After reading an article that was in a mass subscription e-mail from Lockergnome which was apparently republished with the permission of (OS Weekly) regarding the topic of Cross Platform Compatibility. They took the angle of talking about programs which are written to work on Windows, Leopard, and various flavors of Linux. To go ahead and greatly shrink this story, the author basically wants to point out that creating programs, and simply porting them to work on other operating systems isn't enough. The aim, if you intend to succeed on multiple platforms is to not only port from the original system; but then utilize the available tools of each of the specific systems to maximize the program's WOW quotient. (or ability to impress)
Before I put forth my argument; please note that a decision must be made before embarking on cross compatibility. Do you have what is needed (funds, staff, investors, publishing strength) to pull it off. If not; then make it the best you can for the system you choose to go with period. If you wish to go further; then read on...
My angle is to take this theory and put it towards the current and future gaming consoles. We've all seen or played games that were big hits on one system, only to be ported to another system and fail miserably due to either lack of features, interface incompatibilities, or even program bugs which bog down the game on systems not originally programed for.
One can easily see that there just isn't any way to adapt a program between a Wii and a PS3 or XBox360; you're talking apples and oranges. In some cases it may just be too cost prohibitive to bridge these gaps; but I think I have a good example of why a developer needs to go the extra mile, and pay the extra bucks.
Look at Madden '08. The game is VERY different between the XBox360, PS3, and the Wii. First I'll concentrate on just the XBox360 vs the PS3. The game was created first for the XBox360 and by most accounts was a great success resulting in many people deciding that the XBox360 was the system for them. This became even more obvious when the PS3 version arrived. In essence the PS3 has incredible innate features. This machine can really do some amazing stuff; but programmers are a bit behind the curve with the PS3. (At the time of this post, they have caught up to a respectable level) The human eye can process 30 frames per second. Anything less than that and humans see a stuttering/almost slow/stop motion effect. Because Madden '08 was one of the best selling games of the holiday season; people would see console displays next to one another at retail outlets. Many of them would allow patrons to play Madden '08 to lure them in to a purchase. Due to not utilizing the philosophy of maximizing a games potential on each particular system; XBox360's were showing exceptional graphics at 60 frames per second. Sadly for Sony, The frame rate was at a paltry 20 frames per second. The human eye could easily see what appeared to be an inferior demonstration of the same game on what many concluded was an inferior system. The average consumer doesn't know any better; and seeing is believing. The PS3 looked like it just didn't have the horsepower. The truth of the matter is that Sony should have infused Tiberon/EASports (the maker of Madden '08 so that the programmers could have utilized Sony's expertise and made a far better looking/playing product. If this had occurred, the average consumer wouldn't necessarily have swarmed in greater numbers to purchase the XBox360 than the PS3. Yes this would have meant a bigger investment from Sony; but they would have made a much better impression at the retail markets and in the reviews that were written in the consumer gaming magazines. Many Many more PS3's would have been bought; and it would have been because that the developers did more than simply port and tweak Madden '08. They would have utilized the strengths of the PS3 to make Madden '08 shine.
Due to the Wii's interface differences; it demanded that developers go the extra distance to utilize the Wii's strengths to make the best game possible. While it paled in comparison graphically to the XBox360's version; the game-play (what the Wii's all about) gave a different dynamic justifying the game's sales on the Wii; and it probably made some people say; I like the way this feels, I'm buying a Wii over the other two systems.
So what do we learn here? Two systems had product that utilized their strengths; and one system did not. Perhaps it was Sony's arrogance that ultimately hurt their '07 sales (on many levels).
It is important that if you decide to not only make a game cross platform compatible, do more than simply port and tweak. Soup it up utilizing the consoles strengths. Yes it will create a larger initial investment; but it will also give both the consoles and game producers a far better return.
