Rumor: Heavenly Sword 2 Axed, Ninja Theory Moving

Chalk this up as pure rumor for now.
An inside UK source tells Kotaku that Heavenly Sword 2 has been canned by Sony Computer Entertainment of Europe. The game was axed after months in development because it is no longer seen as commercially viable, Kotaku source tells them.

[Bladestar]

mmm... this would break lots of loyal fans hearts...

"I'm told that the development studio, which once had offices in the same building as Sony Cambridge, have started packing up to move to a new location.

I guess when they said they wanted to move away from Sony and get into multi-platform development they weren't kidding."

it must feel bad putting all your eggs into one basket when you can go multiplatform or better yet develop for the console where you are guaranteed to make profits and stand on your own feet.

[Isaac]

"or better yet develop for the console where you are guaranteed to make profits and stand on your own feet. "

If you mean 360, then nice trolling, fanboy. Nintendo Wii is the one with most install base and yet it is not the one that makes you profit the most. Exclusives on PS3 have been proven to sell better than exclusives on other systems. And if you are talking about 360 having a high attach rate, then you fail.

Attach rates are poor predictors of game sales, as evidenced by GTA4 (which, by your logic, should have outsold the PS3 version 4 to 1 if not more), DMC4 (nearly equal sales), Virtua Fighter 5 (selling 4:1 in favor of PS3), Assassins Creed and Call of Duty 4 (both of which sold on similar ratios to the ratio of console solds).

The reason 360 has such a high attach rate can be attributed to it coming out early in the "next-gen" console cycle, to it launching most of its killer games early, to it having so many games that appeal to the same demographic (lost planet, gears of war, Halo 3, Ghost Recon 1 and 2, Rainbow Six Vegas 1 and 2, Prey, Darkness, Perfect Dark Zero, Jericho, Timeshift... see a pattern? even Oblivion plays and feels like an FPS, but with Magic and no guns; which is why Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon and many other japanese games like Ace Combat 6, Eternal Sonata, failed on it; does anyone have high hopes for Infinite Undiscovery, Tales of Vesperia and Star Ocean 4? I do not. How did Culdcept Saga do? Is it even out yet?)

Of course, it also has a high attach rates due to achievements, leading piss poor games like Open Season and Ratatouille to sell beyond what they deserve to because of easy achievements. And also, for those hardcore gamers that own a PS3 and a 360, they have bought many 360 multiplatform games (especially the ones that are not AAA), since developers did such a fine job with such sh1tty ports.

Anyway, as evidenced by Electronic Arts, Sony is the way to go, not Microsoft, since PS3, despite having a comparatively lower install base than 360 in the west, made them in revenue way more, in spite of the sh1tty madden ports. Considering how PS3 is outselling 360 in nearly every country where they are available now, it is a safe bet, at least for the biggest publisher in the world, to support PS3 over 360. Others will probably follow suit, because in the end, the PS3 is a wild beast that needs to be tamed, and programming for its hardware architecture yields better results (and therefore, sales, see COD4) on both platforms.

Anyway, Ninja Theorys Heavenly Sword failed because they focused on making it more a 6 hour movie than a 20 hour game, and of course, it came early into PS3s life, not because it was on the wrong platform (remember how PS3 exclusives sell better comparatively as exclusives on other platforms?).

Most people rented HS because they knew it could be finished in a day. Anyhow, I wonder how Ninja Theory would have developed a 25GB game like Heavenly Sword on 360s DVD9? Only in your delusional fanboy mind it could have been possible. My bet is that my words are falling on deaf ears, so maybe I should just put you on ignore.

Edit:

Why did I lose a bubble? I am not lying or trolling like the guy above me which happens to have 6 bubbles. I bet he has tons of accounts that give him bubbles and give others less bubbles. Nice, I have tons of agrees and yet somehow the mods chose to listen to those that gave me minus bubbles instead of the FANBOY above me.

[LJWooly]

Oh dear, first comment, and we've already got an overwhelming degree of douchebaggery going. Shame.

[CrazzyMan]

They are doing new IP.
http://www.ninjatheory.com/...

[WIIIS1]

Douchebaggery? As in the use of your kind abusive vocabulary from a very limited repertoire? Explain why else HS did not sell well and HS2 has been axed.

[Drekken]

Isaac, you lost a bubble because you spoke in favor of the PS3. The community can scream all they want about PS3 fans being a majority of this site (WHICH might be true) but there are certain people who troll this site deducting bubbles on multiple accounts. This site cant be taken seriously as far as comments and bubbles until there is a limit on accounts. What is the point of bubbles if you get an idiot to 1 bubble and he can just create a new account???

Anyways... too bad about HS2, I enjoyed the first one and this the 2nd would of sold well if they didnt make the first 6hrs. A 6hr single player game is a rental anyway you look at it.

It is hard enough to sell a game without single player now-a-days... but to make it less then 10 hrs, noone in their right mind will buy it!

[segasage]

"as evidenced by Electronic Arts, Sony is the way to go, not Microsoft,"

as evidence your a fanboy..looser and delusional again

i'm so glad fanboys are not the ones that make business decisions for developers.

all evidence points to the console with the biggest share has a better potential to sell your product.

[Bladestar]

"Exclusives on PS3 have been proven to sell better than exclusives on other systems. " with comments like that you don't expect to lose bubbles or expect people to take you seriously? Can you give me an example of PS3 exclusives that sell better than exclusive on the xbox 360? The best selling PS3 game is multiplatform GTA4 and is sold more on the xbox 360... did you know that? Name a PS3 game that sold more than Gears of war, Halo 3, Forza 2 just to name a few?

