Schappert called the move a "targeted cost reduction which will allow a greater investment in our hit titles and digital businesses." The reduction in titles, which Schappert later revealed to number more than a dozen, goes hand in hand with the closing of facilities and layoffs as part of the company's restructuring plan.

Schappert could not comment on which titles were cut, citing the difficulties inherit in announcing the cancellation of titles they had never announced in the first place. He mentioned reoccurring yearly titles, The Sims, and Hasbro titles as being the company's best-sellers, going on to say that anything that looks like it wouldn't measure up to the profitability of those titles had been cut.

"In a way, if you could array our title slate up...we've cut the bottom third of it."

"I think it is fair to say that we do not comment on rumour and speculation, especially about games that have never been announced," said SCEE corporate PR manager Nick Caplin.

Caplin did tell us, though, some detail behind why Eight Days and Getaway 3 were scrapped, and why we oughtn't worry about SCEE:

"Regarding 8 Days and The Getaway, we review the progress and viability of games on a regular basis taking into account feedback from within WWS [worldwide studios] and all the RHQs [regional headquarters], and at our latest review, felt that the budget and resources required to complete these games could be more beneficial elsewhere."

Moreover, Caplin said there's no trouble on the European front. "We are still dedicated to our first-party studios and are very excited about the fantastic exclusive titles coming this year, such as LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 2 and Motorstorm: Pacific Rift, as well as some very exciting titles coming in the near future."

" Please note that LBP, Motorstorm: Pacific Rift and Killzone 2 are all from European studios," said Caplin.

Yoshida tells Develop that the game known formerly as Eight Days was nixed, in part, because it was lacking in online capabilities. And that's important.

The Phil Harrison replacement said that Sony "looked at how it fit in the portfolio and where it fit as a production" when deciding what to keep and what to cut, pointing out that resources don't exactly meet expectations. Regardless of the reasoning, the cancellation of the London Studios project was a huge blow to gamers and us personally at Kotaku. Just kidding! We almost forgot it was ever shown!

Lack of online influenced Sony decision to cancel Eight Days [Develop]

"This decision was made following an internal review of all games and it was deemed that with the incredibly strong list of exclusive first party titles coming up both this year and in the near future, resource should be reallocated to enhance those projects closer to completion.

You heard them folks - they have so many strong titles coming out that they can afford to just toss a couple into the rubbish bin to keep the games flowing. Good riddance I say. I never understood why they'd try to continue the Getaway series after the heaping helping of crap that was Black Monday anyway.

Sony stops work on Eight Days and The Getaway [GI]

Myst fans will be glad to read, however, that "Cyan is still a very valued partner of GameTap, we are on excellent terms, and we look forward to continuing our relationship in the future." Stay strong, Mysties.

Myst Online: Uru Live Season 2 Status [Myst Online Forums]

The latest Stuntman in the series, known as Stuntman: Ignition was singled out as one of the company's underperforming releases of 2007, alongside Ratatouille and Conan. Rest in peace, Stuntman and Juiced. We hardly knew ye (as we didn't play your games much).

THQ Updates Fiscal 2008 Outlook [THQ]

The reaction to the widespread stories regarding Konami's massive cancellations over the past couple of days was a little crazy to be sure, with some gamers worried about the fate of the company. Turns out there is nothing to worry about at all. Konami has assured everyone now that none of the titles omitted from the lists in Famitsu were cancelled after all. It was all just a big misunderstanding.

Just goes to show that you shouldn't believe everything you read in magazines. Both Famitsu and Dengenki printed the erroneous information, possibly due to faulty information coming from Konami itself. Looks like someone needs to start whipping these game industry PR people into shape before they cause a major scandal.

I'm just glad that the news turned out to be false and that New Action Adventure Game 2 is back on. Michael Fahey

Konami Next-Gen Titles Revived [1UP]

Gradius Series (PS3)
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball (PS3)
New Action Game (PS3)
New Role Playing Game (PS3)
New Action Adventure Game 2 (Wii)
Role Playing Game (Wii)

I know, I know. I was really looking forward to New Action Adventure Game 2 as well, but my hopes and dreams have been crushed. Would have liked to have seen Gradius, but this doesn't mean we won't. Just not anytime soon.

So, massive cancellations, or simply a change of plans? Eurogamer sums up my feelings precisely.

But if you ask us it's probably more of a housekeeping update - a few pencilled lines of ambition scratched away absently with an eraser as a company takes stock, and not the exciting orgy of panic and self-doubt that's been its portrait.

Konami 'cancels' PS3/Wii games [Eurogamer]