Tue, May 10, 2011 | 14:44 BST
Guerrilla recalls the controversy surrounding Killzone 2′s E3 2005 trailer
Hermen Hulst, managing director for Guerrilla Games, has chatted with Gamasutra regarding the infamous Killzone 2 trailer which was shown during E3 2005, and said that because of the reception from the graphically astounding trailer for the time, the firm switched the game’s development over from an intended release on PS2 to PS3 instead.
“After we completed Killzone 1 on PS2, for a good half-year or so, until early 2005, we had a PS2 game in development called Killzone 2,” Hulst told Gamasutra. “What happened was that we had never anticipated that that trailer in 2005 would get that much traction. I mean, the whole world seemed to be talking about it, and at that point it just made more sense to scrap the work we had done for the PS2 version and work on the PS3.
“The hard part for us was like ‘Uh-oh. Now we will actually have to make that!’ But the good part is that that 2005 trailer shown at E3 created tremendous focus for the team.
“You had a graphical benchmark, but also the intensity of the combat shown, and frankly there was no way back from that. When you show something and shout about it to the outside world, you better live up to it. So the good part of that was that it gave us a lot of focus, and it acted as a kick start for the project.”
To those who weren’t around at the time or who may not recall, at E3 2005, Sony showed a trailer for Killzone 2, which to some looked as though it wasn’t actual gameplay footage despite SCEA VP Jack Tretton stating it was “real gameplay everybody’s seeing out there,” to IGN at the time.
Later, it was revealed by a Guerrilla rep on the US PS forums that it was a render, which showed what was “possible on PS3,” instead of actual gameplay footage which was eventually shown during E3 2007.
“Everyone else named the E3 2005 video for what it was – a target render of what we thought would be possible on the PS3,” reported Eurogamer at the time. “Something we would be aiming for. Then, during E3 2007, in front of the majority of the gaming journalist press, we released a trailer of Pre-Alpha code running and demonstrated a playable Killzone 2 that stunned the industry.”
Killzone 2 was released on PS3 in February 2009.
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Posted in: Development, PS3, Shooter, Sony
Tags: Guerrilla Games, Hermen Hulst, killzone 2
15 comments
#1
Erthazus
10/05/11, 3:06 pm
I don’t get it. So they are lying to us again.
So they planned a PS2 version of the game, but wanted to show off with a prerendered trailer just for fun??? and then said: Wow, people loved it. Lets try to make a game with these visuals but on PS3.
Sadly, but in my opinion they didn’t created that action that was in 2005 trailer even with Killzone 3. Killzone 2 was just a corridor shooter with nice animations. Killzone 3 was just more of the same but a bit more fixed.
Maybe the whole world talked about the trailer but in the end sales were a total dissapointment, because game was nothing special in the end in my opinion.
Guerrilla should start a new ip and this time do it absolutely right.
#2
Malmer
10/05/11, 3:08 pm
So far no game has come close to the graphics in that trailer.
#3
daytripper
10/05/11, 3:10 pm
it puts unnecessary pressure on the developers doing pre rendered trailers for new console software. show a game when its progressing nicely.
#4
wlodi
10/05/11, 3:12 pm
Wait, they were supposedly doing the game for PS2 and Tretton was saying it’s a “real gameplay” – what bunch of liars. They don’t even feel “guilty” for lying to gamers. Seriously, these target renders should stop. Everyone knows it’s fake yet they desperately want us to believe it’s real and 100% live gameplay. This is wrong.
#5
Erthazus
10/05/11, 3:13 pm
@2, well graphics i don’t know, but animations YES.
When i saw it first time i thought: Holy shit, they are crazy. How is this even possible?
and then killzone 2 came out………………..
#6
mojo
10/05/11, 3:17 pm
“The hard part for us was like ‘Uh-oh. Now we will actually have to make that!”
wtf?
seriously, wtf did they expect?!
lol
#7
Gama_888
10/05/11, 3:18 pm
fucking wow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko9xC6TMdiw
no wonder it blew everyone away. that int 2005, jeeezzzz.
@2 ya really think that? i havent got KZ3 yet but i dont think it was too far off that right?
#8
Blerk
10/05/11, 3:24 pm
Blimey, so not only was it ‘not real’, it wasn’t even on the machine we thought it was for?
Still, if there was one thing we all got out of this whole situation, it was a healthy dose of scepticism over all future trailers.
#9
Erthazus
10/05/11, 3:26 pm
“over all future trailers”
From SONY
j/k
#10
StolenGlory
10/05/11, 3:26 pm
@8
I think we got a double whammy of that at their conference, what with the Square Enix FFVII trailer and all that
#11
Blerk
10/05/11, 3:28 pm
Basically I don’t believe anything that I see these days. Even the view out of my window here is a bit suspicious.
#12
StolenGlory
10/05/11, 3:29 pm
@11
Clean yer windows you lazy git
#13
OrbitMonkey
10/05/11, 3:59 pm
A friend of mine still refuses to be ANY ff game EVER again, until that ff7 trailer is made into a full game.
#14
Blerk
10/05/11, 4:09 pm
He should be boycotting them anyway due to them being rubbish now.
#15
MegaGeek1
10/05/11, 5:20 pm
Hes lying right to our faces.