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Splinter Cell May Have A Future On PS3
Splinter Cell Conviction’s creative director, Ubisoft Montreal’s Max Beland, has told us that future series outings could appear on multiple console platforms.
Ubisoft currently has a Splinter Cell exclusivity deal with Microsoft that ends with SC Conviction, which is due to launch in mid-April for Xbox 360 and PC.
Asked whether the Splinter Cell franchise has a future on PS3 considering the publisher’s increased focus on Sony’s platform, Beland said:
“I don’t see why it wouldn’t. I’m not involved in the business deals. I joined Splinter Cell after the exclusivity deal with Microsoft had already been signed, but there’s no reason why Splinter Cell couldn’t be on the PS3. Conviction? No because of the exclusivity deal. I know people keep talking about maybe, maybe not, [but] at Ubisoft Montreal I haven’t seen anyone working on PS3 for Conviction.
“[The next game] is open to new deals,” he added. “If Microsoft wants an exclusivity deal, they don’t call me, it’s Yves [Guillemot, Ubisoft CEO] dealing with the business people. But yeah, I guess we could even be a PS3 exclusive if there’s a deal that makes people happy there.”
The chances of Sony entering a bidding war for exclusive rights to a third party title appear slim, however. Rob Dyer, senior vice president of publisher relations at Sony Computer Entertainment America, recently spoke about the platform holders’ first-party development strategies and their different methods of securing exclusive content.
"They have very few first-party studios at Microsoft,” he said. “Bungie's next Halo is the last one, Rare rarely puts out anything, you've got Peter Molyneux with his Fable stuff... but they don't have first-party development studios inside at Redmond or anywhere for that matter. We do. So rather than putting their money behind that, they've been going to Epic or Valve or BioWare to do what they did with Mass Effect, and that's where they throw their dollars. Candidly, we're not going to compete with Microsoft on that front.”
While he refused to comment directly on whether plans for a Conviction follow up were already in motion, Beland did suggest that there’ll be more series outings in the not too distant future, in line with Ubisoft’s goal of releasing core franchise updates on a 12-18 month basis. Despite Conviction’s protracted four year development period, Splinter Cell is no special case.
“I think that that direction is for every game at Ubisoft,” Beland said. “This is a long-term vision, so I’m not telling you that yes, in a year you’ll have another Splinter Cell, but right now the direction Yves gave us and where the company is going to go is, at one point, if the direction doesn’t change, yes you’re going to be seeing Splinter Cell games, just like Assassin’s Creed games, just like anything else, released a little bit more often.”
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I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it's a timed exclusive (6 or 12 months?) - that seems to be way things are going this generation. Honestly, I don't think that is of much benefit to the console that gets it last as sales are usually quite low in those situations (strictly from a business perspective).
Gaming has taken on a communal dialogue aspect, where people tend to buy games at or near launch to talk about the latest thing and then it quickly drops off the map. Still, that would be great for PS3 only gamers who would like to try this excellent series (and vice versa for PS3 3rd party exclusives eventually going to 360/PC).
Industry insider. I read Edge Online every day but have never felt the need to post any comments on these pages. However I am becoming increasingly bored and bewildered by some of your posts. Most people who leave comments here do so with a certain amount of intelligence, validity and erudition. Often, a well written comment on here has made me look at a certain game or platform in a different light, favourably or otherwise, because the posts here are usually well balanced. You see, all of the current platforms have something to offer the whole gamut of gamers out there. By equal measure all of the current platforms have certain failings. However, all in all, us gamers have never had it so good. Continually berating Sony and PS3 simply exposes you as an ignoramus who foolishly holds some sort of misguided loyalty to one massive conglomerate (of which they all are). If you truly believe that no other current gen platform offers any other significant gameplay experience of any worth, then I really do suggest that you make your comments on other sites which have been set up for equally narrow minded gamers of only the 360 platform. Edge REALLY isn´t the sort of magazine you should be reading (if you do at all). And before you start calling the kettle black, no, I am not also a fanboy particularly in favour of PS3 over the 3 current gen platforms and PC I own. I simply adore gaming. Thanks for reading and please try to adopt a more balanced perspective when commenting on these pages, otherwise you will continue to recieve the derisive comments that have been forthcoming to you lately.
Well put! He seemed to come out of no-where. I am pretty sure he was not here two weeks ago...
Well put. I also find the "I must know more than everyone else, my opinion's most important" choice of username somewhat distasteful. Some might even say it is quite narcissistic and egotistical, not to mention arrogant.
At the same time it's a nice signpost for the rest of us, clearly indicating that this person is infinitely more interested in 'the industry' than in games.
That's a good point, I had focused on the phrase as a whole and hadn't considered what the choice of that particular word revealed. I would say, on that evidence, I'll largely discount and ignore all the nonsense they have to say - but I've been doing that already.
History has already proven that Splinter Cell games end up very disappointing on the PS3.
Splinter Cell: Double Agent was awesome on both the PC and Xbox 360, but the PS3 version was very disappointing. The graphics in the PS3 version weren't nearly as good as the PC or Xbox 360 versions. The Xbox 360 version ran perfectly smooth at 30 frames per second, while the PS3 version had a terribly choppy framerate that dipped below 20 frames per second at times.
This type of situation hasn't changed as time has passed. Assassins Creed 1 and Assassins Creed 2 were both better on the Xbox 360. The fact that developers at Ubisoft gained experienced with the PS3 hardware didn't help the gap in quality between the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions. It is definitely a safe bet that the Xbox 360 version of Splinter Cell games will always be significantly better in terms of graphics, loading times, and online play. But, we won't see another Splinter Cell game until at least a couple years after Splinter Cell: Conviction, so this doesn't really matter right now.
Does industry_insider just post to complain about the PS3? Can we find where he lives in the real world and disconnect his internet connection?! Twat.
He lives nowhere.Actually it is a new automated propaganda program made by M$
...with all the subtlety, class and good taste we've come to expect from Microsoft products!
Oh Industry_insider! I am not convinced that he is a real person. That is why I do not address him. He does not respond to questions am I right? Surely the sign of some kind of artificial life-form. I don't know whether it's the uncanny valley talking but I find him vaguely unsettling.