When a new console comes out, there is an immediate “grey area” that both the publisher and other developers have to work through. We’re specifically talking about the question of “where to put games” when they come out. When a system is in its early years, it might not be beneficial to have tons of exclusives from your brand on that new system because it might not sell well, or it could take a while to build up good hardware numbers. As such, the smart thing to do is to bring your game to as many systems as possible to ensure sales. With Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, that options won’t be considered.
The next issue of Play Magazine, as noted by MP1st, will have a chat with Respawn Entertainment about Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and one of the big questions they ask is why they’re not bringing the game to last-gen systems like the Xbox One and PS4. Game director Stig Asmussen was the one who answered that question, and he said it was important to how the game would look and feel:
“We learned quickly that we could take advantage of the faster processors, larger/faster memory, better loading times, etc, to create much larger maps, with more detail, greater density, broader enemy/NPC variety, and overall fidelity. These features aligned perfectly with how we wanted to push the game. We didn’t want to break what we did in the first game because it was well received, but we wanted to evolve/ enhance the experience.”
He wasn’t saying that the last-gen systems are “weak,” but rather that their successors are “better suited” to handling what they had in mind with the title, and they didn’t want to risk it looking/playing worse on last-gen systems by forcing it on them.
That problem has reared its ugly head in the past. Many game dev teams have been forced to put their games onto past systems, and the quality has not held up. So if Respawn Entertainment wants to put its game on the best systems possible because those hardware platforms will boost the quality of its game? That’s their right.
Based on all we’ve seen, including a recent gameplay preview, the title is shaping up to be everything the original was, but even better. We’ll have more worlds to explore, battles, new fighting methods, and beyond.
The title was delayed to April 28th to ensure quality even further, but it will likely be worth the wait.
