How a PlayStation Game Gets Made

There's an interesting post by Shu Yoshida over at the PlayStation Blog that sketches out the general process of bringing a PlayStation game into being. Shu is the Senior Vice President of Product Development for SCEA, and explains that SCEA doesn't so much have a "green light" process as it does a "red light" one:

So, rather than just "green light" a project and let it run its course, we would rather reserve the right to "red light" a project if it isn't going to live up to our high standards. Many ideas and concepts go this route and end up canceled or put on the back burner until the market has shifted to bring it to light.

I think it's fair to say that Chris would've preferred it if someone had shined that red light on Lair, but I digress. Shu also explained that SCEA "almost never" places an order for a game by saying something like "We need a fantasy game. Go make one.", instead believing that the best ideas come from the imagination and inspiration of the designers.

The Making of a PlayStation Game [PlayStation.Blog]