Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands – Back to his (PS2) roots

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Hi everyone, my name is Graeme Jennings and I’m the producer for Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands on PlayStation 3. With the game coming out so soon and everyone at Ubisoft excited to see what you guys thought of it, we wanted to get your opinions on the PlayStation.Blog and have the chance to answer some questions you guys might have for us.

To start off, let me explain a little about Forgotten Sands. The first thing I wanted to mention is to let you all know that this is not a game based on the Sands of Time film, in fact, we are bringing the prince back to the roots from the PlayStation 2 era by having this game take place in the seven year gap between Sands of Time and Warrior Within. We think you’ll notice a lot of reminiscent elements of the original trilogy in Forgotten Sands.

Some other things we’re extremely excited to talk about are the elemental powers and epic battles that take place n the game. Thanks to new innovations in technology we are able to pull off huge battles, from a boss that’s over 30 feet tall to fights with up to 50 enemies on the screen at once; the Prince definitely has his work cut out for him in this one. We are also providing the Prince with new powers over the elements, abilities like being able to solidify water to climb on it, creating a trail of fire behind you, and blasting enemies away with a tornado to name a few.

Finally as an added bonus for PlayStation users, if players connect their PSP and PS3 together, they will unlock extra experience points to put towards upgrading the Prince’s arsenal.

So if you have any questions for us on Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands feel free to ask them and we’ll do our best to answer. One of the best opportunities to see how we did with a game is to hear it directly from you. Thanks, hope you all enjoy the game!

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103 Comments

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  • way better than the other version!

    really high expectations for this one

  • Having never played sands of time or the warrior within, I want to know if the forgotten sands story will be easily understood without playing the previous games. Trailor looks good.

    • Graeme Jennings

      Well, we put a lot of effort into making The Forgotten Sands story cohesive with the rest of the Prince of Persia universe. That said, The Forgotten Sands is a standalone title that can be enjoyed whether or not you’ve played other Prince of Persia games.

  • The first thing I wanted to mention is to let you all know that this is not a movie based on the Sands of Time film.
    I would hope its not a ‘movie’ based on the film, I would think the first impression would be people thinking it was a game based off the film based off the game.

    • Graeme Jennings

      Yeah, we’ve had to grapple with that misconception quite a bit, and it’s unfortunate that some people see our game in that light… especially considering the amount of work all of our developers have put into The Forgotten Sands.

      Of course, we’ve been working on this game for some time now, and I know that the sheer quality of every element (from graphics to gameplay) will vindicate the commitment of my team. I am very proud of the job we have done.

  • I don’t like this game series, meh…

  • Question:…

    You lot at Ubisoft may have seen what the guys over at Santa Monica did with God of War, and released a God of War/God of War II special edition game including the first two iterations of the series on the Playstation 3 with improved graphics and all the goodies.

    Is there ANY way we can see you guys do the same with the original sands of time trilogy, and bring it over to the PS3? I really want to get this game, but I never had the chance to play the first 3 games on the PS2. I would love to see a trilogy game on the PS3!

    • Graeme Jennings

      We hear that a lot, actually. Still, my team is focused 100% on The Forgotten Sands and making it the best game it can be.

      If there are any other plans regarding the original trilogy, I can’t really comment on that, because, like I said, I’m maintaining a laser-focus on The Forgotten Sands.

  • Need more gameplay videos… im always worried about combat in games like these. From what i seen, it looks like assassin’s creed style combat, which i hated. Thats assassin’s creed 1, i haven’t played 2 yet so i wouldn’t know.

    Also, is there going to be a demo?

  • @5 Yes, I would also like to see a Prince of Persia Collection for the PS3, like the God of War one.

    Will we see Farah in this game from The Sands of Time?

    • Graeme Jennings

      Farah does not make an appearance in The Forgotten Sands… it wouldn’t necessarily fit since she “surprises” the Prince in Two Thrones.

      We do have a female character in the game, though… don’t worry about that!

  • I hope it´s more like sands of time . I don´t like the others 2 games

  • hey guys any news about what skin we will get in uplay ? i hope EZIO like you gave us altair in 2008’s POP

    • Graeme Jennings

      Oh man, that is a good question!

      Unfortunately, I have to keep Uplay stuff under wraps at the moment, but there might be some more information soon. Like, tomorrow even!