That's the problem with some of you leg humpers... you don't collect your facts before saying stuff that aren't true... and even worst you believe it...

I can name a bunch of PS3 exclusives that flopped in terms of sells... Haze, Lair.. even heavenly sword sold only a little over 1 million.

forget giving you more example.. here is a list of the best selling games... http://vgchartz.com/worldto...

I know is vgchartz but is the best we got in terms of total numbers... can you find the first PS3 exclusive game in that list?

Try not to miss Halo 3 and Gears which are miles on top of any PS3 exclusive games...

Get your facts straight kid.. otherwise you are trolling.

[LJWooly]

Halo 3 was on TV every hour, on bottles of bloody Mountain Dew, billboards, etc. and I think we can all stop fooling ourselves in regards to the fact it is vastly overhyped and overrated.

Metal Gear Solid reached the top of Amazon pre-orders, even taking Wii Fit over, and allegedly crashed the site, without so much as a few TV adverts. I believe they started showing ads in the UK after the game came out, and how on earth could you expect to see a substantial difference one week in anyway, ad campaign or not?

Also, as some have already reasoned, the title is misleading, you can see MGS4 sales spike up somewhere during GT5 Prologue's release, with GTA4 and MGS4 keeping up that trend.

I honestly think that you've allowed your fanboyism to skewer your perception, Bladestar.

[Mu5afir]

http://www.n4g.com/industry...
Exclusives on the PS3 sell 45% better then on other platforms.

As for GTA4, the Ps3 has a better attach rate to the game. Keep in mind, both systems don't have the same install base.. so it would be "IDIOTIC" to assume that they should both be selling the same amount of copies.

Look at the install base, of the Ps3 / X360 before looking at copies sold. Anyways.. the first link is proof enough that the PS3 has a better attach rate to exclusives then other systems.

[NightVyper]

I own the game and got tired of just mashing buttons, this game was a craptastic version of god of war and I am glad it is gone.

[Isaac]

Bladestar, you just got owned, PS3 exclusives sell "45% better". Sorry for your disappointment, son.

And Segasage, why am I the fanboy? Did you see the break up of EAs revenue? PS3 sold more software for them. By saying "Sony is the way to go", I am saying PS3 should be the lead platform, since it makes more money for them, especially when games are not ports. Sorry to hurt your feelings, but that is the truth, fanboy. That is why the Madden conference is gonna be exclusive for PS3, since it is their best bet now, especially since they will now bother making a better game than last year. But of course, as the true Sega fanboy "segasage" must be, it is better to call someone a "looser" than to come up with something intelligent to say. Props to you, boy.

And Drekken, I did not speak in favor of PS3, I only spoke the truth in that EA made sh1t ports, that PS3 sells more software for them, and that not all multiplatform titles sell better on 360, but fanboys like Segasage and Bladestar can not take it.

"all evidence points to the console with the biggest share has a better potential to sell your product"

Wrong, fanboy. Wii has the biggest share, and yet, on its top 50, close to half of the games are Nintendos, which means 3rd party developers do poorly on it. On its top 8, all are Nintendo titles, i.e. the top 10 has only the bottom two as third parties, one of them has mario on it (Mario and Sonic), and the other is multiplatform and casual (guitar hero).

Most of the third party games that sell on Wii are casual titles, so if EA or any other third party wants to make a game for the core gamer, Wii is not the first choice, so it is either PS3 or 360. As evidenced by Mu5afir, exclusives do better on PS3. Furthermore, high attach rates, contrary to Bladestar and Segasages belief, are a terrible predictor for sales, as evidenced by the sales of AAA 3rd party titles (as I said above). And since terrible ports sell like crap on PS3, and 3rd parties look for the most profit, it only makes sense to make both versions right and developing with the PS3 architecture in mind (since it has split, not unified memory). That will improve both versions, and it is a win win for everyone.

As usual, fanboys like Segasage and Bladestar get owned because they do not do their proper research, lack reading coprehension skills, or can not even bother to reply to valid arguments, instead grasping for straw man arguments while not even getting the point.

Edit:

Superfragilistic:

"But he has just made a simple interpretive error."

No I did not. It has been better to go exclusive if you wanna sell on PS3 than multiplatform. And as I said, that is probably because of the sh1tty ports PS3 has been getting, not because PS3 owners want more the exclusives than the multiplatforms. Which is why it is better for EA to start development on PS3, especially since it is their biggest source of revenue among next-gen consoles in spite of the smaller (yet growing) install base.

It seems that whoever misinterpreted my argument where others, not me misinterpreting the numbers. Perhaps I didnt explicate myself correctly.

"As you rightly point out the software sales for the 360 far outstrip the PS3 and in the most recent pre MGS4 sales data this is confirmed."

Uh, no. He mentioned Gears and Halo. 360 seems to have a very high attach rate, but as I pointed out, it fails as an accurate predictor of sales. The reason 360 has a high install base is the amount of games made for the same demographic, of the same genre, and of course, because the audience is hardcore. However, when you compare AAA multiplatform titles, they usually have similar attach rates. GTA4 360 is outselling 2:1 GTA4 PS3 in America, duh, but that is because of install base. Bladestar usually mentions the "attach rate argumetn", but if it was true, then the results should be 4:1, not 2:1. As you pointed out, in Europe the results are different.

So yeah, when bladestar trolls saying: "better yet develop for the console where you are guaranteed to make profits and stand on your own feet.", he is wrong in many levels, as I just pointed out and proved.

