Pachter: Insomniac nuts for not going multiplatform

Insomniac Games, our beloved PlayStation developer, has been providing Sony with key franchises for years. Spyro the Dragon, Ratchet & Clank, Resistance; all have been corner stone products from a studio that puts out AAA titles year-on-year, every year. Industry analyst Michael Pachter, who we don’t often listen to, thinks the studio is making a mistake with this exclusive approach.

We’ve actually already reported on rumours that Insomniac Games is going multiplatform with a new IP. The company has now opened a sister studio in North Carolina, which is working on its own game. It’s a big possibility that this studio’s first game will be multiplatform. In fact, it’s very much the elephant in the room.

Insomniac’s one-year schedule most likely ruled out working on other platforms previously, but now the option is certainly there. And the pressure to do so has come from Pachter. He told Eurogamer:

“I’ve told the Insomniac guys repeatedly. They don’t own the Ratchet & Clank IP or the Resistance IP but they’re such good developers. I’m like, ‘Why aren’t you guys doing multi-platform? Your games would sell.’ As if those guys couldn’t create something – of course they could. It’s not like Sony came up with the art and graphics on Ratchet & Clank.

“The Insomniac guys are nuts not to do multi-platform. But they like their deal with Sony, so they’ll keep doing exclusives. LittleBigPlanet guys, Media Molecule, I feel the same way. What were they thinking selling to Sony? They must be Liberal Democrats!”

We personally think that Media Molecule loves its little big deal with Sony, but that’s not for us to say. Would you be upset if Insomniac went multiplatform? Remember Ratchet and Resistance will stay put, Sony owns those IPs.

Readers Comments (39)

  1. I love Insomniac. They are not just great developers, they listen to community feedback as well.

    I don’t know. I guess If they are already gaining big bucks then sticking with sony is nice and well, loyalty goes a long way.

  2. Would be sad if Insomiac would go mulitplat. Patcher is a really stupid guy but hey it’s just his opinion.

  3. It’s all about loyalty and money comes later.

  4. I’m sure I remember reading somewhere that Sony have sounded out Insomniac in the past regards purchasing, but Insomniac were happy to stay independent. It certainly speaks volumes about the advantages of working with Sony that they’ve stayed loyal so far.

    I’m half expecting an announcement at E3 from Microsoft, crowing (as they have a tendency to do) that they’ve “poached” Insomniac to develop for the 360 as well, despite them being free agents all along.

    Until such time as Insomniac come out and publicly state their plans one way or the other, it’s always going to be a possibility. The fact that they’ve so far said nothing makes me tend to think it’s likely.

  5. wouldn’t be sad at all. we would still get great games, and our mates on the xbox would also be able to appreciate these games.

  6. I wouldn’t be sad. It’s not like Insomniac is maxing out the PS3. They put more effort into the gameplay, it seems, which is always solid.

  7. Insomniac is my fav game developer, it would suck ass if they went to xbox

  8. I’d be sad, I love Insomniac, but I’m not a fan of multiplatform games, regardless of developer. I usually try to steer clear of them. As long as they make PS exclusives, I’ll keep buying, I have every game they released this gen, and it will only continue if they are loyal to the PS name.

  9. they would be nuts if they did go multiplatform. maybe im just being selfish but , if resistance 3 is on xbox 360 i probably won’t buy it.

  10. I am going to beat Patcher to death with a stick. As stated in the article IG sister studio in North Carolina is going Multiplat not the Main Studio, I think Ted Price and co are working on something new if not Resistance 3. but i think its Resistance 3. Even though the Multiplat title IMO will have upper hand on PS3 Performance and exclusive content wise 😉

  11. why does pachter what everybody to go multiplattform exclusives are great from competetion

  12. i disagre with Pachter about insomiac being crazy cuz he would do otherwise to make more money
    i like to fink that there are independent dewelopers that dont do exclusives cuz of a contract, but because they fell more comfortable with working on one platform, and dont fell the need to fil theire pockets with more money than they should

    Pachter is the black sheep for not respecting insomiacks wise decision

  13. I would be upset if Media Molecule went multi plat. I wouldn’t want any reasons for that game to have content cut because of dvd9. I heard lbp used up about 30 or 40 something gbs. Dvd 9 couldn’t handle that game, it would be stupid for them to go multi plat because it would be risking the quality of their games.

