Our new partnership with PlayStation First and AIE
We’re really excited to officially announce our new partnership with PlayStation First and the Academy of Interactive Entertainment. We’ll be working with talented student teams at AIE’s Sydney Melbourne, Canberra and Adelaide campuses to help them bring their games to PlayStation consoles through the PlayStation First academic programme.
We’re already working with a number of student teams and we’re showcasing some of their games on the PlayStation stand at this weekend’s PAX Australia. If you’re heading to Melbourne for PAX be sure to drop by and check them out.
The full press release is below.
PLAYSTATION®FIRST GAMES TO DEBUT ON PLAYSTATION STAND AT PAX
PlayStation®First, Academy of Interactive Entertainment and game studio Nnooo to train next wave of Indies with new academic development partnership
26 October 2015 – Sydney, Australia: PlayStation®First and the Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE) is set to give a substantial boost to the Australian video game industry through their partnership with Australian game studio Nnooo, which will work to identify and fast track talented student teams for publishing under the PlayStation First programme.
In its first united showcase in Australia, PlayStation First, AIE and Nnooo will be present on the PlayStation stand at the upcoming PAX expo in Melbourne.
The PlayStation First stand at PAX will have eight student creators showcasing and providing demos of the current Australian games currently in development, including:
PlayStation First will also be introducing PIECEFALL to Australian audiences – the first PlayStation®4 (PS4) student game from the PlayStation First program developed by students from Sheffield Hallam University.
The only programme of its kind in Australia, the PlayStation First partnership with AIE and Nnooo provides students with the opportunity to be supported in an entrepreneurial setting while getting access to the required training and tools to begin developing products commercially. Students of the program will gain the skills to create games for the PS4 system with the opportunity to publish their games under Nnooo, on the PlayStation Network.
The support of higher education programs for students interested in creating videogames and digital entertainment licences is expected to positively affect the video games industry in Australia – a crucial step forward for the burgeoning Australian video games industry.
The new arrangement also provides students with access to full PlayStation software (SDK) and the development hardware for teaching purposes in computer programming, software development and game design.
Head of PlayStation First, Dr Maria Stukoff says:
“Today’s students are the next generation of game developers, and partnering them with an established and respected developer and publisher like Nnooo will help drive exciting new titles coming out of Australia. Through sharing knowledge, mentorship, equipment and the best opportunities for exposure, PlayStation First aims to give students the chance to cut their teeth on console game development early in their career.”
Nic Watt, Founder and Creative Director of Nnooo and a driving force behind the partnership in Australia says:
“We’re excited and proud to partner with the PlayStation First programme and AIE. It fits perfectly with our stated goal to foster the growth of console game development in Australia.
“Following the recent senate enquiry into the Australian video game industry, programmes like PlayStation First signals a renewed optimism in gaming. As a studio, we are laser focussed on finding, nurturing and guiding Australian talent to really excel – we want the industry to band together, support each other and help our raw talent become the developers of tomorrow.”
Through the PlayStation First partnership, AIE and Nnooo have acquired PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita developer tools; the same professional hardware used by global AAA studios like Naughty Dog (The Last of Us, Uncharted), and Media Molecule (Little Big Planet, Tearaway Unfolded).
Neil Boyd, Director of Business Development at AIE says: “Working directly with PlayStation First gives AIE students access to equipment and experience you can’t get anywhere else in Australia right now. This give students an advantage to leverage their games across the most popular game platforms whether establishing their own studio or seeking a career in the games industry.”
AIE game development students in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Adelaide have access to PS4 development kits. PlayStation is currently developing plans to roll this out across Australia.
-ENDS-
Tags: Academy of Interactive Entertainment, AIE, Desperate Mile, Maria Stukoff, Necroman, Neil Boyd, Nic Watt, PAX Australia, playstation, PlayStation First, PS First, Retrovision, Rumble Academy