Killzone 2 dated February 2009
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ May 6th 2008 at 11:45AM }
We're contacting Sony to confirm whether the Feb. '09 date is just for the European release or a worldwide launch. Update: A Sony spokesperson told us they "haven't made any announcements for Killzone 2's release date in North
America" but, perhaps sensing our disappointment, said they'll have "more news for [us] in the next couple of weeks." You'll know when we know, you know?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Korova @ May 6th 2008 11:51AM
another holiday set back for the station
Go White Sox and Go other Team @ May 6th 2008 11:54AM
I don't see how this is a setback, there are SO MANY big PS3 games coming (I don't need to Fernando them do I) that I welcome the small delay of Killzone2 to Febuary. This title will be preceeded by MASSIVE hype and Sony needs this one in the spotlight.
If they pull this off and get it that last little bit so that it surpasses the E305 trailer, then all will be forgiven and Sony will be able to say "I'd rather grab my dick and tell your Mom to Fuck off" too all the naysayers on the PS3.
voodoo_craig @ May 6th 2008 11:59AM
Do you really think it's possible for this game? First off, you cant expect people to stay excited after waiting so long and secondly, why should anyone be excited in the first place?
The footage at E305 wasn't rendered on a PS3 and the first game was very glitchy and had average gameplay. I really can't understand the hype for this game.
I'm with Alan, Resistance 2 is where it's at.
Korova @ May 6th 2008 12:22PM
How do you ask one of your primary developers to be the last kid picked on the playground? How much money will that game not make because it will come after?
I dont think Killzone2 is an event, like GTA or MSG, that can happened without the atmosphere of the holiday season. They are endangering a fledgling franchise.
arrrgh @ May 6th 2008 12:26PM
dont worry, they'll just whip up another famous pre-rendered cg trailer and tell everyone that it's in game footage
samfish @ May 6th 2008 12:38PM
Just like the Naruto PS3 game!
Seriously...go look at those screenshots on Kotaku now. They don't even look CLOSE to what we saw in the trailer and those first few screen shots.
FOXHOUND @ May 6th 2008 12:43PM
Samfish ---
I know you're just stating NARUTO as an example and all... but really, unless it's Joe Musashi, Ryu Hayabusa, or even Rikimaru; I'm not even looking in most ninja-themed games direction. For any system. XD
samfish @ May 6th 2008 12:53PM
I'm just disappointed is all.
Even though I'd never buy a Narutard game even if you gave me the money, I was still fairly excited to see what appeared to be a game that managed to look as good as an actual cartoon, due to my having a thing for cell shaded games.
...alas......alas...t'was not to be...
tmacairjordan87 @ May 6th 2008 12:55PM
I don't want to hurt your feelings, but MGS isn't an "event" either it just doesn't sell enough to warrant massive midnight openings and such. Only 3 games really do nowadays and that's halo, gta and the WoW expansions
samfish @ May 6th 2008 12:59PM
I think you forgot about all of those Smash Bros midnight launches with their tournaments...
tmacairjordan87 @ May 6th 2008 1:06PM
Well i guess that too then. Didn't know they had midnight launches for that.
kbomb1upc @ May 6th 2008 1:13PM
@arrrgh
"dont worry, they'll just whip up another famous pre-rendered cg trailer and tell everyone that it's in game footage"
The footage they showed at E3'07 was better they the pre-rendered CG trailer they showed at E3'05. They can take all the time they want just as long they can make a really good game.
xFenixKnightx @ May 6th 2008 1:16PM
Tmacairjordan
Add GOW2 to that midnight-launch list. ;) Oh and Madden always has midnight launches acording to one of my buddies that used to work at GS.
arrrgh @ May 6th 2008 1:20PM
im not gonna lie. it looks good graphically.
but man
if you think it actually looks BETTER, you're deluding yourself. It's ALMOST up there with the cg version...2 years of dev later...
