EA Set To Unleash Oddworld Stranger On The PlayStation 2 And Xbox In Spring 2005

EA Games (http://info.ea.com/news/pr/pr501.htm)
8th July 2004

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., July 8, 2004 – Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced today that Oddworld Stranger, the latest in the internationally acclaimed character-based Oddworld series, will bring its signature brand of action gaming to owners of the PlayStationŽ2 computer entertainment system and XboxŽ video game system from Microsoft. Oddworld Stranger, which is currently under development for a planned spring 2005 debut, will be published and distributed by EA under the EA GAMES™ brand.

Oddworld's "Stranger" finds a home with Electronic Arts

GameSpot (http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/06/17/news_6100793.html)
18th June 2004

GameSpot: From your perspective, in what ways does Stranger signal progress on your part as a game designer?

Lorne Lanning: I have to say that Stranger is the first game that has been an enjoyable experience for me to work on throughout the entire production, which in itself is a huge statement towards progress. The credit goes to having an amazingly talented team that is intensely passionate about breaking some new ground and doing it to the best of their ability. I've never seen a crew work so hard or be so committed. This has enabled me to wear less hats and delegate more while seeing stronger results overall. I'm really proud to be working with this crew.

Exclusive: Oddworld 4 Signed, EA In Frame

Computer And Video Games (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/news/news_story.php?id=105988)
18th June 2004

'Stranger' is the name of the latest Oddworld character action adventure, which stars a Clint Eastwood-inspired Llama-like character known as Steef. But while development has continued apace, the immediate future of the Xbox title was cast in doubt by Oddworld Inhabitants boss Lorne Lanning's shock revelation at this year's GDC that Microsoft would no longer be publishing the title.

EA Gets Stranger With Oddworld

EA Games (http://info.ea.com/news/pr/pr494.htm)
18th June 2004

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., June 17, 2004 – Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced today that it has signed a agreement with Oddworld Inhabitants® for the worldwide publishing rights to the next Oddworld game, the latest in the internationally acclaimed character-based action series. Slated for release in 2005, the new title will bring a unique action gaming experience to owners of the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and Xbox® video game system from Microsoft.

A Much Wider Oddworld

Official Xbox Magazine (http://www.xbox.com/oxm)
May 2004

A little Mudokon told us that the future of the Oddworld franchise may not reside with Microsoft, and maybe not even exclusively with the Xbox. The word around Scrabania is that developer Oddworld Inhabitants is shopping Abe's next adventure around to different publishers, and that the next title in the series may go multi-platform. As long as there's still plenty of chanting and farting on our favorite platform, then we'll be okay with that.

Oddworld Inhabitants Seek New Publisher

1UP (http://www.1up.com/article2/0,2053,1555482,00.asp)
26th March 2004

Oddworld Inhabitants is seeking a new publisher for the next game in its planned Quintology, was the news from the maverick development house at the Game Developers Conference this week. Steef's Oddysee, as the Western-vibed Xbox shooter was called around its tentative debut last year, has nothing to do with Microsoft anymore, although it may make it to market through some other company.

Oddworld Inhabitants representatives didn't specify any companies that may be interested in the game, although they said they were "in talks with several."

The game was displayed only in the form of a pre-rendered trailer movie, produced by three artists in the space of about six months, wherein Steef (looking much as he did in the Discovery Channel documentary that debuted the game, and still wielding a crossbow on one arm) pursued another gunman, "Blisterz Booty," across the Oddworld sands.

It seems as if the game's name may change, though. Oddworld's website simply refers to the new project as "Stranger" (as in "mysterious stranger," or "you ain't from around these parts, are you, stranger?"), and promotional materials given out at GDC read "Oddworld just got stranger." It may simply be a codename or working title, but at any rate, the term "Stranger" seems to be popping up with remarkable frequency in relation to the project.

Steef's Oddysee, or whatever it winds up being called, has of course spent a long time in its rocky development process. One of Oddworld's New Year's resolutions for 2004 was to finish the game, however, and the developer reportedly expects to do so around the turn of the year (if possibly a little after). When more news of its fortunes arises, we'll pass it on.

GDC 2004: Oddworld Just Got Stranger

IGN (http://xbox.ign.com/articles/501/501702p1.html)
24th March 2004

Oddworld Inhabitants demonstrated a new unnamed Xbox videogame in a mysterious manner today at the Game Developer Conference in San Jose, California.

