[ironcreed]

I think some Gaffer already said it's not from a new PoP game.

I believe it. I really don't see how in the hell this could be a PoP game. I know it says it on the screen and all, but... just sayin'.

[Gbraga]

*Scratches head in confusion* Why not just go back and make something from the trilogy that made the series so popular to begin with? At least just start a new trilogy with a new Prince, but with the same core design philosophy taken to new heights. If it's not broke and has proven itself to work, why try and force something else? Don't take away what was loved. Of course I know nothing about it, but this screen is obviously not inspired by the trilogy in terms of environment or characters. And I would wager to say the gameplay is nothing like the trilogy either. Why not just call it something like, 'Wrath of the Fallen Egyptian' and call it a day, lol?

Because people will buy a game they don't really like just because of it's name, but won't be willing to give a new franchise a shot, even if it looks good.

Or at least that's what they seem to believe.

[Detox]

Because when you press a button, something awesome has to happen.

Next-gen controllers need a dedicated awesome button.

[Nirolak]

I believe it. I really don't see how in the hell this could be a PoP game. I know it says it on the screen and all, but... just sayin'.

Have you seen what they've done to Splinter Cell? :P

[dragonelite]

Next-gen controllers need a dedicated awesome button.

If games keep on going that way all we really need is A button!!! :(

[Gbraga]

Next-gen controllers need a dedicated awesome button.

Press R4 to

[Inorigo]

The tag ("Judgment is coming") fits too ;)

Yep, exactly what I was thinking :)
Great movie, btw.

I think we have a winner. We might be saying "reboot", when we're really looking at a spiritual successor.

[Bony Manifesto]

Why can't they return to the glorious days of the Sands of Time, where platforming was the meat of the game?

They did that with The Forgotten Sands. Which was passable, but its lack of success made it pretty clear that nobody really wanted another Sands of Time game.

[mantidor]

Here's the first screen shot of the new PoP Game: It was originally posted on the official Prince of Persia forums. Please note that POP Zero 2 is written on the bottom... It is align with everything that we know about the game. 1) its a reboot. original PoP Zero was going to be modern day and was code named PoP Zero. Hence this reboot is going to be PoP Zero 2. 2) POP 2008's sequel assets were used in making POP TFS Wii. 3) God of War - lite 4) Ubi was working on a new IP for next gend that would have been like God of War meets Shadow of the Colossus. I think they have decided to make it the POP 2 remake. [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/HP5tg.jpg[IMG]

why.jpg

[arena08]

This is why you don't release screens of games still in development.

[Empowe]

Well those ppl in the background can be Egyptians, and the basic shape of that main character looks like that black dude from the screenshot.

The faces of the villagers in the CG and screenshot are very, very similar.

[Paco]

Nasty.

I just want the teams who did PoP 2008 and PoP TFS to just sit down together and figure out how to make something that blends the best of those games. The last few levels of TFS were some of my favorite in the whole damn series and 2008 is still one of the best looking games this generation with a great sense of exploration.

Or how about let an independent team like Housemarque (Outland) try it out? They made a wonderful and challenging platformer with a great atmosphere, music, and gameplay.

IDK, anything but what's suggested by that screenshot.

[Sn4ke_911]

This is why you don't release screens of games still in development.

You think this is official? that's a leaked screenshot. Ubi wouldn't dare to release such a screen.

[Nirolak]

The faces of the villagers in the CG and screenshot are very, very similar.

The line pattern on his shoulders is the same as well.

[ironcreed]

Have you seen what they've done to Splinter Cell? :P

While I still had some fun with Conviction, your point is taken. *Shakes head* I guess we will just have to wait and see. Hopefully that if they are indeed making a new PoP, that it does not utterly butcher what made it so beloved to begin with. I thought PoP 2008 was bad enough, but at least it still had that magical Persian vibe, albeit with a different (yet gorgeous) artstyle.

[Osietra]

In game claymation guys. It's the future.

[arena08]

You think this is official?

Obviously not.

[Messofanego]

I just want PoP 2008 II :(

I wanted to see the people who believed in Ormazd so much and yet he never came unlike Ahriman.

[Anteater]

kids looks boss in this game

[H2Yo]

Haven't seen the inside of a pyramid since Commander Keen 4.
Sounds good!

[XANDER CAGE]

these seem related now.

Yup, that's the thing I was thinking of. Weird that the teaser was the first thing to leak and not production stuff.

[UnluckyKate]

Looks like AC 1

[Izick]

A new Prince of Persia!?



A new Prince of Persia...

[Tempy]

There's a whole lot of jumping to conclusions here.

[jett]

the fuck

Can't Mechner stop Ubisoft from smearing the name of this franchise?

[Y2Kev]

I'm not sure I will buy this. The main character is not white and thus I cannot relate to him

edit: NPC on the left wearing a dress

[Rodney McKay]

The dude looks way too huge to be doing any kind of platforming gymnastics.

[DieH@rd]

The dude looks way too huge to be doing any kind of platforming gymnastics.

