OMG! Our baby’s come home! Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee and Oddworld: Abe’s Exodus PSone Classics are both available on the PlayStation Store for only $9.99 each starting Thursday, October 22.
It was only about six years ago that I told our agent at the time, “Larry, don’t you get it!? Our classic Abe games are history. The systems that played them are gone and they aren’t coming back. Ours is a disposable medium and we don’t have a Turner Classics channel.” He looked at me with this defeated expression and said, “Dude, that’s the most depressing thing I’ve ever heard you say.” He believed me, and I too believed it at the time.
Six years later and I have to admit it’s great being proved wrong.
We couldn’t have been more thrilled when we learned that the PlayStation Network was willing to offer our classic Abe games to an entirely new generation of gamers. Finally, gamers who never got the chance to meet and play him when he first came out on the PSone system, will now get that chance to meet the guy who graced many magazine covers and proved the unlikely hero that captured people’s hearts.
We poured years of our lives into both Abe games as part of the love affair that we had with the original PSone system. It was our first character and story to be developed by our new company and I had promised Sherry McKenna, Oddworld CEO, that we would create characters that even she would love. Characters that would make her laugh and that she could be proud of, even though she didn’t care about games. (To this day, Abe is still her favorite)
Gaming seemed such a blank slate of possibilities back then. It was an early super-cool medium with which we could start telling stories of our own. We wanted characters living through stories that might inspire people while still enabling them many hours of challenge and entertainment. We wanted to integrate the best of our previous trade from the visual effects field to delve deeper into the storytelling potential with this exciting, rapidly evolving interactive medium.
We also wanted characters whose score was kept by their karma, not by their number of kills.
We started with Abe, the little chump trapped by the dark side of globalization who would need to find his way (and his soul) through a vast landscape of relentless hazards. He was to be the lovable hero trying to survive heavily armed idiots and hungry critters of the carnivorous kind.
He was designed to cause as many laughs as he would accomplishments, and we wanted him to be remembered.
Now here we are today and because of SCEA and PSN, Abe’s goofy face and doofy walk are finding their way back into gamers’ homes once again. Abe finds a new generation of gamers on PSN, but this time it’s without the costly price of a physically distributed box product, which means Abe is now able to find his way at a ridiculously low price.
We can’t help but feel like Abe is our lost child who has finally returned home. He’s still healthy, he’s still happy, and if you read the forums lately…still holding up after all these years.
Thank you, Sony. (sniffle) You brought our baby home. (sobs)
(Average: 4.56 out of 5)
197 Comments // 46 Replies
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151
Nactous1 | October 21st, 2009 at 7:33 am
I had seen in an interview that your goal was to get a movie of Citizen Siege out there first and control game adaptations. With the film being on hold would we ever see the game released before a film? From what I have seen of some art for the film itself, it looks like a great concept that could equally be applied to both a great game and great film.
152
HEMI540 | October 21st, 2009 at 10:30 am
what a glorious announcement! Yes..Yes..
but Plz we steel need games like “Vigilante 8″ , “DRIVER” and “Resident Evil 3″
153
HEMI540 | October 21st, 2009 at 10:32 am
^ ^ ^
steel = still ^_^
154
TubaSocks | October 21st, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Hey Lome,
I loved Abe’s Odyssey, so happy to see it back.
The style always reminded me of games like Out of This World and Flashback which I also totally love. Did any of those games have an influence on the Abe games?
Such an intriguing world, can’t wait to see another in the same setting.
155
Nactous1 | October 21st, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Two more questions;
When exactly is the new oddworld website coming? It has been coming soon for a while.
http://www.oddworld.com/
The second question concerns Alf, when is he returning from his sabbatical.
156
Nactous1 | October 21st, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Two more questions;
1. When exactly will the new oddworld.com be up? Its been coming soon for a while.
2. When is Alf returning from his sabbatical?
157
inspectorstig | October 21st, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Does anyone know how the L2 and R2 buttons will be used while playing abe on the psp?
158
Eddie_Love_ | October 21st, 2009 at 4:27 pm
I hope they bring back crash bash as a playstation classic it was really fun.
159
Venks7 | October 21st, 2009 at 6:46 pm
I just have to say thank you Lorne. Thank you so much. You have been a great inspiration and have effected my life more positively then anything else.
I quickly became attached to Abe and his Mudokon buddies in AO. I remember how sad I was when I pulled a lever not knowing it would send my brother plummeting to his doom. I restarted the game and played from scratch. I refused to let any of the Mudokons die. It took a lot of play throughs till I saved them all, but I felt very accomplished in the end.
