Coming to PSN this Week: Oddworld PSone Classics

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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.

Oddworld Abe 1

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.

Oddworld Abe 2


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)

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150 Comments

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  • I had this game for PC when I was a kid, it really scared me. But that was awhile ago. Im not saying I didn’t like it, just scared me:)

  • YES YES YES!
    I remember playing this at Toys R’ Us when I was 6 or 7 I told my parents I wanted it, and I got it for Christmas XDDD
    I love this game, I still own the disc from when it was first released and I am definitely rebuying this, it’s a freaking classic so thanks for bringing it back guys.

  • I remember playing a demo on an old PlayStation Underground CD… ended up getting the game for Christmas!

    First thing I’m doing is getting Abe to fart!

  • Played both of these on the PC way back when. Very excited to play them on the PS3 as well. Two of my favorite games ever. <3

  • Lorne! You have no idea how excited I am! I still own the original, but I’m definitely going to pick-up Abe’s Oddysee, at least so I can play it on my PSP.

    I also want you to know that Abe’s Oddysee is my favorite game of all time, no joke. I’ve used to for COUNTLESS writing assignments, and every time it’s an absolute pleasure writing about the game.

    I’m eagerly awaiting your next announcement, and if you’re ever in need of hiring someone, you could do worse than me!

  • Thanks so much everyone. Those of you most familiar with us know that we never make comments on forums but the nostalgia factor for bringing Abe back to Sony is a special moment for us… so I jumped in. I hope my responses have been helpful to those who had questions. I tried to answer what I could against an insanely busy schedule.

    Thanks out there for all the support and great memories thru the years.

    LL

  • This was one of the games that made me jealous of my friends who had the original Playstation. back when i only owned an N64.

    Thank you guys so much for bringing this over to the PSN. will definitely get this and be able to play it for the first time.

  • $10 each? Is this supposed to be funny?

  • Lorne Lanning I have a question, when do you expect the release of FINAL FANTASY 8 to hit the psn?

  • Wasn’t the Uncharted 2 winter suppose to be announced today?

  • It would be awesome if you’d charge us an extra 3 dollars just because an old PS game was more popular/sold more copies.

    Sincerely,

    A victim of downloadable game rape.

  • i still own both ps1 versions. i still love these games as much as i did back then. :. ) i’ve held on to very few games over the past several years…just couldn’t ever let them go. Stranger’s Wrath on PSN would rock! Please do you best to make it happen!

  • Lorne I was always curious if you guys were inspired by the games Out of this World and Flashback? Also if you are friends with Eric Chahi can you let him know that we all need Out of this World in 1080p HD on the PS3? Thanks! :)

    • Totally. I loved those games and they were major factors in our decision to start the company. To me, they were the first games that made me feel like I was controlling living creatures. As well as the original Prince of Persia, or course.

  • Will I be able to play this on my PSP..?

  • I’ve never played any Oddworld game. Even amidst all the raving, I’m not sure if I even want to, especially given my lack of funds. Might I ask why BOTH of these games hold high-end prices for PS1 Classics?

  • i want the uncharted sound track. Plz……….

  • I’m glad that you’re trying to get the other games in the series to PSN. As for another sidescroller, while I’m sure quite a few people would enjoy it, I believe way back when it was said that the oddworld universe the games would be in sets of three, 2 of one type, and then an ‘extra’ type game. Don’t know how that’ll pan out but I hope you guys keep Abe in as at least a cameo.

    @dragonleader33
    Yeah, when ARE the uncharted winners going to be announced?

    • While we\’ve been quite, we haven\’t abandoned the stories or the long term objectives. Still, sidescrolling is most likely something of our past. We hope to get more dimensional beyond where we\’ve been.

  • Will you/Sony be bringing these PS1 classics to the UK/EU stores?

    Never played them before and I would love to.

    Thanx.

  • @Lorne
    What took you guys so long? PS1 games have been sold the the PS3/PSN store almost since the system launched 3 years ago which makes your whole 6 year thing a little confusing.

  • Meant winners btw >.>

  • Cool! Now announce Dissidia!

  • lol @59

    Thanks for the post Lorne. These games are classics and i hope they sell well on PSN. Looking forward to more news from you and your team in the future.

  • I have been madly in love with the Oddworld series since the beginning and it’s absolutely the reason I’m attending the Art Institute of Phoenix and studying Media Arts and Animation. Lorne, I just want to say thanks for everything. I fear too many gamers (or just people in general) don’t realize what an influence you and your team at OI have been in the industry. The quality and creativity of your games is second to none and I’ve yet to find another developer step into the same realm quite so boldly.
    I’m ecstatic to hear about the classics being released on the PSN and it would be unbelievable to get Munch’s Oddysee and Strangers Wraith, two games I would snatch up in a heartbeat.
    Or even just enhanced versions of those games with the new hardware would be incredible a la BC Rearmed. By the way, we still want that Oddworld movie! Look at Resident Evil Degeneration, it didn’t do so bad.
    Seriously, thanks Lorne.

  • nice to see some old classics come back to PlayStation.

  • a true classic for the PSN.

    I remember replaying the ps1 demo over and over.