  14. saminseattle (PSN:gamesnskate) May 14, 2010 @ 14:12

    Don’t get me wrong, I’d be glad if Insomniac went multi-plat. It’d be a good choice and they’d profit plenty! But at the same time, I like what they’re doing, I feel like I’m in this little exclusive cool kids club just ’cause I own a PS3 and buy all their games 😛 Either way I’m happy. If Insomniac choose to stay exclusive then it’s what they want to do and I’m happy for them; if not, then that’s what they want to do and they’ll be happy that their games are getting the credit they’ve always deserved. 🙂 Either way, give a W00T for Insomniac!

  15. Honestly I think it would be cool if they had a or some multiplat IPs along with the exclusive IPs. This way they’ll get more money and fans, and from this they can make even better exclusives.

    I mean Insomniac are beasts at developing games so either way they wont fail.

  16. Insomniac Games have been so loyal to Sony throughout the years, why don’t Sony buy that studio so they continue makig great exclusives for Sony’s consoles?

  17. i remember reading about how the PSN gives the developers room to Create,,, IE the whole create share play deal….. people usually stick with who discorvered them… this just tells me sony takes care of them pretty good too.. i can’t imagine playing a resistance or rachet and clank or LB2 or any games from these developers on an xbox…its just wrong,,its like seeing kratos spashed all over a xbox bundle… lol its pretty disgusting when you think about it….

  18. Very simple.
    Media Molecule = Now owned by Sony.
    Insomniac Games = Independent Studio. (2nd Party Sony Studio)
    There’s a lot of reasons why so many companies are choosing to go Sony exclusive.
    Better hardware, more powerful, more support, more freedom, and unlike other devs Sony Computer Entertainment don’t rush out their games and they take the time to make the best possible games they can make.
    Also you get more noticed if your an exclusive game compared to being multiplatform because is waiting to see devs maximize the console their working on.

  19. F*** that shit, i said: F*** THAT SHIT!!! Pachter what the f*** do you think you are huh? You motherf***er piece of s***, b*****d dont you mess with Sony! YES, THATS RIGHT dont you motherf***ing mess with Sony or else…..*sigh* I dont wanna be rude ok? I respect you as a person, but let me tell you something, every time i see you F***ING face on the internet i want to smack the S*** out of you, what? what did you say? YES IM F***ING SERIOUS!!!!!! YES-I-AM!!! With your f***ing glasses, what do you expect? that people think you are a genius or something??? NOOOOO, you are a f***ing MORON!!! Yes, thats it, a MORON!!! F*** you Michael, F*** YOU!!!!!

  20. I agree with priest

  21. LOL thanks Ben!

  22. I think Sony should buy Insomniac, so it stays an exclusive developer, and the other key development teams that made big hit games 🙂

  23. Patrick Steen May 14, 2010 @ 17:41

    MrPriest, thanks for your contribution, we appreciate it. But we’d appreciate it more if you kept your bad language to a minimum. Thanks

  24. Is Pachter anti Sony? he seems love to give positive words on MS but on Sony. IDK.

  25. going multiplatform isn’t always the best option insomniac have a good relationship
    with sony why ruin it i mean sure they could make more money but something will be sacrficed the quality of their games 360 has the dvd limetations that henders the game’s quality perfect examples are lost planet, 2,ff13, i lcare about quality not the money that the games sell off which i wouldn’t be getting a dime as some keep mentioning about they could make more money true but why do you care? you”re not getting a dime of it so why mention it? what do i think? i think why it’s a excuse to cover up your fanboy agenda and justify this whole insomniac multiplatform rumors of them developing for the 360 . anyway about the media molecule thing he’s saying are kidding me? little big planet is a great game why would the shooter nation on 360 would want the amazing talents of these fine developers? these shooter induced addicts like blood & multiplayer nothing more it was a good decision for sony to buy out media molecule because they fit perfectly not to mention they have a good relationship.