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=170717
enjoy
FOXHOUND @ May 6th 2008 1:41PM
tmacairjordan87 ---
MGS doesn't sell enough to warrant a midnight launch? x_o" Not sure where you got that in your head, but if the game is getting 4 different PS3 bundles & accessories in Japan alone; I think there's a *hint* of appeal out there. Now, I'm not blind to the fact that the likes of MARIO or even HALO have sold more(one is rated better for the masses and better known than the M-rated MGS; the other is a good casual shooter FPS game... You don't need to spend a long time learning the controls unlike MGS). However, there's no doubting that MGS was a huge factor in helping sell the PlayStation brand.
But hey... if you need the numbers:
» MGS1
Metacritic Average Score of 94%
Consistantly ranked in top 50 or better in "Best Games of All Time Listing"
Over 6 million copies shipped
»MGS2
Metacritic Average Score of 95% (4th highest game on PS2)
Over 7 million copies shipped
»MGS3
Metacritic Average Score of 91%(Subsistence got 94%)
Over 3 million copies shipped
...so yeah, I could see a midnight launch of MGS easily compared to UNCHARTED, MOTORSTORM, or even RESISTANCE2; despite those other notable games mentioned.
Anni @ May 6th 2008 2:33PM
I can't tell if Go White Sox and Go other Team is a bigger viral marketer for the White Socks or for Sony.
tmacairjordan87 @ May 6th 2008 2:38PM
I'm sorry but shipping stats does nothing for me. A company can pack 6 million boxes full of shit and ship it but that doesn't mean they sold 6 million. That's also over the course of several years on a console with 100 million+ owners. PS3 only has like 11-12 million now.
It'll probably get to 5 million in at least a year or so, but that's nowhere near enough to warrant midnight openings.
Korova @ May 6th 2008 2:48PM
no feelings hurt, but MSG4 is more of an event than KZ2. I am not expecting a KZ2 bundle with a new back to the future controller.
FOXHOUND @ May 6th 2008 3:39PM
tmacairjordan87---
I don't think you're entirely familiar with that kind of distribution statistic(and whether you give a damn about it is your perogative entirely). Granted, a company COULD maliciously send "6 million boxes of shit" as you exclaimed, which most likely equates to 80-95% of that being sold by the publisher's distributor. Either way, if the six million ordered were picked up by distribution(and let's face it, in a case of the MGS series, they probably were); then the publisher has already made their money.
Whether or not MGS made money afterward at retail or was resold is another factor entirely. But surely, it had gained enough attention and profit to warrant so many sequels/spin-offs. If it hadn't, the distributors/retailers wouldn't buy the bulk stock of the game to sell... or would do it at significantly lowered percentage. It's a dicey chance to take as a marketing analyst - figuring out if there truly is enough demand to warrant advertising hype from a mere magazine ad to pressuring companies to allow their item for midnight release.
...oh, and keep in mind also that the game DID sell out the special edition PS3 console bundled with it in Japan within six days. Six days for a bundle priced at ¥51,800.00($494.28USD approx.), mind you. Assumably, nearly the same could occur here, though as of typing this, no retail store has issued preorder for the system bundle yet. Yet, many GameStop/GameRush/etc. stores are offering midnight release.
But hey, don't worry about going to a midnight release for the game because you don't think it's necessary. That's one less person I have to stand around with(or behind)at 12AM. No worries.
Korova @ May 6th 2008 3:48PM
foxhound, I dont think in this day and age midnight camping for a game is necessary. A console - thats another matter.
As for MSG4 bundle preorder - buy.com is taking them, although they are not guaranteeing fulfillment (no pun intended)
arrrgh @ May 6th 2008 4:02PM
AHHAAH but the pun was amazing!!
Bleu @ May 7th 2008 10:08AM
I dont care what none of you guys say this is a day one launch for me so I cant wait. All this waiting can only make the game better.
Go White Sox and Go other Team @ May 6th 2008 11:51AM
So now we have Febuary to look forward to. And for those of you in temparate climates, it will be cold outside so more time to spend with KZ2.
