Insomniac likes Sony but impressed with multiplatform sales
by Xav de Matos 
{ Feb 14th 2008 at 1:30PM }
The fine folks at Insomniac might not be the most known development team to our readers, but they are certainly one of the most respected independent studios in the video game industry. With classics like the original Spyro, the Ratchet & Clank series and the newly formed franchise Resistance: Fall of Man, Insomniac has been one of the most important second-party teams for Sony in recent years.Insomniac Games, as some may actually be surprised to hear, are not owned by Sony nor are they contractually obligated to the hardware manufacturer and it's PS3 which is a fact that has led to countless bids to purchase the independent powerhouse.
Insomniac Games CEO Ted Price has shot down all notions that the studio would be acquired, reiterating that the studio enjoys independence and we've heard that before. In a story on Ars Technica Price noted that even though Insomniac didn't have the "bandwidth" for multiplatform development it was, "impressive to see some of the sales numbers for people who are going cross-platform."
Remembering that Insomnia is a wholly owned independent developer, we wonder if we'll be unlocking those precious achievement points with a Lombax anytime soon.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
mattclarkie @ Feb 14th 2008 1:39PM
With recent fanchise success I would say that the company has more than enough size to go cross-platform.
The question is do Sony own the IPs Ratchet and Clank or RFOM, because if Insomniac own them I wouldn't be surprised if RFOM 3 was also on 360, and the next Ratchet as well, but RFOM2 will stay PS3.
Josh @ Feb 14th 2008 1:41PM
I doubt very much we'll be seeing an Insomniac game anytime soon. Sony's probably throwing tons of cash at them to keep making game exclusively for the PS3 and I don't blame Sony for it because they make fantastic games.
vikings8425 @ Feb 14th 2008 1:49PM
holy crap..
ive played every ratchet and clank game and i almost bought a ps3 for the sole purpose of playing Ratchet and Clank..
this would be amazing
Bill @ Feb 14th 2008 1:49PM
Am I the only one who thinks R:FOM was crap? It was like they got half way through developing some generic WWII shooter, and someone from Sony came running in the door and said "Nix the Nazis, lets do Aliens!"
Matt @ Feb 14th 2008 2:25PM
It is crap. I'm a 360 loyalist, but I actually bought a PS3 at launch along with Resistance and was totally blown away by how crappy and generic it was. A gamer friend saw it and his exact word to describe it was "silly." Needless to say, I sold my PS3 shortly after that.
kris.barratt @ Feb 14th 2008 4:47PM
Well, I've played and owned all of the big shooters this generation and although it's not as good as gears or bioshock, I enjoyed it and to be honest it well and truly craps on halo 3.
That has to be the biggest anti-climax EVER.
mji245 @ Feb 14th 2008 1:56PM
not going to happen they are owned by sony and they get paid to make their games exclusive to ps3 by sony but it would be great i played the new ratchet and clank game and it is awesome i might get a ps3 for it
pandlcg @ Feb 14th 2008 2:24PM
Apparently you either can't read or insist on remaining ignorant of facts. Sony does not own Insomniac Games.
Plus, if Sony does own them, like you incorrectly claim, why would Sony have to pay them to make their games exclusive to the PS3, like you also claim?
Xav de Matos @ Feb 14th 2008 2:33PM
Well the Ratchet comment was written in jest. In 2002 Sony did sign an exclusive agreement for Ratchet and Clank game, however, this doesn't mean something from that universe can't make its way to the Xbox 360... hence the comment.
Tony @ Feb 14th 2008 1:56PM
I can't speak much of Resistance, but Ratchet is a good series. Even though Insomniac is independent, I figured if they made Wii/360 games that the Rachet license would stay in Sony's hands?
Either way, I'd welcome them on other platforms. As a PS3 developer, they could clearly modify their work to also run on the 360... I'd imagine it'd be much harder to filter that down to the Wii (AND take advantage of the controls well). I know them more for platformers than anything and the 360 is just completely lacking there.
But if they don't have enough people to do this sort of thing, then I guess it's a pipe dream really.