160
Venks7 | October 21st, 2009 at 6:47 pm
When my sister and I heard about Munch’s Oddysee coming out for the Xbox(by the way all my family know and love all the Oddworld characters) we saved up our allowances and did odd jobs for a year to afford the Xbox and MO. My sister and I bonded very closely playing that game together. Her as Munch and I as Abe. To this day we still quote sayings from the game.
I have to say when I first heard about Stranger’s Wrath I was very disappointed. It looked like OWI was following the shooter trend and just trying to make money. But now I know so much better. The game was very unique and had a very interesting story. I’ll never forget running in the rain from those Clakkerz as they shot at me. I felt so frustrated and betrayed. I hadn’t been so emotionally invoked by a game since AE.
161
Venks7 | October 21st, 2009 at 6:49 pm
I remember writing a essay in 11th grade English about apathy. In that essay I talked about US citizens distrust and lack of faith in the government. How lots of people were willing to just allow the government to do what ever they wanted because they felt like they had no power to do anything themselves.
In my essay I told my class of Citizen Siege and said that one day that could be how our world could end up if things continued to deteriorate as they were. My solution was the to spread the message of the power of the individual. I noted heroes like Susan B Anthony and Martin Luther King Jr. Of course I also spoke of Lorne Lanning and his strives for the gaming industry alongside Abe’s story to save his people.
Not everyone thought the world could possibly change to the negative picture I had painted, but many did concur with the power of the individual. I thank you again Lorne for all you’ve done. You’ve impacted my life in so many ways and after Stranger’s wrath I know what ever you’re doing now, be it Oddworld-related or not, it will be immensely entertaining and make us all think.
162
T-saurus | October 21st, 2009 at 9:10 pm
I only ever played Odyssey, but I still remember how unique the game was at that time. Definitely gonna pick this up. Hope you keep innovating and stick around on PS3.
163
spacetimecont123 | October 21st, 2009 at 11:27 pm
Lorne, thanks for answering my question. How many developers actually take the time to answer customers questions? Way to go!
We’ll see tomorrow, but I hope I can download it directly to the PSP…I wonder who controls the pricing? Very few games are ‘premium’ priced…but these 2 definitely deserve it!
Way to go for answering fans questions. Very noble of you.
164
ItaloSvevo | October 22nd, 2009 at 2:08 am
Oddworld games have always been incredibly innovative. So deep, intelligent and meaningful. They were about emotions but they were not over dramatic, they were political without being preachy. Oh, yes, and they were fun. Oddworld was (is?) the Pixar of videogames.
I’m really happy to see they’re back. And even happier to know that Mr. Lanning is at work on new projects. I just wish a European release for these two games was set.
165
RogueNinja_MKA | October 22nd, 2009 at 9:16 am
OK Sony, Now please bring to PSN Final Fantasy Anthology(5,6)Final Fantasy,8,Dino Crisis2, Resident Evil 2,3,Alien Trilogy, Aliens Resurrection,Heart of Darkness,and Contra
166
RogueNinja_MKA | October 22nd, 2009 at 9:43 am
Keep up the good work Sony,I support you guys 100%.Playing Now: Deamon’s Souls, Uncharted 2,Ninja Gaiden Sigma2 and Afrika.
Games that I will buy:Tekken 6,Dragon Ball-Ragin Blast, Bayonetta, Aliens VS Predator,Final Fantasy13, Final Fantasy Versus13, Front Mission:Evolved
167
t-unit07 | October 22nd, 2009 at 7:24 pm
any word on Stranger’s Wrath or The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot, any chance of reviving the latter and releasing the former on psn?
168
Predator3600 | October 23rd, 2009 at 3:28 am
10/23/09
Still no oddworld on network…Thanks sony.
169
roninuntoward | October 23rd, 2009 at 4:16 am
Thank you so much for this Lorne. I have had Abe on my psp for the last year, but now that I can buy it for real I certainly will, to support Oddworld Inhabitants. Please say that you will make the PSN version of Munch and Stranger compatable with the PSP…I would die of happiness.I never got to finish either because I never owned an x-box. :(
Also, I have an oddworld tattoo as well…where do you want me to e-mail it to so you can send me a “wow I cant believe you got it tattoed there of all places”?…and maybe an oddworld postcard to my home:)
170
peacefrog74 | October 23rd, 2009 at 8:43 am
To Mr. Lanning
I need to express to you my sincere thanks for the games you have created and I do hope that more will come. Many hours of my precious free time was spent playing in a wonderous world that you created.