JonFitt @ May 6th 2008 12:57PM
It cracks me up how people are trying to positively spin a delay to after the busiest shopping season.
Tell you what, why don't they release it in November and if you're all sooo busy playing all the great PS3 games, wait until February to play it.
FOXHOUND @ May 6th 2008 1:58PM
JonFitt--
LoL don't get it twisted, I'm sure the game would fare pretty well if sold this holiday season. There's still a decent shred of hype surrounding both of them.
But it's ridiculous to think that it would be more profitable releasing it alongside another well-spoken for FPS on PS3. Usually by February, most have 'recovered' from holiday spending or will be ready to try these games during Spring Break. So rather than risk consumers buying one and not the other, release them over a span of time, so they can buy one now. Then, when finances allow again, buy the other later on. A profitable win for both sides.
In addition, when the country is in a recession and energy crisis(I don't care what anyone says... when the government has to issue a stimulus check and gas prices are at $4/gal, there's an effin' problem!); people won't spend as much on luxuries like entertainment when gas/food/utilities are needed.
JonFitt @ May 6th 2008 2:40PM
I don't think it will benefit Killzone to be out late whatever else is out.
It would decrease the initial fan hype for each if they were released exactly at the same time, but there's plenty of time to squeeze three or more big hype releases in during that season and still be in time for the Christmas purchases.
The most successful games sell well in the long run not just the first weekend, and Christmas is when little Timmy gets a stack of games from Grandma etc. and what he really wants is all of the M rated games that just came out.
The absolute best they can hope for is that people haven't blown all their Christmas gift card money in January. February is well known as the slowest retail month of the year, and what with the "recession and energy crisis", it'll be a case of "no Timmy you can't have it you've still got all those games you got for Christmas".
aBs @ May 6th 2008 11:51AM
who cares? GoW2 for the mother fvckin' win.
BlackFreefall @ May 6th 2008 12:02PM
uhmm people with a PS3. lol
Laggy @ May 6th 2008 12:32PM
God of War 2 is already out silly.
Go White Sox and Go other Team @ May 6th 2008 12:43PM
I think he (no, I know he meant) GEARS of WAR 2.
Alan @ May 6th 2008 11:52AM
Not at all surprising. No matter, I'm more interested in Resistance 2 anyway.
Negativecool @ May 6th 2008 11:56AM
Jesus...what could this game have that could POSSIBLY be taking this long?!
Insomniac will have ripped out 3 top tier quality games by the time this reaches playable (of which, I am probably more interested in Resistance2 than Killzone2).
Seriously, what gives?
ScottG13 @ May 6th 2008 12:07PM
No kidding. Guerrilla is just a fundamentally broken or underfunded developer. And that sucks because I have really enjoyed their games.
Sir Fidlious Wong (Zeon Defense Force) @ May 6th 2008 12:15PM
Well, Killzone is trying to do something that truly hasn't been done before in games. The underlying tech is impressive and essentially renders out several different images to create the filters and effects. Not to mention Guerilla Games is significantly smaller than Insomniac.
Brian Fantana @ May 6th 2008 12:43PM
Guerilla is under funded? Sony owns Guerilla Games. They are going to throw a ton of money at them to make sure Killzone 2 is a good game. I just think they are having problems with making the game look like it did in the demo, after they put the rest of the game together. When they showed the "real" gameplay videos. The game didn't look too hot. Enemy AI was terrible. And the mission they showed looked like it was from a game from the early 90's (Gameplay wise not Graphics wise). I mean at the end of the demo it had you shooting a tower when the doors opened to expose it weak points. That sounds exiting to me. The only thing that looked good was the animation and the depth of field when zoomed in.
Negativecool @ May 6th 2008 12:35PM
I guess I wasn't aware that Guerilla was that small.
I remember reading about how this game was supposedly the most expensive/largest budget for any Dutch project, involving a team of approximately 125...
