PS Vita dev kits given for free

Sony has handed over several PS Vita development kits to indie studio Rubicon for free, the studio has confirmed to Develop.

The Isle of Wight outfit has been loaned four early kits to build an “upgraded” version of its iOS title Great Little War Game.

Develop has contacted Sony to explain its dev kit licensing policy.

Steven Haggerty, the group’s technical director, was unremitting in his praise for Sony – telling Develop the PlayStation group is “the best of all” when engaging with independent developers.

“They’ve just always been so useful in dealing with us,” Haggerty said.

Rubicon has built downloadable games across a wide range of platforms.

“We’ve worked with Apple, and you can’t get anything out of them. Microsoft rarely responds and I suppose Nintendo are okay, but Sony are always there to help. They always get back to you.”

Rumours regarding PS Vita’s free development kits kicked off from a NeoGaf forum post from a person claiming to be at Rubicon. Haggerty has confirmed the forum post was from one of his colleagues.

The news has led some developers to hope the PS Vita dev kits could be entirely free for all micro studios. Sony has yet to outline its licensing policy, but has taken questions from Develop on the matter.