It's nice to see game developers with a little flexibility for their intended target market. Aside from catering to a wider audience of gamers, it's just good business sense. This was probably what was going through Ready at Dawn's mind when they followed up their very wholesome platformer, Daxter, with the upcoming mythological hack-and-slash game, God of War: Chains of Olympus.

With the God of War series already infamous for its bloody appeal to gamers everywhere, you have to wonder, especially with the growing attention people have been giving to violence in media, if there's any hope for violent games left in the video game market. Ru Weerasuriya, founder and vice president of Ready at Dawn, wrote an article on the subject, giving his opinion on the effect of violence in media.

He focuses on the inevitably bloody theme of God of War: Chains of Olympus and how it compares to the many violent games being criticized in the market (and of course the name of Mr. Jack Thompson just had to come up in his article). He says that because the game is based on Greek mythology, it is inevitable that the theme of violence and sordid tales will be inserted into God of War. In introspect, the violence the game depicts is tame compared to the actual mythology and even the history of Greece.

Of course, you can't help but insert the advocacy of freedom of expression when defending a medium which you find yourself prolific in and a majority of Weerasuriya's arguments focus mainly on such. Saying that the advent of the interactive entertainment industry cannot be blamed just because some feel threatened of the way such medium is presented that offends them and threatens their comfortable way of living.

The full article along with Mr. Ru Weerasuriya's stirring comments on violence on video games after the jump!

GamesIndustry.biz recently interviewed Dan Arey on his decision to leave Naughty Dog for Ready At Dawn Studios, the developers who are soon to release God of War: Chains of Olympus for the PSP. Summing up his decision to leave, he said:

Naughty Dog and Sony were a wonderful ride, and it was an experience I'll never forget. I was there for almost ten years, the last four as creative director. Really it was just a matter of being the right time for something new. You sometimes just feel it deep down.

Arey explains that he left Naughty Dog after his role on Uncharted: Drake's Fortune was already over so the game will not suffer anything with his departure. He lauds the game, saying, "People will be happy they have a PS3 once they've played Drake's Fortune." He also explains how the Jak and Daxter series shouldn't stop on his account, saying that Sony knows it's a great franchise.

When asked whether his decision to leave has anything to do with the PS3 not doing so well in sales, he responds by saying that he is very optimistic about the future of the PS3, especially with their first and third-party support. Arey finishes on a rather dramatic note, worthy of a veteran in the industry:

I've been around a long time (don't ask) and I've been through at least four major hardware transitions, and it is always the same fears - worry about rising costs, worry about team sizes, worry about price points, worry about whether the consumer base will be there this time. It always works out fine.

Games are here to stay as the primary source of entertainment and artistic expression for the 21st Century. When asked about the future, I say we just need to concentrate on making great games with passion and expertise, games people want and can't wait to play, and experiences that move the mind emotionally and all the rest will follow.

That's what Ready at Dawn is all about, and that's why I'm here.

(From the Editor: Welcome to the third issue of our weekly feature, QuickJump QuickPeek! The feedback we've been getting from you guys has been great since the first issue was released three weeks ago. As a sign of gratitude, we're adding a new section that serves as a tribute to the best part of the industry; it's not Jade Raymond silly, we're talking about you guys! We won't be spoiling anything in the intro part, you have to go "peek" with us to find out. On to our third ish!)

It's been said that obsession, rather passion, is the most powerful driving human nature (it's not friendship either, go back to playing Pokemon). And this week's big events were glaring testaments to that line of thinking. For the fans' obsession for more affordable stuff, we were given a PS3 price cut; for the people raving about slimmer figures, we were given the Wii Fit and the PSP Slim; and for the people obsessed with gaming news, we were given the madness that is E3. It's been excruciatingly challenging trying to put all the week's big events in a single issue, but we managed.

The full article awaits after the jump!

A few days ago, a couple of mysterious job listings appeared for Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) teasing would-be applicants to join the coveted God of War development team. Last we look, Chains of Olympus is still with Ready at Dawn so I can't help but speculate that these slots are for the yet-to-be-confirmed PlayStation 3 version.

However, Cory Barlog immediately shoot down this speculation on a post he made in his blog. The game director argued that he would be one of the first people to know and tell about God of War 3, if the title indeed goes into development. He posted,

I would have to say that there isn't much truth to any of that. That is really the first I have heard of that. If we do get started on a God of War for PS3, you can be sure I will be screaming about it from the mountain tops the first chance I am allowed.

