When the trailer for Hellblade started during Sony's Gamescom 2014 press conference, it was hard to shrug the resemblance to the PlayStation 3 title Heavenly Sword. That's for good reason, too, as it's being created by Ninja Theory, the same studio behind Enslaved and DmC: Devil May Cry. After chatting on its Twitter feed earlier in the day, the organisation revealed that it's making an "Independent AAA" game – one that has the quality of a blockbuster, but is built on a smaller scale – and this is it.
The move itself isn't a reckless one, and is the studio's response to the shifting games industry. "The transition now is the digital transition, just as with movies, books, and music" it explained. "We want to develop games in the space between AAA $60 games and indie games." After making three blockbusters, owning no intellectual properties, and its next-gen prototype Razer getting shot down at the green light stage, it spotted an opportunity to change. "The conditions of the AAA market mean that creativity can be restricted. People will always want to play creative games. There is a third way: independent AAA." Does this new mindset towards development make your more excited for the game? Let us know in the comments section below.
Comments 16
Not really sure what this is, but it definitely has that Ninja Theory 'look', doesn't it? I've liked all of this studio's games so far — even though I'm apparently in the minority — so can't wait to see more.
So how will people dimiss this if it is AAA and Indie on PS4? Very difficult I'll say.
@Punished_Boss Haha! Not exclusive?
@get2sammyb There's always something.
AAA Indie things are getting confusing I must say.
@Jazzer94 It's just a dumb buzz word really. What they actually mean is "it's an independently developed game with a bigger budget than what people typically associate indie with".
@get2sammyb All these new phrases/buzz words started in 7th gen and are really taken off these days it can just be a bit hard to keep up so thanks for the outline.
Cinematics look gorgeous. Gameplay please. I enjoyed heavenly sword up to a point but I just got bored after a while and switched off. I loved some of the voice acting in that game though.
It'll be mediocre to pathetically bad, like everything else NT has done.
And I bet people will love this game just because it's not a reboot of Devil May Cry.
Seriously haters, you're missing out on a great game if you're so ignorant to dismiss DmC just because Dante looks different. The gameplay is fantastic and unlike the other four Devil May Cry games Ninja Theory didn't feel the need to have mindless puzzles every 5 minutes which slowed things down to a halt. The combat and platforming are both great. Get off your damn high horse and go play an amazing game.
End rant.
Only a neenja can destroy a neenja :X
This was one of the games I'm actually on board with. Want to see gameplay but it's Ninja Theory so I expect it will be good. Just too bad we never got, and I guess never will get, an actual sequel to Heavenly Sword.
@Gamer83 They don't own the IP so they can't.
@NicolaHayden
Yeah, Sony owns the IP right? They could contract Ninja Theory to do a sequel but I guess they figure it wouldn't be worth it at this point.
@Gamer83 That is why they are doing this now. They want control over the games they are going to make.
So this is basically a Celtic Heavenly Sword?
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