  • This looks awesome. I’m getting a nice God Of War III vibe from this, which may or not be intentional :P

  • how many high res cinematics in the game,..,.,like the trailer cinematics .,.,looks soo good and so realistic

    • Graeme Jennings

      Thanks… as we’ve said before, we put a lot of effort into bringing the Sands of Time universe into the next generation, and our hope is that you’ll see that level of quality throughout the game. But, yeah, the cut-scenes are awesome!

  • i have never played prince of Persia but this game looks kick ass.
    the trailer looked awesome, i think i might get this game :)

  • Great stuff this look great coz that last game u had out….. that cartoon looking thing i never even played it and felt the need not to but this omg well done u got ur act bk together

  • Any PS Home unlockabes? Will PoP have a presence in Home? Any Persia dynamic themes? Avatars? Please launch Home content soon, not months later. Thx!

  • I remember playing through the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time on my PC, no less, several years ago (was it really almost 6.5 years ago!?).

    I guess my question is this: why go with “powers” in this new game? I haven’t really kept up with playing much aside from SoT (and a smattering of just about each of the newer games) but the one thing I liked (or remembered to have liked…) about SoT was that there weren’t many powers if any at all, aside from the rewind feature. I liked having the prince be a little more, I guess, human in his ways of combat and getting around the landscape.

    So did you see adding some elemental powers and such to the Prince’s arsenal a way of evolving the series? And will these powers not only be used for combat but for any puzzle-solving?

    • Graeme Jennings

      That is a very good question…

      Here at Ubisoft Montreal, we really have to push for innovation with every game. That much is true. It’s just a part of how we work as a development studio.

      At the same time, we wanted to put some really epic challenges in front of the Prince this time out… things that would really be tough for him to overcome. The other side of that is giving him the tools to deal with these epic challenges, and so we offer him some magical help… help that still holds true to the Sands of Time universe, of course, but help nonetheless.

      And, yes, some of these powers will be essential to puzzle-solving.

  • Already pre-ordered. Thx for the mouth watering trailer.

  • Why the decision to drop the 2008 Prince story and style and go back to revisit the PS2 era Prince?

    Not that I’m complaining, just curious.

    • Graeme Jennings

      I actually cannot really comment on that one… the decision was made, based on fan feedback and our own team’s desires, to go back to the Sands of Time universe, so that is what we did.

  • From what I’ve seen of the gameplay, the combat looks ridiculously easy. The enemies could be dispatched one at a time with a charged strike. Does this reflect the challenge of the overall game?

    Also, will there be challenging puzzles? The ones in the 2008 PoP were almost too easy to be called puzzles.

    • Graeme Jennings

      Hmmm… the charged strike is an important part of the Prince’s arsenal of abilities, but is by no means an “I WIN” button, hehe. I would hardly say that dispatching enemies with a single charged strike is emblematic of the whole game… even some of the early enemies will require several charged strikes to defeat (and so I would suggest mixing your tactics a bit – throw in some vaulting attacks and elemental powers as well ;D).

      Challenging puzzles? Yes. They are there. And I would add that we have added a lot of navigational puzzles as well… it’s not always going to be as simple as figuring out a system of cranks. Sometimes you’ll have to think on your feet as you decide where to place your next jump or what rhythm you should use for freezing water!

  • I have been disappointed with the recent Prince of Persia games but if you are able to go back to your roots and bring back what was so great Ill give it a try… demo?

  • I’ve looked at the previews for this game and it is definitely NOT going back to its roots. It takes much more than just a look to go back to the roots of what made the games good. Ubisoft has been slipping ever since Assassin’s Creed 2. Then they go and make Splinter Cell: Conviction an exclusive (I know it’s only a timed exclusive as it has happened in the past but don’t expect me to buy an old port). Then they give beta access for the next Ghost Recon to the other console. I’m done supporting Ubisoft. If the game doesn’t get mediocre reviews like I am expecting then it will be a rental AT BEST.

  • Im very exited for this one, will it hav ethe same “free Run” controls from Assassins creed 2 ?

  • Are you guys considering about remaking sands of time, warrior within, two thrones for PS3? it would be awesome 2 see those games in more detail. l love the environments, the music and of course the gameplay. please grant this wish guys!!!! : )

    • Graeme Jennings

      Your desires are duly noted, but, as I said above, I cannot comment on what any other teams at Ubisoft may or may not be working on.

  • I’d defiantly be interested in seeing some gameplay footage. It’s hard to tell what a game will really be like from a pre-rendered trailer.