[Superfragilistic]

Bladestar there's no need to be condescending in your arguments, it only makes you look like the kids in the open zone. :)

Having said that your point directly above is correct. The claim that Isacc refers to can be found here:
http://www.n4g.com/industry...

But he has just made a simple interpretive error. The quoted analyst states

"A title that is exclusive to PS3 will sell 45% better on the system than a multiplatform title. Exclusives on both the Wii and Xbox 360, according to the analyst, only have a "small increase" over multiplatform titles."

The analyst is talking about the sales of exclusives compared to multiplatform titles on the PS3, and not compared to other consoles. The second sentence makes perfect sense given that multis sell much higher volumes on the 360 (eg 2:1 for GTAIV) and thus the percentage increase on exclusives compared to multis is logically less. For example if a multi sells 10 copies on PS3 but 20 copies on 360, and then an exclusive sells 15 copies on PS3 (50% extra), the 360 would have to sell 30 copies of an exclusive to obtain a similar increase of 50% that the analyst refers to, and yet it would sell 100% more than a PS3 exclusive.

As you rightly point out the software sales for the 360 far outstrip the PS3 and in the most recent pre MGS4 sales data this is confirmed.

America: http://www.n4g.com/NewsCom-...
You'll notice that software sales are on a 2:1 ratio in favour of the 360, or almost 600K in raw numbers, and even outstrip the larger install base of the Wii by almost 120K.

Europe & others: http://www.n4g.com/News-155...
There is a 50K advantage to the PS3 which is marginal at best when you consider the other markets.

IN CONCLUSION:

Bladestar whilst your argument about software sales is correct and backed by significant empirical data, your manner is that of an absolute condescending and arrogant twat much like those leg humpers you're always pointing at. Tone it down a bit and people might take you a lot more seriously and look at the content of your arguments rather than their tone.

Peace. :)

EDIT @Isacc

I'm certainly not disagreeing with your entire argument and I agree wholeheartedly on your attach rate arguments and the reasons that exclusives sell better than multis in regards to the PS3 on its own.

But you stated in 1.1

"Exclusives on PS3 have been proven to sell better than exclusives on other systems."

This is not correct. I was merely pointing out that that was not the case and was a misinterpretation of the aforementioned analysts remarks which were:

"A title that is exclusive to PS3 will sell 45% better ON THE SYSTEM than a multiplatform title"

That was all. :)

[CrazedFiend]

Let's see...

No Afrika...check.
No Getaway...check.
No Eight Days...check.
No Heavenly Sword 2...check.

Um...Is Sony Europe even releasing games anymore?

Better question: Is Sony Europe actually being paid by Microsoft???

Whether they were needed or not, these were 4 HIGHLY anticipated games cancelled in about a week! All for their "new direction". I think those Europe guys are making some BAD decisions.

What else are they thinking about cancelling? (Metal Gear DID get released in Europe...right?)

[juuken]

...And that comment made no sense whatsoever.
Wow, count on ONE person to start bashing the PS3 already the minute they stumbled across this article.

No need for me to comment any further because you were owned pretty badly.

edit: Isaac, I gave you a bubble.

[tordavis]

"Anyway, as evidenced by Electronic Arts, Sony is the way to go, not Microsoft, since PS3, despite having a comparatively lower install base than 360 in the west, made them in revenue way more, in spite of the sh1tty madden ports. Considering how PS3 is outselling 360 in nearly every country where they are available now, it is a safe bet, at least for the biggest publisher in the world, to support PS3 over 360. Others will probably follow suit, because in the end, the PS3 is a wild beast that needs to be tamed, and programming for its hardware architecture yields better results (and therefore, sales, see COD4) on both platforms."

You lost a bubble because you are a tool. I almost thought you were making some good points until I read the rest of what you typed.

Just because EA made more money from the PS3, doesn't mean they are going to give up on 360 development.

EA is not a major part of the whole equation. They are but a small part. They don't control the industry.

No matter how you look at it, PS3 is still in third. Even when they pass the 360 and become second, what does that really mean? It's a 3 console race. There's a boatload of money to be made on both the 360 and PS3 and EA isn't going to just drop them.

Your ideology is skewed my friend. If I was a 3rd party developer I would make sure that my games were released on both the 360 and the PS3, day and date and both games developed to use the full potential of each system.

On Heavenly Sword...

Please stop saying Heavenly Sword was bad because it was short. It is the most beautiful game I have played in years and still one of the best 3D action games available for the PS3. Every time I play it through it's like watching a major motion picture. This was done BEFORE MGS4.

[Isaac]

I never said EA will give up 360, I said PS3 should be the lead platform since it makes more money for EA, and also since it would not hurt 360, because 360 is a lot easier to program ports for, so I support exactly what you said: Multiplatform, but starting on PS3. Is that an ideology? No, that only makes sense as it benefits everyone.

I also never said heavenly sword sucks, I simply said it was short which is why it was met with less sales than expected, I know it is a beautiful game, that is why I called it great at making movies (who said MGS4 did it first? Heavenly Sword was not first anyway, and it doesn't matter, it is still great); I do expect God of War 3 to be better though.

Don't be a jackass, stop misinterpreting my points.

[paul_war]

Nariko & Kye you will be missed.

No more 'twing-twang'

[LastDance]

So pretty much sony are just axing anything single player orientated....that new guy can suck a fat one. I never thought id think about looking else where for my games wtf!!!

[coolfool]

I sincerely hope that that is not true. It would be a mistake for Sony to do that but the signs do indicate that you may be right......

[Heaven_Or_Hell]

How many copies Heavenly Sword were sold thus far ?

