Quantic Dream, the guys behind Heavy Rain, sure took a risk when they decided to make the game. Being called an “interactive drama”, Heavy Rain tried to seamlessly blend the lines between videogames and art. Luckily, they accomplished that–and much more. However, this formula may not have worked with today’s market. Heavy hitters today tend to be sports games or action packed shooters. Jack Tretton, head of SCEA, spoke in a recent interview with Fast Company, in which he testified to the power of Heavy Rain and said there is no current demand yet for a PlayStation 4.
Starting off, he had high praise for Heavy Rain, something, according to him, the industry never has seen before.
“But when you go, ‘Wow! That’s the type of game I’ve never seen before!’ And I think Heavy Rain falls into that category. I don’t even now how to classify it or describe it. I read a review that said it’s the next stage of reading the book. You don’t have to be a gamer at all. I think if you read a book, unless you read the chapters in reverse order, the story is pretty much going to be the same.
“But with Heavy Rain, depending on what you do, you are going to get a different outcome every time. I spent 25 years in this industry, and it’s rare you see a game that sells incredibly well and that impresses you.
Furthermore, he added, with sales for Heavy Rain doing “incredibly well” there is no demand yet for the PS3’s successor, the PlayStation 4. There is still life and potential, untapped, within the PlayStation 3.
“When somebody can craft the technology that exceeds what we’re able to do on the PS3, but we are still just starting to harness it. I don’t know what the percentage would be, but we’ve clearly just scratched the surface in the PS3. You’re just starting to see games like Little Big Planet, Uncharted 2, and Final Fantasy XIII, that are really taking advantage of the technology. You are going to see more and more value and more and more innovation across the board.”
Finally, when asked about the constant predictions of this year being “The Year of the PS3”, Tretton responded:
“I love that. If we say it, people are like, “Of course you’re saying that.” If other people say it, that’s a good thing. I’d much rather quote other people saying that, than say it ourselves. It’s how consultants make a living. You can tell your company all day long that you need to do something, but an outside voice comes in and says, “That could be true.” I think that’s what we’re most proud of, every year is the Year for the PlayStation 3. And to be able to say that multiple years running is incredible. I see a lot of articles now, “As exciting as 2009 was, we’re extremely exciting about 2010.” You can’t ask for higher praise than that.”
One cannot disagree with what Tretton had to say. The past year has brought the likes of Uncharted 2, inFamous, Ratchet and Clank : A Crack in Time, White Knight Chronicles, M.A.G. and Killzone 2. With God of War 3 and Gran Turismo 5 on the near horizon, it is hard not to get excited for the future.
