Eight Days and The Getaway 'on hold'

Eight Days and The Getaway were both under the wing of SCEWWS.

It seems that the new boss of the WWS division, Shuhei Yoshida, has been wielding a not inconsiderable axe and has decided he needs his resources allocated elsewhere, focusing on other titles. Here's the official word:

"It has been agreed that production of both 8 Days and The Getaway will cease immediately due to the redistribution of resources and budget. This decision was made following an internal review of all games and it was deemed that with the incredibly strong list of exclusive first party titles coming up both this year and in the near future, resource should be reallocated to enhance those projects closer to completion. WWS has a reputation for innovative and entertaining games, with titles such as LittleBigPlanet, SingStar, Buzz, EyeToy and Eye of Judgement, and will continue to push the boundaries on all PlayStation platforms."

Personally, The Getaway didn't really get me excited, but Eight Days always looked highly promising. Maybe one, or both, of these titles will be picked up again in the future...

The Getaway doesn't live up to it's name

E3. 2006.

That's the last time we heard anyhing from Sony on The Getaway for PS3.

Back then we were blown away by the visuals as Sony showcased what London could look like in-game. I'm sure you remember the picture of Piccadilly Circus which actually came from a 2005 screen test.

To be fair, we thought the game had lived up to it's name and 'got away'. There are a whole bunch of games that have had similar smoke screens around them for almost as long, and we wonder about them too (Afrika, anyone?).

But now it has been revealed that the PS3 incarnation of The Getaway is still on the cards.

In a recent interview, screenplay writer Katie Ellwood had this to say about the title, and what the PS3 brings to the table:

"The Next Gen of consoles have liberated us in other ways. There are wider possibilities to use that processing power and tell a story during the game play."

"We can stream a wider variety of dialogue and animations to progress the story and characterisation rather than breaking the flow of the game play for a cutscene. If games are about immersion, then we are now about to deepen that immersion."

During the same interview, Ellwood went as far as to say that Sony are talking to production houses about a Getaway movie.

Just as long as Uwe Boll isn't lined up to direct it we think it would be a good idea. After all, Hitman didn't actually suck.

So, will we see the next Getaway game in 2008? Unlikely. But with other strong 'sandbox' competition already lined up for this year, 2009 might be a better time to launch the title anyhow.

[via Den of Geek]