Kojima Productions: Japan is "Really Ready" For Multiplatform Development
Apart from a brief foray onto the PC (for Metal Gear Solid and MGS2) and Xbox, Kojima Productions has remained faithful to Sony consoles over the years. Now, however, they're gearing up for a multiplatform release of MGS: Rising and a 3DS version of Metal Gear Solid 3... and they believe that Japanese developers has to look to multiplatform publishing to survive.
"I think it's very important for the future of Japanese publishing. We see publishers — Capcom have started a little bit earlier than us — and I can say most of the Japanese studios have seen the importance of going multi-platform, and our studio as well."
"I think we're now really ready to go multi-platform at once, I mean development cycle wise. I think this will be a normal trend for Japanese studios in the future." - Shigenobu Matsuyama, MGS Rising creative director
Matsuyama was also surprised at the popularity of PC gaming in the West, and stated that they'll be looking to support the personal computer market "more seriously" than before. Releasing MGS: Rising on the PC is a great start. [Kotaku]
Will this move towards multiplatform development help pick up the sluggish Japanese software sales? Or is Bioware's savage denouncement of "complacent" Japanese developers right on the money? Only time will tell- but let's face it, Kojima Productions will probably be just fine.
Alien Swarm Gets AI Director
Remember Black Dog and Valve's free Steam shooter? It was difficult to see how its mix of frenetic shooting and class based upgrade system could get any better... but now they've found a way. The new Onslaught mode "introduces an AI Director that dynamically generates swarms of aliens based on several factors, such as the squad's stress level." This mode will apparently work on any difficulty level and will provide a unique experience each time.
Black Dog's developers were leveraged into the Left 4 Dead franchise, so it's not surprising that they found the time to tweak the director AI for aliens rather than rabies-infested civilians.
Do you need another reason to pick up this epic free game? Go get it! Now!
New Vanquish Gets Harder and Faster
Are we excited for Vanquish? Oh yes. We've been covering its mix of slick combat and uncharacteristically fast cover tactics very closely these last few weeks... and we've got some more high octane trailerage for you.
This new trailer details "bigger guns" and the epic disaster movie setting... as well as a triple pack of new weapons that'll be bundled with preorders.
