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Gamersyde told Beyond Good and Evil 2 is 'on hold' - Ubisoft won't comment

by Alexander Sliwinski { Aug 26th 2009 at 9:29AM }

Bad news for you Jade and Uncle Pey'J fans out there: Gamersyde was apparently told last week at GamesCom that Beyond Good and Evil 2 is currently in the freezer with no thaw date. Staff writer Colin Solal Cardo tweeted that he received "confirmation" from Ubisoft that the title was "on hold for now." Joystiq's attempts to receive comment from Ubisoft have been met by either silence or a statement that the company will not comment on "rumors and speculation." Well, if no one at Ubisoft told Mr. Cardo that the game was "on hold for now" then why not say as much?

Ubisoft's noncommittal aloofness doesn't end there: a couple months ago the company's North American president didn't seem to recognize a sequel was in production; Ubisoft has yet to simply confirm active production of the game it chose to close out its Ubidays 2008 event with. So, Ubisoft gets fans riled up and now won't even offer a simple update on the status of the game's development. Classy!

Ancel says 9/11 influenced Beyond Good & Evil

by Ben Gilbert { Apr 4th 2009 at 12:30PM }

Thanks to the fine French-speaking folks at Eurogamer France, Eurogamer has a more thorough translation of Michel Ancel's interview regarding his upcoming game for Ubisoft, Beyond Good & Evil 2. According to their translation, Ancel reveals inspiration in "the theme of September 11 - the CNN show with army messages and the fear climate," among other, totally different things, like Hayao Miyazaki for instance.

He also revealed that this sequel will be a direct continuation of the story from the original BG&E, saying, "The story continues and we'll react on important events of the first." We've still got no good information on platforms or release date but hopefully the upcoming re-embiggened E3 Expo will shed some light on the game. "Players who like the first should like the second," Ancel left the interviewer with. We're keeping hope alive.

[Via GamePolitics]

Gallery: Beyond Good & Evil 2

Beyond Good & Evil 2 to be bigger, better ... more badass?

by Ben Gilbert { Apr 3rd 2009 at 10:18AM }

Developer Michel Ancel allegedly told All-Gamers.fr that Beyond Good & Evil 2 would "be bigger, more immersive and include more investigations," directly challenging ~~Cliffy B~~ Young Clifford for the "Greatest Self-Promoter" award. In a video interview conducted last week, Ancel (again, allegedly -- all this stuff's in French!) talked about the current development process for BG&E2 (still in pre-production), the return of the first game's characters ("lots" will be returning), and the problems his development team had with the first game (PS2 "didn't live up to their expectations").

Confirming what we've heard before about the sequel, Ancel also apparently notes that the gameplay will be different this time around, as the team's looking for ways to distinguish it from the original. Though he didn't go into more detail (at least, as far as we know) regarding controls, we can't help but worry after what Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said last year. Interestingly, during the interview, the developer remained cagey regarding the possibility of a Wii version, though he apparently didn't deny the possibility of a port in the future.

French-speaking Joystiq readers should feel free to confirm or deny Mr. Ancel's interview statements in the comment section below.

Gallery: Beyond Good & Evil 2

[Via Gamezine.co.uk. Thanks, Mr. V!]

GameStop letting the rabbids out of the bag early?

by David Hinkle { Nov 13th 2008 at 4:27PM }

Reader Joshua is one lucky dude. He managed to score a copy of Raving Rabbids TV Party from his local GameStop. Being that they specialize in games, we're surprised to hear about them violating the street date for this title. Sure, it's only a week early, but while Joshua is sitting at home, enjoying his game, we're writing about him enjoying his game. Oh, how we wish we were him!

If you're looking to score a copy early, you might want to hit up your local GameStop, as Joshua suggests. They might do the same thing for you. And if you're looking for some video from the game, hit up Joshua's site here.

Gallery: Raving Rabbids TV Party

Born for Wii: Beyond Good & Evil

by Wesley Fenlon { Jul 8th 2008 at 10:15AM }

When Friedrich Nietzsche wrote his famous philosophical work Beyond Good and Evil in the late 19th century, odds are he didn't think that it would be a source of inspiration for video games over a century later. Namco proved him wrong with their trilogy of Xenosaga RPGs, each of which had a subtitle referencing a Nietzsche work (such as "Jenseits von Gut und Böse"). But it's another wannabe trilogy that owes its moniker to Nietzsche that's up for recognition.

Beyond Good & Evil was published at the height of the Christmas rush in December 2003, and despite its war-on-all-fronts release on the GameCube, PS2, Xbox, and PC, it simply failed to sell. The game received widespread critical acclaim, but competition from other games caused it to be given a jarring price drop mere weeks after its release. Even so, those in the know played Beyond Good & Evil and saw it for what it was -- a fantastic adventure with a unique world and an appealing cast of heroes. And though it took four years, Ubisoft finally gave a sequel the green light -- so it's time to show the original game some much-deserved love.

