Feature: Namco-Bandai Talks PS3 Development

For today's Gamasutra feature, we catch up on Namco-Bandai's development efforts for the PlayStation 3 in an exclusive two-part interview, to see how two of the developer's major groups are preparing their efforts for the new console. For the first part of this interview series, Ridge Racer 7 designer Hideo Teramoto discusses the accelerated pace of the series, development communities in Japan, and of course, fashion. In this excerpt, Teramoto compares developing for the PS3 and Xbox 360, on both of which he's personally developed: "GS: Which do you find simpler to program for? HT: Tough question too. From my perspective, both the games I made for each were for launch, so both were with unknown hardware at the time. So both were equally difficult at the time, for me. If you’re a PC developer, you’re really experienced with new hardware techniques, and can follow this stuff as it comes out. For us as a console team, we have to spend all of our time making the most of whatever hardware we’re currently on, so it’s tough for the Ridge Racer team to gauge the power of these systems." Similarly, Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire chief producer Hirofumi Inagaki talks about the lack of initial code libraries, the importance of fan input, and potential ideas for the gyroscopic controller’s in-game applications: "GS: So how have you found working with the PS3? HI: I think there are a lot of possibilities with the hardware, and there were lots of things we’ve wanted to implement in games for quite a while but couldn’t, which the PS3 makes possible. [...] GS: Has the processor itself been easy to figure out, even with a young library? HI: Definitely hard! The library is basically zero, we’re starting from scratch, and there are no programmers out there who really know how to use it well yet. So it’s a challenge." You can now read the full Gamasutra feature on the topic including more on the development of Ridge Racer starlet Reiko, and the explosion of the 'Riiiidge Racer! 'meme (no registration required, please feel free to link to this feature from external websites).