Fernando @ Feb 14th 2008 1:56PM
Sony own RFORM and R&C
ReTRO CLUTCH @ Feb 14th 2008 2:04PM
One of the main reasons I bought a PS3 aside from Blu-Ray was Insomniac. I don't really care if they go multi-platform now. If this was November of 2006, I would have cared.
Ghostbuddy @ Feb 14th 2008 2:07PM
Join us, join the dark side. Embrace capitalism. Embrace us. Come on, testing the water a little bit never hurt anyone. Make a 360 exclusive game, and test the results compared to a ps3 exclusive.
Diamondxp @ Feb 14th 2008 2:21PM
Damn I cant sleep thinking about the posibility
Get it...... Insomniac
Ranus Studios @ Feb 14th 2008 2:23PM
See, now, this is what I like to see. A wholly independent, good developer that sticks to one system because they know how to best utilize it.
I speak, of course, of Ratchet and Clank; I got the demo of Resistance on my PS3 and stopped after about two minutes.
I imagine their stuff on the 360 would be just as good, but alas.
Leobebes @ Feb 14th 2008 3:07PM
The reason a ton of Sony fanboys think Resistance is like man from heaven its because it was Sony's first ever solid FPS game with a solid multiplayer, even though the xbox brand has had these type of titles since HALO CE.
So yes Resistance might seem a little generic to us but to Sony only users it's their HALO so don't be so hard on them.
Robert @ Feb 14th 2008 3:17PM
No, I like Resistance because the 40 concurrent users matches with zero lag, and the idea that each team can have more than one squad for communications
Leobebes @ Feb 14th 2008 3:27PM
I am not saying they didn't add some cool things like 40 player lag free matches. But you need to admit it is a little over hyped due it being their first solid title in that genre. It's like OMZG LOST ODYSSEY TURN BASED RPG IS PRETTY GOOD ON XBOX!!!!
Ranus Studios @ Feb 14th 2008 5:06PM
I don't much care for Resistance or Halo. At all.
Derick @ Feb 14th 2008 7:49PM
Fall of Man is lame. Its not our Halo. I would have to say the closet thing I see to Halo (gameplay-wise) is Haze. When I saw the gameplay footage of it I instantly thought it was a halo port with new skins and models.
I traded my FoM after a week. I may be a Sony Loyalist, but I dont have blinders on. Just like Im happy to play Lost Odyssey to death until FFXIII comes out... They are basically the same gameplay.
ZombiesRPplsToo @ Feb 17th 2008 3:15PM
O M G.
when i saw this i almost soiled myself
please insomniac i loooooove ratchet & clank
(and resistance too)
SadisticHam @ Feb 14th 2008 4:58PM
Here comes the typical sony fanboy BS about how their online has 0 lag ever no matter what game you're playing.
I could be from fucking Australia, on 56k dial up in a game full of Americans, playing on American based servers and they'd still go LOLZ NO LAG RITE CUZ WE GETS IT FREES
I bloody hate seeing that, there is no such thing as 0 lag, you're going to lag on any service from time to time.
/rant
Robert @ Feb 14th 2008 5:14PM
I am not saying all games are lag free, I can tell you that I have played a very high percentage of Resistance 40 player matches without any noticeable lag, I live on Venezuela, where finding another PS3/Xbox 360 player is really difficult and I play on North American servers. I do not know how Insomniac is able to do that, I guess they are good doing network data compression, or if they put a lot of dedicated servers.
Be realistic nobody is saying that I am playing on a dial-up line (something not supported on the current generation of consoles) , but i do not host any games because my upstream speed is bad. Warhawk is another lag free game because they put dedicated servers too
The Sound @ Feb 14th 2008 9:12PM
It states on the back of all games with multiplayer that a broadband connection is required.
And of all the countless Warhawk, Motorstorm, and any other online game, I have *yet* to experience any lag, in full rooms (32 for Warhawk, 16 for Motorstorm).
Van Faulk @ Feb 14th 2008 5:22PM
As a ps3 owner you guys ain't missing much. INsomniac is one of the most overhyped devs on the planet. They make good games, but not one was ever an A game. The latest ratchet was actually a regression for the series. RFOM is decent, but nowhere near Halo or gears.
