IGN's hearing from studio
insiders that Revolution SDKs (Software Development Kits) are selling for about $2,000, "which is thousands of dollars cheaper than a PSP SDK,
let alone an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 one," paving the way for riskier titles with smaller investments to appear
on Nintendo's next system.
(Note from Auri: It's practically impossible to get a PS development machine out of Sony unless you're a very, very big-time game development house. Bumr.)Citing the 1,000-dev-kits-shipped statistic from the recent Engadget interview
with Reggie Fils-Aime, IGN Revolution went ahead and talked to "a half dozen studios around the globe for further
details about the nature of the kits." Apparently, "three revisions of the development kits have been sent
out to studios" so far, with "minor tweaks" and boosts in power (to a GameCube with wired Revolution
controller attached) accounting for the different versions. Larger, more committed publishers may already have access
to updated hardware and a wireless remote.
An "official fourth SDK prototype" will soon be sent
out so the likes of EA and Ubisoft can start getting their playable demos ready for E3, but final dev kits aren't
"expected to be made widely available" until June. While this doesn't change the consensus that the Rev will
only be "roughly twice as powerful" as the 'Cube, at least this similarity in architecture will make
development of next-gen titles easier (and more exciting with the innovative new controller). A $150-$200 price tag
would certainly help the system's marketability as well. The proof will be in the playable pudding.
Source:
IGN