team-ico
Latest
Shadow of the Colossus' lost ending
Team Ico head Fumito Ueda was looking through his notes, and discovered a tantalizing piece of gaming ephemera: a storyboard of an unused ending from Shadow of the Colossus. We're pretty sure it doesn't constitute a spoiler, because, well, it isn't the ending, and it's a difficult image to parse anyway. Looking at the picture, we think we can just barely make it out ... it looks like ... Wander is waking up to discover that it was all just a dream! And then there's a knock on the door, and it's Argo the horse and all of the Colossi. And they've all brought birthday presents, and a Colossus-sized pizza with all your favorite giant toppings! If you'd like to inspect the image for yourself for evidence of monolithic birthday parties, you can find it in slightly larger form after the break. We're not trying to make it a puzzle or anything -- that's just the size of the image that Ueda tweeted.
ICO and Shadow of the Colossus collection coming this September
We might have guessed this was coming, after final release dates were just announced for Japan, but now it's official. The once-delayed ICO and Shadow of the Colossus Collection for PS3 has now been dated for North America. You'll be able to feel bad about destroying ginormous creatures, and yell at a teenage girl, in glorious HD and 3D in September, the same month it arrives in Japan.
Ico and Shadow of the Colossus arriving separately in Japan on September 22
Following the recent delay of the ICO and Shadow of the Colossus remakes, Sony Computer Entertainment has now provided a new release window for the PS3 games in Japan: September 22. In that region, each game is sold separately for ¥3,980 ($50). Sony is also offering a single box with both games in it for ¥6,980 ($87), which adds a 100-page booklet and dynamic PS3 themes. Along with the announcement, new Japanese sites have opened for both ICO and Shadow of the Colossus And if you listen closely, you can hear Ico calling you past the break of this post, beckoning you toward the new trailer. Can you hear it? Buhhhhhhhhhhh!
The Last Guardian, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection delayed
Perhaps it's best that we don't hasten the inevitable, tragic death of a majestic creature or its adventurous boy companion. Sony has announced a worldwide delay for The Last Guardian, the third of Team ICO's wistful adventures and the first to debut on PlayStation 3. In a statement on the PlayStation Blog, creative director Fumito Ueda says The Last Guardian had to be bumped out of its original holiday 2011 launch window "to provide more challenging and better quality of content to users and to fulfill First Party Studio's obligations." He assures readers that the development team is working at a "fast pace," while ensuring a "First Party Studio" level of quality. "I sincerely apologize to all the customers who have been waiting for "The Last Guardian" for so long, but I beg for your patience," he said. "I will also announce the new release timing at a later time." Please, Mr. Ueda, there's no need to beg. We understand, and appreciate your dedication to -- what's this? The ICO and Shadow of the Colossus Collection has also been pushed out of Spring 2011? So ... whoa. UEEEEEDDDAAAA!!!!!
ICO novel being translated, coming to the US this fall
You might classify our position as "ornery," but we're finding it difficult to get excited about the HD ICO and Shadow of the Colossus Collection that's due out on the PS3 this Spring. Sure, we're excited about reliving the magic of ICO, but we'd actually prefer some lower definition graphics. Like, way, way low. Like, non-existent, so that we have to draw up our own visuals using our mind's eye. In fact, if someone would just adapt Miyuki Miyabe's 2004 novelization of the game for English-speaking audiences, that would probably -- wait, they're actually doing that? How serendipitous! The novel, ICO: Castle in the Mist, appeared on a recently release Simon and Schuster release calendar for the summer and fall of 2011, and is tentatively dated for August 16, 2011 on Amazon. We look forward to getting our hands on it, but we're also willing to bet that a large portion of the text therein is composed of unintelligible beckoning.
Production exec talks Shadow of the Colossus film, future Team Ico projects
Though the game is back in the spotlight thanks to an upcoming HD re-release, things have been quiet on the Shadow of the Colossus film since we first heard about it in April of last year. Play Till Doomsday and GameNorth's interview with production executive Kevin Ping Chang is a bit light on details about the film, but it's nice to know things are still moving forward. In the interview, Chang talks about the narrative difficulties in bringing the episodic (think: one colossus per episode) structure of the game to a two-hour film, and hints that adaptations of other Fumito Ueda games like Ico and The Last Guardian could be in the cards if this one pans out. Listen, Kevin, we're happy to see you're passionate, but let's take this one movie at a time, okay? Don't want to put the cart before the gigantic, furry dragon horse.
Ico and Shadow of the Colossus PS3 updates listed in Famitsu, sold separately in Japan
Famitsu has confirmed remastered PlayStation 3 versions of both Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. The PS2 classics will reportedly be released as two separate games in Japan. This differs from the leaked European retailer listing, which showed a single package featuring the two titles on one disc. Presumably, this will all be confirmed during tomorrow's Sony Japan press conference at the Tokyo Game Show. The magazine doesn't offer any additional details on the remakes, but the God of War Collection should give us a good idea of what to expect. The horrible American box art for Ico (seen above) should also give us an idea of what to expect from the packaging.