Again, thank you.
Peace be with you
Al
171
RaWfooTaGe69 | October 23rd, 2009 at 1:14 pm
PLEEEAASSEE bring stranger to the psn,and i hope your next gen game will be like stranger’s wrath,and thank you for this great game,keep ‘em coming.
172
twistedvivid | October 23rd, 2009 at 9:00 pm
Will Strangers Wrath and Munch’s oddysee be playable for PSP and PS3?
173
GekooktEi | October 24th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
I’m sorry, but why are they two times as expensive as other PSOne games? Did they get a visual make-over, or didn’t they?
174
Thrasher20 | October 24th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Hello
Hello!
Follow me.
Okay.
175
trumansnare | October 25th, 2009 at 3:30 am
Oddworld Abe’s Oddysee was a huuuuuge part of my child hood. My whole family loved this game. We would sit in the living room for hours on the original playstation just playing this game. I will be buying this..
I have to ask. Any chance of a revamped abes oddysee??? Ill be completely honest, I did not like the newer oddworlds. If you guys could make Abes Oddysee Exactly the same (keep it 2D) except better graphics (HighDef), I would pay a full $60.
176
zradio | October 25th, 2009 at 6:45 am
Oddworld Stranger’s Wrath was hands down my favorite Xbox game. I’ve considered many times picking up an Xbox again JUST to play this game. I was always upset that it wasn’t backwards compatible. The Xbox Oddworld games were amazing. I hope and pray you find a way to share those with us again.
177
omracer | October 25th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Hey Lorne.
Its great that the classic Oddworld Games are being released on to the PS Store. Which proves useful since my copy of Abe’s oddysee i brought is broken and i have half of exoddus (only disc 2).
Also if any of the first 2 games are re-made may i add a suggestion. Since some of the levels have artwork and the advertisments maybe you could replace some of them with real advertisments which would give you an income and still keep the quality of the game high.
Also the oddworld site has never been updated for about 3 + years now. You might want to update it in the near future.
Many Thanks
omracer.
178
corlilo | October 25th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
Hi Lorne, great idea re-releasing Abe. He’s my favorite game hero. I DON’T have an Oddworld tattoo but I DID make real scrab cakes and soul storm brew. They’ll cost you an arm and a leg.
179
otownstr8kila17 | October 26th, 2009 at 6:26 am
Great move PSN! Truly original titles that are worth playing again. Hopefully the response to them will convince the development team to push forward with another “Strangers’” title. Really want to see that on the PS3!
180
JiveBowie | October 26th, 2009 at 9:14 am
Dammit. Had I known Lorne himself would be here I’d read this blog more often. He is the man.
I love Oddworld so much it’s really great to see the first games on PSN. I bought them on Steam with the intention of showing them to my roommate, who is unfamiliar with Oddworld. He’s such a Pixar lover I know Oddworld will just blow his mind. I’ve always thought of you guys as Pixar with balls. Having these games on the PS3 will be so much easier to play.
And please do all you can to bring the other titles over. I’d love to have them all on one system. I liked Munch and Stranger’s Wrath was a real underdog of a gem of a game. One of the prettiest games on the XBox and some great gameplay. I still think about Stranger’s four-legged run whenever I’m playing a game with a character wandering around outside too slowly. I was so bummed to hear you wouldn’t be making any more games, especially after the GI article on that dogs and cats game that never was. That concept looked incredible.
I’m there day 1, dragging any friends I can reach, to any movie you make but please get back into games too. We need all the Odd we can get.
181
JiveBowie | October 26th, 2009 at 9:18 am
Oh yea also, let’s get the HD treatment on these babies. Not to underestimate the amount of work that would be required, but simple re-rendering all of your obviously detailed assets in a higher resolution would be worth the price of re-admission. For this guy anyway.
182
Ladyhawke2 | October 27th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Lorne, anytime I hear news about Oddworld it just makes my day. My PS3 is the 60GB version and I still have my original Playstation Abe’s Oddysee and Abe’s Exoddus games which I dearly love. They remain to this day my all time favorite games and I have so many wonderful memories of playing both of them. The only reason I bought an X-Box was for Munch’s Oddysee and was very, very happy when Oddworld Stranger’s Wrath was released. I’m still here…waiting patiently for the next Oddworld game.
