Phil Harrison: We Did Not Mandate Motion Sensing in Lair
by James Brightman
Think Sony made Factor 5 go with motion controls for Lair? Think again, says SCE Worldwide President Phil Harrison. He explained that Sony leaves those decisions up to developers. Harrison also defended Heavenly Sword's short length.
We recently reported that Ken Levine, 2K Boston president and creator of BioShock, actually came to the defense of Sony's Lair, which has been largely panned by critics for its motion controls. Levine speculated at the time that Sony probably gave developer Factor 5 a mandate of sorts to utilize the Sixaxis motion controls. Phil Harrison, President of SCE Worldwide Studios, disputes that notion, however.
Speaking to GameTrailers, he said, "[Motion control] was definitely not mandated by us. We've always said all along that the use of the Sixaxis is something that should be decided by the developer in tune with their creative vision for the game, so it's not something we would mandate."
Harrison was also asked about the reviews for Heavenly Sword, a game that took some flack for being fairly short. Nevertheless, Harrison doesn't view the length of the game as a problem.
"You know what? Not that many people finish games, so I think we shouldn't criticize a game for being a story, which has an arc with a beginning, a middle and an end... and actually encouraging all gamers to see all of the story, I think that's something positive."
When further pressed about the relatively short length, and how that could disappoint a kid who's been saving money for a $60 game, Harrison responded, "I don't know anybody who can play [through] Heavenly Sword in six hours, other than some really hardcore game tester who's worked on it a lot."
He added, "I think if the quality of the production experience, the quality of the gameplay, the way that it moves you emotionally... if it delivers on all of those fronts, what's wrong with this picture?"
by James Brightman
Think Sony made Factor 5 go with motion controls for Lair? Think again, says SCE Worldwide President Phil Harrison. He explained that Sony leaves those decisions up to developers. Harrison also defended Heavenly Sword's short length.
We recently reported that Ken Levine, 2K Boston president and creator of BioShock, actually came to the defense of Sony's Lair, which has been largely panned by critics for its motion controls. Levine speculated at the time that Sony probably gave developer Factor 5 a mandate of sorts to utilize the Sixaxis motion controls. Phil Harrison, President of SCE Worldwide Studios, disputes that notion, however.
Speaking to GameTrailers, he said, "[Motion control] was definitely not mandated by us. We've always said all along that the use of the Sixaxis is something that should be decided by the developer in tune with their creative vision for the game, so it's not something we would mandate."
Harrison was also asked about the reviews for Heavenly Sword, a game that took some flack for being fairly short. Nevertheless, Harrison doesn't view the length of the game as a problem.
"You know what? Not that many people finish games, so I think we shouldn't criticize a game for being a story, which has an arc with a beginning, a middle and an end... and actually encouraging all gamers to see all of the story, I think that's something positive."
When further pressed about the relatively short length, and how that could disappoint a kid who's been saving money for a $60 game, Harrison responded, "I don't know anybody who can play [through] Heavenly Sword in six hours, other than some really hardcore game tester who's worked on it a lot."
He added, "I think if the quality of the production experience, the quality of the gameplay, the way that it moves you emotionally... if it delivers on all of those fronts, what's wrong with this picture?"
