I wonder if Sony paid for this? I kind of doubt it, because it's not like the PS2 really gains much from this exclusive. I wouldn't want the game to fail just because it's a PS2 exclusive, but it sure would brighten up my day if it sold just a little worse than the last one.

I will never be able to have Link again damn you Sony you stole him away DAMN YOUUUUUUUU.

isn't it a really bad idea to put SC3 on PS2? SC2 already looks like crap on the PS2 compared to GC and Xbox. Don't tell me they've somehow managed to strap 4 PSPs together and pretend its one PS2?

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Originally posted by: couchmonkey
I wonder if Sony paid for this? I kind of doubt it, because it's not like the PS2 really gains much from this exclusive. I wouldn't want the game to fail just because it's a PS2 exclusive, but it sure would brighten up my day if it sold just a little worse than the last one.

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If Namco were to decide, it's likely they would have picked the Cube because it sold so much already: more sales = more revenue.
It's more plausible Sony paid them to take a pot-shot at Nintendo, knowing it didn't sell as well on the PS2 but merely to prevent Nintendo from repeating their success again.

I can only hope that its a timed exclusive.

If I wasn't so sure that Sony paid for the exclusive I would be saying that this is a Sega-esque form of bad descision making, it makes no sense any other way.

Thanks a lot Namco! I was actually impressed with Soul Calibur 2 even without the Link quotient and was planning on buying the third installment, but not now! Yay!

Gamecube owners are quite possibly the only people who are punished for buying third party games. A game sells the best on the Cube? Maybe we should release the sequel on that system too... nah, that would make sense!

The press release makes it sound like a timed exclusive. It "is scheduled for release exclusively on the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system in 2005." Meaning we might see something on the other systems in early 2006. But by then, people will be preparing for XBox2 and Revolution, so the sales might suck, and Namco can say they were justified in only releasing on PS2 or some other nonsense.

Doesn't make a big difference to me. How much different can they make the game?

Time for some grass roots "outrage" since "outrage" was what got RE4 on the PS2..

I can't say I'm surprised by something like this. It's just another example of how Sony beat the crap out of everyone in "teh console war." Namco prefers Sony over all other systems. They got the ENTIRE Tekken series, and the Ridge Racer phenomena was born on the PS1. Sony's just got better cards than everyone else. It's pointless to bitch about something like this.

NAAAAAMMMCOOOOOO!

I have a feeling this is not going to sell nearly as well as SC2. If you go to multiplatform forums in general people are mad about this. Not because it's not coming to the Cube but because it used to be multiplatform and now it's not. Even some people who own PS2s are mad because they preferred the framerate on the Cube and Xbox versions. Namco just sh!t on everyone but Soul Calibur fans who only own PS2s.

With ruining Star Fox and screwing us out of a sequel to a rare third party release that sold best on the Cube Namco isn't really doing a good job of keeping the Nintendo fans they spent a fair amount of effort attracting this generation.

Savior: That was SHAREHOLDER outrage. Unless you are a shareholder you wont be able to move Namco.

The screenshots look pretty bad. I thought SC2 already looked pretty boring but this... The only hope is that the World Champion mode might be like OMF's career mode.

Some believe that Sony actually blackmailed Namco into this because the amount of money required would be HUGE. Sony is known for tactics like saying "do what we want or we'll raise the license fees on ALL of your games!". This is why a console leader falls after two gens, they get too cocky.

And a blade hidden in a bamboo umbrella? How lame. Everybody is doing stuff like that these days (and Urahara had one of those in Bleach so it's not even rare).

Hmm...this is a bit upsetting, and I don't even like Soul Calibur.
Bad form, Namco.

I am SO with you on this. If Resident Evil 4 can come to the PS2 downgraded, then Soul Calibur III is most definitely gonna come to the GameCube upgraded.

I'm not gonna have it any other way.

I think Sony has alot to gain from doing this...and I definately think Sony paid for this.

Nintendo has not been known as a fighting game system. The first really great fighting game in years comes out and it sells best on Nintendo, granted its after Nintendo did some cozzing up to Namco, but it still sold better.

Sony paid for this exclusive to prevent Nintendo or Microsoft from making more ground in this genre....and to give Nintendo the middle finger.

I wouldn't be surprised if this backfires though, and Nintendo and Namco make a deal to include Link again, and perhaps another character from Nintendo. If I was Nintendo that is the plan I would take.

This is perhaps the first time Namco REALLY pissed me off.

Soul Calibur 2 made the PS2 look bad, without actually doing anything "unfair".

The director of the game designed it around the "lowest common denominator" (the PS2), and it still looked the worst on the PS2. The GameCube version sold the best, even though the PS2 version sold well. It's not like the PS2 version was ignored.