[PirateThom]

I think it's at over 1,000,000.

It was released way too early into the PS3s life, to be honest.

[paul_war]

@ PirateThom

No it wasn't ... we needed games, tbh there wasn't a great deal out then

[PirateThom]

I mean for it to be profitable, it came at a good time needing games, but there was no chance it was going to turn a profit at that point.

[Heaven_Or_Hell]

It's a shame to waste a license which had the potential to become a new icon for the Playstation brand.
I am sure that the potential sequel would have been better...

[PirateThom]

Meh, I think with God of War III on the way (unless they cancel that as well), there's really no need for two big name hack 'n' slash games.

[Superfragilistic]

See here http://www.n4g.com/dev/News...

As for Heavenly Sword 2 being canned. Too bad I guess although it really wasn't a AAA game like MGS4 or Uncharted.

I just want to see Ninja Theory do another film spoof smash bros game like Kung Fu Chaos. That really was an underrated party gem, but sunk cause MS didn't get it or support it, poor buggers seem to have got the same treatment with Sony!

[Heaven_Or_Hell]

We had already the info that if an Heavenly Sword 2 was being developed, it will not be done by the Ninja Theory Team but by Sony Cambodge...
Sony own the I.P, and they could do anything with it, they decided to stop it...

[JoelR]

well over a million

http://www.ninjatheory.com/...

"The Big One Million Competition! "

"Ninja Theory would like to thank all of its fans for helping Heavenly Sword surpass 1 million sales!
To mark this special occaision, we'd like to launch a rather special competition.
We were really stoked by Lightning and Tomski's videos of the recent escapades showing their devotion to Heavenly Sword - and we want to see the rest of you doing the same!
Show us YOUR devotion to Heavenly Sword (video format preferred!).
It can be anything you want - if Cosplay is your thing, then get dressed up - arty types get drawing, those that can sing - get those lyrics perfected.
As the prize is something a bit special for true HS fans, we're going to really hope you go the extra mile for this one, as it really is a one-time offer.
Bonus points for maximum public exposure and group efforts here!
Stick your video on YouTube, link it in the Ninja Chat thread, and we'll select the best entry on the 20th June 2008 and send the prize out to the winner.
Oh, you wanna know what the prize is?
At the end of production of Heavenly Sword, we had some T-shirts commissioned. These shirts were given out to the team and have never been given to non-Ninja's, so the only people in the world wearing these shirts are either members of the Ninja Theory team (or the winner of this competition)."

[Silogon]

What in the hell is wrong with Sony? Acing another game? What the hell are they going to give us? What the hell do they have planned for us after they get their garbage ass Motorstorm out the door, or is that axed too? Heavenly Sword sold over 1 million units, is that no longer viable now?

What a joke! Sony is dead in their tracks. they care too much about casual games and copying wii's junk ass remote.

[muddygamesite]

i'm an action adventure fan. I bought the PS3 because i believed the system could bring me those type of games. As soon as i confirm HS2 has been axed, and i see sony bringing out more casual rubbish Wii type games, then i will sell my ps3 and Buy an Xbox360. Anyone thinking the industry should be heading the direction of the Wii is a BIG F00L!

I cant wait for the day casual games will be the norm and all hardcore games wont exist unless they have boring online multiplayer that is unnecessary. I want to see all the pretend-to-be "gamers" live with that. I want to see what all these F00LS who denounce single player in the name of multiplayer.

Single player is the roots of gaming. Dont forget your roots.

[butterfinger]

unfortunately buying a 360 wouldn't solve your problems seeings as it's been known for even longer that Microsoft is developing another wiimote clone. Also, take a look at the casual games coming out for the consoles this year versus the hardcore. It's about even.

[Veryangryxbot]

The original Heavenly sword did not even sell 700k copies. Sequals to games like these, shouldnt be made.

[Pain]

all the Xbox F.U.D is what Really killed Heavenly Sword e.g OMG its under 10 hour!!!! (*cough Gears *) WTF blu ray for that! bla bla bla ...then in turn masses disliked it and its history .

so its no wonder they killed it off.

and befor putting foot in mouth it is a so called "Rumor" but in the end if u have something to play how cares.

[SIX]

HS was an amazing game and never received the recognition it deserved. I know this is just a rumor, but if it's true. Bad move on Sony. Best of luck to this amazingly talented team.

[JoelR]

HS2 was never planned to be developed by NT so the question about how good of a sequel it would have been if it really existed remains...If it was bad - I say can it before it can hurt the IP.

[turbidDwarf]

Why are all of these games for Sony being axed? I was really hoping to see another Heavenly Sword and The Getaway.

[Heaven_Or_Hell]

To focus budgets on casual games like Singstar, Buzz and Co.
Licences who make profits ...

[DARK WITNESS]

@ Heaven_Or_Hell

lol, thats cold bro, real Cold !

if thats the case i guess i can sell my ps3... what a shame, MGS 4 was on its way to converting me more to the PS3 side.

lol

edit; just incase someone is to thick to get that, i understand what Heaven or Hell is saying and if thats the direction sony are going i would be worried.... you should be worried. canceling big titles just to make room for the casual crowed, well you will loose me as a customer thats for sure.

i know there is money involved, but a lot of us are hardcore gamers who want hardcore games. i am not into this soft mushy stuff and everything going casual with pink fluffy ears ! These casual gamers need locking in a room with NG2 or MGS 4 on the hardest difficulty and forced to play till their eyes bleed !

let them have singstar and send them on their partying F*&king merry way ! and while i am at it i would stick these stupid exec's who know F*^& all about gaming in the room with them !

