JAW developing for PS4

[Xavier]

http://www.jawltd.com/2013/02/update/

So, do you think it's going to be an Oddworld game or something else?

[Crashpunk]

No doubt it will be Oddworld. Maybe they will port over the HD remakes onto the console at first then develop a new Oddworld game

[Josh]

It's be nice if it was Oddworld, but I also kind of hope they come up with an original title because it'd show off their talents more

[Slog Bait]

Not sure. It could go either way, really. On one hand, they only have one original title out. On the other hand, they've been focusing pretty hard on Oddworld lately. Of course, I hope it's the latter, but it would still be interesting to see something of their own.

[Xavier]

No doubt it will be Oddworld. Maybe they will port over the HD remakes onto the console at first then develop a new Oddworld game

Oh yeah very true: yay an new console to make ports for!

Seriously I really hope they are not going that road again and focus on new games and ideas. Personally, I'd prefer an Oddworld game but I guess anything is good. In the end it's quite obvious they are going to do some Oddworld for PS4 anyway, it's just it might not be there first project on it.

[Nate]

Given that their original games have all been mobile apps, I'm guessing this is an Oddworld thing. Don't forget the poll they had on their website a while back; they're clearly planning Oddworld in to the significant future.

[Phylum]

What about Gravity Crash? That was original.

[Nate]

Hmmm... you're right. For some reason I thought that was on the iPad.

I retract the first part of my last post.

[Wil]

The poll wasn't on the JAW website. It was on the Oddworld website.

[Xavier]

Yeah I had a hunch that the fact this was posted only on the JAW site and not the Oddworld site meant that the first project on PS4 might not be Oddworld related.

So you guys are developing a pinball game on PS4, right?

[Wil]

Haha, I think Stew would implode if he ever had to do pinball again.

[Nate]

The poll wasn't on the JAW website. It was on the Oddworld website.

So you're suggesting that Lorne might hire a different company to make Oddworld games? Eeeeenterestingk.

[Slog Bait]

It took me a second to realize that said "interesting".

[Josh]

I think Wil'd implode if JAW stopped with the Oddworld

[Xavier]

So you're suggesting that Lorne might hire a different company to make Oddworld games? Eeeeenterestingk.

Actually I think recalling Lorne mentioning that. We all Love JAW, but there is no reason OWI couldn't work with any other studio if they feel the chemistry is right.

[pupbenny]

I'm less enthusiastic about this Playstation 4. If Oddworld is made on it then loads of people won't be able to get it if it is.

Sometimes exclusivity can't be helped. Like how Oddworld was exclusive to PS3 and PC before New N' Tasty. It has been said that the PS4 probably won't be able to play PS1, PS2 and PS3 games. And those consoles won't be able to play PS4 games no doubt (That'd be very odd.). So if Oddworld was deveoped on the PS4 then they'd have to make the game again to get it on other consoles. I don't know if this is a problem however, as I believe that they do this anyway to get games on Xbox and PS, ect. I could be wrong about that though.

[Nate]

I'm less enthusiastic about this Playstation 4. If Oddworld is made on it then loads of people won't be able to get it if it is.

No-one said anything about exclusivity. Lorne has said a few times that he wants the games to be on as many consoles as possible.

[Hulaabeo]

I would have imploded if nothing came on the PC.

[AlexFili]

Looking forward to lots of new projects from the Oddworld team, particularly with regards to more genre-bending gameplay. Perhaps even some games set from the villain's perspective. Only time will tell

[Xavier]

No-one said anything about exclusivity. Lorne has said a few times that he wants the games to be on as many consoles as possible.

Yeah if they would just go ahead an not make any console exclusive game or even features...

That would be great.

[Nepsotic]

I'm less enthusiastic about this Playstation 4. If Oddworld is made on it then loads of people won't be able to get it if it is.

At the end of the day, it's all about making the money, and making a game for the PS4 will mean more money.

[Bullet Magnet]

Quite often developers and other creators of intellectual property will tell you that they are working on something but they "can't tell [us] what it is yet" or "can't talk about it yet." What does this mean precisely? It is code? Legalese? Is it a polite way of saying that they won't talk bout it, but could if they wanted to? Are there unseen, abominable forces prevented them from speaking about forbidden subjects? Eldritch interests to appease? Lawyers?

[Wil]

It can be for legal reasons, or at least the preference of the company that's helping you, but primarily it's to restrict information.

1) Keeps the competition from knowing what they're competing against.
2) Reduces the risk of public excitement peaking too far in advance of product release.
3) Prevents release of information that is likely to change in the future, staving off disappointment. Remember when JAW announced it would be working on Hand of Odd, and how we're not actually doing that? Remember Fangus? And Munch's Oddysee?

[Slog Bait]

2) Reduces the risk of public excitement peaking too far in advance of product release.
3) Prevents release of information that is likely to change in the future, staving off disappointment.

This is precisely why I hate it when a project is announced in it's earliest stages of development, and why I never let people in on projects I've started working on.

Seriously, these two are the actual worst from a consumer stand point.

[AlexFili]

This is precisely why I hate it when a project is announced in it's earliest stages of development, and why I never let people in on projects I've started working on.

Seriously, these two are the actual worst from a consumer stand point.

I agree. Remember all the hype that was associated with Bioshock Infinite? And then that got delayed and how annoyed people were? Many other games suffered the same fate. I say, leave them to come as a surprise, like Dishonored. Sometimes less is more!

[Slog Bait]

Rayman Legends was suffering that big time recently. To compensate they're releasing a challenge mode exclusive to the Wii U for free, and things seemed to quiet down considerably since that announcement.

[Michael]

Not too sold on the PS4 yet. The demos were impressive to be sure (especially Media Molecule's game sculpting tools- bring on LittleBigPlanet 3D!), but I'm still a little burned after having bought a second PS3 thanks to YLOD. I'll be keeping a close eye on it, reckon I'd give them a while to iron out all the problems first and buy one later when (if) it will actually work properly.

I'm very pleased to hear JAW will be supporting PS4! Seems a bit ironic though that after all their recent efforts to bring the Oddworld games up to date, very soon they will be 'last gen' again! The news that PS4 won't play PS3 games (including PSN downloads) is a little disconcerting too, as Oddworld is still really in the midst of its comeback. It would be a shame to cut some releases off from the others across consoles.

Remember when JAW announced it would be working on Hand of Odd, and how we're not actually doing that?

Wait, what? Is that true? If so, I must have missed that info, must say I'm disappointed, I was looking forward to it.

[Wil]

It's kind of ambitious for us at the moment. That's all. Small, safe, little, sustainable steps.

[STM]

Well at least Oddworld has learnt from its previous mistakes. If it's a road that takes a steady walk to get to the end goal then it's fine by me.

[AlexFili]

No Hand of Odd? That's a bit crappy. So much for working with social media. You see this is the problem with Oddworld, too many empty promises. Just tell us the truth dammit!