Until now, all we knew was that the collection, which remasters God of War I & II in full HD on a single Blu-ray disc for the PlayStation 3, was coming out in November. The collection is now slated to be on retail store shelves on November 17th, just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday here in the states, giving players something to do between rounds of Modern Warfare 2.

Along with the release date announcement, Sony has also released a full list of trophies for both God of War games, which we've reproduced below, courtesy of the magic of cutting and pasting. Behold our power!

GOD OF WAR

Bronze

1.21 Gigawatts - Acquire Poseidon's Rage
Rocking Out - Acquire Medusa's Gaze
Bolt Action - Acquire Zeus' Fury
Sword Man - Acquire Blade of Artemis
Soul Search - Acquire Army of Hades
Matador - Win the first Minotaur fight
Scape Goat - Win the first Satyr fight
Roll Over … and Die - Win the first Cerberus fight
Don't They Ever Shut Up! - Defeat the Desert Sirens
Beat a Dead Horse - Complete the Centaur sacrifice to Hades
Kickboxer - Complete the Spike Room Box Puzzle
Rockin' the Boat - Complete the Sex Mini-Game
Don't Leave Her Hanging - Rescue the Oracle with 10 seconds to spare
Get the Ball Rolling - Complete the Challenge of Atlas
Totally Baked - Complete the Human sacrifice
Splash - Kiss the Nyad
Get Me a Beer Kid - Free yourself from the depths of Hades
Zero Health = Bronze Trophy - Open a Health Chest when your health meter is already full
Hitman - Get a 100 Hits Combo
Getting My Ass Kicked - Die enough times to get offered Easy Mode

Silver

Kratos' Marble Collection - Collect all the Gorgon Eyes
Stick it in Your Cap! - Collect all the Phoenix Feathers
It's the HUGE One - Retrieve the Captain's Key
Take the Bull by the Horns - Defeat Pandora's Guardian
God Killer - Kill Ares
Head Hunter - Obtain the head of the Architect's wife
The Power to Kill a God - Retrieve Pandora's Box
Hitman 2 - Get a 200 Hits Combo
Legend of the Twins - Watch the ‘Birth of the Beast' Treasure
Seeing Red - Max out all Weapons and Magic

Gold

Prepare to be a God - Beat the Game on any Difficulty
You Got the Touch! - Climb the Spiked Column in Hades without taking damage
I'll Take the Physical Challenge - Complete the Challenge of the Gods
Speed of Jason McDonald - Beat the game in under 5 hours on any Difficulty
Key to Success - Collect all of the Muse Keys

Platinum

Trophy of Zeus - Unlock all God of War Trophies

GOD OF WAR II

Bronze

Breaking Wind - Acquire Typhon's Bane
Big, Tuff, Buff and Rough - Acquire Rage of the Titans
Blue Balls - Acquire Cronos' Rage
Shiner - Acquire the Golden Fleece
Rock their World - Acquire the Head of Euryale
Learning to Fly - Acquire the Icarus Wings
Shaky Ground - Acquire Atlas Quake
Death from Above 2009 - Defeat the Dark Rider for the first time
Resurrection - Climb from the pit of Hades
Rock Hard - Defeat the Titan Minotaur inside Atlas
Pick'n on the Little Guy - Win the battle outside of the Palace of the Fates
Watcha Got on the Hot Plate? - Solve the riddle of the Fire Phoenix Statue
Whip it Good - Whip the Steeds of Time
Lift with Your Knees - Topple the Temple in the Bog of the Forgotten
Swinger - Cross the collapsing Grapple Bridge
Stoner - Stone and Shatter 30 Enemies
Super Sized - Get a 500 Hits Combo
Hitting Your Stride - Power up any item

Silver

Eye Can't Believe it - Collect all the Gorgon Eyes
Go Make a Pillow! - Collect all the Phoenix Feathers
Eye Sore - Collect 20 Cyclops Eyes
Boss Batch 1 - Kill the Colossus of Rhodes, the Dark Rider, and Theseus
Boss Batch 2 - Kill the Barbarian King, Euryale, and Perseus
Boss Batch 3 - Kill the Kraken and all three Sisters of Fate
Daddy Issues - Defeat Zeus
Rise and SHINE - Awaken the Phoenix
Spread ‘Em - Open the wings of the Temple of the Fates
Shine King - Open the door to the Temple of Euryale
Blowin' Your Wad - Max out all Weapons and Magic

Gold

The End Begins - Beat the Game on any Difficulty
Feel the Urn - Collect and use at least 2 Urns of Power
Bleeding Thumbs - Beat the Challenge of the Titans
15 Min Fight Scene - Battle your way to the Loom Chamber in under 10 minutes
You Know the Germans Make Good Stuff… - Collect all Uber Chests

Platinum

Trophy of Gaia - Unlock all God of War II Trophies

God of War Collection Ships November 17th, Plan Your Trophy Hunt Now! [PlayStation Blog]

Is it convincing enough? Lower resolution though it may be, the God of War Collection debut trailer has pretty much everything you'd need to ensure a purchase of the PlayStation 3 game. Namely, two God of War games for a paltry $40 USD. Since I *might* have skipped God of War II, it's an ideal purchase for yours truly.