Meximan @ Feb 14th 2008 8:05PM
Wow are you serious? Can you not read? "The fine folks at Insomniac might not be the most known." Insomniac isn't overhyped at all. In fact, hardly anyone actually knows about them. Exactly how was the new Ratchet a "regression"? I guess you're basing this off of the game's only "bad" review from Gamespot and that was a 7.5, which isn't bad at all. Admitedly, Resistance didn't have the best of graphics, but you have to admit that for a launch title with 40 player online and "minimal lag" that's pretty impressive. Plus Insomniac has only been improving on their software and if you look at Resistance 2, that's gonna kick ass.
George Arauz @ Feb 14th 2008 6:07PM
Sounds like someone might make a trip over to the light side soon to make games.
The Sound @ Feb 14th 2008 9:21PM
I don't think Insomniac is going to be multiplat anytime soon. With the Ratchet and Clank being pretty successful, and ROFM being the second (?) best selling game on the PS3 (3 million copies sold?) I think it's safe to assume that they know where the fan base is.
especially with Resistance 2. Even you guys should be able to see that it's shaping up very nicely, and if it looks and sounds as great as it does now, could very well be contending for some great award at the end of the year.
Besides they have a really close relationship with Naughty Dog (another great dev.), and I don't see them doing something that ND won't/can't do. (Sony is ND's parent company).
dewmandew7 @ Feb 14th 2008 9:29PM
If Insomniac ever does decide to go multi-plat, it will have to be with an entirely new IP. Sony owns the rights to both Ratchet and Clank and Resistance (hence the spin-off Ratchet games on PSP/PS2 not developed by Insomniac).
Frankly, I don't care what they do as long as they keep developing for PS3.
SharpBlade @ Feb 14th 2008 10:09PM
That was such a small comment that I can't even phathom that they would make a game for the 360. Not to mention the fact that they are waaaaay up Sony's rear..
As a PS360 owner, RFOM was rather lame. It reminded me of Medal of Honor with Aliens (minus the parachutes). Ratchet is better, lots of jaggies but the gameplay is great. I don't want to sound totally down on Insomniac because they are very talented and have one of the best places to work at. I would welcome Insomniac to develope a 360 game and would probably buy it, but it ain't gonna happen.
Naughty Dog is the same way. Funny thing that Uncharted was actually pitched to MS first and they turned it down. I would love to see them develope on the 360, but again they are too close with Sony. MS had their chance and like a lot of their decisions has burned them in the end.
DjDATZ @ Feb 15th 2008 1:20PM
Well OBVIOUSLY the PS3 sales were not NEARLY enough, so they want to get some 360 sales and Wii sales in there...could you imagine what Rachet and Clank would have sold if they were ported to the 360 and Wii?
Merriss @ Feb 18th 2008 2:27AM
My opinion on this: It would make sense if Insomniac stayed with developing for Sony consoles, as it's what they've always done and they seem pretty happy with that, but with both of their current franchises likely to end by the end of this generation (Resistance 3 in 2010, R&C Future 3 in 2011, new consoles in 2011 and 2012 maybe), they'll have a big opportunity to start a new company era for themselves, to go multi-platform with their next projects. What if Insomniac is sensing that people just don't like PlayStation as much as they did before and they want to get their games out onto another system while still keeping a relationship with Sony and their dedicated PS3-owning fans?
Insomniac's full of surprises. I say it's possible. I mean, I wouldn't bet on it just yet, but with their talent and general speediness I could totally see them adapting to Microsoft technology to do some Xbox 720 games in the future if they really wanted to. And honestly I would support such a move, as my PS3 is really dusty and I don't want to have to buy a PS4 in a few years to keep up with what Insomniac is doing.
@ mattclarkie: Well, only recently have they been able to handle working on two projects at once. I think it will be a while before they can handle working on two consoles too.
@ Van Faulk: Insomniac's not overrated, although I have a feeling it's what they're becoming. As I said before they do have talent, but to be honest their last few titles have been a bit on the disappointing side, or at least for me.
@ The Sound: Eh, if you ask me I think Insomniac's done following Naughty Dog. They made a multiplayer game first, they made a PS3 launch title first, they're juggling two projects first, etc. If anything it's going to be Naughty Dog that imitates Insomniac.