BRISBANE, Australia--Sony Computer Entertainment has launched a new PSP dev-kit program for budding Aussie developers, with one Sony exec urging game creators to continue to innovate with new consoles to appeal to more mass-market consumers.

　　Zeno Colaco, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's vice president of publisher and developer relations, speaking at the recent Game Connect: Asia Pacific developer conference, told GameSpot AU that while next-gen games may be generally more expensive to create, this won't result in less creativity or fewer original properties for the game industry in general. He said that while developers who want to push the limits of next-gen consoles will inevitably have to shoulder increased costs, the power of the new consoles also lets developers become more creative.

　　"If you're making bigger games with more intensity then clearly you're going to need greater resources and possibly bigger teams," Colaco said. "But in terms of delivering different experiences, not everyone is going to be making massive games, so it doesn't necessarily have to be a high cost. The important thing is variety of product. But obviously to push the new technology and the platform to new limits it will be more expensive. It's the natural course of evolution in technology."

　　Colaco rejects the idea that higher development costs will result in an overreliance on tried-and-true properties and genres for next-gen games. "I see exactly the opposite. I think people will look to bring more new intellectual property to the market. The fact is the industry is growing all the time, and [the introduction of next-generation consoles] is an opportunity for game creators to innovate," he said.

　　"Apart from the perceptions and expectations of next-gen gaming through the eyes of a hardcore gamer, the key for the industry is to feed the expectations of the wider consumer base, who may not be so turned on by the technological specifications of next-gen hardware alone. And these consumers will demand entertainment and services that will fill their growing expectations, but most of all they will look for it to be exciting and fun."

　　Colaco used the GCAP conference to launch a new PSP development-kit program for emerging Australian developers. SCEE, in conjunction with the Game Developers' Association of Australia, will offer free kits and tech support for approved developers under a new Kit-Start program.

　　Kit-Start is the first PSP dev-kit program of its type in the world. Interested developers will need to submit their concepts to the GDAA, which will assess each and submit final applicants to SCEE. The successful applicants will then receive access to a PSP dev kit, as well as specialised design consultancy and technical support from Sony.

　　Colaco said a "significant" number of kits would be given but declined to disclose a specific number. He said the program was open to not only game developers, but also content providers looking at using the PSP as a distribution medium. "This is not just limited to what we call traditional game developers, because the multifunction abilities of the PSP allow for much greater scope," Colaco said.

　　Kit-Start follows on from a similar PlayStation 2 dev-kit program launched by Sony and the GDAA in Australia in 2001. The PS2 program resulted in 15 PS2 kits being given to developers, with the most notable success story to emerge from the program being World War II aerial combat game Heroes of the Pacific.