Three years, and all we got was one measly picture. Yet when, in late January this year, Sony Japan released a production screenshot for what has since been dubbed ICO 3, web forums went berserk. What could it mean? When would the game be released?
The picture, which shows nothing more than a rusty chain disappearing into a circle of mossy stones, has been the subject of obsessive dissection and endless conjecture in the months since its appearance in a Sony recruitment advert.
"After looking at the shot for hours, it's now starting to make sense," wrote a chap called Redmond on Team ICO's blog. "That chain is actually lying on the ground, and whatever is tied to it is casting that huge shadow at the top of the picture. Hence the hole on the ground, and that's why so many people were confused by the 'depth' of the image. Something or someone is imprisoned down there."
That a game can generate such a vast amount of fuss without any marketing hype is a testament to just how treasured Fumito Ueda's previous games (ICO and Shadow of the Colossus) really are.
This is a gallery of beautiful screenshots taken from an emulator running Shadow of the Colossus. All screenshots are high rez. I made this gallery for Team Ico fans, since we aren't getting any news about The Last Guardian or news about an HD remake for the Team Ico games.
Thats it.. Going to work hard for this, but I'm saving about 2k dollars up to an ultimate gaming PC which can run Wii emulator and PS2 emulator at 60 FPS with everything maxed!
Yes its a waste, but gooooood I wanna play SOTC in HD!
The textures do not get improved, but these screenshots are taken straight from the emulator and it is jaw-dropping how wonderful these games look at HD resolutions. Wind Waker on the Dolphin emulator is probably the best game to emulate since it's cell shading graphics scale really well.
I am very confident we will see Ico/Shadow of the Colossus in HD with trophy support on a single blu ray disc at least 3 months before the release of The Last Guardian
SVGL writes : "After we all ooh-ed and aah-ed at the E3 video for Team ICO's new project, The Last Guardian -- which a majority of (super unscientific) SVGL poll respondents said was a PS3-seller -- many of you weighed in on the community discussion as we tried to answer one question: What, exactly, makes that game seem so good, when most of us are in agreement that it's nearly impossible to tell much about a game from its early trailer?
The answer proved to be elusive. It's pretty hard to pin down what about it makes many of us not just enthusiastic, but emotional -- and mulling it over prompted lots of you to extend the question not only to Last Guardian, but to the rest of Ueda's oeuvre, ICO and Shadow of the Colossus, too."
Ueda games have interesting concepts, but are laughable in terms of gameplay, and that's what matters the most in a videogame. That's probably why his games are only popular to a really, really small group of niche gamers on the internet.
Don't worry, when you grow older, you will understand... you can Enjoy playing Bungie's games till then.see ya!
In fact I'm questioning if you've ever actually played one of his games. I suppose if your not into amazing art styles, story telling, environments, or immersion, you'd have that view.
Video games are not just about gameplay. Gameplay is important but not the only aspect. Video games are amazing because they are an interactive art form. That means not only do you see hear and feel a world, you control it. You become a part of it.
What makes a game great or not is whether or not you become a part of it. When you play Ueda's game you become a part of them. That is why they are great.
Fumito Ueda creates the most beautiful of fantasy worlds, though what he struggles for is to create something that resembles our everyday reality.
He wants to leave something for future generations but doesn't want to see his games in a museum.
He prefers to stay working at his desk but gives LEVEL a chance to get to know one of the modern gaming-world's most original designers a little better.
Ueda looks a little lost.
"To leave something to future generations would feel great. But I don't want my games to end up in a museum. I'd rather see that someone in a hundred years from now finds one of my games and play it. That way it's solid proof that I've made something timeless. and therefore lasting. That would be my legacy." -Fumito Ueda
Wow,I am telling you right now...You succeeded!
Right up there with
Will Wright (Sim Anything)
Miyamota (Mario, Zelda, Pokemon?)
Yamauici (Gran Turismo, Omega Boost)
Kojima (Metal Gear, Policenauts)
excuse my spelling....
My kids will play all his games.... When I have them that is........
Qoute about SOTC
"- We made the game for people like me, who love to play games, and that made Shadow of the Colossus a little more advanced than ICO. Every aspect of the game was raised to a new level and that unfortunately made the game selective and hard to get a GRIP on." - I gotta good laugh out of that.
After reading what he said about technical limitations. I can see why I always felt as if SOTC was "The first PS3 game". Team Ico literally pushed the PS2 to its limit without ANY LOAD TIMES but the beginning and being teleported back to the temple.
The Last Guardian will be the Greatest Game Ever.
I must admit that I haven't played either Shadow of the Colossus OR Ico.
Yeah, yeah, I know they are supposed to be the best of the best and I do plan on getting them.
There are MANY PS2 games that I haven't played because I kinda skipped the last gen of console gaming. I was a PC guy for last gen.
Maybe after Christmas, I'll look around for some copies of these games.
Ico was one of my favourites of all time and I can't wait for the latest game.