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Sony is working on changing its PS3 online approval policies as it looks to create a more open platform, SCEA exec Adam Boyes has claimed.
Speaking to Venturebeat, the VP of public relations said the console giant had already taken lengths to improve the direct connection between developer and consumer.
Whilst the PSN still charges developers fees for game updates and patches, Boyes felt Sony had become more lenient in recent years, such as opening itself up to the freemium model.
“Originally, we had a different policy on free-to-play. Now we have free-to-play content and microtransactions,” said Boyes.
“We used to have certain requirements for publishing. Now we have none for developers to publish other content.
"You have to go through the process of submitting for concept approval, but all of these things are things that have naturally evolved over the console life-cycle. We’re evolving more than ever now because the industry is evolving."
He added: “We’re continuing to evolve our policies and improve the openness of the platform. I think we’ve done a great job of evolving policies and the platform and allowing these guys to have a direct path to the consumer.”
Console manufacturers have come under fire in the past for excessive update fees and stringent approval processes, with Microsoft recently being accused by developer Polytron of blocking its Fez patch, which the indie studio claimed it couldn’t afford.
One of the biggest examples however of Sony’s potential willingness to open up its platform and relent on many of its online policies is the upcoming release of CCP’s Dust 514.
The studio’s executive producer Brand Laurino previously said that many of the barriers that could have prevented it from easily updating the free-to-play MMO had been completely removed.
"Relaxed is not even the word – they have ‘removed’," said Laurino.
"Together we’ve worked to identify all the barriers that need to be removed to properly operate a service such as this on a console. We have complete ability to service and update the game as much as needed.”