    Can we expect any soon?

  • Will it follow the same events as the movie or will it deviate… if not how will this not follow the same turn out of many movie tie in games

    • Graeme Jennings

      The Forgotten Sands is a completely different story from the film and is in no way associated with the movie.

  • Hmmm watched the combat gameplay vid again and the combat looks as fluid as a bowl full of jello. Quite horrible actually, maybe it’s not my style or what have you but i need a demo or to rent it. Without a demo, no first day buy for me. Maybe i’ll buy it if i end up renting it and liking it or a demo comes out and from the lack of response above i doubt there will be a demo. Anyways, it looks like a great game.

  • Cool

    So when is Splinter Cell: Conviction coming out on PS3?

  • Glad to see a producer taking his time to answer questions.

    just wanted to say that…Good luck with the game!

  • i know it’s annoying but would it be likely to have exclusive dlc or game for the ps3 only?

    • Graeme Jennings

      That is not an annoying question at all!

      The answer might be, though, since I can’t really say much about this at the moment. Sorry!

  • @Graeme Jennings – Fan feedback and team’s desire is a fair enough answer. Thanks.

  • prince of persia had me at sands of time. it was so awesome my escape frm reality lol. im glad 2 admit that the game is number 1 in my collection hands down. forgotten sands ha! i already kno its awesome duh!! its prince of persia. the music, environments , gameplay i saw on youtube the game is hot.
    so is there goin to be another? please say yes lol

  • Not impressed with your fancy CG cut scenes, would rather see gameplay but I am a fan of Ubisoft. I loved ACII, Shaun White and Far Cry 2 so I will keep an eye on this game.

    What I would really like to see is a Far Cry 3 where you guys fix all the game ruining problems like the navigation, travelling and repetitive missions. I thought the gameplay, graphics and features of Far Cry 2 were amazing but I never finished the game because of the huge annoying flaws.

  • Since TFS connects SOT and WW, is it possible that we will get to see the Dahaka, or anything that led up to the beginning cut scene to WW?

    • Graeme Jennings

      We never said it “connects” Sands of Time and Warrior Within… only that it occurs between those two games.

      But, no, there is no Dahaka in The Forgotten Sands.

  • I want a new Rainbow Six game please!!!

  • 1.What was the inspiration for the new prince design?

    2.Theres been many games in the action adventure genere, any one in particular that has inspire the development team?

    3.Cool to see ubisoft on the blog! you guys should come more often!

    • 1. The primary source of inspiration was, of course, the Sands of Time series, because that’s our Prince. Those games appeared on the previous generation of consoles (most notably the PS2), so for the PS3 version, we knew we had to add more detail and decided to go for a sort of fantasy realism – somewhat similar to Assassin’s Creed, but still adding some magic and wonder that the original series captured so perfectly.

      2. Again, we looked primarily to what we consider the “source material,” the Sands of Time series. I mean, we’re all gamers here, so of course we looked to a huge sampling of action adventure games… either because they are really popular among gamers in general or because they have mechanics that we enjoyed.

      3. Thanks!

  • I have seen all the videos posted for this game and I really haven’t been impressed. I know how ubisoft wants people to think that this isn’t based on the movie and I agree, but it’s very clear that this game was made because the movie was made, and for that reason alone it just doesn’t have the quality of the previous games in the trilogy.

    Moreover, I am done with the trilogy which now happens to be a quadrilogy, unless there is a game that has the quality of the first three.

    The big question that I want to ask and which I know will not get answered is that:

    will Ubisoft continue the story of the new prince and elika ? Despite of all the mixed opinions, I absolutely loved the game and would be terribly disappointed if ubisoft doesn’t continue the new series with the same incredible art style and a better combat system that is reminiscent of the sands trilogy, yet not completely identical.

    So, Ubisoft, please don’t disappoint those who loved the new series and I hope it comes sometime after AC2:brotherhood.

  • By the way, in the post you said ‘movie’ instead of game.
    “…to let you all know that this is not a MOVIE based on the Sands of Time film”
    Just a minor error, hope for the best for the game, and I think you’ve drawn my attention enough for me to delve into the series’ backlog and get into it.

  • thank 4 answering my question n i hope ya’ll do. forgotten sands will be game of the year. so were the environments, music fun 2 create? you guys always do n awesome job with those.

