Just Add Water, the studio developing a remake of 2005 Xbox game Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath for PlayStation 3, said that it wants to release an Xbox Live Arcade version of the downloadable title, but the game right now is just over Microsoft's XBLA size limit.
"On XBLA there is a [2GB] size limit we have to adhere to," said the studio in a blog post this week. "Currently the title weighs in at 2.1GB and that is without any updates, so either we have to pull a miracle out of the bag with some type of amazing compression system, or ask Microsoft to increase their 2GB limit. However this limit is apparently hardware-led, so please let us try and make a miracle happen."
The studio announced earlier this month that it is working closely with American game designer Lorne Lanning's Oddworld Inhabitants on the Stranger's Wrath remake for PS3. In a recent Gamasutra interview, JAW CEO Stewart Gilray said he "can't discuss" an Xbox 360 version, but this week's blog post confirms that the studio is hoping to get the game out on Microsoft's system.
Xbox 360 supports playback of numerous original Xbox games, but Stranger's Wrath is a game that is not backwards-compatible, leaving a remake as the only option to get the game on Microsoft's current system.
"Whilst I can't go into complete detail on this, I can tell you that we are NOT PS3-exclusive. As far as we are concerned, we are a multi-platform company supporting the big three: PC, PS3 and 360," JAW wrote in the blog.
The post would not go into much detail about the Xbox 360 version, although the blog reads, "What I can say is we are working with Microsoft to get the title on that platform, however the final decision is NOT ours."
In his Gamasutra interview, Gilray hinted at the possibility of new games in the Oddworld series. The six-person studio's previous games include the PlayStation Network game Gravity Crash.
... Which is EXACTLY why games on disc should ALWAYS be an option, expense or not. How many people won't get to play this remake of one of the better Xbox games simply because they either don't have access to a PS3 or PSN account? I'd gladly pay up to $40 for a blu-ray version of this with a "re-making of" documentary, gallery, soundtrack and perhaps Gravity Crash all on the disc as a bonus.
I still have my copy of Stranger's Wrath and yes, an original Xbox to play it on. Of course, i have a nicely sized collection of original Xbox games I still can't play on any 360, but that's another post for another time.
"Whilst I can't go into complete detail on this, I can tell you that we are NOT PS3-exclusive. As far as we are concerned, we are a multi-platform company supporting the big three: PC, PS3 and 360,".
Burning discs would circumvent the whole point of downloadable content. The cost mitigation. If you make a disc, there are a lot of manufacturing costs that go with it, thus increasing the price and the risk. If it's download only, the people who want it will purchase and download it, and those who don't, don't. But there aren't any leftover discs that no one wants sitting on shelves (which also costs money to have) for months or years.
They need a solution. A 0.1 gigabyte reduction solution... I don't imagine it will be that hard to figure out. =p
I still have my copy of Stranger's Wrath and yes, an original Xbox to play it on. Of course, i have a nicely sized collection of original Xbox games I still can't play on any 360, but that's another post for another time.
Did I miss something?
What BS!
They should have been monitoring their release size the entire time, that way they would know if they needed to make revisions or not.
The longer you wait to make a change, the more costly that change is.
They need a solution. A 0.1 gigabyte reduction solution... I don't imagine it will be that hard to figure out. =p