dog has announced that it’s next release, The Last of Us, will feature Nolan North’s voice-manship. The Last of Us will be developed exclusively for the PS3 of course.

When asked about the Uncharted team, Balestra had the following to say:

“Right now they’re not working that much. Some of them are working mainly on DLC for multiplayer, and a lot of them are on vacation.

“I think the team’s going to regroup and we’re going to figure out what’s going to be the next move is for that team.”

I believe the transition to next-gen hardware can lead to a varied mix of results. If the studio is well informed and prepared for the release of the PS4, then they might just come out with a game as stellar as the ones produced for the PS3. However, the opposite might also occur. If they aren’t adequately prepared, then it will be slow, difficult and will result in a game which will be criticized for having too little thought put into it. Or…. the studio may just go out of business. Who knows?

What are your thoughts on this?

[Source: Eurogamer]