The Witness

Braid may have been a watershed release for Xbox Live Arcade, but creator Jonathan Blow reckons that he’s “happy” to be working with Sony on his next project The Witness. The title was announced as a timed exclusive for the PlayStation 4 during the platform holder’s press conference last month – and, in an interview with EDGE, the indie superstar has pointed to the company’s developer-friendly focus as one of the reasons that he decided to switch sides.

“I do think they realise that downloadable games are going to be bigger than they ever have been,” he said of the manufacturer. “And I think they realise that part of success in that area is having developers who are making the most interesting games want to be on their platform.“

Blow also hinted that his previous experiences with Microsoft may have pushed him towards the PS4. “I’ve had a bad time working with Microsoft in the past,” he added. “Maybe not super bad, but a moderately bad time in terms of business relationships. Other developers who are friends of mine have had a horrible time, so the idea of signing up again with Microsoft isn’t something I’d have ruled out, but there’s a certain amount of dread I have about doing that again.”

Despite his iffy relationship with the Xbox manufacturer, Blow had nothing but praise for his new allies. “I don’t have that [problem] with Sony,” he continued. “Who knows, maybe it’ll turn out to be just as bad at the end – but I don’t think so. The people we’re talking to on a daily basis there are just really good people, and we’re happy to work with them. We’ll see how it goes.”

Since its announcement last month, developers have been queuing up to show support for Sony’s next generation machine. Last week, a lead level designer on the award-winning Dishonored described the system as “a joy”, while Avalanche Studios’ senior technical officer Linus Blomberg had equally positive things to say in an interview published earlier today.

[source edge-online.com]