The Last of Us, the upcoming action/survival game from Uncharted series developer Naughty Dog, takes full advantage of the PlayStation 3's processing power, according to the developer.
"With The Last of Us, we are as efficient as we can possibly be," he revealed. "It's just squeezing every last drop of power out of the system. And it's a system we know really, really well," lead designer Jacob Minkoff told Game Zone.
Minkoff says console cycles present interesting challenges for developers: The early days are tough because no one knows the system, but the later years allow for more efficiency as people become more accustomed to the hardware's offerings.
"Hardware cycles are always really interesting because at the beginning of a hardware cycle, you don't really know how to use the hardware yet," said Minkoff. "I think Uncharted 1 used maybe 30 percent efficiency. Uncharted 2 we were finally using 100 percent, but it wasn't as efficient as it could be. Then, Uncharted 3 we got way more efficient."
While the tease of new hardware is exciting for gamers, it can be tough for developers.
"When you switch to new hardware, again, it's got more power, but you don't know how to use it again. So there's no ideal point," added Minkoff.
While the PlayStation 3 can still look forward to blockbusters like The Last Of Us and God of War: Ascension, Sony is expected to release its successor in the next 12 months.
By Gaetano Prestia
Are you excited for The Last Of Us, or has PS4 hype skewed your excited?