Prince Of Persia Creator "Delighted" By Film Casting

Poor Mike just got done with the Ubisoft press conference. He's in the shower of his hotel room, cold water on full force, sobbing gently as he tries (in vain!) to scrub clean the memories of 117 Petz and Imagine: announcements. But it wasn't all bad. The Prince of Persia bits were good. Very good, as you can see if you catch the trailer. Revealed during the address was that "Elika" - the girl in white who serves as your buddy/Yorda character - is a definite improvement on her Ico-based inspiration. Not only can she not die, but she never, ever gets in your way, and rather than simply being a dead weight to lug around a level, will help you out by chaining moves with you, helping in jumps and "saving you from death". Perhaps the best use of her is this "death" mechanic. Instead of just dying, your wounded Prince will feebly call for Elika to save him, giving players a taste of humiliation without the need for death's cold, final embrace. Oh, and there's some new screens below, if you're interested.

Here's the first real (ie not just some artist doodling) trailer for Ubisoft's latest Prince of Persia title. If they were planning on tugging at the heartstrings of PoP purists and Ico fans alike, they're doing an excellent job.

Prince of Persia: Next Gen

Three new screens for the upcoming Prince of Persia reboot. Enjoy. We're still digging the tasteful use of cel-shading, still looking forward to seeing how it all pans out, still wondering how Yorda grew up so fast, and why she still thinks it's a good idea to go adventuring without a decent pair of shoes.

[via Zapages @ NeoGAF]

Okay, so I like Harry Potter. I checked out the Wii version of EA's upcoming Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, slated to drop alongside the film, mainly because I was interested in seeing what kind of magic wand a Wii remote made.

I had it demoed for me by executive producer Jonathan Bunney and producer Justin Manning, and it came down to a fight.

Ubisoft + Prince Of Persia + DS Is What You'd Expect

We'll Have To Wait For More Assassin's Creed

In a new article lauding what it calls Ubisoft's "ascent" as it contends for third place (behind Electronic Arts and Activision) in the industry, Forbes heard from Ubi's North American president, Laurent Detoc, on its strategy for spacing the Prince of Persia games.

As the article points out, Ubi's first franchise re-up happened in 2003, followed by two more titles back-to-back. And then three years of radio silence. Why?

The last two titles sold well, but didn't match the sales of the first game. So Ubisoft decided to pull back production and launch its next "Prince of Persia" this winter, in hopes of creating demand for it. "As we get bigger, we can give it more breathing room," Detoc says.

The publisher's doing well enough now financially, the article explains, that it doesn't have to rush out franchise follow-ups and can afford to cool its heels a bit in between to spur demand. Detoc also told Forbes that they can afford to whet your appetite for the next Assassin's Creed by making you wait:

"When we bring it back, there will be more anticipation for it," Detoc says.

Europe's Top Gamer [Forbes]

Want to help develop the next great Prince of Persia title from Ubisoft? Well you can't, but you can influence the game's achievements right now at the PoP web page by casting your vote for the Player's Choice achievement. Choices include achievements for longest grip fall, running distance, or mastering all of the combos in the game.

We want to give you, the fans, the opportunity to make an impact on the next-gen debut of the Prince of Persia series. We've already got a great set of achievements planned for the Xbox 360 version, but we're making room for one more. Vote for your favorite achievement, and we'll add the most popular choice into the game!

Of course this only applies to the Xbox 360 version, but the page does mention something special planned for PS3 fans down the line as well. Xbox 360 fans might be getting a chance to vote, but PS3 fans get a surprise! Face!

Vote for an Achievement [Prince of Persia Official Site]

Alfred Molina Joins Prince Of Persia Cast

Variety reports that actor Alfred "Doc Ock" Molina has signed on to play the role of Sheik Amar, the prince's mentor, in the upcoming Prince of Persia movie.

Molina joins Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton and Ben Kingsley in the Disney production. Mike Newell will be directing the adaptation and Jerry Bruckheimer is producing.

If it weren't for that appearance by Kingsley in that Uwe Boll movie I'd say that the cast is rock solid.

Alfred Molina joins Prince of Persia [Variety]

Ubisoft May Be Planning Video Game Adaptation Of Prince Of Persia Movie

You read that right. According to GameDaily, Ubisoft is planning to release another Prince of Persia game next year, one that's not the cel-shaded "reboot" that has yet to be officially named. The game that's planning to ship alongside the Mike Newell directed, Jerry Bruckheimer produced film adaptation of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is "essentially" a video game adaptation of the film adaptation of the video game of the same name. Careful, your head may twist clean off if you succumb to the spinning.

It doesn't sound like anything is guaranteed at this point on the game that may feature a polygonal Jake Gyllenhaal and a phoned in voice over performance, but if we know Hollywood and games based on movie licenses, regardless of the source material, I think we're in for a fun ride. Not so much a good video game, but a fun ride.

Triple Play of New Prince Entertainment [GameDaily]

Ubisoft handed out packs of these four Raving Rabbids at this year's Ubidays. I'm not a huge schwag fan myself, but these managed to melt even my cold heart. And yes, we're sorry Ubisoft, turns out Sam Fischer did make an appearance at your show.

Ubidays the Final Round-Up

For those of you who somehow missed all of our Ubisoft coverage, which stretched from early afternoon until late into the night, I've compiled all of our stories on the jump. They include hands on with Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway, H.A.W.X. and Far Cry 2 as well as tons of interviews and impressions.

Ubidays 08 Round-Up: From Beyond Good & Evil 2 to Prince of Persia

Ubisoft held their Paris Ubidays today, officially announcing that Beyond Good & Evil was on its way along with a slew of other titles including a DS game to help people quit smoking and a new snowboard title.

If you missed any of the Ubi related news and my hands-on impressions with games like Far Cry 2, Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway and H.A.W.X. then hit up the jump for a round-up of all of our Ubidays 08 related posts to date.

Prince of Persia Ditches Roots, Gets a Final Fantasy Make-Over

EW Writer Displays Epic Prince Of Persia Ignorance

I cannot imagine that someone who makes at least a part of their living on the internet could possibly be as out of touch as Entertainment Weekly's Simon Vozick-Levinson, who posted an article discussing the upcoming movie based on "classic computer game Prince of Persia." Especially considering that simply typing the name of the movie - Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - into your browser brings up the video game immediately.

Still, I gotta wonder how they're going to make a movie out of this. As I recall, there wasn't much in the way of a plot to develop: Prince fights off menacing dude with scimitar, Prince leaps from one vertiginous ledge to another, Prince gulps down life-saving potion, Prince fights off two menacing dudes with scimitars at the same time... Apparently the big-screen version is going to introduce a quest for "a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world," which sounds a little more like a compelling narrative.

I want to believe it was written tongue-in-cheek, but then a later post by the author on a viral Indiana Jones Lego video fails to mention what happens when you type "Lego Indiana Jones" into google. I understand that gaming can be a whole other world to the uninitiated, but this is just ridiculous.

Who's looking forward to the 'Prince of Persia' movie? [EW Popwatch Blog - Thanks Mickey!]

Finally, some decent screens for Ubisoft's Prince of Persia reboot (which, sadly, is not called Heir Apparent). Those with a disdain for cel-shading might want to look away, because the game's bold new art style is on show here, and it's looking absolutely wonderful.