Games development gets training boost in S'pore
update SINGAPORE--Local institute of learning, Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP), and Sony Computer Entertainment Asia have jointly set up a S$4 million (US$2.6 million) games development incubation center.
The NYP Games Resource Centre, opening in June, is expected to train some 450 students over the next two years in games development on Sony's PlayStation3 (PS3) and PlayStation Portable (PSP) platforms, said Sony executives at a media briefing Thursday.
The Japanese electronics giant will donate 50 PS3 and 10 PSP development kits to the facility. It declined to disclose how much it is investing in the setup.
Tetsuhiko Yasuda, president, Sony Computer Entertainment Asia, told ZDNet Asia on the sidelines of the briefing, the future of the games industry in Asia lies in downloads.
Through a translator, Yasuda said eventually, most consumers will acquire games by downloading. This will take several years to happen, but it will then be the dominant distribution method, he said.
On piracy in the region, Yasuda acknowledged that it will not likely completely disappear in future, but is likely to decline in rate.
He noted that Sony's PS3 and PSP3000 platforms have been impenetrable to date, so he is not as concerned about piracy, looking forward.