The only "unfair" part was "But...but... the Nintendo version had LINK!!! How are we suppsed to compete with that?!?" Which leads to the inevitable "Well then, you should've let Namco borrow... ummm... hmmm... yeah... you've got nothing."

Either way, the PS2 got embarrased by SC2, so Sony opened up their wallets (or maybe they grabbed a knife) and made the problem go away.

Unless you are a shareholder you wont be able to move Namco.


I seem to recall the Capcom PR guys saying Customers, Sony PS2 Owners asked so much for the game, and that was one of the reasons....

I think if Namco gets enough feedback, it might port it eventually on the Gamecube. Ill wait till 2006 if it means better graphics and Link and Gannondorf playable

From the other thread...

Soul Calibur II (GC): 789,964
Soul Calibur II (PS2): 736,372
Soul Calibur II (Xbox): 529,190

Multiplatform Total : 2,055,526

Those are the NPD (American) sales figures. I don't think anyone has any Japanese sales figures for SC2 handy, but it has been suggested that even the Xbox version of SC2 beat the PS2 version in Japan.

(Basically, it's said that Japanese PS2 owners saw SC2 as an "American" kind of game and didn't want it, Japanese Xbox owners wanted it because they thought it was American, and Japanese GameCube owners bought it for Link.)

I'm sure this is just a timed thing. Don't worry. The original Splinter Cell was Xbox exclusive for a few months. Ubisoft wasn't even allowed to talk about the other versions until the deal with MS expired.

By the wording of the press release I'd say it's the same sort of deal. Notice they don't even mention an arcade version. Namco is the company at the head of the whole "arcade revolution" movement, Namco has great relations with Nintendo, and SC2 sold best on Gamecube. There's not way it's permanently exclusive.

Microsoft is actually probably going to benefit from having it in early 2006, since that means Namco will probably move it to Xenon, giving new Xenon owners a good fighting game to buy.

As for Nintendo, since the Revolution is backwards compatible I don't think releasing it in 2006 will be a problem.

Oh, and some asked what Namco could possibly add this quickly... Did you not read the press release? There's a freaking character creation mode!

Oh, and Gamespot has a 3 and a half minute movie showing 3 new characters and a developer interview.

So they are guaranteeing ite going to sell under a million? if ps2 gets exclusive sc3..how bout rev get exclusive sc3:rev

So much for logic and reason prevailing. I can only hope it is a timed exclusive.

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battle as their custom fighter in a real-time simulation in Chronicles of the Sword Mode

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Gamers such as me who own both a gamecube and a PS2 should keep in mind that if this is a timed exclusive, Sony will do everything in their power to sucker you into buying the PS2 version before the gamecube one is announced. That may mean quelling rumors of a GC version. After seeing the sales figures anyone can see clearly that the PS2 can't compete in a simultaneous release. Sony is playing dirty here.
There was a "making of" video I saw on IGN where one of the developers was saying that in SCII they used the guest characters to broaden their audience. I'm one of the gamers who initially developed interest in SCII because of Link's inclusion, but found everything else about the game immensely satisfying. There are hundreds of thousands of people like me who hopped onto the franchise only to be pushed off by this decision. It would be completely irrational, no matter how much money Sony is throwing at them, to build up such a fanbase and then throw it away. Ideally, Sony's motive is to make it seem exclusive so that sales of the PS2 version will trounce those of the GC.
I'd love to see this game on the gamecube, even if Link isn't part of the deal, and I'm not going to let this announcement ruin my anticipation.

They're still using SC2 art for Nightmare all over those logos lol

If they're not bringing it into arcades first, I guess they're making it less of a fighting game and concentrating more on the customization and conquest stuff...?

Has anyone seen the trailer with the 3 new characters? What about the makingof video? I got them from newtechnix.com but they were links from ign. The 3 new characters don't look bad, Tira and Zasalamel are my favourite because of their weapons (I pretty much don't care about their alignment, i.e. good or evil), Setsuka looks boring. The "Create your Fighter" feature, shown on the makingof video, looks very temptive. I tried to see if they would show any Cube by accident on the developers desks but those rats (fyi, Namco workers) are pretty sneaky. From that guys speach I'm hoping they do in fact bring SC3 to the Cube and whatever else exists.

I just watched the official trailer at gametrailers.com and it had an interview withe the developers. Some intrestin things are happenin with this game. They talk about how making exclusive characters for each console broadened their audience and with this game they want to even broaden it more. ( Then why in hell are you making it exclusive to the Ps2?) Another thing was that they feel that they need to set the stone higher than the last game. So they are adding new characters and a Create your own fighter mode.................. (sounds cool and yet lame at the same time) You all should check it out very interesting stuff.....

No online play though?

