Well, at least the news finally got out.
The article itself is accurate on only a few points - the actual story behind the "final days" of Game Republic is long and convoluted and I'm not even sure I really want to get into it as I'd probably end up saying something I'd regret and shooting myself in the foot.
For those of you looking for a sequel to Folklore, all I can say is "don't hold your breath." The IP lies in Sony's hands and by their accounts - Folklore was a failure. Truth is, during the last 6 months or so, GR DID submit a proposal for a downloadable, Move-based, Folklore title. The proposal was received fairly well, but failed to pass the internal review board at Sony by a few points. We were told that the IP didn't move enough units in the US to really warrant the risk of making a new one.
So the ball is in their hands. I imagine if you came up with some really awesome concept you might have more luck, but it's probably a dead-end.
As for Okamoto, I will say that he's going through a tough time right now. He's made some some unpopular decisions that will not be winning him any awards with his past coworkers. Word is that he says he's done with the Industry but people who know him think he'll be back when things settle down.
Just wish that things would have turned out different with Clash of the Titans and Knights Contract. There was a whole lot more that went on behind the scenes - especially with Clash that no one knew anything about. Unfortunately, it's still a bit too soon for me to say what went down; maybe in a few more years. Knights Contract started off really well, but again, with the game just now going on sale in Japan - I really shouldn't get into the details. It isn't too hard to imagine what happened there.
Shadow780 said:
Still their best game, too bad the sequel didn't follow up.
While the official stance is that we were thrilled to have the opportunity to make a launch title for the PS3, Genji 2 was originally a PS2 title that we had to change to PS3. I think the total production time for the PS3 version was really short - I remember hearing a figure along the lines of 6 months or so. You have to remember that at that time, the PS3 was brand spanking new and developers were just trying to figure stuff out. Most of the staff agree with you though, the prequel was the better title.
OniShiro said:
Sorry, my bad, you are right, Enslaved is by Ninja Theory, don't know why I thought it was by Game Republic
Probably because Enslaved was published by Bandai / Namco, which also published Majin (as well as Clash of the Titans and Knights Contract). Also, both titles featured partner-based gameplay.