Fans who have been waiting to see Ico and Shadow of the Colossus running in high definition can keep their hopes up. The Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection remains firmly on Sony’s release slate for PS3, with the company’s official target still set for this spring.
The collection was announced at last year’s Tokyo Game Show, where Team Ico director Fumito Ueda appeared during Sony’s keynote to confirm that both PS2 games were being rebuilt for PS3. The PlayStation Blog announcement at the time promised both games on a single disc in spring 2011 with 3D support, full HD output and, for the first time, Trophies. SCEA backed up that window with its own spring 2011 statement shortly afterwards.
Retailers Point To April As Sony Holds To Spring
Retailers have been ahead of Sony from the start. Walmart opened preorders last September and listed the collection for April 1, and several other stores also pointed to April. Sony itself has not yet put a specific day on the box, so for now spring remains the only official word.
Even so, the game has stayed on the publisher’s schedule without any sign of a change of plan. In January it was one of the 20 titles Sony named in its list of PS3 exclusives coming in 2011, alongside heavy hitters such as Uncharted 3, inFamous 2 and Killzone 3.
Bluepoint Brings Two PS2 Classics To HD
The work is being handled by Bluepoint Games, the studio behind the well received God of War Collection, which brought Kratos’s first two adventures to PS3 in high definition. Bluepoint is working alongside Team Ico and Sony’s Japan Studio, and reports late last year indicated that the remastered games will not add any PlayStation Move features, keeping the focus on the original designs.
That approach makes sense for two games whose reputations rest so heavily on their atmosphere. Ico, first released in 2001, follows a horned boy guiding the mysterious Yorda through a vast, empty castle. Shadow of the Colossus followed in 2005 and sent its young hero across a desolate land to topple sixteen towering colossi in an attempt to bring a girl back to life. Both are regularly cited as proof that games can be art, but both also struggled with frame rates on PS2, which is exactly where a high definition remaster could make the biggest difference.
A Warm Up Act For The Last Guardian
The collection also serves as a warm up act for The Last Guardian, Team Ico’s long awaited third game. Sony has pointed to a holiday 2011 release for that title, and the HD collection is expected to land first, giving newcomers the chance to catch up on Ueda’s earlier work before the new game arrives.
For anyone who missed these games the first time around, or who sold their PS2 years ago, this is shaping up to be one of the easiest recommendations of the year. We will update you as soon as Sony commits to a firm date.