But you? Judge the following trailer to see if this is what you're looking for.

First Look at the God of War Collection Trailer! [PlayStation.blog]

God of War Collection will feature both Playstation 2 games running at 1280 by 720 resolution and 60 frames a second. The collection, which will cost $40, will also include trophy support for the games.

"We are excited today to announce God of War Collection," said Scott Rohde, vice president, Worldwide Studios America. "Our fans spoke and we listened; thanks to our partnership with Bluepoint Games, fans and newcomers to the series can experience the epic God of War and God of War II saga in stunning 720p on PS3. This Blu-ray Disc compilation brings Kratos to PS3 even earlier than expected."

The collection comes just months before God of War III is scheduled to hit stores on March 2010 for the Playstation 3.

The idea of a Blu-ray collection of the two PS2 games, which sell used for about $35 total at Gamestop, first came to light in April when a survey leaked about the notion.

In an interview with 1UP, God of War II man Cory Barlog reveals that, upon first showing the game off to Sony bigwigs Shuhei Yoshida and Phil Harrison, it was met with a mixed reaction. Sure, it looked great, but the first thing Harrison - now with Atari - said was:

Very good, thank you. I just have to ask this, since it seems like the obvious question. Why are we not doing this on PS3?

Because the PS2 needed one last great game, silly!

Looking Back at God of War 2 [1UP]

The producer writes that fans can "rest assured that [God of War III] is all in good hands," heaping praise on the Santa Monica team who will undertake the inevitable sequel. As far as known progress on GoW III, Barlog reveals that "immediately after I finished God of War 2 I was already working on the story and design for the third game."

He indicates that the third game in the series proper will wrap up the series' main story arc, ending with "very big, very epic bang." Is anyone else thinking Kratos foursome?

Here's to hoping that the series will finally make the jump to the PlayStation 3 and that we'll get our hands on God of War III in some form before year's end. And that free copies will rain down upon the staff. Plus, I want a pony.

Welcome Back! [Barlog's Blog]

The mag points to Sony's use of an eviscerated, beheaded goat as a centerpiece for a God of War II promotion as 61st dumbest business move of the year. Close by, at number 63, was the decision to use a bombed out Manchester Cathedral as a backdrop for the PlayStation 3 game Resistance: Fall of Man. Hey, they may have lost a few fans in the church, but this one seems a bit harsh, Fortune editors. It's not like they actually bombed the cathedral for reference shots.

101 Dumbest Moments in Business [Fortune - thanks, Kenneth!]

We can confirm that Cory Barlog, Game Director for God of War II, is leaving the SCEA SM Studio and we are grateful for his work and creative vision for the critically acclaimed God of War franchise... Moving forward, we are confident in the God of War team, as they are an extremely talented group of people that are passionate about the franchise and dedicated to creating even more epic content with God of War: Chains of Olympus for the PSP and God of War III for PS3.

There's chatter that other members of the SCEA Santa Monica team are also leaving with Barlog. However, SCEA said this is untrue. No idea where Barlog will turn up next. How about in casual games studio Eat, Sleep, Play run by fellow former God of War director David Jaffe? As MTV's Stephen Totilo pointed out, it's already a stretch to think one GOW director has left to make casual games; but a second? Hrm. God of War: Chains of Olympus is out March 2008, while God of War III — hey, wait a minute... Sony just publicly confirmed GOW III. Seeing how successful the series is, that shouldn't be a shocker. Barlog leaving, well, that sure is!
Barlog Out [1Up]

Eds Note: Back on October 11th, Barlog blogged on his personal site:
"My main project I am working on is moving along quite nicely as well...I got to see some of the first level art to come out of the pipeline recently, and it looks pretty bad ass. We still have a ways to go in regards to our engine, but I can see the potential with this thing. I can't wait to start showing everyone glimpses of it, but that is pretty far off from now."
Take that for what it's worth.

It's just as enjoyable as the translated Ueda piece , but might have less of an immediate impact, partially because we get to hear from Barlog and his peers fairly often, while it's a rare treat to have the opportunity to hear from the creator of two of the best PlayStation 2 games of all time. Regardless, it's a good read, only because Barlog's entry about his personal discovery of the beautiful intricacies of SotC's gameplay is so easy to relate to.