In the job section of the GDC floor, a running demo portrayed a range of new characters based firmly in the Oddworld universe with a twisted Western theme, gorgeous backgrounds and beautiful animation. Of course, the demo was all prerendered, and the representative would not reveal any information on the game's name, its publisher, or the potential timing of its release. Apprently, neither Atari nor Microsoft is publishing this title.

But the company gave out a set of trading cards, which had the names of some of the game's bosses. Additionally, the lead character in the game, aside from Abe, is a game temporarily named the Stranger, Clint Eastwood-style creature that acts as a kind of bounty hunter. The other characters include D. Caste Raider, pack Rat Palooka, Blistrz Booty, Filthy Hands Floyd, Meagly McGraw, Flint "Explosive" McGee, Mortimer Bang, and The Looten Duke.

New details on next Oddworld game

GameSpot (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/adventure/oddworldtentativetitle/news_6030546.html)
24th June 2003

The recent Discovery Channel documentary X-Factor: Inside Microsoft's Xbox gave viewers a glimpse of a few games currently in development for Microsoft's console. One of the games featured was Oddworld Inhabitants' upcoming Oddworld game, which appears to be taking a distinctly different approach from its predecessors. The relatively weak and bumbling protagonists of the previous Oddworld games have been replaced by an enormous and powerful beast--or actually a mixture of beasts, including a gorilla, a lion, and Clint Eastwood--named Steef, who happens to be a crossbow-equipped bounty hunter. In addition, the structure of the gameplay has apparently changed from being a puzzle-oriented game to a faster-paced mixture of first-person and third-person action.

Interestingly, we contacted Oddworld Inhabitants to find out if the footage featured in the documentary provided an accurate picture of the direction the game's development is headed, and a company representative said that the next Oddworld game is still officially under wraps and that the developer is letting the documentary footage stand for itself. In addition, the company doesn't want to comment on whether the approach the development team appears to be taking will change at all before the game is announced.

First look: Oddworld

GameSpot (http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/adventure/oddworldtentativetitle/news_6030268.html)
18th June 2003

Oddworld Inhabitants is at work on a new Xbox game in the Oddworld series, and a Discovery Channel documentary will offer an early look at the game. The program, The X Factor: Inside Microsoft's Xbox, goes inside three game studios--Bungie, Oddworld Inhabitants, and the Crimson Skies team--to discuss the production process and get behind-the-scenes footage. The two screenshots to the left are the first public images of the Oddworld game.

The X Factor will air on Friday, June 20, at 8pm (Eastern and Pacific time) and will include interviews with Microsoft's Ed Fries, Bungie's Jason Jones, Crimson Skies' Jim Dale, Oddworld Inhabitants' Lorne Lanning, and former Xbox spokesman Seamus Blackley.

Introducing Steef

IGN (http://xbox.ign.com/articles/424/424737p1.html)
17th June 2003

If you'll recall, the next three games from developers Oddworld Inhabitants are scheduled to be on Xbox. While there's hardly any doubt that we'll be on to the next generation of Xbox by the time that last game rolls around, we're happy to reveal the very next, as yet, unnamed title from Lorne Lanning and the developers at Oddworld Inhabitants is well under way and we've even got some info on the main character.

Steef is one part gorilla, one part horse, one part Clint Eastwood and the star of the show for the next Oddworld game, that will temporarily be known around these parts as Oddworld 4. The video clip below is from an upcoming Discovery Channel show investigating the development trials and tribulations of first party Xbox games. The full show will air this Friday, June 20 at 8pm EDT and will include interviews with first party developers including Oddworld Inhabitants' Lorne Lanning. Sure you'll miss the big premier of "Hulk" but if you've seen one green guy you've seen 'em all. Plus, this is the Xbox we're talking about here.

Details on Next Oddworld

Electronic Gaming Monthly (http://www.egmmag.com)
February 2003

The third part of the Oddworld quintology (Abe's Exoddus on PS1 was merely a side story) is in development for Xbox. Details are scant, but The Q-meister has dug up some startiling facts about this next installment, which occurs after the events in Munch's Oddysee. Brace yourself, because it's a little... well, weird. Apperently, it involves a half-monkey, half-horse, centaurish main character who's got a psycic connection to (get ready for it...) his boat. Yes, I said boat. Your job is to transport some "things" down a river in said boat. The monkey-horse man and his talking thinking sentient boat have gameplay relationship similar to Ico's (from Sony's Ico) relationship between the mute princess Yorda. (Or is it more of a Katt/Micheal Knight relationship? Hmmm....) In fact, The Q hears that Oddworld's brainchild, Lorne Lanning, found the inspiration for this new direction from Ico.