PSLS: The game is a port of the iPhone title of the same name, developed by Bulkypix. What made the decision to port Hysteria Project to a Sony platform (PSP/PS3 Minis)?
Hysteria Project is not a platform-specific game in nature. It works as well on PSP and PS3 as it does on iPhone, and it could work on other platforms too. However, for it to be business-savvy and to offer good value for money to the player, it must sell as a download for a cheap price. Apple made this possible first with the AppStore, and then Sony made it possible with the Minis program, therefore it was the natural way to go. Bulkypix decided to partner with us thanks to our experience in developing and publishing games on the Minis platform.
PSLS: Sanuk Games biggest development time is on Nintendo platforms – specifically the DS. Why, and when, did your team begin to develop for PlayStation?
Our core business in the past couple of years was work-for-hire game development for 3rd party publishers. The demand for this was mostly on the DS and the Wii, therefore we had decided to specialize on these platforms in order to be more credible and cost-effective. This worked very well, and we had a very successful year in 2008. However it backfired on us in 2009 when the demand from publishers on these platforms suddenly collapsed, after the results of 2008 holiday season showed that most games were turning a loss (there were just too many games on the market). We were entering an era where no platform would clearly dominate the market, therefore I decided to stop the platform-specific strategy. Also, as there were no longer enough orders from publishers, I decided that we should try developing our own games and publishing them by ourselves through digital distribution. We got licensed on all platforms and we tried different things. Sony’s Minis program turned out to work well for us.
PSLS: In a recent interview with Alexey Menshikov (CEO and founder of Beatshapers), PlayStation LifeStyle noted the difficulty of small developers getting exposure to the gaming market, compared to larger developers. We asked if he could describe the current gaming environment for smaller developers – how would you describe it?
On platforms where the amount of competition is insanely high, such as the iPhone with its 150,000+ apps, exposure is indeed the biggest challenge, and a small developer without strong PR capability has virtually no chance to get noticed and make any significant amount of sales. We tried and failed. Every once in a while you’ll find one who succeeds and gets rich, but counting on that is like buying a lottery ticket. I would recommend small developers to partner with a publisher if they target such competitive platforms: the publisher can do PR, cross-market the game with their other games, etc. It doesn’t guarantee success, but it helps tremendously. On Sony’s Minis though, the situation is quite different, as there are not many games yet. Exposure is way easier to get. It’s certainly a smaller market and I wouldn’t recommend it for large structures with high costs of operation, but for small developers like us it’s a secure haven – at least for now.
PSLS: Sanuk Games has developed for the iPhone, with those games eventually reaching PSP/PS3 Minis. What is the difference between development on those two platforms? As we noted earlier, Sanuk has also developed many titles for the Nintendo DS, a direct competitor to Sony’s PlayStation Portable. Is their a significant development difference between PSP and DS?
These platforms are technically different: the iPhone only has a touch screen, the PSP/PS3 only have buttons, the DS has both. iPhone apps and Minis games can be big (e.g. 100MB), while DSiWare games are much more limited in size. For all these reasons, not all games make sense on all platforms. Typically, Hysteria Project cannot be ported to DSiWare.
Then, on the business side, manufacturers have diverse policies. At present, the most restrictive of these three might perhaps be Nintendo (although it hasn’t always been that way), while the least restrictive is certainly Apple (no matter who you are and what credentials you have, just get a Mac, an iPod Touch, $99 registration fee and you’re started!).
PSLS: Your company has developed for the Nintendo Wii. Sony recently fully unveiled the PlayStation Move, a motion controller to compete with the Wii’s immense success. What’s your opinion on the Move? Sanuk Games has developed for the Wii before; is their any interest in creating a PS3 or PSN title using the Move controller?
It’s certainly a good move from Sony (sorry for the pun), as it will allow the PS3 to compete with the Wii in the casual and family-friendly space. With the PS3 now on par with the Wii for the control system while also offering HD graphics and blu-ray playback (which the Wii doesn’t do), Sony has a strong weapon. That said, Nintendo is certainly working on something new as we speak, and I am eager to hear their next announcements. On our side, yes, we are presently working on a PS3 game that uses PSN Move. It is too early to disclose details, but I will keep you posted as soon as I can.
PSLS: What’s in the future for Sanuk Games, PlayStation wise? Will Sanuk Games ever move towards PlayStation Network titles (Fat Princess, Shatter, Critter Crunch, etc)? Or will the company stick with Minis?
The future is not written yet :-). We have at least three more Minis game in the pipeline, in addition to the PS3 game I just mentioned. This should keep us busy for a while! Then we’ll see where our next opportunities are.
PlayStation LifeStyle would like to thank Yan for his time. Hysteria Project releases tomorrow (April 8th) in Europe, for PS3/PSP Minis, on PlayStation Network. The title will hit North America sometime later. We wish Sanuk Games the best in their future endeavors!
