Ben-DutkaWe call it "the game PS3 owners wish they had" and it remains one of the most engaging, innovative experiences of the generation in our eyes.
So why didn't Alan Wake come to Sony's console? Well, obviously, it's because Remedy signed an exclusivity deal with Microsoft, and the developer now admits that move was a "business risk." On the other hand, it eliminated the "technical headaches" that would go along with producing the game for both platforms; if you didn't know, the game was originally intended to come to the PS3, 360 and PC. But Remedy went with Microsoft's offer; sure, it reduces the number of potential consumers, but Remedy CTO told the crowd at GDC earlier this month that such a move "reigned in the scope of a wildly ambitious project."
"Our strategy was one of focus. That's actually a really core Remedy element, well if you forget the ambitious goals we had. We needed to be top notch in some areas, but we knew we couldn't do everything better than some developers out there. For example, this meant there was no multiplayer. That wasn't in our core set of skills and it would have been a huge effort.
We also took the approach to license middleware that made sense, even when we didn't end up using it all for one reason or another. And then, the big deal – to go with Microsoft and take one big technological effort, the PS3, out of the equation. That then changed the technology risk to a business risk – but that's a subject for a different talk altogether…"
Maki went on to talk about their engine selection for Alan Wake (they passed on the Unreal Engine, by the way), and it's clear they're quite satisfied with their decision. As for a sequel, that is apparently in the works and no, PS3 owners shouldn't expect it. But wait…I have more to say on this subject…
