Kotaku: Fatal Inertia

Fatal Inertia May EX Out A PlayStation 3 Release After All

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:20:00 MDT

Remember Koei's futuristic racer Fatal Inertia? It was the one-time PlayStation 3 "exclusive" that missed that console's launch, only to become an Xbox 360 "exclusive" by default, then re-announced for a release on Sony's console, with the Koei Canada team constantly reminding us of the problems it was having with Unreal Engine 3. Still doesn't ring a bell does it? Might have something to do with it being a middling racer, a poor man's WipEout that was met with a collective "meh."

Well, good news, PS3 owners! It's one step closer to arriving on the Kutaragi console-child, with the ESRB issuing a rating for Fatal Inertia EX this week. That EX means that it's getting the standard late PS3 port with (presumably) extra features that will probably then show up as downloadable content for the Xbox 360. Who's pumped for this whole dance again?! Whooo!

ESRB Game Ratings

Week in Games: Heavenly Sword Edition

fdemarco — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 18:00:00 MDT

This week has a nice choice of titles spread out over various systems (sans the PSP). I'm trying to get to Heavenly Sword tonight so I can see for myself what it's going to be like and I am anxious to check out Jam Sessions and Drawn to Life for the DS. I've avoided Oblivion for a while just because I'm afraid of getting sucked in, but the inclusion of all the expansions on one disc is intriguing. What to do, what to do?

Heavenly Sword (PS3)
Will Nariko and her moves rival Kratos?

Skate (X360)
Skate to your heart's content and see what life is like without Tony Hawk.

NHL 2K8 (PS3, X360, PS2)
All the fun of Hockey without the broken teeth.

NHL 08 (X360, PS3, PC, PS2)
Because we always need more hockey games.

Galactic Assault: Prisoner of Power (PC)
Rule the planets in this sci-fi RTS.

.hack//G.U. vol. 3//Redemption (PS2)
The final game in the trilogy. The end of an era...

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Game of the Year Edition (X360, PC)
All of Oblivion including the two expansions in one tidy package.

Kengo: Legend of the 9 (X360)
You are a legendary samurai in feudal Japan doing the stuff a samurai does.

DiRT (PS3)
More racing action for your PS3.

Jam Sessions (DS)
Strum your blues away.

Drawn to Life (DS)
Draw your own character and put him through his paces.

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core (WII, PS2)
Still guilty after all these years.

Fatal Inertia (X360)
Race in supersonic planes and kick some ass.

Ship Simulator 2008 (PC)
Imagine the fun of piloting your own oil rig!

Fatal Intertia Demo Live

Mike Fahey — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 08:20:43 MDT

They could have just called it Dead Stop, but they had to go and get all fancy on us. A demo for Koei's take on the futuristic racer (read: Wipeout) genre is now up on Xbox Live Marketplace. Weighing in at a modest 380MB, the demo features three different race types in a canyon environment. I've already downloaded and screwed around a bit, and what I've seen isn't too shabby. Not as much of a sense of speed as I would like but certainly worth a look if you're a fan of the genre.

Fatal Inertia Returns to PS3

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 23:00:22 MDT

It's a been a strange path. Koei's futuristic racer Fatal Inertia was originally announced as a PS3 launch title. The game missed launch, and Koei later announced that it was going to miss the PLAYSTATION 3 altogether. Instead, the title would be appearing on the Xbox 360. Well! The game is back on the PS3, it seems. Koei Chief Operating Officer Kenji Matsubara took the stage at Sony's Japan press event PLAYSTATION PREMIERE 2007 and showed titles headed for the PS3: Ni - OH, BLADESTORM and Fatal Inertia. Not sure if an official announcement was made or if, you know, Fatal Inertia was just slipped back in. Here's hoping no one notices!
Fatal Inertia Back, It Seems [Famitsu]

Fatal Inertia Trailer

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 16:40:06 MDT

Koei has released new media of its Koei Canada developed racer Fatal Inertia, a game that was originally intended as a PLAYSTATION 3 exclusive, only to switch exclusivity camp to the Xbox 360. On the one hand, it's futuristic hovercar racing, about which I have a soft spot in my heart. On the other hand, it looks rather bland. Hopefully, I'll get my hands on it soon enough and weigh in with impressions to see how this game is shaping up.

Exclusives Sony Dropped The Ball On

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 21:00:44 MDT

Exclusives. They're important and these days, they're rare. Game|Life's Chris Kohler does a nice job of rounding up games that could've been PS3 exclusives, but ultimately ended up on the Xbox 360 because of boneheaded moves by Sony brass. Let's dive in:

Grand Theft Auto IV — ...Take Two had wanted to continue its long-standing practice of giving Sony a lengthy timed exclusivity on the game, but they didn't want it.
Newsweek says that former Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi's "radio silence" on the issue left Sony's American execs without the authority to make deals, and nothing happened. Same with...
Assassin's Creed — Again, Newsweek revealed that Ubisoft had actually gone to Sony with an offer to make the game a PlayStation 3 exclusive. Although Sony did go through the trouble of asking Ubisoft to make it seem as if their multiplatform action game Assassin's Creed was indeed PS3 exclusive , it came out shortly after E3 that it would ship simultaneously on both platforms.

