God of War dev: With PS4 on horizon, ‘I wouldn’t give up my PS3 just yet’

The PlayStation 3 has had an amazing run. Nearly seven years old, this is one of the longest lifecycles we've seen in terms of console development. Now, with the PlayStation 4 presumably on its way — a reveal expected at a February 20th Sony event — all eyes are on the future. But not everybody is ready to give up on the PS3 just yet.

While attending a Sony game showcase last week, I had the opportunity to speak with God of War: Ascension Lead Designer Mark Simon, who opened up about the idea of a new system.

"From a design standpoint new things are always awesome because they always open up new avenues about what you can try out that maybe you didn't try out before," Simon told me.  "You maybe think a little differently, a little bit grander than you thought before. That's the advantage of a new system. You can push the envelope where maybe no one has ever tried to system."

"Then an old system, well, I wouldn't call it an old system — it's 6 or 7 year old system, it's not that old right? This system, in terms of what you can do with it, a lot of it is known. People have done things," explained Simon when asked how the PS3's age helped with development of God of War: Ascension. Judging solely from my brief preview playthrough, the game is shaping up to be a fantastic addition to Sony's lineup.

Pointing out the addition of multiplayer, Simon noted, "So when you want to explore something because it fits your design or game, you're able to go and talk to them, find out things that worked, pick up things and play things that worked or didn't work and learn from that. And you make quicker decisions that those people that came four or five years ahead of you had to go through fresh, nobody else to kind of spearhead the path for them."

"But in terms of a new system, man, it's always exciting just as a fan of games," he said in response to the idea that Sony could be announcing a PlayStation 4, even though he probably is already well-aware of the console. "It's like, 'Oh a new piece of hardware is coming out? That's awesome!'"

"But I think this old beast, I guess, this seven year old, has got some life in her yet," Simon concluded. "I think that the PS3 is an amazing machine, there's a bunch of games that are coming out really, really soon that I wouldn't be giving up my PS3 just yet."

I tend to agree with Simon. Although I'm, too, excited for a new console, I have to admit I'm still impressed with what's being released on the current PlayStation. God of War: Ascension is a tremendous improvement on its predecessor and just when I think we've hit the plateau, a new game is revealed that looks even more impressive. However, as I learned from Naughty Dog, The Last of Us has allegedly squeezed "every last drop of power" from the PlayStation 3.