Ben-DutkaPersonally, I've never really compared the two franchises – I know they're technically in the same genre, but I figure both are great in their own ways – but Ubisoft believes SCEA's stellar God of War series has stolen away some Prince of Persia fans.
This according to what Ubisoft animation director Jan-Erik Sjovall told CVG ; he says that based on gamer surveys, the team wanted to do two things: they wanted to bring back fans from Sands of Time that have gravitated towards GoW and at the same time, drag in all new fans. It's a tall order for Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands , which is technically a sequel to Sands of Time . Said Sjovall:
"When we make questionnaires and we ask, 'what did you play in the past?' The answer's 'Prince of Persia'. 'What do you play now?' 'God of War'. 'Would you play Prince of Persia again?' 'No, it's not hard enough.' So the idea [with Forgotten Sands] was clearly that we'd try to bring our old audience back, but also we're winning a new audience."
When asked what feature of GoW seemed to tempt players away from PoP, Sjovall said he believed it's "partially the animations;" specifically those nasty finishing moves for which Kratos is well known. Basically, he's saying the gore is what has enticed the fans and because there's little blood and gore in any PoP, that has had an adverse effect on its popularity. Okay, that's a little sad, but such is the way, I suppose. Added Sjovall:
"A lot of people ask, 'will you have gore in the game?' It'd fairly interesting. We want to have interesting fight sequences in there but not indulge in the violence like God of War does. We want to keep it interesting so the acrobatics, the story and the whole look are all supporting each other and people go, 'yeah, I want to play that game'."
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands is due out in May. And for the record, for those who are unfamiliar, PoP should include more puzzles and acrobatic platforming than any GoW.
Related Game(s): Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Can't someone be a fan of both, play both? They act like it is one or the other.
Did he ever think that it wasn't another game that pulled away their audience, but maybe their last game wasn't that good.
By the way, God of War III has pulled me away from FFXIII, so SEnix better make FFXIV have more gore in it, or I will not be playing it.
Last edited by MyWorstNightmar on 3/24/2010 9:49:36 PM
Same. I was grinding on chapter 11 on FFXIII and then God of War III arrived and i ended up liking it a lot more then i thought and more then the previous two. I'll get back to FFXIII shortly.
It's one or the other with me. Prince of Persia on PS3 plain sucked. It was hand-holding and repetition all the way through. GoW on the other hand…
Sands of Time was a classic game, to recapture that glory would be great. I don't believe gore is necessary either it has it's place, but Sands of Time was great due to it's mechanics and wit.
I loved the sands, warrior within, and the 2 thrones… this new crap they put in front of us and called PoP was S.H.!.T compared to the real thing! Now that they're bringing back a sands oriented game has me excited. The fact that you can even control the elements (ex. Freeze waterfalls and run up them to achieve a desired goal, or reach a platform) has me freaking intrigued…
I don't buy this really, it's not as if they keep on releasing on top of each other. Any one who appreciates both styles could easily get both. This is just a hedge to explain lower than astronomical sales.
I agree. I think a more accurate statement on their part would've been that they've lost more customers to FPS's, and other online games, this generation. Single player genre's have become less popular as other genres have monopolized the young-to-mid-aged adult, casual gamer market.
Personally, I loved the last POP. It had awesome set pieces, level design, platforming, and art-direction. It's simple but fun design and gameplay won me over from the decadent, and ambitious design of the AC series. And that say's a lot.
I don't believe that for a minute. First off, PoP hasn't kept much of an momentum to their namesake (not really a series since the games don't continue a story like the GoW series does) and it hurts them more than it helps. PoP is more of the Zelda or Mario of the genre rather than what they're comparing themselves to.
That said, I find it ironic that they are going to release their game in the same quarter of the year as GoW. If you're affraid of competition (which, to me, isn't even comparable due to totally different styles)then you're best off running in the opposite direction instead of taking a couple strides back and hoping for the best.
I'm shocked that they said this. it's an excuse for poor sales for the last prince of persia they released. I'm a big fan of both. the last prince of persia title drift off from the originals; thus, i did not get it. I would say its their fault. however this new prince of persia got my attention greatly. they seem to be going back to their roots and bring new elements. for me its a buy. Should not blame others. Again the new Prince will turn some heads.
Well honestly, there's more gore in the first 2D PoP than the ones they've been churning out lately. As for the combat, they've gone and improved it with the latest PoP but then practically remove combat from the game altogether. They've really gotta make up their minds.
What? I find this untrue because I love the PoP games, regardless of GOW's success or not (and I love the GOW games too).
To me, the only reason Ubisoft is doing Prince of Persia: the Forgotten Sands, is because they want the success and former glory to return to the PoP series, like with Sands of Time.
