Why couldn't Munch have been on PS2?
 

I was just replaying Munch's Odyssey for the first time in years and it hit me that I think I've seen PS2 games with better graphics then this. I gotta give it a break though considering it was a launch title back then and Xbox did have games with better visuals back then. Still its rather disappointing to know they ended up cutting out so much for a rush release on Xbox when the system it was originally for later down the line has games that look just as good as any Xbox game.

I think at the time PS2 graphics were somewhat poor, but I don't know. I've only played MO on 360 and it has thousands of compatibility issues, but, at least it works.

Lorne Lanning has given some of comments about the Xbox switch, I just don't know where they are to quote them.

I think that one of the main reasons they changed was because it was easier to program for the XBox.

Xbox had a lot more to offer. (so they say)
Yes it is sad that stuff gets cut out games, but happens. stuff gets cut out all the time, they simply cant put too much onto consoles these days.

As I have found out with my Xbox 360. The internet will not work, Oh well that's Microsoft for you.

I also suppose the Xbox was more like a computer. So technicaly it was easier to program.

Yeah but do you realize they cut out over half the plot thanks to time constraints and transfer between the two systems? It's more then just a little that got cut.

dont forget that red rings of death BS:p

not exactly, it's more based on memory.

And I think I know it all.

Yerh, is it true that the elite can only get 3 red lights not 4? And is it something to do with plastic clips if it's 3 red lights?

Also, that's unlucky about MO, but I don't think it would of been any better. The original 2D's were better in every way.

Meh 360 is fail for the most part but then again PS3 is still ridiculously priced.

all models can get 3 rings, three means hardware error, two means its overheated. i just open mine up and spray all the dust out

Yeah, when I play MO I can't help but feel like I'm playing a rushed shadow of what should have been.

Thats why I got a 360, an elite as well thinking it wont break...

Thanks for that, Odd, I'll remember that.

Good for you. People who send theirs in to get fixed for 50$ need to man the fuck up and do shit like that to prevent it from happening in the first place.

Knowing how to solder also helps. :P

I wouldn't solder it if the warranty is still valid though lol.

if you break the sticker inside, the warrenty is no longer valid. it also costs $100 to fix with out the warrenty. just learn to fix it yourself, its not that hard. hell i fixed my ps2 by opening it up and it works like new.

Lol I've done that, it dropped of the top of the TV and the spiral bar that spins the CD came out of place so I just clicked it back in. Now though you have to put something heavy on top of the CD lid so it knows the lid is closed.

MO could have been on the PS2 easily, but Microsoft offered a lot of money for exclusive games on their Xbox, so some game designers went to Xbox only, like Lorne did with Oddworld Inhabitants. I think he still regrets that till now, or maybe not because now he is doing what he always wanted to do, make nice story's!

I dispute this fact. Lorne said repeatedly that they struggled with the PS2's limitations and wanted to go to the Xbox because it had much more powerful hardware. That they then got caught in a binding contract that limited their development time was a seperate issue.

Also, it should be remembered that the early MO videos were not actual gameplay footage. They were hand-animated and prerendered in order to demostrate what they were hoping the game would look like.

I wish it was on PS2. I don't have an Xbox.

If I see MO in the state it is on the XBOX, I can pretty much say it can be on PS2. I don't know, but to me Metal Gear Solid 2&3, God of War 1&2 and sum other games work very good on the PS2 and some look better than MO does on the XBOX. And what about all those games that appeared on both Xbox and Ps2? Ps2 is just harder to develop for, so it would be the lack of developers if they couldn't get it on.

Offcourse the game would have its limitations, but they also didn't get to do everything they wanted on the XBOX (even if they would have had the time given), because you simply lay your expectations a bit higher every time you achieve something. But then one day you have to say to yourself that this is it what you can do, and then take the most out of that. If they would have had it developed for the ps2, the game might have been a bit different, but not less fun non the less I guess, because every Oddworld game is fun.

And what about the FACT that they made Stranger, that took more out of the XBOX than MO?. I heard a lot of rumors that it would also be ported to the ps2. But they didn't do that because of lack in interest. But it would have been possible for sure!.

