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EyePet benefited from Eight Days and Getaway cancellations
The adorable debut of EyePet at Leipzig Games Convention was quite possibly the biggest surprise of the show. The innovative use of the PlayStation Eye, coupled with one of fthe most adorable creature designs in recent memory, made it one of the most high-profile titles we showcased on our site during the Convention. Although it's still not planned for a release late next year, it benefited from the controversial cancellations of other SCEE games, such as Eight Days and The Getaway."Yes, there are so many things that we want to do, more than we can do with the resources. So when London Studio was looking at the early work on EyePet and the prototype of Eight Days, they knew they couldn't do all of them - and there are even more things they're working on at early concept stage," Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida told GI.biz. "So your expertise and ideas are best spent on some titles rather than others."London Studios is arguably best known for their work on SingStar and other PS2/PS3 Eye games. Their experience in casual games developent will undoubtedly help EyePet. "London Studio is really best-placed for showing how these things can be done, because they've worked on games in that space for many years - they know how consumers are going to react, how to make it accessible and fun."%Gallery-30069%
Shuhei Yoshida explains Eight Days, Getaway cancellations
Remember when Phil Harrison left Sony Worldwide Studios to join Atari? He was replaced by Shuhei Yoshida, a man who finally steps forth for an interview and, among other things, tells us why games like Eight Days and The Getaway got the axe. He first describes the state of the consoles pretty well: each console is going for a different target market and are actually working together to expand the gaming market as a whole.Online technology and the PlayStation Network are the big pushes, Yoshida says. LittleBigPlanet, SingStar, and Buzz! are all going to push online tech with the PS3 in new ways. This was partly why Eight Days and The Getaway were canceled -- no real online components. There's a shift away from big-budget single-player experiences and more towards online functionality. Not that you can't have both; but only single-player? Unless it's a huge name, it probably won't fly. Yoshida seems to have his head on straight. Let's hope he can help forge a bright future for Sony!
Sony stops production on Eight Days and The Getaway
Sony Europe announced today that production at the Sony London Studios for PS3 titles Eight Days and The Getaway has ceased. The company says the decision was made after an internal review found that resources would be better allocated to enhance the "incredibly strong list of exclusive first party titles" coming in the near future.GI.biz reports that The Guardian recently ran a piece that Eight Days was going into full production. The game had not been seen -- or really heard of -- since a debut trailer back at E3 2006. The Getaway was apparently going to be the studio's next project after Eight Days. No word yet what'll happen to those who were working on the title.
The Getaway and Eight Days have been cancelled
In another Sony announcement made today, it appears that two games being developed by the internal London studios have now been potentially canned. The Getaway and Eight Days are now out of production, thanks to budgetary redistribution. Gamesindustry.biz have the full statement from Sony, in which they state that "this decision was made following an internal review of all games and it was deemed that with the incredibly strong list of exclusive first party titles coming up both this year and in the near future, resource should be reallocated to enhance those projects closer to completion."It's thought that this is a direct result of Phil Harrison's successor, Shuhei Yoshida, becoming President of Sony's Worldwide Studios. We heard relatively recently from The Getaway's lead writer that the game was still in production and UK newspaper The Guardian had a recent article claiming Eight Days was ramping up to full production, so it's disheartening to hear that the projects have been canned.[UPDATE] CVG states that "A Sony UK representative assured CVG that both titles had been "completely cancelled", and so will not be rescued from the bin at a later date."
PS3 games to look for in 2008: part 5
Also in 2008 %Gallery-3823% First revealed a while back, Sony's The Agency is touted to be the first major MMO title to get released exclusively on a console. It takes some stealth, some action, some FPS, and some RPG elements to make a pretty decent looking title that could swerve either into the "overhyped junk" pile or the "hidden gem of the PS3 universe" pile. We won't know until it gets a release date. Read More PS3 Exclusive %Gallery-12752% Saying that Final Fantasy XIII is a major PS3 exclusive is an understatement. Even if you don't like RPGs, it's ignorant to believe these games haven't shaped the console world as we know it -- the titles on the SNES rocketed the success of that console, the release of FFVII cemented the original PlayStation as the best console released and FFX greatly assisted in the adoption of the PS2. This latest installment looks drastically different from the others, but we're hoping it turns out as stellar as the other titles have been. Read More PS3 Exclusive %Gallery-12750% That Game Company made a weird title with flOw. They weren't scared to try new things and they're not scared to do it again with the spiritual successor, flOwer. We still don't know what you're supposed to be doing -- guiding a flower in a field? Guiding pollen from a flower in a field? Guiding the sunlight to vitalize flowers spouting pollen in a field? Who knows. Until it gets a release date, the mystery continues. Read More PS3 Exclusive %Gallery-12670% It's been a while since we've seen anything on The Getaway -- one of those PS3 titles announced long ago and subsequently swallowed up in the black hole of vaporware. We aren't giving up, though -- little drips of information appear every now and then and until we know when the game's coming out, we can only imagine what's in store. Read More PS3 Exclusive %Gallery-12672% Shown off at E3 as a secret surprise title, we don't know what to make of Infamous other than a sandbox hero/villain creation story where you can protect or destroy a city. We're making assumptions, but it's probably not too far off the mark. We've seen and heard nothing since the original trailer, so a release date is anyone's guess. Fall would be our assumption. Since we've made enough of those so far. Read More Some of our favorite games are on the next page! >
Writer drops details about Gears of War movie
GamePro has an exclusive interview up with Stuart Beattie, writer of the forthcoming Gears of War movie. He's been tapped for the job since he did a bang-up job writing the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie. It's too bad they didn't use him for the sequels, because they were ... craptastic.He drops some interesting details about the upcoming film, including the fact that 300 ain't too bad of a reference movie, "That film was shot completely on green screen, which is amazing when you actually see the film. It's probably how we're going to do Gears of War."Beattie will be pouring himself into the job apparently, "I hope it's extremely collaborative. From my point of view it's definitely going to be, because I'm going to be riding their asses about it." Personally we don't care whose ass he rides, as long as a good movie comes out of it.
L.A. Noire: Rockstar's latest is a black & white mystery
Rockstar has unveiled L.A. Noire, a period piece developed by Team Bondi, a new Australian studio founded by Brendan McNamara (The Getaway). Set in 1940's L.A. (before the freeways), L.A. Noire explores a series of gruesome murders through the eyes of, we assume, a detective.We've eyed a 37-second teaser, which sweeps through an eventless urban street scene, while a horn whines a sleepy jazz tune. We suspect, like The Getaway, Noire will be less open-ended than GTA and will rely on cinematic elements to keep gamers interested. While billed as a "next-generation" title, Rockstar has not specified platforms.