They're kind of experimenting with the PoP franchise right now, as after Forgotten Sands, are they going make a new sequel to PoP that released in 2008 (which was a really great game to me, that hasn't had a proper ending yet), or are they going to make more PoP entries in The Sands of Time trilogy?
Whichever way they go, I hope the direction's a positive one and not one that would make Ubisoft say such things such as this.
Last edited by Victor321 on 3/24/2010 10:47:24 PM
God of War is just a better game then pretty much anything Ubisoft does period.
Make better games and fix the screen tearing.
haha!! i have to agree with you, (although i love the prince of persia series)they need to work a lot on their graphics engine.
Maybe Ubi just wanted to mention PoP and GOW in the same sentence/paragraph/headline hmm?
honestly it's not the fans that left them it's them not putting out quality games, the last POP was a flop due to the graphics and controls. If they kept it exclusive and concentrated on the graphics ect. and took more time to make it the game would of done so much better but they rushed it. I love POP but the last one killed it for me.
to be quite honest, ive only ever owned and played the original orince of persia, I even have the psn version. the others dont interest me in the slightest. so the franchise never had me. I dont see the comparison in the slightest
Blood, really?
How 'bout character design
Kratos > any Prince of Persia character
Those Pop pansies can't compare to Kratos.
But it's not just that; everything from enemies, to the environment designs, to the story is tighter in GOW than in pop
But what really puts GOW in its own leauge is one word: variety
There's so much variety from scene to scene, place to place, plot to plot in everything you do in the GOW series.
Blood doesn't matter to me, at all
Those old cliches about Americans being all gong-ho for blood don't make sense in the 21st Century*
Last edited by Scarecrow on 3/24/2010 11:57:35 PM
You bet GOW3 has variety. There's even a little Guitar Hero and Echocrome in it!
Accusing GOW of stealing POP fans sounds like an excuse for POP to "permanently borrow" some ideas from GOW for their next installment.
Well, there last prince of persia game released this gen was Horrible, so im hoping this one is much better
I don't know about others, but they didn't lose me. I'm still PoP fan as well as God of War fan. But I guess the only difference is that God of War series is like top 3 game on my list, but PoP… I can't say the same.
have played all of the releases of POP xcept the last one…why?
didnt like the art direction for one, two it seemed to have less combat in it , not that i want pop to be prince of war in anyway , the clever trap rooms, the dificult acrobatics, and the agility of the prince like vaulting over enemies or using a column to slice enemies all around him, this interactivity in combat is what made it stand out for me when i played them..
this stuff is missing in the last entry, so idont care too much for it…..
want me to buy a pop game?
then do the combat system from the two thrones and continue the story after sands of time like you planned, also more variety in enemies and combat situations like god of war
the franchise is good in its own right, its just a matter of them headinng in a direction that takes away from what appealed to me from sands of time and two thrones in the first place ( im also one of the rare people that actually enjoyed the 2nd one and the dahaka chasing me )
Ubisoft, ubisoft, ubisoft, ubisoft, ubisoft….
What was your last game again?
No wonder you lost a lot of fans……
Assassin's Creed 2…
These are 2 different games, there is some overlap but not enough to justify the statement.
its not?
im trying to plat GOW3 and its driving me absolutely fu**ing INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i can not believe for the life of me how fu**ing hard chaos mode is.
i finished all of GOW3 with no problems really, i died more times because of the stupid camera or sluggish controls than i did because of loss of health.
now im replaying the game on chaos and im up to the hades boss battle and jesus fu**ing christ he is fu**ing god dam fu***ng hard!!!!!
im so pissed they did not give us checkpoints for each stage.
i can get past the first 2 stages no problems, i did it this morning and in the first 2 stages i did not get hit once.
than along comes the 3rd stage and 10 minutes later i died and have to start all over again.
WTF????????
how the ^%$# am i suppose to take off all of his health 3 times in the time he only has to take off mine once?
its like a ant versus a fu**ing wrecking ball.
i know which ones going to win that fight!
there is a reason its called god mode u kno? dont like a challenge dont play it in god mode , simple as that…i dont get people nowadays, they complain about a game too short , yet they get upset when they cant beat an encounter in 10 minutes of trying….all i can say its either keep at it, or lower the difficulty, but dont complain about that , please,….. its like driving a porsche and complaining about the road conditions FFS
its not that the games too hard, its fu**ing easy IF they had the god dam checkpoints in there.
as i said how the fu** am i suppose to take of his health 3 times in the time he only needs to take mine off once.
o, and i forgot to mention he only needs to hit you 4 times to kill you.
tonight i got upto the 3rd stage used ALL my magic, ALL of the rage of the titans and hit him another 50 times using the chaos spin and he STILL did not die.
how the ^%$# can he take so much punishment?
magic should be enough to take off one stage, let alone rage of the titans, let alone putting the 2 together AND add 50 chaos spins to the mix.
honestly this bastards so freaking strong you could shove a atomic bomb up his a$$ and he STILL would not be dead.
thats the biggest problem with GOW.
most games take something and thats it, GOW has to take it over the top.
a game will have you fight a cyclops and minions.
