Friday, January 19, 2007

´Warhawk´ downgraded to download-only midi-game?



Incognito Entertainment´s high profile PS3 title ´Warhawk´ appears to have been downgraded to a downloadable midi-game. There will only be four missions and online gaming may not be implemented, Bruce Kelly from Rumor Reporter claims to have learnt from someone directly involved in the game´s development.

The game was having trouble finding focus. Differences of opinion over its direction ultimately led to a few employees being let go (who, however disgruntled they may be, are not the only source of this story) with a new director being brought in from SCEA’s Santa Monica studio. (Not David Jaffe, who is still hard at work on Calling All Cars.)

Rather than spend even more money trying to make the game into something it was having trouble aspiring to, the decision was made to make the game smaller, more focused, and most controversial, available only on the PlayStation Network online store.

On the NeoGAF forums, SCEA´s David Jaffe failed to disband those rumours:

While I may not be able to give away the details, what I said is accurate. Killing titles is not something any company does lightly. Lightly killing a game from a studio as experienced as Incog? That's even more rare. I think you guys will be happy when you play the game in question tho. Very happy. (...)

Sony Network Store is not a dumping ground for the 'not good enough' titles of the world. That's like saying THE SOPRANO'S wanted to be a movie but had to settle for HBO. Not saying all the games reflect that level yet-and that is OUR job to prove to you that downloadable games are JUST as good as retail games, just different- but I hope when we do start continually putting out games of a high quality that this view will change. And I can tell you, in Santa Monica we approach EVERY downloadable title we make with the same passion, love, and dedication to the craft as we do every full 60 buck retail product.

In December, Sony already downgraded Gran Turismo HD the same way. This game had been as much a showcase title as ´Warhawk´, featuring heavily at last year´s E3.




This is the second highly anticipated first party title that is downgraded in that way. So is the PS3 software line-up dwindling? Among the canned PS3 titles are NBA Live 07, Killing Day, Endless Saga and two Japanese RPGs.

Also, a number of previously thought PS3 exclusives are now multi-platform, most notably GTA4 and ´Assassin´s Creed´ (with the Xbox360 version apparently even boasting superior artificial inteligence). Most importantly, Sony appears to have provoked losing those titles themselves. Unsurprsingly, other developers, like Koei, followed suit. There are also continuing rumours about Metal Gear Solid 4 becoming a cross-platform title.

So, yes, the list of PS3 games has gotten slightly shorter, as has the list of exclusive titles. Let us not forget, though, that there are still a number of great PS3 exclusives to be released this year: Lair, Devil May Cry 4 and Heavenly Sword are sure to become top-sellers on the platform.

Effectively, it is all down to hardware sales and tie-ratios influencing publishers to concentrate their efforts on one platform or another. With the development of a blockbuster title taking at least one and a half years, the changes publishers are implementing now will not show until mid-2008.

As far as hardware sales are concerned, I still believe that we will only start to see a winner emerging by the summer. And we won´t know for sure until after Christmas.

Sources: Rumor Reporter, Joystiq, NeoGAF forums
Thanks to: Joystiq, Joystiq, Simon Phoenix

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry Tactics, but the Wii line up is really laughable.

Sayin this IALS feels strong.

And yes you are right, IALS has not played Wii yet.

But to tell you the truth, he isn't keen on playing it as long as there aren't proper games on it that are worth buying.

He owns Zelda on Cube and is content with it. Yet even Zelda feels kind of played out he is afraid to say(but it is still a great game of course)

IALS doesn't doubt for a second that Wii sports is fun but it's simply not reason enough for IALS to rush out and buy it.

Again, IALS likes tight,well crafted games without compromises. Thus, he simply prefers other systems and games.

The Wii line up is an utter joke for core gamers. That's just the way it is. That's IALS opinion."I am. I am me."

The 3rd party ports are simply better on the other consoles.

The primary colour games like Rayman,Monkey Ball, etc. are more suited for children( which does not mean that they are bad or can not be enjoyed by adults alike ).
IALS is not too cool for those games. He is just not keen on playing them. They don't appeal to him. Is it that hard to understand?

Just like how Pikmin must have been a great game IALS simply didn't like the flower power look and avoided it.There is no accounting for taste.

Stop being drama queens on everything Nintendo. It's funny how obsessed Nintendo fans are with the company. At the end of the day Nintendo is still a business and its' target audience are still kids which is evident if one takes a look at their franchises like Kirby, Pokemon, Mario, Princess Peach, Wario Ware., etc.

Furthermore, it's simply more of a Japanese thing. The company has a japanese state of mind and it reflects on their franchises.

Nintendo will always hold a special place in IALS's heart for games like A Link to the past,Ocarina, Super Mario Bros. and Mario 64 but that's about the size of it.

Times have changed. Online gaming,Playstation and Xbox have prevailed.
There are simply more interesting games on other systems nowadays.
It's getting lame. It's always the same with Nintendo and Mario and Zelda.And Twilight Princess proves this as it's merely an evolution of the franchise and often times feels like a remake of Ocarina with some twists to it.

Where are the new franchises that have the same impact as Mario and Link back then. Where is the freshness for core gamers?

Is Brain Training and Nintendogs the new Nintendo?

Seriously leave IALS alone.

He could vomit for the fact alone that he is sitting here and repeating the same stuff that he has said over and over again.

If you want to stay the Nintendo zealots that you are without admitting it and without being able to critize them where critic is due then it's ok. Good luck.Have fun.

IALS WILL buy Wii soon as he sees games that are of interest. That's a nobrainer.

So who is the real drama queen if IALS may ask anonymous?

Anonymous said...

whats up with all that drama ials?


"So who is the real drama queen if IALS may ask anonymous?"

You just spoke up.

Anonymous said...

What is ials? Who is ials?

Can I be bothered with ials?

Anonymous said...

you're stupid ials.
"don't judge a book by it's cover."
maybe i'm the last one, but i'm ignoring your posts from now on, and i'm stopping visiting your blog. congratulation: the only person here who still liked you doesn't anymore.
"And yes you are right, IALS has not played Wii yet." -IALS.
the end. shut the FUCK UP.

hi falafelkid. hey, so apparently there's a new konami wii exclusive and a new ea wii exclusive in the pipes... any info? :) i've also heard rumors about nintendo soon announcing "a sequel to a popular franchise" or something like that... get the digs, man! also: will you be at GDC this year? some interesting nintendo conferences there...

...and where the hell is the interview with sasha baron cohen? we've all waited so patiently :(

-"superfan" tactics.

Anonymous said...

Hey Superfan! Long time no see... ; )

And IALS please move away... You're a drag. Stop talking about things you haven't played.

Anonymous said...

There's a bit of a problem with IALS' logic, here. He talks about the lineup being laughable, with games targeted at children. However, had he the chance to sit down with Rayman, Wario Ware, and Elebits I am sure that he would find experiences that would frustrate the living crap out of the average kid gamer. Ah, well... As the saying goes: trolls will be trolls.

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