With the incredible and nigh-unstoppable growth in popularity that the games industry has experienced over recent years, it was only natural that consoles became commonplace. Radios and TVs were once a staple of a household and now, consoles have all but joined them. Given the circumstances of the COVID pandemic, the player count increased exponentially as all sought entertainment and escape.  

Consoles are an easily accessible and, usually, easily available piece of hardware that allows players to join the gaming world with just the push of a button. And with multiplayer being just as simple, it’s no wonder gaming has increased in popularity. 

Why develop for PS4 and PS5? 

The Magic Media team enjoy developing for, and porting games to, PlayStation and we have plenty of reasons for that! 

Player Focused 

The more recent entries in the PlayStation series of consoles have always emphasized interaction with fellow players and offering integration with other devices. The PS Vita had the potential to play games from the PS4 and supported a ‘remote play’ function with supported devices.  

It also offered the ability to stream your gameplay online and directly to friends. This streaming, in some games, could also allow your friends to play as if it were couch co-op. Sony received high praise for these features, as they acknowledge player needs and encouraged a more varied experience of play. This, coupled with the lack of digital rights management (DRM) on most titles, meant that play was unlimited. 

Solid Technology 

While this goes for almost all modern consoles, it has to be included. The technological jumps made between PS3 and PS4, and more so, between PS4 and PS5 is staggering. Games can be created with higher quality graphics while losing none of its complexity. There was a time when higher quality models and environments meant fewer of both. Now, huge worlds are created that are bursting with detail. Compromises on graphics and performance are almost a thing of the past.

Matched with this is the inclusion of an SSD or solid state drive in the PS5. One of the main issues with the PS4 was the long-loading times. The PS5 doesn’t fix this problem, it removes it entirely with the high-functioning SSD which is “100 times faster” than its predecessor, according to Sony’s President, Mark Cerny. 

The PlayStation 5 also offers options for expandable storage and has full backwards compatibility thanks to the PS4 architecture serving as a base to the PS5’s. Sony’s focus seems to be on making development for their consoles as easy as possible without sacrificing the potential for visual quality and fidelity. The kind of power in the PS5 means developers can take advantage of features like full ray tracing lighting and dynamic fluid, hair, and cloth simulations. 

The kind of technology that developers can leverage is precisely what the team at Magic Media utilize. Our development teams are composed of certified developers with experience in full-stack and co-development. Which means when you need expertize across the board, Magic Media has you covered. 

Development Tools 

There’s an endless number of powerful and dynamic development tools available for developers, and the PlayStations 4 and 5 are open to a wide variety of them. However, two staples that developers always come back to are Unreal Engine and Unity. These two tools are definitely ones the Magic Media team hold onto, for their strength in development, their versatility, and accessibility. 

Unreal Engine 

Unreal Engine 5 was realized in late 2021 which means we might start seeing games developed using this tool. However, currently we’re referring to Unreal Engine 4 or UE4. And UE4 has the visual scripting tool, ‘Blueprint’, which allows developers to develop without writing a single line of code. And UE also offers up-to-date DirectX 11 rendering features, as well as the Persona animation system, which developers can use to easily refine character motion. 

Unity 

Unity is a constantly evolving beast for game development. It is a veritable living world of tools and systems designed for developers to build any game of their choice. The features it offers, like Unity 4.3, mean developers have the tools to include PS4 shaders, PSVR, and DualShock features in their game. 

Outsourcing Development 

If all of these tools are so accessible and easy to use, you might be wondering why you’d bother outsourcing at all! 

Of course, these tools can be used by anybody, but they fall into a category of ‘easy to use, hard to master’. And our teams are the masters of these tools. Our teams are veterans of the development scene. Instead of taking the time to master these tools yourself, you can simply utilize our teams. As a leading game development company, we’re ready to combine our expertize with your idea. Magic Media is ready to take on your challenges, help you save resources, and deliver the blockbuster game you’re dreaming of.  

If you need help on full-cycle development, game porting, or any stage of the game development process, get in touch with Magic Media. We’ll take your dream project and put in the magic.