The limitations are not in the machine, but in the creativety on how to reach those limitations.

The limitations are most assuredly not just in the creativity of the developers, but also in the time, expenditure and efficiency involved in development, the cooperation of the console’s dev support, and the morale of the developers that results from these. At the time, the PS2 was not as good as the Xbox in any of these qualities.

The simple fact that there have been games on both the PS2 and Xbox that are technologically more sophisticated than Munch’s Oddysee matters not. Given enough time, of course solutions would have been found, and obviously over time developers on the whole were able to make better use of consoles’ resources as better development tools and knowledge accumulate. This stands to reason, and even at the time of MO’s release Lorne acknowledged that they had only made use of a fraction of the Xbox’s capabilities.

Nothing that has been accomplished on either console since changes what understanding and resources Oddworld Inhabitants had at the time they switched to the Xbox. Microsoft gave them better dev support, higher technical capabilities, and probably a good financial incentive.

Indeed Max, that is the anwer to the question why it DIDN'T appear on PS2. But the question was, why it COULDN'T. And the answer to that, is that it certainly COULD have been on PS2, but it didn't. It is a shame, because on the day I wanted to buy a ps2 (one day BEFORE official launch day in Europe) I read in a magazine that Oddworld became XBOX exclusive!!!!.
No second thoughts, I bought that ps2 anyway, but it did cost me also to buy an XBOX. And boy, I didn't use that thing much :). All heart and soul for Oddworld (my first ever demo I played on the PSX).

Yah know what's funny... In AE it said "Don't even think about running it on your measly 32bit system", and yet the Xbox was 32bit! :D

You've missed the point, erwinraaben55. MO as it was released on the Xbox was not the game that Lorne planned when they decided to make the switch. That original plan would have been impossible on the PS2, so they tried to make it for the Xbox. Turns out that it was impossible to make it for the Xbox in the limited time they had been given, so the game was dumbed down significantly.

The Xbox was definitely more capable than the PS2 as far as specs go, but I think the PS2 could've handled the MO that was released on the Xbox, graphics wise.

I understand that they wanted to do more and I wish they had but I thought it was a good game regardless.

why does this thread still get fucking made

The lack of Oddworld news I suppose? Also it's fun to pretend you're an expert on something.

We.....need....a.....new.......Oddworld game........NOW......*dies*

Crashpunk, this was totally pointless. Please cut the spam, otherwise I'll have to give you an infraction

Of the previous generation, Xbox was simply the console with the best graphical capabilities. Once they signed up with Microsoft, they had a kind of exclusivity deal, although there were PS2 versions of Munch's Oddysee and Stranger's Wrath planned at one point, both scrapped.

Okay sorry.

The Xbox was Newier then the PS2 at the time right, it seemed a good idea to realise it for Xbox as it would get more people into the new console. Still thats no reason why it couldn't of been realsed for PS2 as well. Mabye we'll never know.

By the way. Is there any news for a Steam version of MO?

Technically no reason except it was an exclusivity deal. OWI wanted to go first-party with Microsoft, and the only way to do that was to sign for Xbox exclusivity.

I really have to remind people that had OWI stuck with the PS2, the end result wouldn't necessarily have been a better game. It's not like it was 90% completed on there with all the promised features when they struck the deal.

So with it being exclusive for xbox, is that the reason why there is no PC version? I would have though PC would have been exempt from that deal, but who knows.

I honestly don’t know. There are other Xbox-exclusive titles that ended up on PC, right? So my initial guess would be that there’s nothing in the deal preventing it, at least nothing that can’t be gone back on.

I don’t know whether it was Lorne or Microsoft that provided the biggest hurdle to PC publication. I can very much see Lorne not wanting to use OWI to port the game when he wanted them working on new things (like how Stranger was being ported to PS2 by a third party — not sure why that was halted at all; just because it would have been later than the Xbox release? Pfffft).

Because EA are a pack of morons and pulled the plug.

That’s the agent of the cancellation, not the reason.

Bolded part implies that Lorne was the agent.

I knew you knew he wasn't, but I wanted to clarify for anyone else reading the thread who might one day shout out about how Max the Mug says that it was Lorne's decision so it must be true.