Not to mention *deep breath* Devil May Cry IV, Virtua Fighter 5, Beautiful Katamari and Fatal Inertia. Somewhere along the line, Sony forgot that people play games, not hardware. Curious to see if Sony can hang on to those remaining third party exclusives. They better.
A Timeline [Game|Life via Major Nelson]

SCEA Prez: "We Don't Buy Exclusivity"

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 14:40:02 MDT

With a recent batch of exclusives that were traditionally on the PlayStation family of platforms making for greener Xbox 360 pastures—Fatal Inertia, Beautiful Katamari, Ace Combat 6, Devil May Cry 4, et al.—some might wonder how Microsoft is pulling it off. The answer? Money and lots of it. From the funding of development to co-marketing dollars to advances on future episodic content, it may be costing Microsoft a pretty penny to secure titles from the Sony stable. How will SCEA counter? We're not... sure. But according to SCEA president Jack Tretton, we can sleep soundly knowing that Sony will never lower themselves to outright paying for exclusivity like some kind of desperate john.

In an interview with PSM, Tretton revealed that "We have a very different approach to exclusives than some of our competitors. We don't buy exclusivity. We don't fund development. We don't, for lack of a better term, bribe somebody to only do a game on our platform. We earn it." It's like respect, I suppose, but for publishers and hardware manufacturer executives. A rare breed of respect.

Tretton also evaluated the third and first party health of the Big Three, stating that "Microsoft is too dependent on the third-party community, and Nintendo is too [dependent] on first-party. We like to feel that we got a pretty good mix." You know what's a better mix, Jack? Those Planters party peanuts with the pistachios. Man, those are good.

Look for the full interview in the latest issue of PSM.

Thread: SCEA President: "We don't buy exclusivity." [GamesRadar Forums, thanks Tyler]

Fatal Inertia Now Xbox 360-Only In Bizarro World Mix Up

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 15:20:52 MDT

Koei revealed the release date today for its futuristic racer Fatal Inertia for the Xbox 360, with a PLAYSTATION 3 ship date conspicuously absent. While the 360 SKU will ship this September 11, according to the Koei reps we contacted for clarification, the PS3 version has been "delayed indefinitely."

Citing a delay "due to the completion of the Unreal Engine 3 for the PlayStation 3" the Koei Canada-developed title appears to be an unplanned Xbox 360 timed exclusive, pending further developments. The game was at one point a PS3 exclusive, but experienced development difficulties and missed its intended November 2006 release date.

After hints at that PS3 exclusivity dissolving from Koei management at Tokyo Game Show and failing to launch alongside the PS3, an Xbox 360 version was revealed earlier this year.

Now we wait for Koei to quietly kill the PS3 version altogether, further developer difficulties and the sun to set and rise again over the horizon.

Koei Delays PS3 Euro Launch Titles

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 03:22:32 MST

Backstory: It's been a rough road for Koei's Fatal Inertia and Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War. Originally both titles were PS3 exclusives, but they've run into snags and now will hit the Xbox 360 sometime this year.

Now, Koei announces that these games won't be ready for Europe's PS3 launch. Instead, they'll be out sometime this summer. Until then, Koei says it will be working on both games to achieve the "highest levels of quality possible." Props to Koei for taking its time and (fingers crossed) not shipping a half-baked product. Brian Ashcraft

PS3 Euro Launch Titles Delayed [Kikizo]

PS3 Loses Two Exclusives, 360 Snags Koei Titles

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 08:22:11 MST

Well, Mike called it. As of the Tokyo Game Show, both Koei titles Fatal Inertia and Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War were PS3 exclusives. But the games ran into probs and were delayed, with the futuristic SIXAXIS-tilt-controlled racer Fatal Inertia missing the PS3 launch.

The games are exclusives no more. Microsoft Japan rattled the rusty ol' Kotaku mailbox, sending word that both games will make their way onto the Xbox 360 next year with Fatal Inertia taking advantage of the system's Xbox Live service. Boy, Sony's having crummy luck with keeping those exclusives. Better hang on to Metal Gear Solid 4 and TIGHT. Brian Ashcraft

Xbox Japan [Official Site]

TGS06: Koei Having Issues With PS3 Middleware, Fatal Inertia To Miss Launch

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 22:15:38 MDT

I just got out of a group interview with the producers of Koei's Fatal Inertia and Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War where they told the group that the company's first racing game wouldn't make the November Japanese launch. Citing problems with the Unreal Engine 3.0, the group was actively working to remedy their development delays to ship the former launch title before the end of '06.

When I asked about internet multiplay for the futuristic racer, the producer told us he was "dreading this question", as issues they were having with their middleware platform was causing delays, but was quick to stress that Sony and Epic were working quickly to help them get back on track. It sounded like online play is still being planned, but not a definite. Bladestorm online play sounds like it won't be happening due to bandwidth issues.

Further, both games will be 720p and only Fatal Inertia is currently taking advantage of the PS3's tilt controller.

Both games are PlayStation 3 exclusives at this point, but the company indicated they're in discussions with Microsoft to bring the game to their platform as well. Koei devs drove home the point multiple times that they're looking to appeal to Western tastes, so don't be surprised when the 360 announcement hits. Michael McWhertor

KOEI Bulking Up Canadian Studio.

Brian Crecente — Wed, 26 Oct 2005 11:00:36 MDT

KOEI announced plans Tuesday night to pump-up the staffing of their Toronto studio. KOEI Canado, which is currently working on PS3 launch-title Fatal Inertia, currently has 30 artists, programmers, designers and support staff.

The release says the company plans to increase their size to between 150 to 200 employees over the next few years. Wow, that s a huge jump up. Wonder what they are getting ready to start developing.