Word is development of Heavenly Sword 2 has been canned as the title's "no longer seen as commercially viable" says a Kotaku report.
The game is said to have been axed after six months of development at the Sony Cambridge Studios.
We contacted Sony UK for comment, but was issued a firm "no comment".
The rumour, from Kotaku, also suggests that tensions have built up between Sony and Ninja Theory - the team responsible for the first game, who have began moving to a new location out of the Sony Cambridge building.
With Getaway PS3 and Eight Days having been put to sleep earlier this month, apparently "Due to the redistribution of resources and budget," this would be the third cancellation by SCEE of late.
Wouldn't really be a huge shock if true. The original cost ALOT of money to make and turned out to be utter tripe, only managing to lure people in due to the decent graphics and lack of games available at the time. I think Sony have simply discovered what MS originally found out and would be best to full the plug on them, part ways and invest the money in a more capable development team.
Heavenly Sword remains one of my favourite games on PS3, even though its brilliance is marred by tehcnical issues. But I would dearly, dearly love to see a sequel.
But then, maybe if Ninja Theory and Sony are experienced strained relationships we'll see a spiritual sequel appear elsewhere..?
First ,Ninja Theory already said they are on their new project ....that will be PS360 and not HS2 wich is a Sony property.So much for Ninja Theory leaving.
Then we go to the principal issue ....how do you cancel a game that wasnt in development right now??
If Ninja Theory weren't making it to begin with then I'm glad it's been canned, switching developers would have made the sequel worse (or even worse if you don't like the original)
whenever rumours come out like this why do companies always say no comment they could kill the rumour in 2seconds
Because if tensions were building up they would now have time to rectify the relationship, or to mess it up further. And if it was canned, it may not be final yet, just a possibility. There's no need to say all of that so a no comment fits.
It's a bit weird that, the console that costs the most to develop games on has the smallest returns, no wonder they're canceling 'em left, right and centre.
It's a bit weird that, the console that costs the most to develop games on has the smallest returns, no wonder they're canceling 'em left, right and centre.
the smallest returns? where did you dig that factoid up from?
I'd buy a sequel, Heavenly Sword was one of the games that really demonstrated next-gen gaming to me. The graphics and the storytelling as well as music was amazing.
SIXaxis controls weren't great, I turned them off for most things and the gameplay was a bit last gen.
Like Assassins' Creed, the game was ridiculously hyped up, expectations were impossibly high but in the end received a critically luke warm reception.
Had everyone loved the game you can be certain that they'd have announced a potential sequel by now. In fact I think everyone would take it as a given. It certainly wouldn't be canned if the original game had attained the AAA franchise status they were clearly gunning for.
Just remember, if a game's considered great these days, you can be sure you'll be playing sequels for rest of your natural life. Profitable IP 1, Creativity 0.
I'm wondering if the next thing we'll see is Team Ninja on board with them.
I never played Heavenly Sword, but it was beautiful. The art direction was fantastic. I can imagine that with Ninja Gaiden-style content. Could be a winner.
Or Ninja Gaiden with Heavenly Sword art. That'd be worth dropping all of their active projects for.
It's a bit weird that, the console that costs the most to develop games on has the smallest returns, no wonder they're canceling 'em left, right and centre.
the smallest returns? where did you dig that factoid up from?
Factoid? Do you even know what the word means? Anyway, the PS3 has the smallest installed user base, so will sell the fewest copies of any game released on it, compared to the 360 or Wii. And as for costing more? All those delays cost a fortune in extra development time, bloating a budget that's becoming harder to recoup.
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