183
Insomniac-Josh | October 27th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
I’ve got to make sure to buy these when i get the money :)
As a kid I never really appreciated oddworld much, but when i came back to it older with a much more open mind I could see how great these games are, i can’t think of any other game that offers such a unique experience, along with a strong story and character behind it.
Can’t wait to see what you guys have to give us next, oddworld related or not, keep the good work up :D
184
shazbot-finubus | October 28th, 2009 at 7:01 am
I’m going to get these, missed out on them years ago but I’ve always heard good things.
I’d also like to add that I’m a huge fan of Strangers Wraith, and although I own the game – I have no way of playing it (the console is broken, figures). I’d be overjoyed if this game also made it to the PSN! More people need to play it.
185
firebranded | October 28th, 2009 at 7:15 am
Please bring strangers wrath to PSN,I even bought it after getting a 360. Only to find out it didn’t work. I really wanna play it one way or another LOL
186
scriptures | October 28th, 2009 at 8:26 am
If it’s possible to bring Stranger’s Wrath to PSN, that would be great. I missed out on the game the first time around.
I regret not grabbing a copy I saw in a store not too long ago. :( And if you do bring it to PSN, please map the shooting to the R1 button. Or at least a preset with that option.
For the love of god, Mr. Lanning. R1 to shoot. :)
187
PSX5K | October 28th, 2009 at 10:42 am
I would love to see both Xbox Oddworld titles come to PSN, especially Stranger’s Wrath.
188
smallgaffer | October 30th, 2009 at 10:47 am
coming to Europe? please make it do i lost my psone disks!
189
D3xt3rGr1f | October 31st, 2009 at 1:44 am
i cant find it on PS store can sum1 please help i really want these games, and if u do manage to bring Munch and Stranger over to PSN you would be gods
190
D3xt3rGr1f | October 31st, 2009 at 1:45 am
Oddworld isnt coming up on PSN can sum1 plz help me i really wanna feel nostalgic and if you bring Stranger and Munch to PSN i will have your babies
191
spacetimecont123 | November 2nd, 2009 at 10:32 pm
@D3xt3rGr1f,
Are you on the US playstation store? It’s not released in other territories yet. Look under PSone classics on the US store. It’s there.
192
spacetimecont123 | November 2nd, 2009 at 10:33 pm
D3xt3rGr1f,
Are you in the US? It’s only in the US playstation store right now, not in other territories yet. It may be in the future though…look under PSone classcics on the playstation store.
193
PetterBoy | November 3rd, 2009 at 6:50 am
I hope all the other Oddworld games comes to PS!!
194
rusty112 | November 3rd, 2009 at 8:58 am
Hi Lorne may i say that you are the best and so are your games you are the reason that i want to be in the gaming business and me and my friend still play oddworld after all these years and we play them everyday and btw when will you be bringing some new news about the oddworld movie and will you ever be remaking any of the oddworld games and would you ever make another game involving abe and maybe even a movie based on the games thank you for your time
195
DarkEde | November 3rd, 2009 at 9:26 pm
Lorne, I was surprised to see both these games on the PSN and made sure to download Abe’s Oddysee since I neglected to pick it up at the time (have an old demo though). I own Abe’s Exodus already. Along with Munch’s Oddysee and Stranger’s Wrath – a vastly underrated title, one of my favorites. I so look forward to your next gen game along with more Oddworld please. Thanks so much for all looniness over the years.
196
smartlamppost | November 7th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Lorne, you have created a masterpiece truly uniqe: Oddworld is a universe that’s incredibly interesting (in fact, the stock yards make me all jittery with excitement), gameplay that would make nintendo green with envy, graphics that put the prettiest Sonic game to shame, and characters as classic as the line you control in pong. But most of all, Oddworld has a heart. It reflects real world issues and paradoxes in ways more genius than I ever could have imagined. And for those complaing about the cost that SONY, not Lorne, but sony set, quite whining! I spent $40 before finding a suitable copy of Abe’s Oddysee! Now that I’ve got that out of the way, I must ask…
Whatever happened to the oddworld clothing merchandise? And in Abe a Go Go, why did you have to change the severed mudokan head to a mud-sicle? Thanks, and may god/oden/buddha/etc. bless you!
197
beggin4help | November 8th, 2009 at 8:10 am
I’ve searched all over for Circuit Breakers, PSone game, cannot find it anywhere, where do I go to request this to be added to PlaystationStore?
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