God of the Colossus [Don't Play Games With Me!]

Unfortunately, some of Ueda's comments are rather vague—his comments about the recycling of game assets and code, for example—possibly with some of the finer details lost in translation, but it's still a good read.

This—video game developers discussing their own work in the terms of their peers—is something I'd definitely like to see more of. You can read the translated interview with Ueda at God of War II director Cory Barlog's blog.

Ico of War! [Don't Play Games With Me!]

If we do get started on a GOW for PS3 you can be sure I will be screaming about it from the mountain tops the first chance I am allowed. Until then...I am plugging away on my RPG opus 'A Family Ties game'.

Wait, "Family Ties" RPG?! I thought this project was a "Facts Of Life" spin-off. I was really looking forward to recreating Tootie's first near-sexual experience as seen in that one very special episode.

Obviously, with God Of War II sales still going strong, a third chapter in the main series is coming sometime. It just maybe arriving a little later than we all want. Michael McWhertor

This one is in Drop 'D' [Barlog's Blog]

This is sort of random, today's Get Fuzzy strip deals with Sony's Goat Gate.

In it, Satchel says he doesn't want to go to a video game store because "at a game's launch party, they wanted people to pull stuff out of a dead goat."

OK, there's no way Darby Conley isn't a gamer if he knows about the God of War II launch party in Europe, I don't think it made that big a splash in mainstream media. So what do you think? Is he a PS3, Wii or 360 owner? Brian Crecente

In attendence will be artists Andy Park, Charlie Wen, Cecil Kim, Dwayne Turner, Erik San Juan, Ryan Meinerding and Scott Seeto who will also be available for book signings and general bothering.

The opening reception kicks off this Saturday night at 7 PM and includes unspecified door prizes and raffle giveaways. Sorry, folks. No mention of nearly decapitated goats or bodypainted ladies. Consider this party BYOG.

Nucleus is located at 30 West Main Street in Alhambra. Anyone gonna go? Michael McWhertor

The Art of God of War II [Nucleus Gallery]

Just when you thought the whole lets-eviscerate-a-goat-for-fun thing had blown over, along comes this video that shows not only the goat but all of the other Fear Factorish things people did at the God of War II party to win a free PS3. Brian Crecente

Next-gen? Not quite yet. PlayStation 2 title God of War II pwned March by shifting 833,000 units — That's more than double the number two title, Ubisoft's G.R.A.W. for the Xbox 360. Following that were Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360, Wii Play for the Nintendo Wii and Motorstorm for the PLAYSTATION 3. Glad to see the focus back on actual games and not on pieces of hardware. Brian Ashcraft

GoW II Winner [Reuters]

Therefore, after a FAQ guided speedrun of Metroid Prime 2, it's off to my local brick and mortar electronics store to pick up some SCEA developed hack and slash goodness.

Other fun weekend plans include immersing myself in the fine arts, as I attend the Mark Ryden exhibition at the Kohn Gallery, then back to the I Am 8-Bit show for a saner, less sweaty visit. What's your weekend shaping up like? Any gaming on the horizon? HIt up the comments! Michael McWhertor

The PlayStation 2 took second place in hardware race with 280,000 units sold, outselling new console competitor, the Wii, which shifted some 259,000 units to nab third. Solid, but down 22% from February. Behind the Wii was the Xbox 360, just a hair shy of 200,000 units sold (down 12% from the previous month) and the PSP with 180,000.

The bad hardware news for Sony came from their new PLAYSTATION 3, which saw 130,000 consoles fall into new customer hands, seeing a 2% sales increase over the previous month. That's well below the performance of Nintendo's Game Boy Advance which was still going strong to the tune of some 148,000 handhelds.

Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aime said of his company's solid hardware performance, "The message delivered by both Wii and Nintendo DS is the same one; Innovation is compelling both current gamers and new gamers to experience a new way to play. Nintendo is bringing gaming back to the masses."

Response from Sony after the jump.

David Karraker, senior director of corporate communications at SCEA, said of the figures, "According to NPD data, March 2007 showed a 24% increase in retail dollars generated year-over-year for the PlayStation brand in North America with total sales of $447 million, due in part to the addition of the PS3 platform as well as the strong launch performance of God of War II for PS2 at retail."

Addressing PS3 sales, Karraker wrote "While PS3 saw a month-over-month increase of 2% with sales of 129,638 units, we continued to find ourselves supply constrained in March due primarily to the shift in manufacturing focus to the PS3 PAL version to support the launch of the system in Europe."

