By choosing to release a game over multiple platforms, developers are forced to make compromises on quality, GamesRadar has been told by Mathieu Ferland, senior producer for Splinter Cell: Conviction, Sam Fisher's fifth spy adventure and an exclusive for Xbox 360 and PC.

"Developing a game for multiple consoles is not so difficult but it requires certain compromises, usually quality compromises" explains Ferland. Previously, not wanting to compromise too much, Ubisoft has taken the expensive route of employing different teams for different platforms, in order to "invest" fully in the strengths of each console. "If such investment is not done," Ferland tells us, "every feature unique to a console will not be used and a game will generally end up with a 'lower quality.'"

"Not having to worry about other consoles for development is an important benefit," Ferland continues, "Because you can simply focus and develop following a technical design that fits perfectly with the console. For all these reasons, we’ll end up with better performances ... [and it allows] content that would most likely not make it into the game if development was also done for other consoles."

May 23, 2007