ICO / Shadow of the Colossus HD bundle pops up in another retail listing, with box art
Following a recent "ICO / Shadow of the Colossus HD bundle" listing on Walmart's site with an April 2011 release date, the unofficial remake package has popped up on Swedish retail website Webhallen. This new listing also cites an April release and even adds box art (larger version after the break), though it's not been verified as authentic. The listing was spotted by a Twitter account named "PlayStationTEAM," which we've verified is not an official Sony account. In response to the listings, Sony has told us it "doesn't comment on rumor or speculation," but with Tokyo Game Show about to pop off this week, we've got all our fingers and toes crossed for news about this HD remake bundle containing two games that are very near and dear to our hearts.
Walmart lists ICO and Shadow of the Colossus pack for PS3
Once again, Walmart has added a product listing for a heretofore unannounced (but heavily rumored) PS3 title: A bundle including (presumably visually updated versions of) ICO and Shadow of the Colossus. The mega-retailer included an April 1, 2011 release date for the game -- hopefully not an indication of an outrageously early April Fools' Day joke -- and a bargain-level price tag of $39.82. We've contacted representatives at Sony and Walmart (again) to try to get a comment on the listing, and will let you know when we hear more. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Team Ico shows off cleaned-up Ico shots at CEDEC
During a presentation at the CESA Developers Conference on Wednesday about the art of animation, Team Ico head Fumito Ueda brought up some shots from Ico as illustrations. Except the images projected don't look exactly like the PS2 game: the aspect ratio is different, the textures are better, and the character models are sharper -- and that's just what can be picked up from looking at pictures of a projector showing the images. NeoGAF's Gribbix and SolidSnakex posted direct comparisons between the CEDEC presentation and the PS2 Ico. With the persistent rumor of a God of War Collection-style remake of Team Ico's PS2 games, and with TGS around the corner, it's tempting to take these images as evidence. It seems just as likely, however, that Ueda mocked up nice illustrations of iconic scenes for his presentation. In any case, they're lovely and can be seen at GAME Watch.
A look at ICO and Shadow of the Colossus in HD
With rumors suggesting that Team Ico's art house games, ICO and Shadow of the Colossus, will receive the God of War Collection Blu-ray treatment, Digital Foundry decided to have a look at what the results might be. Using PC emulation -- which reportedly got "very, very close" to looking like the final product with God of War -- the group captured video of the SD version and what the games may look like in HD. God of War's PS3-fication allegedly didn't replace any in-game art "aside from the on-screen text and button graphics." If ICO and Colossus are indeed given the same Blu-ray treatment, the latter is sure to benefit from the PS3's hardware. Shadow of the Colossus pushed the PS2's tech to the breaking point, with a frame rate that could turn the Colossi into Harryhausen monsters.
Look! There are new The Last Guardian screens
We're not going to pussy-foot around this (ha, you said -- nevermind): Team Ico's highly-anticipated The Last Guardian finally has an honest-to-goodness website now, chock full of saliva-inducing high-res screens. Aside from that, there isn't really much there at the site now -- apart from the trailers we've all seen way too many times but, hey, you might as well watch them again because it's been [insert any amount of time here] since you last watched them and why not? Anyway, go to the site and look at the new screens. What? No more words! The only thing we want to hear is you going "awwww" at the beautiful relationship between a young boy and his catbird thing. [Via VG247]
Japanese retailers list PS2 reprint of Shadow of the Colossus
It seems Sony is attempting to drum up interest in Team Ico's upcoming, Griffin-infused adventure, The Last Guardian, by showcasing its earlier opus to poor, unenlightened folks who missed it the first time around. The opus in question is Shadow of the Colossus, which, according to a Team ICO fan site, has been listed by a number of Japanese retailers to be reprinted and sold on February 4. Sadly, it didn't get the God of War Collection treatment -- the game's still on its original platform, the PlayStation 2. If you were the speculatin' type, you might think that The Last Guardian would be released not too much later than this reprint, ensuring that the warm, Team ICO-esque feeling would still be fresh in everyone's minds. We're more the wait-and-see types, so we plan on waiting and, shortly after that, seeing. [Via CVG]
Ico developer digs Half-Life 2, interested in making 'first-person games'
Though the Japanese aren't exactly known for their love affair with first-person shooters, Team Ico director Fumito Ueda can name at least one that he digs: Half-Life 2. Speaking to G4TV (through a translator), Ueda named the Valve-developed sequel when asked which games he has had an emotional reaction to."There was variation in terms [of] locations and also [in] the way of storytelling in the game. Usually, you have to incorporate storytelling with constraints, but the way [Valve] implemented constraints was something different that I enjoyed, compared to other games," observed Ueda. He's even considered making his own first-person game at some point, stating, "I have an interest in making first-person games."If Ueda's previous development cycle lengths are any indication, we tentatively expect to see a Ueda-developed first-person game by 2025 or so ... at the earliest. [Image credit: jeriaska]
Call the waah-mbulance: Tretton talks PSP Go leaks
Sony's Jack Tretton is a pretty upset guy. Before last week's E3, two major surprises were spoiled for Sony, in the PSP Go and The Last Guardian leaks. That's made Tretton somewhat bitter -- as one would expect -- and he's told CNBC that the industry needs to do a better job of keeping a lid on it."People don't respect confidentiality in this industry," said Tretton, who is now concerned for the future of his company down the line, where he sees leaks once again beating Sony to its own news. "You have to prepare for people to know things in advance. The frustrating thing is they only know a part of the story and that opens up a lot of conjecture and misinformation that ultimately waters down the reality when you roll it out."Sure, it's tough, but it's all part of the game (sorry!). If Sony is so concerned with the confidentiality of who it trusts with this information, then it needs to do a better job of policing leaks and encouraging silence. To us, it's as simple as that.