[Heaven_Or_Hell]

LoL maybe a litte cold indeed ^^
But don't get me wrong, even if I'm not interested in Singstar or Buzz, i'm not saying they are bad games...
It's just that I would prefer an Eight Days or an HS Sequel, you know
That's it :)

EDIT: Due to a lack of bubbles, i can't directly respond ^^ (Bubble please =p )

By the way, i'm not the phantom disagree lol
Anyway, I had the PS2 last generation and the lack of online play was not soooo disturbing. I was always and i'm still a gamer about single player. And now i have a PS3 (and free online ^^ thanks Sony for that), the online is just a plus! This is not the most important thing. And it is a shame to see Sony do so due to lack of online component and budgets. I'm sure the game would have a very good single campaign (Eight Day, off the topic but it concerns the same subject)

[DARK WITNESS]

i understand what you are saying totally,

my edited post was not directed at you, it was at whoever disagreed and didn't have the balls to say why.

i am like you on this one. i do understand that people buy the casual games, but it seems people are forgetting what made gaming so big... the hardcore gamers.

As much as they have this new market, they should also understand that there is a group of us who don't want everything going that direction and doing a way with us is doing away with strong income. we are the ones who will spend £80 on a special edition and £400 at launch for a console. don't betray us by destroying the very reason we bought the games in the first place.

someone needs to let them know, we are still out there and still what a great single player experience that is Hardcore !

[NightVyper]

I think profits are some of it but Sony is trying to be more "social" with games IE online multiplayer. Phil harrison convinced everybody there that social gaming is the future and games like COD4 don't hurt that theory, but i think there is still room for single player games like Elder Scrolls, Final Fantasy, God of War and Fallout 3.

this is all speculation and just because axed now does not mean they will not return to it later but between God of War and what ever else their reasons maybe it just does not make since now.

tho if they figured out a way to make the story work with multiplayer coop i think that would help it big time.

[butterfinger]

I can't say that I'm surprised by this after The Getaway and 8 Days were both axed. The lack of online multiplayer for Heavenly Sword 2 would be a big hinderance as well. The game was great, but I don't think the game impressed enough to warrant a second, single player-only game. I hope Uncharted 2 has some online aspect to it, but I'm sure we will get it regardless since it is a title that PS3 fans/owners can really brag about.

[Jack Meahoffer]

I'm curious what online component GOW3 will have. Would have to be co-op I'd assume. Don't see how competitive play would work with a hack and slash like HS or GOW3.

If this is true I'll be very disappointed. I really enjoyed HS. It was short but the presentation was amazing. Set a new bar for cutscenes and actually used six axis in a pretty good way.

[kingme71]

Why does every game need to shoehorn in online multiplayer? Uncharted is a single player adventure game and so is HS.

[butterfinger]

because that is part of the reason Sony said they cancelled The Getaway and 8 Days. I am curious as to how online multiplayer would work with a hack and slash myself, but maybe we will be surprised. Uncharted is one of the crown jewels of the PS3 at this point in its life, so Sony would be stupid to not go through with the sequel. It's said all the time that Uncharted is one of the games that really begins to tap into the power of the PS3. Heavenly Sword was just another hack and slash with better graphics than others and a great story. I loved Heavenly Sword, but when it comes down to it, I believe Uncharted has the bigger following.

[NightVyper]

God of War has sales number protecting it from the ax. it will be a system seller and no doubt there will be a 80 gig box set with it.

[Fishy Fingers]

Haven't they already confirmed HS2 is not being produced? Didn't they even go as far as to say that their next title is multiplatform and set in the future?

Edit: Here it is (especially for you disagree fairy) >> http://www.n4g.com/gaming/N...

LOL... more disagree's, the evidence is right there^^

[whoelse]

Another non-multiplayer axed.

[highdro]

i would not mind the game being axed since GOD OF WAR 3 is coming out next year !!

[omni_atlas]

The heavenly girl was awesome. Bring her back Sony, come on.

[JoelR]

hard to... unless she was a zombie... or vampire ...

oooh! Heavenly Vampire

[chrstphr567]

This better be a rumor. Even tho I don't own a PS3 and wasn't planing to get one Heavenly sword was defintly a game I would have loved to buy on the system. I love Nariko. I remember playing the demo at my friends house when it first came out and playing it for about 4 hours straght. I just hope it's only a rumor.

[cp68]

If it's to dedicate more on GOW3, then i guess it's alright. But it's a shame that sony is dropping the most promising exclusives

[Heaven_Or_Hell]

God Of War belong to the American branch of SCE ...
SCEE have nothing to say about GoW

[LiquifiedArt]

But, I think this new Head of SCEE has other ideas in mind. I'm kinda liking this new way of thinking. Shuffling the deck alittle. Its alwasy good to re-asses projects.

We'll see how it pays off in the future. If it doesnt i'm sure he'll get axed quickly. He's been making Big moves.

Also. I think He knows as well as everyone else. There is NO WAY Heavenly Sword even got to within a gun shot of God of War. No need to have both IPs.

[Fishy Fingers]

The rumours of HS2 getting canned steams back to long before Phil Harrison even left, even the link I posted above is 90 days old.

[Says you]

They weren't Ninja Theory doesn't even know what they want first they confirmed they were going to make it now they say they aren't and now their going to ax it! makeup your own mind!

and Silogon this is a rumor do you see the word "Rumor!".

[name]

Probably due to God of war or something.

