Ninja Gaiden Sigma: no load screens, no problem
by Nick Doerr 
{ Feb 13th 2007 at 3:00PM }
Tecmo's Director of Ninja Gaidem Sigma, Yosuke Hayashi, recently sat down for an interview about how the game is coming along. It's mostly good news. Let's see if we can pick out the important bits.- Development is about 50% complete and Team Ninja is confident the game will be a smash hit. They've gotten used to working with the PS3, too.
- When asked what was different about Sigma from Black, Hayashi said: "it's going to be endless if I start counting the differences from the original." All the materials are created from scratch and the action engine has been refined, to start.
- As far as utilizing the PS3's hard disk and PS-Network, Hayashi says Sigma will use the hard disk to eliminate "now loading" screens altogether. The Network will be used, initially, for worldwide scores and rankings. Detailed info on each player will also be available.
- Hayashi was asked how the PS3 would fare as a console. He replied: "I am not an analyst. I'm just a game developer. My mission is to provide the best action game for PS3 users. That's all that matters to me, and I promise that you'll experience something really fantastic with Sigma." So true.
- As for a rumored 360 version of Sigma, Hayashi responded: "I would take that rumour as proof that people's expectations for Sigma must be very high. But it is just a rumour."
Great! This game will be pretty sweet, hopefully. We'll keep our eyes out for more information on this game.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
a.j. @ Feb 13th 2007 3:44PM
I'm psyched. I beat NG:Black back in the day and it was one of the best action games I've ever played. And for all those XBox fanboys, it's built from the ground up. No load screens, refined engine. So basically, it will be better than the one you had so please, save your lip. The game is awesome any way you look at it, and for those who haven't played it yet, what a great chance to expierience it in next gen. Awesome.
aragorn @ Feb 13th 2007 3:46PM
As an xbox 360 fan... let me tell you, when this game was first announced as a ps3 exclussive, I basically crapped in a sock.
upon further consideration, i realized that after having played through the origional, and black multiple times... I think I've had enough of the first NG.
Don't get me wrong, I'm very glad that the playstation fans will finally be getting NG... as I do view it as the game DMC wishes it was.
but regardless... I wish tecmo would focus on the sequel, rather than revising the origional... I mean... I'd be fine if it was both 360 and ps3... but seriously... ANOTHER REHASH!?!?
shase @ Feb 13th 2007 4:05PM
@2
I agree with you. Its obvious Team Ninja is trying to milk NG1 for all its worth and i have also played NG & NG black. Its a great game but i am not sure i will want to play it yet again though... NG2 & Lost odyssey are the only games I would want to play on the 360 and a piece inside of me want both to be ported to PS3 (NG2 more likely) so I dont need to shell out 300-400 for a 360.
Figboy @ Feb 13th 2007 5:41PM
thing is, not everybody has played this game, whether the original or Black.
remember, only 25 million X Boxes were sold, and 110 plus million PS2s.
there are a lot of PS2 owners that have not played this game.
also remember, it's not the Ninja Gaiden team that are making Ninja Gaiden Sigma, it's an offshoot of the team, led by one of their more experienced developers.
the core Ninja Gaiden team is hard at work on the sequel.
it'd only be milking it if Ninja Gaiden/Black/Sigma were available on all consoles.
as it stands, they're just making the game available for those that have never played it, and don't want, or have the original X Box or a 360.
aragorn @ Feb 13th 2007 5:43PM
figboy:
counterpoint: it's not ps2 owners who will be playing sigma.
and I may be wrong, but for some reason, I thought team ninja was working on the next doa...
Bangbang... @ Feb 13th 2007 6:27PM
aragorn
yes, you are wrong. Ninja Gaiden Sigma is being made by (these are Itagaki's words) "a young but talented deverloper that I hand picked" and a small team of his choosing. The main focus of Team Ninja is Ninja Gaiden 2.
I took this is quote from an interview Itagaki did with 1up eariler this year. He had this to say when asked about wii and ps3 developement
"TI: Well, I've got my hands full looking over my 'daughter' and my new 'son,' [Editor's note: DOAX2 and Ninja Gaiden 2] who's going to be born soon, so I don't really have the ability to think about that right now, but I think it would be once again handled by a young member of the team. So even when I'm playing with the Wii and I close my eyes, I envision myself holding a Japanese sword. So that's the frame of mind I'm in right now, so I hope everyone looks forward to what we're working on next."
Even though this game isnt being handled by the bulk of Team Ninja or Itagaki, this game is going to be awesome because you can't really f*** Ninja Gaiden up. However i'm going to pass as i already have NG, the downloadable hurricane packs, and NG black. So buying this would be too much of a good thing :)
aragorn @ Feb 13th 2007 6:36PM
Bangbang: I know. I never said team ninja was working on sigma.
I was only commenting that for some reason I thought team ninja was working on another DOA, not NG2. Twas a side note
shase @ Feb 14th 2007 9:26AM
@aragorn
Well there are speculations that TN is working on NG2 AND something called "Code cronus". Actually rumors about "Code cronus" was out before NG2 so they might be worked on simultaneously. I guess I really dont mind too much for Sigma to be released- i am just saying that if anyone really wanted to play NG they wouldve played it already...
bootsielon @ Feb 17th 2007 9:30AM
Aragorn:
DMC wishes it was Ninja Gaiden black? How so?
DMC came out in 2001, Ninja Gaiden in 2004; if anything Ninja Gaiden was modeled after DMC, except DMC had an original storyline. I guess Ninja Gaiden wished it was DMC in terms of success, that's why it's getting milked. LOL