Concerning upcoming PSP-exclusive God of War: Chains of Olympus, Cory Barlog assured fans that development in general is going along nicely. The brilliant director wrote,

We have finished the story and gameplay outline as well as the rough level design overview. That is a huge freaking relief to have that all worked out... I also got to see some cool mechanics that have been in the prototype pipe for the last few weeks. Always good to see things that you can actually play with this early on.

Well, what more can we say but kudos to Mr. Barlog on the PSP version and that we still have our fingers crossed that Kratos will make it to the next-gen stage, soon.

Ok, fine. I was wrong. It's not God of War: Charmander and the Ding-dong Daddies of Doom. Last week's goose chase around the Island of Rhodes website had me stuck on the Roman numerals puzzle page, but thanks to a comment from exa (Unregistered), I was able to get past the last hurdle and keep myself updated on the countdown timer.

Ever since, I've been keeping an eye on the title that's been progressively showing itself. And as speculation has been going over online forums far and wide, the countdown ends with the unveiling of the next God of War title. Whether it be a GoW for the PSP or the PS3, no one has any official confirmation. But right now, we have... this:

 

Do note that this image of the title has been stuck there for a couple of days now. The first time I saw it like this when the counter was on the "7 days left" marker. Now "3 days left," the image has remained unchanged. As you can see, the first word ("Chains") of the sub-title has been revealed. Common sentiment in online discussions already has the full title dubbed as one of either three things. God of War: Chains of Fate/Time/Torment.

Personally though, to be comical about it, how do we know it's "God of War" to begin with? For all we know, it complete hit us right out of nowhere, with the full title being revealed as Goiter of War! *grin*

Well, we've got three days (as of writing) to go. And by that time, this whole Da Vinci Code cryptology spree will finally unravel itself. You can bet your "chains of whatever" that we'll have an updated screencap of what the countdown will end with. For now, this is what we have, and feel free to comment on what your guess of the title is.

---

UPDATE: Looks like everyone was wrong. It's not "Chains of Fate/Time/Torment", but something that (as far as this writer has is concerned) has never been mentioned before. Since yesterday's update (points to text above), a major part of the title has been exponentially revealed.

God of War: Chains of Olympus? Most probably. Well, Chain of Olymp-something - at the very least - that's for sure. Olympus, Olympians, Olympranazzasaznaffalots? Given this though, there's still that question: will God of War: Chain of Olymp-something be for the PSP or PS3? Time to stake your claim!

Bloody hell. After all the speculation regarding the mysterious countdown timer in the God of War website "Island of Rhode" a few weeks back, it turns out that it was nothing but a false alarm. At least, that's what everyone believed at first. As QJ reader Dave points out (thanks for the tip!), Pro-G reports that the countdown has already finished and the Island of Rhodes site is now open with - no, not info for the PSP version - but goodies for God of War II for the PS2. Videos and a wallpaper. Yay.

Recent developments though have led a lot of fans on a wild goose chase across the mysterious website because apparently, there are hidden content in the site. Someone from the GameFAQs forums was able to take a crack at it, and gave a walkthrough of how you could achieve two things: 1) the secret to unlocking HD mode in God of War II, and 2) another countdown timer that hints at the next God of War game.

No one seems to know where all this leads, but speculation points at either more info on the PSP GoW title, or maybe even one for the PS3! Click the Full Article link below to learn more.

1UP editor Matt Leone had a little chat with God of War II's Game Director, Cory Barlog. And this little interview has got some big bombs dropping out for you, all. How big is big? Well, how about some first official group of details on the PSP game, huh? How'd you like that?

We're sure you're liking that a great deal, so we'll dish out the info on you right now. According to Barlog, "It is its own story that connects to the overall story. God of War, God of War II, and then if all the stars align God of War III will be the telling of a trilogy. This PSP story will be a further fleshing out."

As for the PSP/PS2/PS3 connectivity features, there's still no word on it. Inasmuch as the folks at Ready at Dawn were excited finding out about Home, there really wasn't much they could do anything about it, because apparently, Home was in development the same time GoWII was, so they weren't really knowledgeable about it.