Does anyone have the sales figures for SC2 elsewhere in the world (i.e., other than America)? Someone's claiming the PS2 version sold outrageously better than the xbox and Gamecube versions everywhere else, and I'm betting it's BS but need proof.

Anyway, I never bought Soul Calibur 2 but for a fighting game it was damn fun, so this is a shame.

Ridiculous..........

Here's everything I was able to dig up for Japan/Europe.

Japan's first-day:
PS2 - 42,648
GCN - 32,948
Xbox - 15,503

Total - 91,000

Japan's first-week:
PS2 = #5 on the charts
GCN = #7 on the charts
Xbox = not in the top ten

Total - 140,000

Europe's first-week:
38% GameCube
34% PS2
28% Xbox

Time to buy a PS2.

You know everytime a developer fails to send a game to the GC its because of the excuse that third party games don't sell on the GC.

So usually GC owners only get crappy ports and kid oriented games.

Once in a while however a good third party game makes it to the cube.

Yet when the GC version of a third party game sells the best, the developer always finds a way to screw ninty and GC owners.

I believe the term around these parts is "moneyhats."

As for the game, wow. I want it, and I fear I'll never get it. Character creation sounds fun, and if they made the fighting system any better it'll be great. I enjoyed the first game even without Link, in fact I don't enjoy playing as Link. Link did draw me in though. I can't belive namco would do this, I though Nintendo had a good relationship with namco.

And RABicle I'm almost certian that buying a PS2 would lower your fist. I mean, its like selling out.

To make this fair, we should get Tekken 5 on the Cube with an exclusive character, since this game was suppose to be the only PS2 exclusive

oH. MAn. GREAT IDEA.

Tekken 5 with with... CAPTAIN FALCON.


FALCOOOOON PAAAAAAAAUUUUNCH!!

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Originally posted by: RABicle
Time to buy a PS2.

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Haha, I don't need an extended warranty, the EU has 2 years of mandatory warranty towards defects that are the manufacturer's fault (after 6 months the burden of proof is upon the buyer but hell, with court rulings against Sony how hard is that to prove?).

Tekken 5 *drools*

If only Namco catered to my needs.

Luckily I have a PS2....

Contradictory statements ^

If I were Namco I'd worry about tweaking the engine a LOT more before some f*ckin character customization. SC2 had to be one of the worst sequels ever. The first one was better in gameplay by miles and the only way I'll even look at this one is if they were to fix the crap that went wrong, like they did for the most part going from Tekken 4 to 5.

uk.PlayStation.com

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One of the biggest and best beat 'em up games around is set to return to PS2 (and only PS2) this October. Wrestling the massive series from the grasp of Electronic Arts, our very own Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) will be publishing Soul Calibur III exclusively on our beloved console. What's more, Sony has the worldwide rights, so you won't see SCIII on any other console... anywhere... ever (unless we eventually see a PSP version, of course).

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EA published the Xbox and PS2 versions of SCII in Europe while I believe Nintendo published the GCN version.

You know these types of agreements have been made for games before and whats to say Namco isn't going to make a SCIII+ for the other consoles latter basicly making the agreement moot.

Although this does worry me (only slightly) that SCIII won't make it to the GCN (or Revolution, or Xbox, or XBOX 360) I feel confident it will eventually make it.

I'm glad I have a PS2.........I bought it for fighter's (though I bought Capcom vs. SNK EO for cube, I like it alot), RPG's, GTA, and Metal gear....and now it's paying off even more

I still got Soul Calibur 2 if I ever need to get the Link fighting fix....

Here's something that should turn most of you off this game.

No SCIII online.

Haha. "Le online a été omis pour des problèmes de connexion sur les différents territoires et surtout sur Playstation 2". So, no online because the hardware sucks too bad to keep the lag low?

Also, a team of 150?!? That's five times what EA (and most other developers) puts on their games!

No SCIII online. Thought this would've been a given. You can't have lag in those type of games period.

Well, Capcom and Tecmo tried to go online. Also, SC is rather slow compared to other fighters.

Yeah, such as Captain Falcon

Someone over at Games Are Fun posted these sales figures for SC2 in Japan.

PS2: 144,948
GCN: 97,148
XBX: 31,815

Is there any way in Hell those are accurate? Ruby's numbers for the first day were about half of that, so it doesn't seem very likely. That, and it would mean the game sold about a third as well in Japan as it did in America.

"Also, SC is rather slow compared to other fighters."

Not that much slower. The fact that even this game has just-frames make it entirely unplayable at any decent level online.

In Japan, a game selling half its total count on the first day is pretty normal.

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Is there any way in Hell those are accurate? Ruby's numbers for the first day were about half of that, so it doesn't seem very likely.

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