According to UGO, it looks like Beyond Good & Evil 2: Pey'j and Jade's Bogus Journey (working title*) will not be appearing at E3. When booking E3 appointments, UGO was told by Ubisoft, "We're not doing any BG&E stuff at E3." Furthermore, Ubisoft even said not to expect a showing of the game during its press conference.

So, there you go, don't expect any BG&E 2 news or hands-on sessions. Rest assured though, if we hear anything different when we touch down in LA, we'll be clawing our way to the front of the line for a chance to play. Not because we're dying to play it. No, we'll do it for you.

[Via VG247]

*By "working title" we mean "completely fabricated title."

Video of what appears to be Beyond Good & Evil 2 gameplay (or a target rendering of such) has made its way online via Kotaku. The one minute clip depicts a character who either is -- or looks incredibly like -- series heroine Jade escaping pursuers in a crowded marketplace using parkour moves a la Mirror's Edge's Faith.

Of course, this could very well be an elaborate -- and well-executed -- fan project and the character might not be Jade at all, but she certainly appears to reflect the updated character design seen in the all-too-short teaser for the game Ubisoft released last year. Oh, and Maybe-Jade, is that a sword on your back?

Perhaps someone in France -- Ubisoft's home turf, and where the site Kotaku says the video originated is located -- just had to slip this out oh-so-very-close to E3. If it is BG&E 2 and is actual gameplay, then wow. If someone's toying with our emotions? Totally. Not. Funny.

Thanks to the fine French-speaking folks at Eurogamer France, Eurogamer has a more thorough translation of Michel Ancel's interview regarding his upcoming game for Ubisoft, Beyond Good & Evil 2. According to their translation, Ancel reveals inspiration in "the theme of September 11 - the CNN show with army messages and the fear climate," among other, totally different things, like Hayao Miyazaki for instance.

He also revealed that this sequel will be a direct continuation of the story from the original BG&E, saying, "The story continues and we'll react on important events of the first." We've still got no good information on platforms or release date but hopefully the upcoming re-embiggened E3 Expo will shed some light on the game. "Players who like the first should like the second," Ancel left the interviewer with. We're keeping hope alive.

[Via GamePolitics]

Steam's week-long celebration of French gaming industry juggernaut Ubisoft (which kicked off with a 50 percent discount for Far Cry 2) is coming to a close, but not before the digital distribution leader performs a coup de grâce on wallet-wary consumers -- this weekend, the service is offering the Ubisoft Classic Pack, which includes Far Cry, IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic and Beyond Good & Evil, for just $10.

We highly suggest checking it out -- the four-pack seems to cater to all sorts of gaming interests, whether they be horrendously gaudy hawaiian shirts, World War II-era dogfighting, demonic fantasy combat or titles that got royally shafted by the game consuming populous during their initial release.

The fine purveyors of DRM-free classics at GoG.com have announced an agreement with Ubisoft, which sees good old(ish) games like Beyond Good & Evil and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time added to the downloadable lineup. Joining action journalist Jade and the time-swindling prince are ... the aeroplanes of IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946! We guess they weren't really going for much of a theme outside of all three costing $9.99 each.

Other Ubisoft titles slated to hit the PC service "in the coming weeks" include Heroes of Might and Magic, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six and Not Tom Clancy's Far Cry.

We love a lot of GameCube games. In fact, when Play on Wii was announced, it felt like a dream come true. See, we imagine many GameCube games being retooled for Wii. Now, we're glad its actually happening for some of those games.

But, not all titles are destined to get that touch of Wii magic. And, what if you never had a chance to try some of them? Well, unless you've got a suitcase buried in the back yard, there are a few titles that might be a bit out of reach, according to the list over at Video Game Price Charts.

Of all of them, which would you say is the "must own" title?

[Via digg]

A NeoGAF user apparently snapped the photo seen above, featuring a promo for a $10 Beyond Good & Evil reissue coming this month. The sheet, allegedly stuffed in a GameStop binder, shows the reissue is only for the PlayStation 2 version. It'd be a shame considering the GameCube version would work perfectly well in all those millions of Wiis. The Xbox 360 does not currently support backwards compatibility for the Xbox version of the title.

We've contacted Ubisoft for confirmation of the information on the sheet. Meanwhile, this is a good a time as any to remind you of our "Where to find BG&E" post from earlier this year.

Update: Ubisoft's response to our inquiry: "We sell a PC Download of Beyond Good & Evil for $10 through our digital store." Um, that wasn't the question.