[DJ]

He's already cancelled Eight Days and Getaway because they didn't have big multiplayer components, but the Heavenly Sword series as well? Selling a million copies back when there were only 5 million PS3s in the world is a huge deal, and I don't know why this was allowed to happen.

Phil Harrison definitely wouldn't have let them do this.

[Isaac]

The first Heavenly Sword was met with more rentals than sales, and they wanted to go multiplatform. Better to focus on quality than on quantity. The Getaway was an unproven franchise, Eight Days was probably just a game concept, so my bet is that Team Bondi is the team helping Bioshock PS3 get done, after the expertise they developed with the Getaway 3 tools. Sony still owns Heavenly Sword, so they can take it to whoever develops God of War 3, i.e. to better hands. After all, they are aiming to make the best action game ever, not the best movie-like game experience like Ninja Theory.

[DarthTigra]

Were entering a dawn of the online game...,Phil Harrison must have shared the same feelings since he said no more single player games for infogrames also. Some of my heck all of my favorite games from last gen were single player i hope we wont be receiving only multilayer games from sosy from here on out.

[xfrgtr]

That's ooooold news

[Condoleezza Rice]

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With the main character dead and all : | ?I don't think Kai was interesting enough to be the star of the sequel,I'm just saying.

[paul_war]

Prequel, new characters etc, I’ve seen sequels come from much less likely games.

[TwissT]

They could have made it a prequel with the person who last had the Heavenly Sword.

[GodsHand]

Ever play Halflife?

They had other views of the stories, where you played a group of army guys trying to take G. Freeman out (called opposing force), then they had the scurity guard (called blue shift). Same game, with differnt views from differnt people. I wish they mad more like those women in the black suites (from balck mesa).

I've played HS, but was not impressed by the game. Looked nice, played well. But like everyone else, it was just to short. But I still would like to have it in my collection.

[Seraphemz]

Kratos died in the first GOW.... now there is going to be a third one.

[highdro]

GOD OF WAR is the king of hack and slash action games, if this is axed it does not really matter because GOD OF WAR 3 is still coming out, dont get me wrong i liked heavenly sword but i could not care less if it is axed as long as GOD OF WAR 3 is coming out.

[JoelR]

hmm I found Heavenly Sword a more tasteful romp through hack n slash... has a different market then GOW

[Stryfeno1]

What will be next?

[Condoleezza Rice]

You tell us :) ?

[Stryfeno1]

It depends..What else is a single player exclusive? :-)

j/k

[coolfool]

the grim reaper is looming for this title surely.

I'm joking of course, even sony wouldn't be that stupid..........would they?

[Diugu]

And God of War 3 will launch with a God of War: MMO launching in the same week.

[kingme71]

Some of us still like and want single player experiences. I don't make my buying decisions based solely on whether a game has multiplayer or an online component.

If these games are getting canned because Sony thinks multiplayer is the future and these games won't sell, I think they need to reevaluate.

[DARK WITNESS]

totally agree. i said this in another post, if a game is multiplayer only i wont buy it.

i will judge a game first and formost on its single player. if that is lacking then i am not interested. there needs to be balance.

the single player needs to be awesome, then the multiplayer needs to be awesome.

[Drekken]

Most people buying games look for replay value. Multiplayer offers the most replay. With the cost of games today $60 and the dollar the way it is... single player games just dont fall under my "buy" category anymore.

There are a FEW exceptions... but even MGS has a nice online component

[thehitman]

but you gotta be put urself in their shoes if their install base isnt where they can make money off singleplayer games and online games tend to sell way better because they bring a longer appeal then they have to go w/ what sells for now. When the install base becomes bigger im 100% sure Sony will go head first back into singleplayer games like getaway and 8days. Hopefully after Motorstorm and Killzone Sony will announce or start some of the game they put on hold again.

Also im sure they are still working on gow3 so we got that to look forward to and some of those secret titles that made ppl go holy omg wtf is that real at some of the conventions.

[DARK WITNESS]

you have a good point.. and i do agree with you on that.

like i said its all about balance. what you really want is both aspects to be fulfilling.

its also personal preference as well. I am much more likely to buy a game that is single player only, then a game that is mulitplayer only.

it depends on the game. The problem with most games now, seems to be the deves try to do both half and half and then fail at both. not every game, but a lot of them just seem to have the multiplier thrown on halfway through with out finishing the single player properly and not having the time to perfect the multiplayer either so both end up being crap.

you both have very good, logical points, i am being a bit rash about it cos i am pissed at this whole thing. Calm down Dark, breath slow...don't get angry, don't get angry...shirt starts to rip !

[butterfinger]

I, for one, do not like multiplayer-only games usually. I'd much rather have a great story, but that being said, online multiplayer is where the sales are really going to pile up. COD4 had a great campaign, but I bet the multiplayer had bigger draw to it. Also, the biggest games this year, MGS4 and GTAIV, both had nice multiplayer aspects included with them. I don't think Sony ever said they were abandoning the single player world altogether, but they probably want to be guaranteed that a single player title they release is going to be kick @ss. I always have more fun playing with friends, whether it be online or local.

[Z501]

Heavenly Sword is about the 'sword', not the sword bearer.
You could continue to make sequels until the sword is destroyed.

It's like Zone of the Enders and Jehuty.

[Condoleezza Rice]

BUT,the marketing and whole 'body' around the game was Nariko with her red hair and fine behind,and even though *Mild spoiler**Mild spoiler**Mild spoiler**Mild spoiler**Mild spoiler**Mild spoiler**Mild spoiler*Kai gets the Sword,is she REALLY that great of a character to be the lead of the sequel?