Guess that was just rumor and speculation.
arrrgh @ May 6th 2008 1:13PM
They've been sampling renders in filters since HDR came out...this is not new tech...just expanding on old tech. Wii anyone?
maybe it's just two killzones duct taped together?
Anticrawl @ May 6th 2008 1:55PM
Volumetric smoke/fire my ass, they spout off lie after lie about their game. I can't imagine how terrible it is going to be once it releases, they are constantly back peddling and trying to cover up their lies once they've been pointed out.
I don't think anyone should buy this game just to prove a point as gamers, and that is that we are sick of being fed lies and treated like idiots. Support better developers like Insomniac with your cash. Buy Resistance 2, LPB and MGS4. Avoid Killzone 2 out of principle. In my mind what Guerilla/Sony have been trying to pull with this game is worse than EA charging people for locked content on the game disc. Where is the boycott Killzone 2 website? We have a lot of work to do.
tactics @ May 6th 2008 4:12PM
anticrawl is right. we need to put a stop to this bullshit-- no matter who feeds it to us.
-"superfan" tactics.
heckthor @ May 6th 2008 4:49PM
Yeah that is SAD!!! It was announced back in 2005, and if it is released on 2009 that would have taken 4 years in development... I really think is gonna Flop and really Bad, i like my PS3 but honestly this crap this unacceptable... Resistance 2 will probably be better.
that guy @ May 6th 2008 11:58AM
Exactly - something to look forward to for February. Each and every gamer here knows that there are always too many games that come out around the holidays - it's better for our sake to spread them out.
samfish @ May 6th 2008 12:04PM
Not terribly surprising if it's a world wide delay. Did anyone REALLY think Sony was going to pit this and Resistance up against each other? That would risk cannibalizing sales.
...unless Resistance 2 is delayed, that is.
Go White Sox and Go other Team @ May 6th 2008 12:06PM
and you bitch and moan when "PS3 fanboy" troll Nintendo threads.
OH THE IRONY
Go White Sox and Go other Team @ May 6th 2008 12:07PM
Just kidding Sammy ole boy.
This thread was far to civil, I just thought I would flame War it up a bit.
deaftly @ May 6th 2008 12:08PM
And the world will be disappointed in Feb 09 just like Nov 04, the halo killer indeed.
xFenixKnightx @ May 6th 2008 12:50PM
Halo killer hype aside I still thought it was a good game. And I actually had Halo at at the time and it didn't hinder my view of KZ. IMO this sucks and I'm pissed I really thought it was supposed to be out this year. You can go back in these threads and pull quotes up the anus about *KZ2, R2, LBP, MG4 all being touted as being the reason why thsi is the year of the PS3. Guess its this year and next??? =/
tmacairjordan87 @ May 6th 2008 1:10PM
Single player wise I thought Killzone was far better than any of the halos. I've never played a FPS campaign that was more boring and generic than a halo game (specially 3, by far the most boring).
Multiplayer wise halo obviously had the advantage but killzone was never given a chance since the ps2 had virtually no online system. We'll see how it turns out now that ps3 has a competent online system.
FOXHOUND @ May 6th 2008 12:09PM
Not surprised at all. Why release K2 along with R:FOM2 in the same season? Spread out the releases for anticipatingly more profit amongst the two.
^ That's the public relations response. The real reason should be to tweak and add any 'extra shaite' that hasn't yet been revealed.
Myke @ May 6th 2008 4:35PM
I agree. Sony doesnt need Resistance and KZ to release at the same time. I think delaying was a smart move. Hopefully, NA wont have to wait longer than Mid 09. It may be too earlier to say, but 09 looks for the PS3. GT5, KZ2, FFXIII, GoW3. Nuff said!
Jayslacks @ May 6th 2008 12:09PM
Fucking Christ! What does Sony have to do to put a game out during a Holiday season! Its like watching a sack of monkeys! A sack of Monkeys!