Wow.
This news pretty much blindsided me this morning. I (like many others) assumed that Insomniac (Ratchet and Clank, Resistance, inFamous) was wholly owned by Sony. The deal is only for one game, but I’m pretty sure when it succeeds, they’ll continue making more of them for everyone.
Could the platform exclusive title be an endangered species? Bungie’s (Halo) liberation to Activision and the land of multi-platform releases last month certainly raises some eyebrows. Developers want to own their IPs now and who blames them? Wouldn’t you want to get in on movie-licensing and branded Mountain Dew flavor money? Like in the music industry, once you establish yourself as a bonafied rock star, your dependence on the record labels shrinks to just product manufacturing/distribution.
Personally, I’ve never had a problem with not being able to play a title due to the consoles I’ve owned since I own them all. However, I imagine most people have picked only one of the 360 or PS3. There’s a lot of quality titles that you’re missing out on if this is the case. Having our rockstar titles available on both platforms serves to only benefit the end user. After all, nothing kills a recent video game conversation more than “Have you played God of War 3 yet?” “No, I only have a 360. ” =(
Joystiq’s got an interview with Insomniac’s CEO, Ted Price, if you want to read more.