  • Lorne Lanning where have you been!!!!???? its so good to hear from you again! oddworld inhabitants was such a talented studio. will you guys be back? the last i’ve heard of you was the oddworld game for PS2, but then you guys switched to xbox because of development problems. but whatever its just good to see you around thw game industry again.

    I’ve NEVER psoted on the blog before so that should tell you how happy i am to see you again.

  • I’ve still got the two Stranger Christmas cards Alf sent out a few years back, thanks for sending them all the way to the UK by the way. The blue snowy/moon pose card is especially amazing. I only wish I had signed up as a fan years earlier!

    Happy tears now that OI is returning to games. After your current project I think it’s time to knock out a few more evil factories!

  • I’m glad to see you’re exploring the idea of bringing Stranger’s Wrath to PS3. I would love to give that one another shot.

  • I hardly never post in this site although I do visit it from time to time but I just feel obligated to post in this one. Thank you. Thank you for creating such a wonderful, original, creative and fun experience.

    I only got to play Abes Odyssey (still have the game, case and all) but I am looking forward to playing its sequel since I didn’t get to experience it back in the day. Abe was really the first character that I really cared about in a video game. The cool thing about him is that he isn’t this overpowered, I’m going to kill everyone kind of dude but a timid, kind fellow with a big heart and a scary adventure. Funny thing is that I actually replayed the game last summer.

    *whistle* *whistle* *whistle* *whistle* *whistle* *breaks wind* *laughs*

  • Nice to see some good games coming up, but why must so many of these be US$10? FFVII and Metal Gear Solid I can see, but why so high?

  • Abe’s Exodus is one of my all time favorite games. I was just revisiting it the other night and I was immediately reminded of why I fell in love with Abe & co. Such a great, unassuming and charming underdog.

    Thanks for stopping by Lorne, it’s great to hear from you. Get back to work though, there are many of us eager to visit Oddworld again.

  • i loved this game cant wait for this and the next one to come out, and better yet i can put it on my psp

  • This was a wonderful game and at the time they had wonderful plans for it making it a longer series than it ended up being..

    I kinda miss the Oddworld Inhabitants… Can we expect PS3 Oddworld game at all in the future?

  • Its great to see these make it onto the PSN. But I think $10 for a PSOne classic is a little steep IMO.

  • I could not afford these when they came out and I always wanted to play them. I will enjoy them now!
    Thanks!

  • please bring the xbox exclusive ones to PSN as well. always wanted to play them but will never buy any xboxs.

  • Update the avatars.

  • Fantasic game, probably my favorite PS1 game, but like most PSN releases this day, the price has been magically inflated even though we’re in tough economic times.
    If I didn’t have it already, I’d just ebay a disc cheaper.
    On a postive note…. please bring Oddworld back to the playstation! While I won’t throw away $10 on a game I have a disc of, I’d certainly blow $60 on a real game…

  • God! It’s good to see that you guys are still alive! Abe has been my most favorite character in the Playstation!The funniest! If you were going to deliver an Oddworld HD for PSN you could make a fortune.

  • Yeah I remember this game. I played the hell out of this and Crash Bandicoot. Those 2 were Sonys mascots back when the PS1 first released. I will have to buy these games again.

  • This does little to make up for the fact that you are an Xbox exclusive developer now. Please leave PSBlog and never come back.

    • We stopped being an Xbox exclusive developer in 2005. It\’s a complicated story. It would make a good book, but getting sued isn\’t something we\’re into.

  • Hello!
    Hi!
    Barf!
    i donno!

  • WOW thanks for this guys! We need more games like Oddworld! Loved playing them on my PS One! I always wanted to play Stranger’s Wrath! Hope you guys have plans for a sequel this generation!

  • Lorne, first of all I want to say I’ve loved your odd world games. I’ve been waiting months for these to get released on PSN for my PSP. My question to you is, are these for the PS3 only or will they work for the PSP too?

  • Any chance to have a HD Remix of this classic games? I would enjoy Abe Classics in HD :) And I think it would be a huge success

    • We\’ve considered it a few times. If we do redo a game, it will be a revisited Abe\’s Oddysee in something akin to the Stranger engine per controls and format. 1st to 3rd… would give POV shooting for possessed Sligs. Would be fun to do, but costly.

  • Will we ever see theese, and some of the other awesome ps1 games released on the US store, in Europe soon?!

  • $10 each …. holy invasion of bad choices badman

  • I’m stunned, this is the best news I’ve had in a long while concerning the PSN.

    I mean, the last game to hit the PSN that I knew I would have to buy was FFVII. And it only because I wanted to replay it just once. This, I don’t know how to describe.

    I wanted to play through the games to no end back in the day (we bought Oddworld & the disk scratched too badly to enjoy it) and it’s like a dream come true as I had forgotten about the games and really look forward to playing them.

  • OMG you guys have made my day! Why did you guys stop! I wanted MORE! Not just I but alot of people, this would be so perfect for an HD release of the next time like the PSone originals!

    • The game industry is/ has gone thru a lot of changes. Most independent developers have been bought up by larger publishers. This isn\’t always a matter of choice on behalf of the developer. More often than not now, it\’s a matter of necessity.

      We chose a different path and have been experimenting. We haven\’t been in a hurry, though experimentation time is almost over.

  • Nice classic indeed.

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