In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Media Molecule’s Alex Evans has declared that LittleBigPlanet could not have been made for Xbox 360. Or not in its present form, anyway.
This fact is as much down to Media Molecule’s platform focus as it is the unique selling points of the PlayStation 3. "With LBP as it is," Evans explained, "We couldn’t have made it on the Xbox 360 and the reason for that is actually because we designed it around the PS3’s strengths."
"In other words, if you’re a game designer, from day one you know your platform, and you just cane it on that platform," he went on. "You’re not worrying about cross-platform, you’re not worrying about anyone else’s hardware design."
Evans cited the inclusion of a hard drive with all PlayStation 3 models as a crucial factor. "If we didn’t have a hard drive on every unit, we’d have to scale back the ambition of what you could save and do."
He was careful however not to appear critical of Microsoft’s console. “The 360 is an incredibly capable machine, and you could make a user-generated content game on it, no question – just as you could make one on the PS2 or the Megadrive, or any platform. But because we picked our platform, you go and you use every available bit of space, every little processor cycle.”
LittleBigPlanet is out in October on both sides of the Atlantic, where it joins a sparkling list of PS3 exclusives. More info as we get it.