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| http://ps3.ign.com/articles/636/636142p1.html
More Hints at PS3 Ninja Gaiden
Tecmo announces five new games at Xbox 360 summit, but Ninja Gaiden 2 isn't
one of them.
by Jeremy Dunham
July 25, 2005 - The following is an editorial, it in no way confirms or
debunks Ninja Gaiden on the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.
The plot thickens...
In an interview originally conducted by Electronic Gaming Monthly in May of
2004, Team Ninja head and all-around cool guy Tomonobu Itagaki confirmed
that his studio had already begun work on the next installment of his fan
favorite Ninja Gaiden franchise. At the time, the popular creator did not
reveal what system the game would be for, but given Itagaki's history with
Microsoft and the Xbox, it was generally assumed to be for the 360. We were
all excited and couldn't wait to ask him about it ourselves.
But then something interesting happened...
When former IGN Xbox editor (and current IGN Comics honcho) Hilary Goldstein
asked Itagaki about Ninja Gaiden 2 during an interview this past E3, the
translator stated that the game could not be confirmed as a 360 project. The
only thing that could be validated was that Team Ninja would not fully
commit to Ninja Gaiden 2 until after Dead or Alive 4 had already been
completed.
Almost instantly, speculation about the possibility of Ninja Gaiden 2 coming
to PlayStation 3 or Nintendo Revolution started swirling around our offices.
And while it was nothing more than mere conjecture, the fact that Itagaki
would not confirm its 360 status had us thinking (and still does have us
thinking) one of two things: that either A.) Team Ninja wasn't ready to make
any official announcements at that time, or B.) The game could be headed to
different (or multiple) systems. Logic and historic reference told us that
the likely answer would probably prove to be the former, but after today's
events at the Xbox Summit in Tokyo, Japan, the possibility of Ninja Gaiden 2
coming to systems other than 360 seems more likely.
You see, during that event, Itagaki took to the stage and announced five
Team Ninja titles currently in development for the Xbox 360 -- none of which
were Ninja Gaiden 2. Dead or Alive 4, Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 (a collection
of beach volleyball and other mini-games), Project Progressive (a new action
title), Dead or Alive: Code Cronus, and a new "secret game" were the titles
announced for the show. Of course, the secret title could in fact be Ninja
Gaiden 2, but given that Itagaki has already confirmed its existence in
multiple publications (including ours), it doesn't seem likely.
Could Ryu Hayabusa be headed to a PS3 near you?
With that said, if Ninja Gaiden 2 is really only for the Xbox 360 and Team
Ninja has already confirmed its existence, why is there a refusal to
officially announce it along with the company's other 360 titles? Public
talk of Code Cronus has been around for almost as long as Ninja Gaiden 2 and
had been discussed with editors long before its eventual reveal. A new Ninja
Gaiden would no doubt be a huge coup for Microsoft and a terrific game to
announce for its upcoming question.
And that's why I'm left wondering the big question, "what system will Ninja
Gaiden ultimately release for?" While there's no evidence pointing towards a
definite Revolution or PlayStation 3 release, there are enough
circumstantial bits of info that certainly seem to allude at the
possibility. Of course, once this mystery eventually meets its conclusion
(be it an Xbox 360 exclusive, a multi-platform title, or something else that
we haven't even thought of yet) we'll be sure to let you know.
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