God of War II Almost Became a PS3 Title
With the release of Sony and Santa Monica Studio’s mega-blockbuster, God of War III, moving closer day-after-day, more and more news and hype continues to jump on the Kratos train to epicness. What if I told you that there once was a possibility that God of War III wouldn’t have been the first GOW game of the PS3 if some higher ups at Sony had it their way? Interested? Read on.
In an Interview with Game Informer Magazine due to hit in March, Shuhei Yoshida, Sony Computer Entertainment’s Senior Vice President of Product Development was asked how close God of War II was almost delayed and converted to a PS3 launch title.
We had a lot of debates about it, actually. I always firmly stood by keeping it on PS2. Many people, including marketing, suggested that maybe it should be moved to PS3. What I believed was that God of War II would be the best-selling and best game of the year. We had always seen that, at the launch of a platform, the developer has to spend a lot of time becoming familiar with the platform and software tools. Technical issues take up a lot of the development, perhaps leaving less time for really polishing the game. Towards the end of a platform is when you see really great games, after developers really begin to understand the hardware.
How crazy would that had been? Yoshida says he still doesn’t regret the decision.
In the God of War franchise,I saw an opportunity for the Santa Monica team to complete their vision for the second game on a platform they totally understood. That was my argument and the company and team supported it. I’m very happy with the result. So to your question, I have never regretted the fact that we released God of War II on PS2.
If you remember, God of War II hit on March 13, 2007, so while it wouldn’t have exactly been a PS3 launch title, it would have certainly hit in launch window time-frame. Many critics complained that besides Resistance: Fall of Man, the PS3 lacked any major titles the first six months of it’s existence. Would a rushed-version of God of War II help the cause or hurt it?
If you happened to miss out on either of the first two God of War games, we strongly recommend the God of War Collection. Two of the best PS2 games ever made. Trophy Support, and a demo for God of War III= One of the best deals on the PlayStation 3, Period.
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8 Responses to “God of War II Almost Became a PS3 Title”
i agree with the decision to keep it on the PS2. There was no need to rush it out to a new platform.
it’s probably better that it stayed on the PS2
I remember when I bought GOWII, I was simply amazed at what I saw. Whether it was during CGI segments or as I made my way through the different levels, the extremely intimate relationship the kids over at SCEA Santa Monica had developed with the PS2′s architecture was definitely evident throughout the entire game. I firmly believe that had GOWII been converted over to a PS3 launch title, it would not have been presented any better than it ultimately was on the PS2, and the franchise would have undoubtedly suffered as a result. Doing so would have positioned GOWII as a franchise redeemer rather than the much hyped, highly anticipated trilogy conclusion we know today.
PS2! What an ode to the PS2. I’m glad it was on PS2
“Would a rushed-version of God of War II help the cause or hurt it?”
Just give a look at Genji 2 and you will have your answer. Genji 2 was initially developed for PS2 and rush-ported to PS3 halfway through production in order to be one of the PS3 launching titles.
A rushed port? Generally a horrible idea. Glad they kept it as it was, GOW2 was amazing, and still is a great play.
hello …
it belonged to the PS2 & was beautifully made, so now we have the Collection in HD & God of War 3 coming our way so it’s a perfect world …
cheers!
IF GOW 2 was decided to be released on the PS3, there is no way it would have been released on March 13th. You yourself wrote that the production time is longer at the beginning of a console’s life, and with the unfamiliarity and the pressure for this game to REALLY be the great successor to GOW, they wouldn’t have been allowed to release a rushed crap version.
Thank god it was on PS2, pretty good successor- not my favorite, and not nearly as good as GOW imo, but it was truly meant to be the PS2′s send off.