[Drakol]

... wasn't that interesting, but the bad guys were! I thought the story was well developed and a interesting cast of characters (except Nariko). However, the gameplay is what kept me from progressing further on.

I'm sorry, but I don't see Nariko or even the HS franchise getting to that God of War "status". If Team Ninja were to have it so the enemies were a bit easier to deal with and tone down on the "mash this button until object is done" feature or however you'd like to put it (feature presented in all God of War games), then perhaps the game would've gotten better reviews and chance for a sequel.

I dunno, I'm probably talking out of my @ss =P

[Pornlord]

First off this is just a rumor, and I refuse to believe that they are gonna just axe a potentially great exclusive, possibly iconic game. And for the sake of staying optomistic, I'm gonna go ahead and give Sony credit for being an intelligent company and go on record saying that I don't think that they will stop development of single player games. It just doesn't make sense to do so. Online is an added bonus to a single player experience, not the whole experience, but even if that's the case, they can't all be like that, it would get old FAST.

[LeShin]

Man, I hope you're right.....I was REALLY looking forward to Eight Days.....

[JoelR]

then don't fret to much - There is a difference between cancelled and currently stopped development. Eight Days is definitely not cancelled but the development team is working on another project finishing it up.

[LeShin]

Obviously, no-one knows for sure why it was axed but if it is for multi-player games only, and if Sony think that multi-player games are the future, then sorry, my PS3 will be abandoned while i try to buy all the great single player games I may have missed in my collection (like Okami and Xenosaga 2+3) for my PS2.

If a new console manufacturer comes up with a console that only caters for single players, while everything else goes multi-player, they'd have my interest :)

[dkgshiz]

Never understood why sites always spread the rumors even more. N4g is the worst. They always have a new topic with MGS4 maybe going to the 360. Yet MGS4 has apple ads! Gamespot even spreads rumors. Their a pretty official site too. You would think they would only post true things, not rumors. Rumors tend to be fake.

[Fishy Fingers]

Yes but a lot of these "rumours" actually come good. Case in point, Bioshock. Denied countless times even by the developer, yet the "bioshock coming to PS3" rumours continued. What happened? Bioshock confirmed.

While I agree with what your saying, you dont have to read them and if you do, take it with a large grain of salt.

Rumours are fine as long as you understand that's exactly what they are, rumours.

[Jerkapotamus]

Home. SCEE is the group developing home. When they said they were reallocating resources to other projects when they canceled 8 Days and Getaway, it probably meant they switched it over to Home. They're probably just really really annoyed that it's not done yet so they're putting more people on it to try and get it done.

In all honesty, Heavenly Sword really wasn't a AAA game. It wasn't a GoW, it was just a really pretty tech demo.

[JoelR]

what would you consider AAA?

graphics: excellent
sound: excellent
gameplay: good
story: good
variety: excellent
multiplayer: N/A
Single Player length: average for 9th gen systems

[Mwaan]

One of the coolest games I ever played. So much potential for sequels.

[thehitman]

It was pretty good awesome visuals good gameplay. Only thing I wished it could be longer. It was just too short which probably hurt its reviews and gave it a decent 8. Im sure if they made a sequal it be amazing and it would take more advantage of the ps3 they got pretty far considering it was early in its life. Also I believe it not do to sales of HS that they are holding up on the second 1. They just dont want to dish out money as of yet for the next 1. HS did pretty well 1mil is very good for a game of that caliber and they only needed to sell like 500k to start turning profits. Not every game can sell a million or is expected to if that was the case there be a lot more devs out of jobs and studios making less games.

[titntin]

Ninja Theory were never going to develop a follow up game anyway?

Quote from just 20 days ago:
""We’re not abandoning HS just on a whim because we want to go off and do something different - there’s a great huge raft of reasons behind us taking the direction we are - and it’s also the nature of the business that I’m not allowed to share any of those reasons with you. As for the ‘you’re just not doing HS2 NOW’ comments - well one thing you learn in this industry is that you never say ‘Never’. So I’m not going to say we’ll “never” go back and make HS2 - but it’s something I personally see as extremely unlikely.""
"Well, with Kung-Fu Chaos, we worked exclusively with Microsoft; with Heavenly Sword, we worked exclusively with Sony. And it’s really a time for us to go cross-platform, so we ultimately turned it down. As a studio, we feel it’s the right thing to do. It makes things more commercially viable - and as an indie we have to be very commercially aware. It was great to work with Sony and get really intimate with the PS3 hardware; going forwards, that positions us to execute things properly on both PS3 and 360.""

I don't beleive Sony Cambridge were doing it either, though I guess Sony could have experimented with the IP. Its certainly never been announced as a project that was happening.

I rather suspect that this rumour from 'a source' is simply internet mumblings about nothing.

Certainly Ninja Theroy have never made a secret of their plans to move to a larger premises and get involved in many more 'media' projects.. so its not anything to do with a 'fall out' unless that fall out happened more than 6 months ago...

[Caliber]

I think Ninja Theory said this a couple of weeks ago already?

Anyway, it's a shame if we don't get a sequel. I thought HS was a really good game, unfortunately it was too short (rushed). It would probably have sold much better if the relatively short gametime had not scared people off.
But I'm still very glad I bought it. I had constantly fun while playing.

My idea for the sequel: (loosely based on the asian movie Joong-cheon)
In the afterlife Nariko has to face some serious challenges (that few people manage to complete), a long journey fighting demons and such, and if she makes it she gets resurrected as a semi-goddess. I'd play it =)

[Raoh]

one of my favorites..

it like mentioned suffered for being a short game. the reviews came in and said its too short, they talked about how short it was more than they did the gameplay and story. also maybe cause sixaxis was new, i bought my ps3 a year after launch, and got the hang of sixaxis by playing HS.