Gallery: Born for Wii: Beyond Good & Evil

Continued →

Beyond Good & Evil 2 'done for the new generation'

by Ludwig Kietzmann { May 29th 2008 at 7:00PM }

Did the long-awaited dream suddenly become an inescapable nightmare? Speaking to Next Generation, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot describes the recently announced Beyond Good & Evil sequel as a game done "for the new generation that's come into videogames." That's not you or me, folks, that's the person over there doing yoga on a Wii balance board. Yves notes that the game will be made "more accessible," a supposed improvement from a title that was "probably a little too difficult for the general gamers at that time."

Says Guillemot: "We had a different audience at that time. We had more core gamers than casual gamers than we have today." Let's not be dense about this -- Beyond Good & Evil was a beloved, abysmal commercial failure that caused the industry to bust a gut whenever a continuation was mentioned. We can hardly begrudge Ubisoft for wanting loads of people to actually buy it this time around. However, it's is a very fine line to walk, and the desires of core and casual gamers don't necessarily agree. Guillemot himself admits that "so many customers were extremely happy with the game," and we can only hope that he doesn't see Fit to pull their pants down just because it'll make the casuals giggle.

For now, we'll have to trust in series (OMG it's a series now!) creator, Michel Ancel, being able to deliver the game as he envisions it. Heck, the man's paid his dues in Rabbids by now, hasn't he? Ubisoft owes him.

Gallery: Beyond Good & Evil 2

Ubisoft reveals Beyond Good & Evil 2

by David Hinkle { May 28th 2008 at 2:52PM }

Looks like the rumors were true!

Now, before you start getting your hopes up, close your eyes and take a deep breath. Once done, then give a click on one of the images below. Those graphics are pretty darn sweet, eh? Well, we're not saying the Wii isn't capable of such graphics, just that the likelihood of this being an Xbox 360 and PS3 reveal is high. We're not going to rule out the game arriving on Wii, though. The first title was multi-platform (this blogger has the GameCube port of the first title), so let's hope Ubisoft puts the second game out on all systems.

After checking out the screens, head past the break for a video.

Gallery: Beyond Good & Evil 2

Continued →

Beyond Good & Evil 2 revealed at Ubidays 2008

by James Ransom-Wiley { May 28th 2008 at 2:41PM }

click to enlarge

Closing out the Ubidays 2008 live conference, CEO Yves Guillemot left the audience with one final teaser: the next project from designer Michel Ancel. While the trailer stops short of naming its subject, we'd recognize that schnozzle anywhere. Why that's Uncle Pey'j of course! And look at dear Jade, she's gone and grown out her hair.

The "Beyond Good & Evil 2" debut trailer is posted after the break! (Beware: Graphic fly snorting ensues.)

Gallery: Beyond Good & Evil 2

Continued →

Get teased about Rayman Raving Rabbids 3

by David Hinkle { May 26th 2008 at 2:00PM }

We don't have to tell you how charmingly insane those little rabbids are. Even when it comes to Wii Fit, they just have to find their own delightfully ridiculous way of doing things. Well, it would seem, based on the teaser trailer above, that you can look forward to a third installment in the Rayman Raving Rabbids franchise. Hard to believe, we know, seeing as how a lot of you bought the previous titles in the franchise.

Who's excited about a new Rayman Raving Rabbids game? Anything you'd like to change in the new game that you weren't all that happy about in the last two games?

Is Beyond Good & Evil 2 in production despite lack of approval from Ubi?

by David Hinkle { May 15th 2008 at 6:00PM }

Those of you with weak hearts, you might want to double up on your medication for this one. Michel Ancel, the dude responsible for the amazing Beyond Good & Evil and the Rayman games, has apparently confirmed with a French magazine that not only is work on Beyond Good & Evil 2 underway, but it's been worked on for over a year. We doubt there are words that can describe how you're feeling right now, so just hug your monitor right this instant. Go ahead, we're doing the same.

Okay, done? Good. Now, the only problem with all of this is that Ancel also said that Ubisoft did not green-light the project. With a total of 10-12 people working on the pre-production, we've got our fingers permanently crossed in hopes that Ubisoft will see that this sequel needs to happen. Also, we're going to keep this one labeled as a rumor, for now, considering how often we hear about a sequel to this game, only to have our hopes and dreams shattered.

If you work at Ubisoft and are reading this, tell your bosses that everyone wants this! Oh, and tell them to make it for the Wii, as well.

[Via Joystiq]