    • Yeah, we have whole teams dedicated to both environment (level design) and music… and we have a lot of fun brainstorming and searching through possible influences. I know our Art Director had a very clear vision, basing our environments off of the Mughal period of architecture.

      Meanwhile, in addition to our internal teams, we hired Steve Jablonsky (composer for Transformers: The Movie) to give our soundtrack the epic scope that we knew we wanted.

  • You know, ever since the sands of time the prince has been largely Persian in name only. He has got blue eyes which is very, very rare and from warrior within and forward his character design has been veering more and more towards ‘European fellow with a slight tan’ and away from ‘Prince of ancient Persia’. Furthermore the game world he inhabts and his character bears hardly any trace of his ethnicity. At this point the ‘of Persia’ part of the games seem like an archaic formality. Have you guys ever considered doing what SONY Santa Monica did with god of war and draw from the wealth of Persian mythology and history?

    Sure it is not as well known as the Greek but it is just as rich with source material. It would be nice for this series to keep better in mind its namesake.

    • This is something I’ve heard quite a bit in our forums, and I understand the implications that the title “Prince of Persia” brings with it. Now, this is a work of fiction, so while there are some parallels with Persian mythology, we also try to draw from multiple sources in order to keep the story fresh and engaging.

      Our Scriptwriter Ceri Young delved pretty deeply into a variety of mythologies when writing the story for The Forgotten Sands, including the Arabian Nights stories, which were the basis for the original Sands of Time.

  • i am going to get both Wii , PS3 , PSP versions of this game =]

    question , is there a story differences in those three? , also another question and i know i shouldn’t be asking this here (lol playstation will kick me off) , but whats unique about the DS version? is it like the PSP one?

    • Graeme Jennings

      Yes, all three of those versions are very different.

      Different story, different gameplay mechanics… even different powers.

  • Quite nice looking, yum, and I always enjoy the Prince’s acrobatics. so in the interest of filling inter-game time, should we expect to see the Dahaka from Warrior Within at any point in this game? :)

  • I’ve been a fan of the PoP games since Sands of Time came out. Infact, I started replaying Sands of Time just this morning. Great game. I’ll keep my curiosity to two questions:

    1. You stated Forgotten Sands has an intertwined story with the PS2 trilogy. Should we expect an explination as to why the Prince doesn’t have his elenmental powers in Warrior Within?

    2. Should we expect episodic DLC like Assassin’s Creed II had?

    Thanks for taking the time to answer questions from the fans. I’ve already asked my wife to pick this title up for my June birthday. :)

  • How many more weapons and moves will this one have? Is the Prince going to be doing any exploring or is the game mostly linear?

    I liked the look of the most recent PoP, but the combat and gameplay needed a lot of work though. It was way too repetitive. I did like the sandbox-like feel and how you could move from zone to zone with ease. I think you guys should take a little bit out of Heavenly Sword’s book as far as combat goes.

    Good luck with the game!

  • Straight to the pointS :)

    Will there be any firmware restriction for the PS3? I haven’t updated cause i love my xubuntu.

    Are the controls/combats more like the PoP:WW? Or PoP:Ttt? Or the first game?
    I really played the third game just too see where the story was going… after that, i just play the WW. (yes, have played WW again in the last weeks. never touched Ttt after the first ending and i’m delaying for too much time my 100% trophies on 2008 version)

  • I love Warrior Within, the free flow combat was awesome and the story was awesome. My question is, which PoP game has inspired the combat in The Forgotten Sands??

    • When we looked back at the Sands of Time universe, we found that the Prince has two main focuses: his incredible agility and his accomplished sword skills. As a result of that, we built an entirely new combat system that focuses on these two traits.

      We are going to put the Prince into combat situations he has never been in before where he has huge mobs of sand creatures all ganging up on him at the same time. That means that he’ll need to use his agility to control the crowd, always avoiding being boxed in while looking for openings to strike at enemies for maximum effect.

  • What console was this game developed on first?

  • Will there be a demo for PSP or PS3?

  • wow looks good

    i liked your last prince of Persia on ps3 and i am gonna buy this one next month (i am broke right now lol)

  • Will the PS3 version be held back by the lowly 360?!!?

  • Does the game replace/eliminate or take place before or after “Battles of Prince of Persia”?

    So, the PS bonus is XP only, right?

  • Traffordman2008

    What happened to the prince’s face? He just doesn’t look right. Oh well atleast he talks like his old self :)

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