Interview of the Colossus

Many people have asked the same question, but there wasn't one particular inspiration for the game. Maybe it was something I saw before, in a film, in a cartoon. Maybe it was something I read in a book or something I played when I was little - that sort of mixture might be the inspiration.

The sadness was focussed - in ICO's case, but in terms of Colossus, when you're riding around in the field, maybe that's where you get your isolation. But when you're fighting against the colossus there are similar feelings. Maybe after defeating each colossus, that might make you feel sad, but once you finish the whole game then you get a better picture of the feelings.

At the moment there is no definite plan for the future. But because we always want to keep challenging new things [unlike] other third party companies - that's our concept as a platform holder. That lets us design all different types of genres and different types of game in the future.

In terms of Colossus, we had to realise how the hero grasped onto the arm of the enemy, so that was how we started the game design, then we thought how the technology could realise it. Apart from that, in terms of something you might call art - the movement, motion, and scenery - that has been made within the limitations of the hardware rather than making something and trying to think, 'I want to make this, so I cannot do it technically'. We made it within the limitation of the hardware, so just thought, 'how can we do it within the technology?'

We don't know anything about it! It's not anything to do with being secretive or anything; we just haven't seen [the PS3] yet.

At the moment we are doing the development of the European version, so we are considering whether to include any additional elements. In the case of ICO, the European version was the best-completed version, so now we are expecting something similar to happen to this one...

[Another Sony Japan rep at this stage interjects that Ueda-san was talking about the packaging.]

It takes time in order to get a full screen PAL version working, and also translation into five different languages. Also, from the PR and marketing point of view, they know when the best time to release it, so that the distribution is successful.

[Sony PR rep interjected at this point and said: "There is a plan to re-release the original. Exact details have not been 100 per cent nailed down as yet, but ICO will be re-released."]

We cannot promise everything will be improved because of the limited deadlines, etcetera, but maybe there will be some improvements.

It was in order to enhance the spirit of fighting, and so the team's resources could be concentrated on the [colossi]. The contrast between the quietness of travelling and the fighting is more pronounced.

Of course, it's the same as ICO, when you reach that point where you go, 'oh I wish this and that', but it's the same for any other developer, as well.

I can't say anything. I can't give exact details, but the same as ICO or Shadow of the Colossus; I'd like to make a game that I'd want to play.

I like to leave that to the player's imagination! For us, it's much more fun to listen to what the players have to say, telling us what it meant to them...

With the ending, there are many films and books that deal with bringing back the dead, but usually it kind of has bad consequences, but what we wanted to provide is use all the humanity to provide a happy ending,

In Japan there is much speculation that there are different endings depending on how you play. What I was trying to do, is each time you killed the colossi you can't escape from your own fate...