Finally, on the recently price-reduced PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2: "PSP also witnessed gains in March, up 2% over February with sales of 179,796 units. The price of the PSP Core system was dropped from $199 to $169 in early April, which has received very positive retailer and consumer response. PS2 continued to be a strong performer in March, with unit sales of 279,866. On the software front, we were pleased to see sales increases from February for both the PSP and PS2. PS2 software showed a 29% increase with the launch of God of War II and PSP software demonstrated a 13% jump."

Interesting take. Where exactly was the PS3 "supply constrained" again? I've been under the impression that the console was rather easy to get your hands on (unless you're bedridden or trapped in a well).

Here are the full hardware and software numbers released by NPD in easy-to-read list format.

Hardware Sales For March

1. Nintendo DS - 508K
2. PlayStation 2 - 280K
3. Wii - 259K
4. Xbox 360 - 199K
5. PlayStation Portable - 180K
6. Game Boy Advance - 148K
7. PlayStation 3 - 130K
8. GameCube - 22K

Top 10 Software Sales For March

1. (PS2) God of War II - 833K
2. (360) Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter - 394K
3. (360) Guitar Hero II w/ guitar - 291K
4. (WII) Wii Play w/ remote - 273K
5. (PS3) Motorstorm - 199K
6. (NDS) Diddy Kong Racing - 189K
7. (NDS) Spectrobes - 165K
8. (360) Major League Baseball 2K7 - 165K
9. (PS2) MLB '07: The Show -164K
10. (360) Def Jam ICON - 148K

Wow. 833,000 copies of God of War II in a month? I guess that pretty much confirms God of War III is on its way.

UPDATE: David Karraker from Sony Computer Entertainment contacted us to clarify what the term "supply constrained" actually means. Here's the official explanation.

The industry standard for a product to be considered to be in an "in-stock" position for a store is 30 units per store. This would be the level you would see for a PS2 or Xbox 360. At this level, retailers will feature a product in their weekly advertising circulars. If you are not at this level, retailers can't guarantee consumers will find one if they go into the store and they most likely won't support your product in weekly ads. Although you can indeed find PS3s in stores currently, we are no where near an "in-stock" position. 300,000 PS3s were sold into retailers the final week of March, so you should see increased marketing support from retailers in April.

So, there you go. Thanks, David.

April should be an equally interesting month, as notable releases such as Super Paper Mario and Pokemons Diamond and Pearl will most likely push Nintendo hardware, with the Xbox 360 Elite and new PS3 shipments looking to affect retail sales. Michael McWhertor

Leave it to those pokey little puppies at GameFAQs to figure out that IsleofRhodes.org wasn't the suckfest we first thought it to be. On the story page of the website, after hitting proceed to bypass the video, there are hidden Greek letters. If you can spell Kratos by clicking on them in order and then hit proceed, you're in. Darksidez at the GF forums gave the locations:

Kappa (under iota, middle right)
Rho (upper left corner)
Alpha (bottom right, left of soldier's waist)
Theta (under upsilon)
Omega (upper right)
Sigma (bottom right, by soldier's foot)

Once you spell out the name and click proceed you're greeted by another video, this one regarding the pegasus flying sequence, and then another puzzle, this time a timed sliding dealie, which I hate. Once you get past that? Another page, this time containing instructions on how to unlock HD mode in the game.

But wait, there's more!

After that page, should you click on "You Seek An Audience With The Fates", you are greated by this:

It looks as if there's a title starting to get spelled out above the countdown. G? and CH? God of War III: Chains of Love? Michael Fahey
Special thanks to Icy for the heads up!

Sony just sent me this incredibly cool documentary that looks at the real world mythology of God of War. It essentially examines the plot of the game and how it fits into the real classics. Pretty neat stuff. The video was broken up into six parts. Part one, The Mythology of God of War II, is above, two through six on the jump. Enjoy, but only if you're 18 or older. Otherwise your eyes are too sensitive to bask in the glow of the videos. Brian Crecente

Part Two: Gods

Part Three: Titans


Part Four: Creatures


Part Five: Heroes


Part Six: Kratos' Fate

Who knew one game could be marketed so much in so many ways? Sony has posted a God of War II promotional/viral website that allows players to choose two different characters from the God of War universe and them watch them battle it out. So what makes this different than just playing the game? The characters are all portrayed by real actors. It's charming in it's way and some the character lines are delivered hilariously in that over enthusiastic high school theater style. A fun way to waste a few minutes and have a good laugh at people in silly costumes. I'm just glad Sony actually fessed up to this little piece instead of trying to make it look like it was fan made. My fighter of choice? Chubby Kratos! "I am chubby Kratos and I am all out of bubblebum!" Flynn De Marco

God of War II: Battle of the Gods [Sony - Thanks, Nick]