Team Ico Lead: Ico and Shadow of the Colossus "Weren't Good Enough"

[Jumplion]

It makes sense, I've read before that Ueda is said to be an extreme perfectionist among his peers. Developing Shadow of the Collosus was a bit difficult because of that, supposedly.

This really makes me think more highly of him as it shows that he's always looking to improve and looks at every detail he can in his games. To an extent it is like Molyneux, you can't really hate him because gosh darnit he just wants to make a good game. But unlike Molyneux, Ueda doesn't make promises after promises of what his game will deliver

Whether or not you enjoyed Team ICO's previous games, I don't think anyone can really deny that their games are much more subtle than most action-fests are. I hope that he won't try too hard to appeal to the broadest demographic, and this game does fail then it's really not going to look good on the industry.

Sony better market this ************ aggressively.

 

[ThisIsSnake]

No shit Ueda, in SotC I was disappointed at the lack of enemies, all I could find were bosses. The game didn't finish properly either, I became a huge super form and couldn't beat the last dude also the laser beam my sword made does no damage WTF?!

 

[quantumsoul]

Ico didn't sell well because the American box art was an unholy abomination compaired to the Japanese one. Guess which is which.

 

[Aureli]

I think that's a good thing. True artists are never satisfied with their work, and are always looking for some way to make things better.

 

[Tom Phoenix]

After seeing developers time and again provide various lame excuses for why their games failed to sell, it is enormously refreshing to see a developer being perfectly honest and admitting that their games simply weren't up to par. The best thing about this is that this is about two of the most beloved games among core (console) gamers on a platform that was very widespread, so people can't use the excuse that it somehow lacked recognition or that it was released on a unpopular platform.

To the credit of both games, though, while they didn't end up selling broadly, one could say that they very much sold deeply. While not many people bought them, they had a profound effect on the majority that did. Nevertheless, it is still nice to see Ueda admit that there were flaws that prevented the games from having a more widespread appeal.

It is also nice to see a developer who seems to realise that they are not making games for themselves. Too often, people become game developers beacuse they think that will allow them to develop whatever kind of games they want. Many don't seem to be aware that being a developer is a job and that you need to make what the mass market wants and that isn't necessarilly the same as what the developers themselves want to make.

 

[onyx452]

I've never played either game but I am still very much looking forward to the release of all three. My friends, elitists to their cores I swear, LOVE SoTC and the moment I heard they were coming out with another games, I reserved it the moment I could. Perfection, or something close to it, takes time, and I'm willing to wait.

And to the argument that video games can't be art... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aAs-vZ4rZE
Studio Ghibli. They made a video game. And guess what? It's just as gorgeous as any of their other movies. And who's involved with Studio Ghibli? Hayao frickin Miyazaki. Tell THAT man what he does isn't art.

 

[oldtaku]

Of course it wasn't good 'nuff.

Because there wasn't a PC version!

Published by Sony = PlayStation exclusive.

You say that like it's an excuse. "Oh we designed the boat with holes below the waterline. That was the spec. Making a note here: Huge success."

The biggest problem with ICO and SoC were the frame rates, which were at times inexcusable. One reason I'm looking forward to the PS3 versions so maybe we can play these at more than 1 fps during critical sections. PC versions would have helped here. If you like SotC enough you can just throw more hardware at it! And I would have.

 

[Blow_Pop]

They didn't sell well because, as much as we like to believe that gamers aren't prepubescent wankers with the attention span that only CoD can appease, the majority are.

If that makes me sound like an elitist than so be it, but when Team Ico gets shut down because not enough people are buying their brilliant games, it will be a sad day.

You're not an elitist. I for one didn't really like SOTC just because of how empty the game felt, but it was still at least somewhat enjoyable.

Not an elitist. I loved how empty the game was. It gave it the atmosphere of being in an isolated world. And its the one game that has made me cry. Every time I replay it.

Of course it wasn't good 'nuff.

Because there wasn't a PC version!

So basically if its not on the PC its not good enough? That's a bit PC elitist isn't it? I find games on the 360 to be pretty good even if they aren't on the PS3 and I am a huge PS2 and 3 fangirl. I do very few games on the PC. And the ones I do are ones that aren't available on console or FPS.

Can't fault a man for setting higher goals, though I find it hard to believe that SotC could be any better.

I concur. Though because he is not satisfied means that he can find ways to make The Last Guardian better than both Ico and SotC. I look forward to it and have it pre-ordered so I don't run into the problem I had with Ico and not being able to find it. However I do own SotC. and have seen Ico played.

 

[Iron Lightning]

Well, I hope they don't try too much to cater to the mainstream audience with some of the day's more tired cliches. Although I'm pretty sure that Team Ico couldn't make a bad game if they tried to do so.

Oh god... we all know what THIS means... a cover system, QTEs and regenerating health!

Well... to be fair Shadow of the Colossus does have regenerating health.

 

[Bobbity]

The bastard! How dare he criticise Ico or Shadow of the Colossus?!

That he's the creator of those games is not an excuse for such a heinous crime

 

[Proverbial Jon]

Well, I hope they don't try too much to cater to the mainstream audience with some of the day's more tired cliches. Although I'm pretty sure that Team Ico couldn't make a bad game if they tried to do so.

Oh god... we all know what THIS means... a cover system, QTEs and regenerating health!

Well... to be fair Shadow of the Colossus does have regenerating health.

Hmm yes, well you've got me on that one, good call! I hope you're right, Team Ico have a definate style and considerable quality which I'm hoping won't be tainted by the stupid, over-used mechanics of today.

 

[Gottesstrafe]

An artist is their own biggest critic, or should be anyway (looking at you Peter Molyneux). If he didn't think his games had room for improvement and declared them perfect, he'd be called out faster than an alien at a renaissance fair. Nostalgia aside, even I could point out parts of Ico or SotC I either didn't care for or thought could be improved. If 'The Last Guardian' becomes that much better a game because of Ueda's reflection on past experiences, you should all be grateful for it.

 

[Battenbergcake]

Least he's disatisfied with making good strong games as opposed to Activision who're satisfied to fart out any old dross, plop a 40 quid price tag on it and lavish it in self appointed accolades.

Kudos to, we only get better if we see the flaws in our own deisgns and try to work around them.

 

[Mister Benoit]

Can't fault a man for setting higher goals, though I find it hard to believe that SotC could be any better.

Meh, I can't stand the play the game due to the controls. They feel delayed and awkward. Additionally the frame rate and camera is pretty junky.

I guess. Looking back, yeah, I had some issues with the camera at points, but I didn't have trouble with the controls. I don't remember the frame rate being any worse than most PS2 games at the time -- nothing an HD facelift won't fix. So yeah, technically, some tweaks could have been made, but I found myself enjoying the overall experience too much to get bogged down in small faults (small IMO, anyway).

Naw SotC was ahead of its time on the PS2. The frame rate has fairly intense dips during the fights. I always felt like there was a slow response time to my actions, maybe you just get used to it in time and adapt but I sadly just didn't get into it. I still respect the game though and wouldn't mind giving it another go if they got around those issues with the rerelease.