July 2004
UGO previews Stranger
Alcar of Oddword Universe dicovered yet another preview, this time it’s on UGO. Talk about on the forums where he reported it.
Sources: Alcar
EuroGamer records ‘Hot Summer Nights’
Awesome news today! EuroGamer is hosting a very intresting video and its description is: “Lorne Lanning’s presentation of Oddworld Stranger from EA’s recent Hot Summer Nights outing, including a question and answer session with Lorne and gameplay footage.” If that doesn’t blow your mind I don’t know what will. Be sure to read usage guide if you aren’t used to the ‘BitTorrent’ technology. Enjoy!
For the ones that can’t see the video, EuroGamer made a very nice (and long) transcript.
EDIT: I forgot to mention that the trailer: “The good, the bad, and the odd” is also included in the video.
Latest press
CVG has posted their own opinion of the three screenshots of Oddworld Stranger that EA have already released. Games Domain have their own well‐worded preview, while Voodoo Extreme and The Thursday Club have their own brief assesments, between them revealing minute new details.
1Up covers Live Ammo
Credit goes to Oddworld Universe for finding an article by 1Up detailing the specifics of Live Ammo, with quotes from Lorne Lanning and Senior Producer Scot Kramarich.
Sources: Oddworld Universe
Stranger’s secret revealed
drakan90 found this article in the Official PlayStation 2 Magazine, and posted it on the Ezboard Forums. Check it out, it’s funny!
Sources: drakan90
Stranger to premiere on G‐Phoria
G‐Phoria, subtitled ‘The Award Show 4 Gamers,’ will be recorded on 31st July at the Shrine Expo Centre. The televised event will feature debut appearances of nearly twenty never‐before‐seen gaming titles and trailers, including Oddworld Stranger. Hosted by Carmen Electra and Dave Navarro, the original award show will premier on G4techTV on Friday 6th August at 8·00 p.m. ET/5·00 p.m. PT, with the pre‐show broadcast starting a half hour earlier.
Additionally, Flushey has reported on a ‘Fry’s Electronics’ employee’s claims that several former Inhabitants now work at SCE Studios Santa Monica, currently developing the gory PS2 title God of War, and that this team and Oddworld Inhabitants plan to put together a short movie featuring the character Stranger fighting Kratos, a Spartan warrior and main character in God of War.
Sources: PR Newswire
TeamXbox previews Stranger
TeamXbox have uploaded their own preview of Oddworld Stranger as seen at EA’s press event in Redwood Shores.
Game Informer transcribed
Rick has generously typed up an article on the Stranger deal with EA Games from Game Informer.
EA Meets Oddworld’s Stranger—Oddworld Signs With EA; Returns to PS2
Developer Oddworld Inhabitants has signed an agreement with Electronic Arts for the publishing of the studio’s next Oddworld game, colloquially known as The Stranger. The 2005 game will appear for both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
The fate of Oddworld’s project has been the subject of much speculation since the Game Developers’ Conference, when rumor spread that the developer’s president, Lorne Lanning, had split from Microsoft. The two companies once had a cozy relationship. Lanning had pulled Oddworld’s support of the PlayStation 2 and handed it exclusively to Microsoft before the Xbox came out—a coup at the time for the new system which was trying to build a roster of compelling content. Unfortunately, Munch’s Oddysee on the Xbox completely failed to live up to either its hype or sales expectations. Interestingly, however, Microsoft still owns a stake in Oddworld via a deal involving Lanning’s old contract with Atari.
The Stranger is the name of this upcoming game’s mysterious, bounty‐hunting main character. The adventure takes place within the Oddworld universe, but is not tied to the story arc of the previous titles. The game will feature first‐person shooting elements, and early looks at it confirm that it retains the developter’s famous brand of humor and sensibilities.
Lanning says that the title’s new character also imbues it with a preponderance of action over traditional platforming.
New articles incorporating the two latest Oddworld screenshots include GameInfoWire and Kikizo.
Sources: Rick
Raymond Padilla interviews Lorne
Oddworld Universe has found an interview with Lorne Lanning by Raymond Padilla of GameSpy.
The downloadable video is a massive 215MB, and it can take half an hour for downloading to start owing to GameSpy’s FilePlanet subscription system. For those not willing to endure this, Oddworld Universe has dedicatedly provided a screengrabs.
Sources: Oddworld Universe
First Stranger previews
Alcar found some very intresting stuff:
The first preview of Stranger, reported on GameSpot, IGN, GameSpy and 1up.
And here are 2 brand new ScreenShots: Shot 1 and Shot 2
Sources: Alcar
EA to publish Stranger on PS2
Electronic Arts anounces that Oddworld Stranger is going to be released on PlayStation 2 and on Xbox in spring 2005, plus little details about the game:
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., July 8, 2004—Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced today that “Oddworld Stranger”, the latest in the internationally acclaimed character‐based Oddworld series, will bring its signature brand of action gaming to owners of the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and Xbox® video game system from Microsoft. “Oddworld Stranger”, which is currently under development for a planned spring 2005 debut, will be published and distributed by EA under the EA GAMES™ brand.
Developed by Oddworld Inhabitants®, Oddworld Stranger features detailed interactive environments set in an enthralling new frontier of the Oddworld universe. Players step into the role of the Stranger, a rough and tumble bounty hunter who tracks down outlaws for moolah. Using a special weapons system that gives a whole new meaning to ‘live’ ammo, players will encounter deviant species and hostile challenges along the way. Oddworld Stranger combines first‐ and third‐person gameplay with familiar Oddworld elements and an all‐new engine to deliver a unique gameplay experience. Set to award‐winning visuals, players will be moved by the complex and inspiring story as the Stranger comes to grips with his true nature in the hunt for the ultimate bounty.
New wallpapers on Oddworld Online
Miss Odd came on the forums to tell us the wallpaper section of her site was uploaded with 7 new creations. Go take a look.
Sources: Miss Odd
Stranger in SIGGRAPH trailer
Comick told us on the forums that a clip from ‘Oddworld Stranger CG Intro’ was featured in the SIGGRAPH 2004 Computer Animation Festival trailer. Go watch it!
Sources: Comick
Additional official site update
Oddworld.com was updated today with a feature that wasn’t uploaded yesterday, the Inhabitants Profiles, this month it’s HR Director, Mike Reifers.
Official site updates, July 2004
The Official Oddworld site has been uploaded today! Go and read the new Dear Alf and the awesome new Alf’s Inhabitants Anonymous.
Oddipus’ Complex opens
Oddipus did post on the forum to tell us that Oddipus’ Complex is uploaded and moved to a new server. Don’t miss the poem on the homepage and the Mobile in Odd‐style feature.
Sources: Oddipus