CCP: Doing Dust 514 on 360 would be "tricky"

CCP's admitted that the openness of devs for PSN from Sony has enabled Dust 514 to connect with MMO counterpart EVE Online.

Thomas Farrer, producer on 514, told RPS that the restrictions of Xbox Live would have made running the game "tricky."

"I think some of the challenges we’d meet would be tricky. But then also as a developer you’ve got to weigh the balance. It’s nice to work on one platform rather than two, because it means you don’t have to make any awkward compromises, technically," he said.

"Also you get the benefit of a closer relationship with that platform. And with the production methodology that we have, we don’t fire and forget the games. It’s about continuous development. So we keep working on them, and you see the huge number of updates that have occurred on EVE in the last seven or eight years.

"The thinking is the same with DUST. So having that relationship with the platform holder is important for us."

Whilst doing it on 360 would seem "tricky," senior producer on EVE Online Torfi Frans Olafsson said Sony had an "understanding" with the shooter.

"Our vision for the future is more closely aligned. For example, most of DUST is running on our own technology, it’s running on our own super-computer, on Tranquillity. And Sony is a lot more… open, shall we say, to allowing you to do those things," added Farrer.

"It may seem silly, but on Xbox Live your identity is your Xbox Live identity. In the EVE universe, having people not know who you are is quite important."

Dust 514 will launch on PS3 in 2012 via PSN, with a beta to arrive by the end of the year.