Kratos is also a big dude, and War from Darksiders is ~7-8 feet tall. Both of them are platforming gods.

If they want, they can make this enormous black dude as agile as Ezio...

[gabbre]

Why they can't make a new PoP like "The Two Thrones"? Why?

[MoogleWizard]

What is this? Did the steroid-abusing bald space marines take off their uniforms and invaded ancient egypt/persia?
He's not the Prince if he doesn't have long flowy hair.

[ironcreed]

The dude looks way too huge to be doing any kind of platforming gymnastics.

Yeah, he looks more like he is about to raise his voice to the heavens and angrily scream, "OSIRIS!!!!" as he overflows with severe daddy-issue induced trauma. Gee, we have never seen that one before.

[DieH@rd]

Why they can't make a new PoP like "The Two Thrones"? Why?

- Rights to new IP.
- New marketing opportunities [comics, books, mobile games].
- Preservation of old franchises [they can still revive any old game if they want].
- Influx of new players who did not like old PoP games.

[PantyPhantom]

:D Look at the children. :D

[Mr_Zombie]

Because people will buy a game they don't really like just because of it's name, but won't be willing to give a new franchise a shot, even if it looks good. Or at least that's what they seem to believe.

But didn't the success of Assassin's Creed prove them otherwise? The game was average at best, with lots of gameplay issues, but it started a successful franchise.

[clutch.as.it.gets.]

Looks like the first Assassin's Creed game.

[gabbre]

They did that with The Forgotten Sands. Which was passable, but its lack of success made it pretty clear that nobody really wanted another Sands of Time game.

It was mediocre and rough, lack of success explained.

[Inorigo]

- Rights to new IP. - New marketing opportunities [comics, books, mobile games]. - Preservation of old franchises [they can still revive any old game if they want]. - Influx of new players who did not like old PoP games.

And also: enough with The Sands of fucking Time already. Christ. There's four of those. People need another episode in that story? Really? Good grief.

[Rodney McKay]

Kratos is also a big dude, and War from Darksiders is ~7-8 feet tall. Both of them are platforming gods. If they want, they can make this enormous black dude as agile as Ezio...

Well, those games the character is on the ground 90% of the time chopping up dudes. They also have a magical double jump (with glide capabilities) and chains to help them with the jumps they're too huge to make. Neither of them are platforming gods by a long shot.

In a Prince of Persia game your character should be swinging on poles, cutting through banners, wall running, etc; all of this with a good sense of weight and momentum. Can't really see this guy doing any of that stuff.

[To Far Away Times]

This is not even a "sort of want."

Ubisoft has two excellent foundations to make a Prince of Persia sequel.

1) Make a direct sequel to Sands of Time. Erase the moody emo prince sequels from the canon and make another Disney-esque adventure like Sands of Time.

2) Make a direct sequel to Prince of Persia 2008. Although the gameplay wasn't amazing, all the story and presentation elements were in place to make a great game. There was so much wasted potential on POP 2008, and those ideas need a second chance. A sequel with some gameplay improvements could end up being be one of those landmark "art" games like Shadow of the Colossus.

[Azure Phoenix]

Urgh, just... urrrgh.

PoP 2008 was such a fantastic looking game, all it needed was some decent gameplay to complement it. Just why do all game companies have to pull out the "gritty reboot" card every time their most creative entry in a franchise underperforms?

[gabbre]

And also: enough with The Sands of fucking Time already. Christ. There's four of those. People need another episode in that story? Really? Good grief.

I wasn't talking about to the story, but the gameplay

[gabbre]

Urgh, just... urrrgh. PoP 2008 was such a fantastic looking game, all it needed was some decent gameplay to complement it. Just why do all game companies have to pull out the "gritty reboot" card every time their most creative entry in a franchise underperforms?

This is not even a "sort of want." Ubisoft has two excellent foundations to make a Prince of Persia sequel. 1) Make a direct sequel to Sands of Time. Erase the moody emo prince sequels from the canon and make another Disney-esque adventure like Sands of Time. 2) Make a direct sequel to Prince of Persia 2008. Although the gameplay wasn't amazing, all the story and presentation elements were in place to make a great game. There was so much wasted potential on POP 2008, and those ideas need a second chance. A sequel with some gameplay improvements could end up being be one of those landmark "art" games like Shadow of the Colossus.

Prince of Persia 2008

A wonderful game, it lacked only the gameplay

Not bad for a videogame.

[ciridesu]

makes sense, there's room for a blockbuster 'monster killing' -action game for multiplatform gaming, as god of war has shown - use an ip thats easily marketable like pop and the only thing you need for success is a good game - likely wont be sands of time -esque tho

[clutch.as.it.gets.]

Why they can't make a new PoP like "The Two Thrones"? Why?

Yeah, i loved the whole Sand of Times trilogy.

[matrix-cat]

Honestly, what are the chances this game will be a halfway-decent platformer? Or a platformer at all? I'm betting on a Tomb Raider/Dead Space 3/nu Splinter Cell style Uncharted clone with QTEs, automatic platforming and ancient-Egyptian turret sections.

