Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has today announced that the PlayStationFirst Academic Development Programme is to make PS4 dev kits available as a follow on licencing programme to University members registered on the current PlayStation Vita dev kit programme.

PlayStationFirst, the press release states, is the Academic Development and Partnership Programme for Sony Computer Entertainment and SCE Worldwide Studios designed to inspire innovation across the suite of PlayStation platforms.

It establishes partnerships with University courses at the cutting edge of videogame technology, game development, computer science and research, and aids SCE’s overall goal of supporting Indie developers and established studios by fostering the next generation of PlayStation savvy developers.

PlayStationFirst is now actively seeking ‘Expression of Interests’ from Universities interested in the Academic Dev Kit Programme and PS Vita game development. PS Vita is the system that is most closely integrated with PS4 and an essential part of the connected experience to create and innovate on PlayStation platforms.

Interested parties are invited to email PlayStationFirst: [email protected]

“The next generation of Indie developers are now in education,” says Dr Maria Stukoff, Head of Academic Development for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, “and PlayStationFirst is at the forefront of enabling students to gain future-fit skills for PlayStation console development by providing access to real professional tools”.

Mick Hocking, Vice President Studio Group at London and Evolution Studios added that “PlayStation 4 is setting the pace for global Indie development” and said that “now is the time for new talent to get skilled up on PS Vita and explore the future of PlayStation game development.”