  26. In this case, EVERY company who keeps their games exclusive to a certain console is “nuts.” It’s not just Insomniac and MediaMolecule. What Patcher needs to understand is this; business is business. Insomniac likes what’s going on with Sony. They’ve created titles for them for years and years! Personally, I would be disappointed to see an Insomniac Games logo on a Nintendo Wii or Xbox 360 case.

  27. If going multiplatform would give Insomniac to make an even better gaming experience, why not?

  28. Although I only own a ps3, I wouldn’t mind Insomniac going Multi Plat, more cash for the studio and a much wider audience = good …The only thing I DO NOT want to happen is some type of deal with EA or ACTIVISION….

  29. I love Insomniac. The original Spyro trilogy and Ratchet & Clank are among my favourite games of all time.
    Since I now have an Xbox and not a PS3, I think they should consider going multiplatform with their next IP – more money for them, more happy gamers on both platforms.

  30. how are they nuts?
    there getting first party support from sony, there getting funded by sony, there getting tech from the industries best developers.
    you really thing they would be getting engine code from sony santa monica or naughty dog if they were 3rd party?
    honestly, this guys a idiot!
    all he thinks about is sales, he never looks past that and thinks maybe there getting something behind the scenes?
    yes, there loosing out on sales, obviously a game on 2 platforms will sell better than a game on 1.
    but if insomniac went 3rd party, they can kiss the funding and game code good bye!!!!!!!!!!
    wish i could get paid to talk crap all day every day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  31. Patrick Steen May 15, 2010 @ 04:36

    Name: Hope your last sentence is referring to Pachter and not myself =D

  32. A ROBOT NAMED KILL May 15, 2010 @ 05:33

    Patcher is a f**king moron. Media Molecule is now owned by Sony, if he can’t even get that little bit right, then what does that say about everything else he blabs on about. The guy is hired to speculate and be wrong.

  33. Dave-The-Rave May 15, 2010 @ 06:54

    Oh bugger off Pachter..he’ll be bothering Naughty Dog next !! Why don’t you go bother one of Microsoft’s 3rd party companies!?

  34. lol, yea patcher not you.
    hes always talking crap always looking at the sales side of things, and never thinking maybe theres a reason why they did that.
    i mean come on insomniac have been in the industry for 30+ years, there obviously know what their doing!!!
    just because someones throwing away sales, does not mean there loosing money they may be getting paid to through away those sales.
    why does he not say the same about ubisoft with splinter cell conviction?
    ubisoft got paid by M$ to keep conviction exclusive, so there not loosing anything in sales.
    its probably a times exclusive though like what they did with the GTAIV DLC.

  35. insomniac would be crazy to give up on ratchet and clank and resistance these games are already amazing and i dont want to see these games go down like my beloved spyro and crash.
    ps3 sells are going up and more people are owning them.
    sony needs to buy them i mean there games were great and still are.
    but saying insomniac is going muti is like saying bungie is going to ps3.
    impossible.

  36. i wouldnt mind if they went multi platform as long as it didnt affect the qulity of the game so maybe wait for the new xbox as it would have the power and capabilty of the ps3

  37. “but saying insomniac is going muti is like saying bungie is going to ps3.”

    Actually, Bungie is working on a multiplat game, so….

  38. Patrick Steen May 15, 2010 @ 14:44

    Yup, Bungie is developing a multiplatform game, and could even lead development on the PS3… http://bit.ly/dpdjjb

  39. @ImLastBoss lets go down the line of dev’s that have shown “loyalty” to sony:

    1. rockstar = fuck i can has timed exclusive with xbox
    2 capcom = fuck you i can has mgs on xbox now
    3.square enix = Final fantasy.

    good fight i rest my case

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