[Zapages]

Nasty. I just want the teams who did PoP 2008 and PoP TFS to just sit down together and figure out how to make something that blends the best of those games. The last few levels of TFS were some of my favorite in the whole damn series and 2008 is still one of the best looking games this generation with a great sense of exploration. Or how about let an independent team like Housemarque (Outland) try it out? They made a wonderful and challenging platformer with a great atmosphere, music, and gameplay. IDK, anything but what's suggested by that screenshot.

I'll try to answer your question as best as I can from what I have gathered concerning the development of POP TFS and 2008/its dead sequel.


The reasons as to why the new direction is gritty:
POP Series has been gritty before aka the original POP 1 and 2. (2D ones)
If it is going to become gritty then they have to do it respectfully... POP is no God of War.
Nor it is what PoP 2008 was... A cell shaded painting that alienated a lot of folks due to its automated gameplay and the whole collect athon segment in the game. Plus it was step backwards of having to press to hear what Elika said (IMHO) as compared to what occurred in SOT series. That sometime that keeps me from replaying the game on personal level. Aside from that the game looks like piece art that is marvelous.

One thing that Ubi sucks at is combat, which has been true since the SOT days. I mean overall Ubi's combat sucks... I was including AC and POP too. WW combat is ok, but not great. The only thing that PoP 2008 had going for it was the art style and the folks who pressed to hear what the story was. Coming from POP SOT trilogy - having to press a button to have conversation was step backwards. Honestly, I believe there were a few instances where automated talking could have been implemented like in SOT days.

The PoP 2008 was full of half baked ideas that were not implemented properly.
Behind the scenes, there were so many ideas that were scrapped for POP 2008 that it is not even funny. The open world with hub idea was the last resort for the team to implement for the game to function like a game and that is why they had the click to talk to Elika. Therefore, there was no sense of difficulty in the game (not talking about how Elika saved you), but as game was hub based and user defined. The developer could not make one environment harder compared to the next one. Hence lack of real sense of progression. Plus they had the idea of the griffen that they took out.

Also the game's story changed a lot... We can tell by how the Prince and Elika look like through the unlockables that are found in the game.

In terms of what happened with the teams:

Well the things went like this:

The true PoP Team shifted to AC post SOT. Let's call them PoP A team.

POP A(a few members from there i.e JC) /B Team (Ben Mattes and company) became the new POP Team.
AC was suppose to be Prince of Persia. The team was forced to chose a different art style and put so much emphasis on fantasy elements due to AC. Regardless of the folks who don't want to believe it. But AC is the spiritual of POP series.

Regardless of this.

POP 2008 was going to be open world POP game, but how can that work when in POP the story is essential to the game play. So they ran with multiple different ideas, but ended up with the hub system, which took away the difficulty. *Sorry, I am repeating myself a bit here*

The one way the team saw on how to differentiate it from AC was through the fantasy elements that are present in POP 2008. They had to create a different product than AC... Hence POP 2008 was so half baked and there is no sequel for it now. As the original ideas weren't fully developed in the first place. When they tried to expand on them, the team ran into trouble and ended with POP 2008 sequel being placed on the shelf. While its assets were reused in POP TFS Wii. Whereas AC had the story aspect and many different avenues that they could have expanded upon.

Aside from this, the enemies in POP 2008 were the same repeated 4 times. That is not being creative... That is being putting things together as you have already spent too much time/money developing the game. As for the folks who are involved in POP 2008, most of them are not there anymore. For example, the producer of POP T2T and 2008 has left Ubisoft for Warner.


Now making POP a bit realistic like AC would have caused a problem. This problem would be brand confusion for the consumer (not us who are here on Neogaf or go to forums, but the common Mother or Father who is looking to get the next big game that is set in books of the pseudo-BS history of AC series and has all the qualities of POP. Hence they branched them onto two different directions and then pushed towards those directions on the nth degree.

PoP has been always pseudo-realistic and with some fantasy elements mixed into it ie. POP 1 and 2 (2D ones).

I hope this sheds some light as to why things have unfortunately turned this way. :\

[Buttonbasher]

This is not even a "sort of want." Ubisoft has two excellent foundations to make a Prince of Persia sequel. 1) Make a direct sequel to Sands of Time. Erase the moody emo prince sequels from the canon and make another Disney-esque adventure like Sands of Time.

The Forgotten Sands takes place right after Sands of Time.

[BosSin]

Dunno why people are bitching over a single screen that looks pre-alpha

[Inorigo]

I wasn't talking about to the story, but the gameplay

Ohhh. Well, that I can agree with. I actually enjoyed PoP 08's gameplay quite a bit, but the original trilogy (SoT in particular) was tight.

[RoboPlato]

Give the main character a hood and it could be an Assassin's Creed screenshot. Why can't they just let the franchises be separate entities? Unfortunately this does line up with previous rumors and leaked concept art so I'm fairly certain this is real.