LGF 08: Sony's Jamie MacDonald on Little Big Planet, Home

Vice president for worldwide development predicts SCE will soon be a service provider, not a product provider.

At the London Games Festival's Games 3.0 conference, Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios vice president Jamie MacDonald took to the stage to present his take on social gaming. As the man in charge of SCE's London and Cambridge studios, he certainly knows about the topic, having been involved with games such as EyeToy, SingStar, The Getaway, Heavenly Sword, and current industry darling Little Big Planet.

Before social gaming became a common term, MacDonald said he used to describe his SCE titles as "games for the 21st century." He went on to call Media Molecule's Little Big Planet a "landmark" game, believing that it "points to the future of social gaming." One of the key features of the game is the ability for users to customize their own characters and levels, but just how popular will its user content tools be? "I expect the user-created levels to absolutely balloon once the title's out," he continued. However, MacDonald did concede that it was "hard to guess how it will affect the industry in the long run. Where it leads I'm not really sure."

When it comes to the business of developing games, MacDonald singled out talented staff as one of the most important factors. "The best way to create titles and great consumer experiences is to hire the best people," and give them a good environment to work in, he said. "That's what we did with Media Molecule."

In addition to Little Big Planet, MacDonald also took the time to plug SCE Studio London's upcoming PlayStation Home, a hub that will let users meet, chat, and play games. Its emergence, at least according to MacDonald, was down to a frustration with current online experiences that he described as "geeky, tedious, and short," and the driving force was an environment that, although games-focused, wasn't centred on teenage boys. "From a SCE point of view, it's something we haven't done before, [and] it will continue to evolve and develop over time."

The worldwide studios exec ended his session by describing SCE's future as "becoming service providers almost, not product providers." Despite this, and the increase of downloadable content including song packs for SingStar, MacDonald concluded that SCE "will continue making discs for the foreseeable future," exclusively for its own platforms. When asked about competition from Activision's Guitar Hero series, MacDonald said, "Actually it's great. That means more people are into [that kind of] experience."

The London Games Festival continues until November 2, with events happening across the British capital.

20 Comments

  • Compilation

    Posted Oct 29, 2008 4:15 am PT

    Stop being so secretive! Quote 'He went on to call Media Molecule's Little Big Planet a "landmark" game' Well of course he would, his status would go into turmoil otherwise, and on the Playstation Home news, I want a release date! Home has shrouded for too long now, give it to us!

  • wars45

    Posted Oct 29, 2008 2:56 am PT

    and

  • PrinceofSarcasm

    Posted Oct 28, 2008 4:50 pm PT

    WOOOOOOOOOW she just said that SCE's future is "becoming service providers almost, not product providers

    PLEASE DONT MEAN THEIR WONT BE A PS4

  • mastiffchild

    Posted Oct 28, 2008 11:02 am PT

    There's no news like, erm, no news, is there?

  • sdkingsht

    Posted Oct 28, 2008 9:27 am PT

    *for home that is...

  • sdkingsht

    Posted Oct 28, 2008 9:26 am PT

    they already said this year several times. so i'm thinking december.

  • stupac2001

    Posted Oct 28, 2008 8:58 am PT

    still no hint on release date for home then,it would be nice to know if it is coming this year! even a hint on the month would be good

  • aaronobst

    Posted Oct 28, 2008 7:09 am PT

    same... I'm a little confused as to what all this means

  • chchappi

    Posted Oct 28, 2008 2:51 am PT

    What? No HOME release date?

  • MSE369

    Posted Oct 27, 2008 5:37 pm PT

    HOME HOME HOME!!
    We Need A Release Date! -_-

  • ctg867

    Posted Oct 27, 2008 2:30 pm PT

    There a chance in hell we'll get Home before the year is out? *Sigh*

  • Pete5506

    Posted Oct 27, 2008 1:44 pm PT

    No date yet, dang

  • swiftj7

    Posted Oct 27, 2008 12:10 pm PT

    well..not that fond of ps3. But i'm sooooooo picking up a copy of little big planet.

  • n3ck posted Oct 27, 2008 11:57 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    n3ck

    Posted Oct 27, 2008 11:57 am PT (hide)

    Urg I hate Sony, your lame, you've killed your brand for real.

  • XXL2

    Posted Oct 27, 2008 11:44 am PT

    so what exactly was that meant to tell us...?

  • m-m-f

    Posted Oct 27, 2008 11:15 am PT

    thanks for nothing ..

  • TheArcade

    Posted Oct 27, 2008 11:05 am PT

    Still no date for Home! Nuts to that.

  • football_legend

    Posted Oct 27, 2008 10:44 am PT

    oh ok.

  • Makaatsu

    Posted Oct 27, 2008 10:32 am PT

    dosen't mention it has already been hacked either
    http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?s=8c9fb947313bd011095788ebd361c006&p=1674707#post1674707

    thanks but no thanks

  • coruscant

    Posted Oct 27, 2008 10:22 am PT

    Doesn't mention a date for Home though

advertisement

Hot Stories

Newsmakers

Featured Stories

Tags

home

Submit News

Got tips? Send them in!

Related Game

LittleBigPlanet Boxshot
LittleBigPlanet

Game Stats

  • Rank:
    117 of 59,208
    (down by 34)
    PS3 Rank:
    26 of 819
    Highest Rank:
    1 in 2008
    Tracking:
    9,451 Track It»
    Wishlists:
    5,447 Wish It»
  • Users Now Playing:
    2,718
  • Number of Players:

    1-4, 4 Online

  • Top 5 User Tags:
    1. littlebigplanet
    2. media molecule
    3. little big planet
    4. lbp
    5. ps3
  • Everyone Rating Description

    Titles rated E (Everyone) have content that may be suitable for ages 6 and older. Titles in this category may contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language. Learn more

Full Game Details »Close
Also on

Related Games

Site Blogs