Regardless of that, Barlog reassures that the PSP version is just gonna be as epic as the other versions.

It is epic. It is big. There are hooks in the PSP story that I actually wrote from one of my first stories for God of War II, so there are a lot of elements -- we're going to keep connecting all this stuff. To me, it's a persistent world... I want the PSP version to not feel like the PSP version... it's just as big. It's just as epic. It's God of War.

And with this installment of the franchise barely settling down on retail stores shelves, Barlog's already almost confirmed that God of War 3 will be in 1080p with SIXAXIS and Vibration functions on PS3. Alright, so he may not have actually confirmed that there will be a God of War 3, but as he said it's for the future GoW titles, and they're coming out with the second one already, then logic would say that the next one would be the third, right?

Anyhow.

It sure looks as if you'll have yet another reason to go spend some more quality-time with your Sony handhelds once this game comes to fruition. A lot sure are excited about this news, so just sit tight. We'll be sure to dish out some more for you as soon as we get some more.

"It doesn't depend on Nintendo or Microsoft - it depends on them." That's what Ready At Dawn Studios president Didier Malenfant told GamesIndustry.biz in an interview. Although for the most part he had been pointing out that the PSP was a great platform to work on, he also stressed the fact that the console giant's success will be determined by it's own actions.

He explained the many difficulties in entering the next-generation console market, the huge amount of money needed and how the transition of technology and equipment will be trying and slow at best. He said, "Next-gen involves a lot of money, it's a big investment, and it's going to be a difficult time of transition whether you're Microsoft or Sony."

Malenfant did admit that Sony's image dropped some notches recently, but he elaborates that most number one companies also suffer image degradation. "You can see that with Microsoft with operating systems - after a while, you become the favourite target, " he further explained.

Furthermore, he pointed out that the competition has been gaining blessings from Sony's negative publicity. Microsoft, for one, has been able to hide most of the fact that the Xbox 360 isn't selling much either. He later added, "[The Xbox 360] didn't really have any good games until Gears of War came out."

Ready At Dawn Studios produced a PSP-exclusive title, Daxter, some time ago and is now working with Sony on a new PSP game. Malenfant said that if the studio goes into next-gen development, it won't exactly be aiming for the PS3. "It all depends on the prospect. It could be PS3 or 360 or both," he claimed.

Didier Malenfant, co-founder of game studio Ready At Dawn (RAD) got interviewed by the folks from GamesIndustry recently and a lot was revealed regarding RAD's new project, the studio's plans to develop for next-gen consoles, and his take on where the PSP is at the moment.

When asked if the PSP platform has lived up to his expectations, Malenfant emphatically says yes. He says that the PSP is "a great platform" and that they've had a lot of fun with it. At the moment he says that they're very much happy with the way Daxter (their previous title) has done, and they reassure that they're still investing in the platform. Malenfant declares, "We're a single game company and for now that game is on PSP."

Get the rest of the article after the Jump!

If our title sounds vague, that's because all the information you're about to see is vague to begin with. A member of PSPCrazy.com posted some rather interesting tidbits he claims are gleaned from a discussion with someone from Sony. And since he also mentioned something of a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), we're kinda looking over our shoulders more often now.

No confirmation elsewhere so far, and we can't even tell if it's all true to begin with, all these moles and deep penetration agents and leaks and slips. Not even the paparazzi and gossip columnists were these blind in hinting. Anyway, here's what the PSPCrazy.com guy slipped:

• Ready At Dawn devving a new IP, nothing related to Daxter, but something about "riding of (sic) Daxter" (the game's success) which we interpret to mean that it might be a platformer. No other info to confirm our suspicions.
• Sony's plan to make the PlayStation Store accessible on the PSP.
  
• A comment regarding PSP2 talk which we can't really make out. Begin quote: "Sony by the looks of things will be taking the ipod route every 2 or 3 years maybe longer they will release and improved system not doing away with the name or image of the psp i mean do u really want a psp 2?" Did anyone get what that meant?
  
• An "in-house" PS3 title in the works.

We can't make heads or tails of much of this, period. We can't tell if it's true, false, half-true, fabricated, or the product of an overactive imagination. And because the guy claims there's an NDA involved, fat chance of any confirmation from him, his supposed mole, or Sony reps. No more speculation from us on this - it's all wild-(butt) from here.