Ubisoft: PS4 Represents a 'Radical Change' in Hardware Strategy from Sony

Sony’s first-party studios have been eager to laud the platform holder’s strategy with the PlayStation 4 over the past couple of days, but we haven’t heard much from third-parties just yet. Fortunately, Canadian outfit Ubisoft Montreal has jumped aboard the praise train, describing the next generation console as a “really pleasant surprise” in an interview with CVG.

"From what we can talk about, which is the PlayStation 4, it's been a radical change from [Sony]," said studio gaffer Yannis Mallat. "I'll tell you an anecdote: when I was the producer on Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, we managed to get our hands on a very good programmer who's still on the Assassin's Creed core team.

"One day on his desk he had a black book all written in Japanese, and I was like, 'what is that?' It was the documentation support for coding for the PlayStation 2. 'That's why I wanted to have Japanese lessons,' he said – to understand and make the most out of the machine. That day I understood how complex it was to develop on the PS2.”

However, such antiquated issues won’t be a problem on the PS4, because Sony has switched to a much more accessible architecture. “PS4 really comes as a pleasant surprise because indeed it's a very familiar architecture," Mallat added, noting that starting production on titles such as Watch Dogs and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag on high-end PCs has paid dividends for the company. “It’s a less complex transition.”

Earlier this week, both Evolution Studios and Guerrilla Games revealed that it had played a pivotal part in the production of the next generation console, even down to giving weekly feedback on the controller. As Mallat’s comments evidence, the open approach appears to have worked.