[Via Game|Life]

When Friedrich Nietzsche wrote his famous philosophical work Beyond Good and Evil in the late 19th century, odds are he didn't think that it would be a source of inspiration for video games over a century later. Namco proved him wrong with their trilogy of Xenosaga RPGs, each of which had a subtitle referencing a Nietzsche work (such as "Jenseits von Gut und Böse"). But it's another wannabe trilogy that owes its moniker to Nietzsche that's up for recognition.

Beyond Good & Evil was published at the height of the Christmas rush in December 2003, and despite its war-on-all-fronts release on the GameCube, PS2, Xbox, and PC, it simply failed to sell. The game received widespread critical acclaim, but competition from other games caused it to be given a jarring price drop mere weeks after its release. Even so, those in the know played Beyond Good & Evil and saw it for what it was -- a fantastic adventure with a unique world and an appealing cast of heroes. And though it took four years, Ubisoft finally gave a sequel the green light -- so it's time to show the original game some much-deserved love.

By now you've undoubtedly seen the trailers for Beyond Good & Evil 2, Prince of Persia and Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X., but more than likely you've only witnessed the Ubisoft library in standard def blurriness. Well our little brother site , Big Download has you covered with high-def downloads for all of Ubisoft's upcoming games.

Head over to Big Download now, or click on each title below to bring you to its respective download page.

Beyond Good & Evil 2
Teaser

Prince of Persia
Teaser
Speed Drawing (Prince)
Speed Drawing (Elika, the Prince's new ally)

Shaun White Snowboarding
Intro
Trailer

Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.
Trailer

Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway
Trailer

We realize that with yesterday's announcement of "Beyond Good & Evil 2," some folks may have tragically missed out on the first entry in the series. We've put together a quick list of places where those not familiar to the series can get the game and meet up with Jade, Pey'j and -- our favorite personal assistant -- Segundo.

• Steam (PC) -- $10
• GameTap (PC) -- $1 for the first month, $10 after that.
• GameFly (Xbox, PS2 and Gamecube) -- Various rental plan prices, but currently copies are subject to availability.
• GameStop -- Currently, we can only find the somewhat dodgy PS2 version available online for $8. Check your local shop and you may get very lucky.

Those who find a GameCube version can rely on the Wii's backwards compatibility to play the game, and PS3 owners can pop in the PS2 game if their systems support BC. The Xbox 360 currently does not offer backwards compatibility for the Xbox version of BG&E. We're sure there are more corners of the internet to find Jade & Co., but it appears that $10 is what you're likely to pay.

At the end of the Ubidays 2008 conference today, CEO Yves Guillemot left the audience stunned with a final teaser--Michel Ancel's Beyond Good & Evil 2. We've heard rumblings of BG&E2's development in the past and Ubisoft has finally come clean on the sequel to the critically acclaimed title.

We will have the official teaser trailer, showing off the ragged Uncle Pey'j and an older Jade, as soon as its mad available.

Update: Check out the teaser trailer starring everyone's favorite hog, Uncle Pey'j and a glimpse at an older Jade after the break.


[via Joystiq]

Looks like the rumors were true!

Now, before you start getting your hopes up, close your eyes and take a deep breath. Once done, then give a click on one of the images below. Those graphics are pretty darn sweet, eh? Well, we're not saying the Wii isn't capable of such graphics, just that the likelihood of this being an Xbox 360 and PS3 reveal is high. We're not going to rule out the game arriving on Wii, though. The first title was multi-platform (this blogger has the GameCube port of the first title), so let's hope Ubisoft puts the second game out on all systems.

After checking out the screens, head past the break for a video.

Closing out the Ubidays 2008 live conference, CEO Yves Guillemot left the audience with one final teaser: the next project from designer Michel Ancel. While the trailer stops short of naming its subject, we'd recognize that schnozzle anywhere. Why that's Uncle Pey'j of course! And look at dear Jade, she's gone and grown out her hair.

The "Beyond Good & Evil 2" debut trailer is posted after the break! (Beware: Graphic fly snorting ensues.)

The first Beyond Good & Evil was hailed by critics but largely ignored by the gaming populace when it was released several years ago. Was it the female lead? Was it the graphical style? Was it the lack of hard-headed space marines wielding impossibly large weapons? Who knows -- but it didn't fare too well on shelves. Not one to be discouraged, Michel Ancel, the man behind the original game, has been working on a sequel for over a year. Aside from the year of preproduction, Ancel says his team is "currently doing market research. But for the moment, it's in the early stages, and Ubisoft still hasn't agreed to it."

The gameplay, Ancel describes, will be similar to the original. A large variety of levels and "emotional" gameplay -- characters we truly care about. No platforms or release date are mentioned, but with Ubidays coming right up, perhaps there will be an official announcement regarding the game at that time.

[via Gamespot]