GOW will have you fight a cyclops another cyclops and minions and other things.
it just does not know when enough is enough!
not to mention this is the only series i have ever played that will not let you stop a combo mid combo.
why?
in darksiders, DMC, bayonetta, dantes inferno, ninja gaiden.
in those games if i start a combo than a enemy attacks me i can stop the combo and doge or block.
GOW you cant.
just that alone, if i could stop my combo id be finished by now.
oh another one.
hades attacks are so random.
he starts off with the 3 swing attack and in between each attack you have enough time to do 1 chaos spin attack (L1 and square)
first time, 2nd,3rd, 4th,5th and so on i have time to do that attack in between his attacks.
but than some times he attacks and attacks again with no pause.
how the hell am i suppose to be able to tell if hes going to pause or not?
some times he attacks than waits, sometimes he does not how am i suppose to know when hes going to wait and when hes not?
how can i think ahead and plan my attacks if i dont even know what hes going to do?
if he was consistent like poesidon he would be easy, but hes not.
some times he does x amount of attacks in a row without pausing and other times he does one than pauses.
a little consistency please?
What? There's no trophy for finishing the game on Chaos mode.
@ Irievibes – LOL @ "god mode" That's something else entirely.
Chaos spin is a weak move against large enemies. Square Square Triangle if you haven't upgraded your weapons. If you can't dodge his attacks, use majic as it is about to hit you. I'm on my second playthrough on normal diffi now, but when I faced him he only touched me twice.
"a little consistency???
Krato's says…Just stick with pudding in a blender then, & set on high.
Last edited by BikerSaint on 3/25/2010 9:48:53 PM
yea i know its weak but you cant use any triangle attacks because their too slow.
you only have a very short window to get your attacks in, miss it and your going to be doing your combo when he attacks and if your doing it on chaos like i am you will literally loose half your health every time he hits you.
this game has absolutely no consistency what so ever.
last night i spent like 2 hours straight trying to beat hades.
first stage i would use just chaos spin and spam arrows.
2nd stage i used all my magic and my rage of the titans and arrows and some chaos spin if i had enough health.
i never got upto 3rd stage last night.
tonight first stage i did the same.
2nd stage i used my rage of the titans and BOOM! the QTE came up and i took him down to stage 3.
than i used my magic and he went down!
WTF
how does that work?
last night magic + rage of the titans + chaos spin + arrows did not take off not even one stage.
but tonight rage of the titans and magic both took off a stage each.
how does that work?
this game is so random!
one time a enemy takes 50 hits of a certain combo to kill, the next time it only takes 24………….. a little consistency please!
hello …
i've been playing SoT a little, then because i take so long with all games, number 2 & 3 were out, so i never finished any. I never started the last 1 & i still intend in buying forgotten sands. I like the genre & the franchise, i even bought PoP classic off PSN, but not playing it either.
I finished GOW1, was around half GOW2 when i stopped, now got Collection & just tried it, need to continue, some day before my GOW3 gets into my hands …
yes i'm fan of both, gore or not. just play more GOW that PoP still …
cheers!
The gore in God of War games works because it has context — Ancient Greece was bloody, and mythological ancient Greece is REALLY bloody. You play a semi-supernatural Spartan warrior who's borderline psychotic, and his enemies are even worse. The intense gore makes sense in this setting.
I'd hate to see any series adopt that level of gore just for the sake of doing it, or a misguided attempt to bolster sales.
Wow… what a great comment. If a game has to have violence, it should have some sort of context to it. Violence for the sake of violence has always bothered me. Prince of Persia DOES NOT need gore, and I believe some of the older PS2 games were docked points by fans and critics because the gore was "unnecessary."
Btw, Resonance of Fate has pulled me away from White Knight Chronicles because WKC doesn't have enough GUNS in it. *rolls eyes*
-Arvis
I quit playing the last Prince of Persia due to the graphics. Was not a fan of that cell shade look at all.
Not even Nathan Drake could keep me playing that game.
Yeah, they don't need to change PoP. We already have a God of War clone… Dante's Inferno.
meh, i have had enough with PoP games. move the talent onto something new please Ubisoft, and I believe u will be able to achieve some other greatness without PoP.
Last edited by BigBoss4ever on 3/26/2010 5:39:49 PM