Like it or not, money guides the hand of everything that goes on not just in gaming, but in every facet of life. While it is a trendy thing to put down big companies that make millions of dollars, very little, if anything is ever said about the positive effect big money can have on video games. One such example is The Last of Us and Uncharted developer Naughty Dog, who you probably know develop games exclusively for the PlayStation platform.
Naughty Dog has a very long and storied relationship with the PlayStation brand, dating all the way back to 1996 with the original Crash Bandicoot. The company was an independent studio from the moment it opened in 1984 when it was known as Jam Software until 2001 when co-founders Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin sold the company to Sony after they were told to "think about safe harbor."
Being an independent company certainly has its perks, but it is also a great deal riskier, and often time you don't have access to the kind of funding you need to make games like say Uncharted or The Last of Us.
Said Rubin:
"Our relationship with Sony was already so intertwined and magical and amazing that certainty for both parties made a lot of sense. I think—my personal life decision aside—it was the right decision for Naughty Dog. Look where Naughty Dog is today. As an independent, I don't think Naughty Dog could have done that. I don't think you'd have these games."
So basically, without the big company taking over, we wouldn't be looking forward to Uncharted: The Lost Legacy or The Last of Us: Part II today.
Source: [IGN]