1 of 2 things should have happened.

1. it shoudl have been longer by giving some more story to the sword itself.

2. charge $40 for it like gt5 Prologue, or some other titles that are smaller than most games.

it would be a shame if a sequel never came out.

[AliC]

Heavenly Sword was a good game, but it was far to short it didn't sell well because of that reason, but because it was game exclusive to the PS3, that and the fact it was released around about the same time as Halo 3.

[Seraphemz]

I think the reason that it didn't sell well was because it was called a God of War 'wanna be' and given a negative image. Instead of an awesome game that it was. The cutscenes were some of the best i'd seen. ( now that goes to Metal Gear 4, but Heavenly is a close second ) Its a shame if this game doesnt get a sequel. When Beyond Good and Evil is even getting one.

[PimpHandHappy]

i would realy like this game to atleast get a part2

oh well chalk it up as rumor for now

[bama]

Heavenly Sword didn't exactly set the world on fire, it makes more sense to sony to focus on GOW3 I think fans will be much happier this way.

[Meresin]

This sucks. The first game was great. Hopefully they decide to use the IP, if differently...*sigh*

They really need to be careful about canceling exclusives. They're what is driving this console at the moment.

[Stryfeno1]

Agreed

[Blasphemy]

Wow if this is true then I am really pissed. I really really loved the first game. It has some of the best boss battles ever in a game and the graphics are some of the best on PS3. I am so sad Ninja Theory won't make a sequal considering this game was suppose to be a trilogy.

[Meus Renaissance]

The story of Heavenly Sword is wonderful and Sony should move Ninja Theory's developed assets for the game, and tools, to a new studio for a sequel in the future. Although the game was great, it was way too short - took me one afternoon to complete and Ninja have to take blame for that.

[Ashta]

To be honest? I just think that Ninja Theory got kinda miffed that their beautiful action tour-de-force was met with a collective "bwuh?" back last september.

Don't get me wrong, I own the game and I think it has some of the best graphics and animated sequences in most games today. However, and I'm putting this lightly, it was just way too short. A hell of a ride, but like roller coasters they're pretty much over just as your really getting in to them.

Plus, it was early in the PS3 cycle and Heavenly Sword had a huge weight of high expectation thrown on it due to the completely unfair ripping that Lair received from nearly every publication. After Lair effectively bombed everyone turned to Heavenly Sword to try and "save the PS3" when, in fact, the PS3 wasn't in trouble at all.

And thus lies the crux of the matter: Everyone depended on an unknown, brand new IP to fly in on a whim and knock the PS3 out of the rut that it was in. When the IP was released, and it clocked in at a very short 6 hours to complete, the reviewers screamed "RENT RENT RENT" and found every thing they could wrong with it because it didn't live up to the oppositions hypemachine. Also, don't say that Sony didn't hype that thing. Heavenly sword was plastered on just about every website, Sony had Ninja Theory make up 3 PS3 themes, 3 wallpapers, 6 animated shorts that fill in the story, and there were tons of commercials for it.

However, that was all counteracted by every media outlet screaming: "It's a God of War clone" and then they claimed it wasn't a good one.

So, now, Ninja Theory is dumping their planned trilogy for a multi-plat release because they feel they got slighted. When the truth of the matter is that Sony did everything they could to sell it and even helped fund the project. Did Ninja theory even support the title once it was released? Did they put out any DLC to try and freshen up the experience? Did they do ANYTHING to try and help keep the title alive on the charts?

Nope.

NT may seem like they are trying to make more money by switching to multi-plat and why that may help them in the short run they still wont be getting the praise they deserve until they continually support their products AFTER it has been released. Hell, Factor 5 took a beating after Lair was released but they still added the Dragon pack to it in the form of DLC. What did NT do besides whine and moan that they werent loved as much?

Heavenly Sword was just a collective mess on the release side of things that the developers feel they got pushed out. When in reality they pushed themselves out by refusing to support the title in the form of follow-up patches and DLC and banked all their money in mo-cap instead of extending the HS experience by about 4-5 more hours.

By the way, the next person who claims that HS was a God of War clone needs to just punsh themselves repeatedly in the face for about 30 minutes. Why? because you have no idea what your talking about and have probably never picked up the box of the game let alone play it.

[PSWe60]

a shame, I really liked the game, but veryangryxbot brings up a good point, games are very expensive to produce and if they don't sell they become a liability rather than an invesment. Sony needs money makers.

[juuken]

It's a damn shame.
I hope nothing else gets axed because this would be really bad.

[VirusE]

That sucks HS1 was a really awesome game. The voice acting was some of the best i have ever seen.

[steck67]

Oh well, I was really looking forward to the second one, the first one was great IMO. But as long as GoW3 is coming, im happy.

[captainjy]

$10 says HS will be on the 360 very soon! Not really sure I care about that though!

[rbrtchng]

Um, isn't this a really old news. I remember reading about Ninja Theory saying that they want to move on to a new IP, but Sony still owns HS. So if there will be HS2, it wouldn't be made by NT. NT had already told the press that they are not going to make HS2 a long time ago. So no, it wasn't in development, it wasn't canned, NT just moved on.

[Kain81]

sony has the IP so i dont know why Ninja Theory is mentioned.
And i think Sony has nothing Confirmed, but we will see.

[thereapersson]

Making one stupid decision after another. Don't they get tired of depriving European gamers of, well... games?