Volition on why Saints Row 4 isn't next-gen

Saints Row 4 isn't launching on the next-generation consoles as Volition looks to learn from its previous mistakes.

That's according to senior producer Jim Boon, who claimed that the studio made a mistake by releasing Summoner as a launch title for the PlayStation 2.

Development was rushed and corners were cut as Volition attempted to get the game out on time, and it's something that they don't want to experience again.

"We talked earlier on that we didn't want to go on next-gen because of lessons we'd learned previously," Boon told ArabicGamers.

"Summoner, which came out as a launch title for PS2, we were proud of it but we had to compromise a lot to get the game to be done on launch day.

"Then fast forward to Saints Row 1, we had talked very initially about whether we wanted to do it as a launch game and we didn't want to because of lessons learned in Summoner.

"So let's give it time to do the game right and the way we want to, and Saints Row was a big success."

Boon added that by making Saints Row 4 a next-gen game, they'd need a lot more time to "do it right".

"So we wouldn't want to just do it for holiday of this year because we'd have to spend so much time to really get it to compete and really do all the things we wanted to do, that it's going to be that much more of an investment."

Boon also said that by making Saints Row 4 next-gen, Volition wouldn't have "done a game that we'd have been proud of".

"And I hate to say it but I almost feel like we'd have been suddenly mercenary by doing that, like we're trying to just maintain and do the next cool thing.

"Whereas what we wanted to do is just do the game as best as we possibly could."

Having Saints Row 4 on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 also has Volition feeling like it's helping to close out that era of consoles.

"And in a weird, twisted sort of way, I kind of like it that we're on current-gen and almost closing it out. Because I feel like we're a game of all these different kinds of influences and all these different things and it's a really unique sort of game and style and humour.

"So I almost feel like, isn't this kind of an appropriate place to put it as a punctuation mark at the end of current-gen? You know, like, where else would it be?"

Saints Row 4 launches later this month. Click here to check out our hands-on preview.