Ico costumes for LittleBigPlanet revealed
This week's DLC pack for LittleBigPlanet is, as teased, related to Team Ico's first two games, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. The pack will contain costumes, stickers and sound effects and the Ico costumes have already been revealed, with Shadow of the Colossus costumes being shown off tomorrow. You can see Ico himself in the image above and Yorda after the break. It's slightly disappointing that this pack doesn't include new levels a la the Metal Gear Solid 4 DLC, but we'll still take it. Who knows, maybe one of the stickers will show the Kitty Dragon from the Last Guardian trailer.
Video comparison: 'Trico' leak and 'The Last Guardian' debut
When we first saw the year-old leaked footage for Team ICO's third game – then known only as "Trico" – we had only one thought: we really want a kitty dragon. Okay, fine. We had two thoughts. First: we really want a kitty dragon; and second: we wonder what the game looks like now. Lucky for us, Sony's E3 keynote answered the latter, with a fresh dose of video footage of the game, newly dubbed The Last Guardian. Here's the thing though: the first three and a half minutes of the trailer were shot-for-shot identical to the leak, with obvious visual enhancements and that got us thinking: a video comparison! Our very own Richard Mitchell painstakingly stitched the two videos together above for your enjoyment. On the left: The Last Guardian. On the right: Trico. Bon appétit!
Ico/LittleBigPlanet mash-up teaser spotted
If you've been swooned by both Team Ico's self-titled adventure/puzzler Ico and Media Molecule's DIY platformer LittleBigPlanet -- and seriously, who hasn't -- you should turn your attention to a recently discovered image depicting Sack-ified versions of Ico and Yorda, running away from an illustrated castle. A Media Molecule logo embedded in the image lends some amount of credence to the picture -- as does a recent tweet from Media Molecule which confirms it is responsibility for the art.What's the image mean, though? Is it perhaps just a doodle from one of LBP's artists? Is it a tribute to one of Media Molecule's favorite user-made levels? A hint at an upcoming costume pack? Better still, is it foretelling the coming of an Ico theme pack? We'll do our best to squeeze some answers out of Media Molecule at E3.[Via VG247]
Rumor: Team Ico's third project 'Trico' revealed
A video of what is allegedly 'Project Trico,' the third game from developer Team Ico, has surfaced on rumor-site PlayStation Lifestyle. We've no idea when the video was made, but it shows off almost four minutes of footage from the game. The art style is very similar to Ico and Shadow of the Colossus -- particularly the environment and character design, which lends credence to the idea that this is an official video. (There's also the fact that its opening scene looks exactly like a teaser image released by Team Ico last January.)Hopefully this leak means we'll be hearing more about this game soon. We'd be happy if the entire Sony E3 press conference was a video dedicated to this amazing kitty dragon (LOLCATs go!). That thing is too adorable for words. Check out the video for yourself after the break.[Update] When contacted by Joystiq, SCEE stated it's "not making any comment" regarding the Trico video.[Thanks, Simon!]
Mega64 beats Hollywood to the Shadow of the Colossus movie
We were worried about what kind of horrors Shadow of the Colossus would be subjected to by the movie industry. Luckily, there's basically no need for such a film now (not that there really ever was), because Mega64 just did the live-action Colossus thing! Go home, Justin Marks! Or, if you work on your writing at home, stay home but just stop!The latest Mega64 video, available after the break, is shot in the group's signature style (out in public), but features unusually high production values. The costumes are perfect in every way but scale.[Thanks, Willzay!]
