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Splinter Cell Trilogy infiltrates shelves and PSN on Sept. 27
Following several delays and a European release, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Trilogy is finally set to launch in North America this week on Tuesday, September 27. The high-definition espionage saga should be slipping onto shelves in Blu-ray guise, and in a downloadable bundle on the PlayStation Store. There's no fiscal benefit to the digital version, as Ubisoft says they both cost $39.99. All three games in Splinter Cell Trilogy support stereoscopic 3D and improved identification with series protagonist Sam Fisher, who must also wear uncomfortable visual gadgetry on his head. The original game, its sequel, Pandora Tomorrow, and Chaos Theory all support native 1080p rendering (though 720p output must be disabled in the XMB for Chaos Theory). According to the tech-savvy scrutinizers at Digital Foundry, the level of care shown in Splinter Cell's HD update is about on par with the economical work in the Prince of Persia HD trilogy. Its relative condemnation identifies the trio as "very basic conversions" of the PC games with rudimentary interface adjustments. The first two games reportedly perform in "an average manner," multiplayer has been cut, and textures are "disappointing." The standout title, DF concludes, is Chaos Theory, which "manages to acquit itself fairly well six years after its initial release."
Splinter Cell HD Trilogy hits Euro PSN tomorrow [update]
The PS3 Splinter Cell Trilogy release has been, perhaps, too stealthy for its own good, placing decoy release dates and then slipping by them unnoticed. The European PSN may have finally caught Sam Fisher -- the PlayStation Blog announced that the collection (which bundles HD versions of Splinter Cell, Pandora Tomorrow, and Chaos Theory) will be released tomorrow for €29.99/£23.99 with single games for €9.99/£7.99. European PSN releases frequently occur the same week as North American PSN releases, so it's entirely possible the Trilogy will be out today in America on PSN. We're checking with Ubisoft. As for the retail version, the latest we've seen is September in America. The European PS Blog says the Blu-Ray release will happen "at a later date." Update: An Ubisoft rep tells us we won't see Splinter Cell on PSN in the US today.
Splinter Cell HD now listed for September by retailers
The launch date for PS3's Splinter Cell Trilogy appears to have shifted once again, this time to September. Ubisoft told us in May that it didn't have a ship date for the title, but several major retailers listed an August launch at the time. The bundle had previously missed its appointed March and June launch dates. The latest release date of September 27 is now listed by the retail trinity of Amazon, GameStop and GameFly (which conveys only publisher-provided intel). We've contacted Ubisoft for an official sitrep on the Sam Fisher HD bundle. [Thanks, Josh]
Splinter Cell Trilogy HD due 'sometime this summer'
The remastered Splinter Cell Trilogy for PlayStation 3 looks to have been pushed back to August, according to several retailers. Amazon, GameStop and GameFly (which conveys release date information only when received from publishers) each list the title with an August 2 release date. After missing its initial March ship date, Splinter Cell was due to arrive in stores and on PSN in late June. When we asked Ubisoft to confirm a ship date, we were told, "We currently do not have a ship date for it. It will be sometime this summer." [Thanks, Josh]
PS3 Splinter Cell Trilogy based on PC ports
The remastered Splinter Cell Trilogy, in development for PS3, is based on the PC versions of the original games, confirms Ubisoft's Alex Monney. "When we started this project, one of our main goals was to provide the players with the best possible content," he writes in a post on PlayStation Blog. "Hence we decided to port the game from the PC version which had more content and detail compared to the PS2 version." It's not well documented in any one place (come on Wikipedia!), but there are actually a lot of subtle and blatant differences between the various platform releases of the games; most notably in the first Splinter Cell, according to MobyGames, where level design and bonus content differ between versions. While it would have been neat to have been able to toggle between these versions in Splinter Cell Trilogy, the PC ports are probably closer to the original Xbox sources than any other versions, and feature the highest-resolution assets (which are going to be bumped up to full HD in the Trilogy release). Additionally, Monney notes in a response to a comment that "the online part of the original games won't be included" in Splinter Cell Trilogy -- just the single-player campaigns. While part of the post URL suggests that the collection will be "coming-to-ps3-in-june" (confirming an earlier report), Monney's officially sticking with, "No firm release date yet, but we'll update you guys once we know!" [Thanks, Merrick]
Splinter Cell Classic Trilogy sneaks to June 21, Prince of Persia HD on Blu-ray also delayed
Originally due to be released today on both Blu-ray disc and PSN, the HD-ified Splinter Cell Classic Trilogy has slipped off the radar and into the shadows. IGN reports that it'll wait there, for undisclosed reasons, until resurfacing on June 21. It's not alone -- the retail release of the Prince of Persia HD trilogy, also expected today, has been pushed to April 19. Both trilogies will retail for $40 when they finally arrive on Blu-ray. The three high-res Prince of Persia games are already available via PSN at $15 a pop.
Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia HD trilogies coming March 22 on PS3 Blu-ray disc
Despite being a franchise that's all about sneaking, it comes as no surprise that the first three Splinter Cell games are getting HD facelifts for PS3 -- after all, the Prince of Persia trilogy already has (on PSN, at least). Ubisoft has announced today that both "remastered" series will hit retail on Blu-ray disc March 22 for $40 apiece. Splinter Cell Classic Trilogy HD will include the original Splinter Cell, Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, all three offering 3D modes for compatible televisions. The Prince of Persia Classic Trilogy HD disc contains Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within and Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones. While the games run at a higher resolution, they're identical to their original releases underneath the HD sheen, meaning any bugs that plagued them are present, too. The Splinter Cell collection will also be released on March 22 on PSN for the same $40 price tag, along with a digital Prince of Persia trilogy "bundle" for the same price. Currently, the three PoP classics are going for $15 a pop as separate downloads on the PlayStation Store.
Splinter Cell Trilogy sneaking onto PS3, in HD (of course)
PS3 owners may not have had a chance to play Splinter Cell Conviction, but in 2011, they'll have too much Sam Fisher to deal with. Ubisoft has confirmed the Splinter Cell Trilogy to IGN and, as previously rumored, it will include HD updates of the original Splinter Cell, Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. Although additional details weren't offered, it's likely the Splinter Cell Trilogy will be very similar to Ubisoft's other HD compilation: the Prince of Persia Trilogy. But we wonder, will it have 3D support? Will it be released on Blu-ray or a la carte via the PlayStation Network like PoP HD? We'll let you know if can pry anything else out of Ubisoft.
Digital Prince of Persia trilogy, Splinter Cell listed in Ubisoft financial report [update]
Ubisoft had a pretty remarkable first half as far as its intangible offerings are concerned. In its recently published financial report, the company shows sales of DLC and downloadable games increased 100 percent year-over-year in the first half of fiscal 2011. The report chalks this success up to well-received blockbusters like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, which Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot claims was the best-selling PSN title of the quarter. Ubisoft will apparently set more of its sights on the virtual market in the future, as a slide on the financial report (PDF) lists the company's downloadable titles; the list includes digital versions of the Prince of Persia trilogy and an unidentified Splinter Cell title (or, perhaps, titles). These mentions line up pretty well with a series of reports claiming that the two series' are receiving HD remakes on the PS3. Ubisoft has already confirmed that the Prince of Persia trilogy is real, but will only be released in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Australia) territories, later this week. Perhaps the company has changed its strategy (or has a different strategy for other regions), and is planning on a more widespread release over digital channels -- this would also explain why we haven't heard any hubbub about 360 versions of the two trilogies, as their respective download sizes would likely prevent them from slipping under the 2GB limit set for XBLA. We've contacted Ubisoft for a comment on the references to the two releases. Update: During the Ubisoft investor's conference call, CEO Yves Guillemot explained "We plan to come with more games for full digital distribution, on XBLA/PSN. Either with current games like Beyond Good & Evil, the first three Splinter Cells, and the Prince of Persia trilogy." Sure enough, an email accompanying the call lists The Sands of Time, Warrior Within and The Two Thrones as separate PSN releases coming sometime this quarter. No pricing, release date information, or any info about Splinter Cell was mentioned by Guillemot, nor included in said email.
Report: Prince of Persia, Mortal Kombat HD box art revealed; several HD collections incoming
French site Jeux Video has obtained what is believed to be box art of the unannounced Prince of Persia Trilogy and Mortal Kombat Kollection. Furthermore, it also reportedly has release date information for Splinter Cell Trilogy, Rayman Trilogy and Tom Clancy's Trilogy (Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell and Rainbow Six); all for PS3. According to the site's retail source, Mortal Kombat has an alleged launch date of November 18, while the rest are dated November 4. Previously, the Prince of Persia and Splinter Cell trilogy packs popped up on Amazon France and a British retail site with different release dates. If this keeps up, can we just spare the publishers the effort of not announcing these bundles by supposing every major series will be HD-ified?
Prince of Persia, Splinter Cell HD collections listed by UK retail site
High-definition updates of last generation's Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia games have popped up again, this time on a UK retail site. Eurogamer points to listings on Zavvi.com of the two Ubisoft trilogies, bundled on PlayStation 3 for £30 MSRP. Splinter Cell has a late November date attached, while PoP is listed for March 2011. Last month, the two HD collections emerged on Amazon France, both with an early November release date. The PS3 already has the God of War Collection out there, with Sly Cooper and ICO / Shadow of the Colossus bundles on the way. We've contacted Ubisoft for official word on the Splinter Cell and PoP bundle matter, but should that fail we have an asset on standby to extract the information ... through any means necessary.
