Happy Tenth Birthday, God of War! I can’t believe it has already been ten years (almost to this day) since Santa Monica Studio released Kratos out into the wild.
Creating an original game is really hard; it takes a combination of creativity, tenacity, guts, skill, and let’s be honest here, no small amount of total lunacy to imagine and see to the finish an entirely new world. So making an original game that is successful, well that is just lightning in a bottle, my friends. I believe that David Jaffe did just that when he created and directed the first God of War game.
God of War PlayStation Gear
Official God of War merchandise is now available on the PlayStation Gear Store at gear.playstation.com. The collection includes several t-shirts to choose from and a limited edition Kratos statue! The Kratos on Throne Statue depicts the final scene in the original God of War.
The statue is being produced as a limited edition of 1,250 and stands at an incredible 29 inches tall, showing Kratos sitting upon his throne as the new God of War. Reserve yours with a deposit today!
I joined the Studio later in the development of the first game and had the pleasure of being part of making Kratos who he is today. It all began with Dave’s vision of a brutal mythological world that was equal parts amazing and insane. Then slowly it coalesced with our desire to make the best “pick-up-and-play” action adventure game, seamlessly taking the player to the far reaches of their imagination.
All of this was rolled into the capable hands of one of the most talented development teams I have had the pleasure of working with, the Santa Monica Studio. Together we fought our way to the finish, battling side-by-side (and sometimes even against each other) to reach the finish line and release a game that we all were proud of. As luck would have it, many of you played that game and liked it enough to let us make many incredible entries into the series.
As a fan action adventure and story based games myself, I am forever thankful to Dave Jaffe for the amazing world he created, out of his freaking head. As a professional I owe much of my current career to the opportunity that he and Shannon Studstill (now head of Santa Monica Studio) gave me to go on and direct the second game
The story I wrote for God of War II set the stage for an epic finish to the trilogy Dave and I had always imagined, an all out war between the Gods, Titans, and our favorite angst-ridden Spartan warrior. Going into the third game I set to work on a script and game layout that would push the PS3 to its absolute limit.
While I did not continue on to direct the game, Stig Assmussen, the badass Art Director on the series, took the helm as Director and continued crafting the game and story to its eventual meteoric heights with creative gravitas and skill, and along with his amazing team created one of the craziest, most bombastic and most visually resplendent entries in the series. Seriously, every time I play through that game I see the unique brand of brilliance the Santa Monica team pours into every game they do.
Imagine if a game like that came out on PS4, right?
Well, thanks to the fine folks at SCEA (or Santa Monica Studio) we do not have to imagine anymore because God of War III Remastered is here!
Well, not here yet, but here in the sense that we are announcing it, here. It actually comes out on July 14th.
This action packed thrill ride of a game will take series newcomers and regulars alike on a retina-popping thrill ride filled to the absolute brim with 1080p gameplay, silky smooth combat, earth-shaking weapons, bosses you simply have to face to believe, and an all-new new photo mode so you can share those most tender of God of War moments, like stabbing a Minotaur in the frickin face, with your friends and loved ones.
I highly recommend everyone grab a copy and play because whether you are new to the series or Spartan veterans, God of War III Remastered is one damn fine game.
On this glorious day of celebration we are also taking some of the world’s best speed runners and bringing them together under one roof to watch them break, exploit, and skip all the long hours and hard work the development team put into these games, all in hopes of achieving the fastest completion time! Huzzah!
Seriously, they can finish the game in less time than it took for us to agree on a dinner order, its nuts. You should just watch it.
Watch live video from PlayStation on www.twitch.tv
Happy Birthday, God of War. Happy Birthday, Kratos, you crazy, bald, ash-covered bastard! Here’s to ten years.
Should we toast to another ten years? Will there be another ten years?
Hmm…
Why only God of War 3 and not a “God of War Collection” with God of War 1,2 and 3???
Yet another remaster is coming… Screw this. At the rate Sony is remastering games on PS4, I’ll just wait for the PS5 versions of PS4 games – cause they will be even better lol. And right now i’m quite happy with the PS3 and my PC.
Too bad we can’t get a God of War Collection that is on par with the Master Chief Collection. The Fall of Olympus Collection.
Please offer worldwide shipping at you PS gear store! Your fans are worldwide!
Is this the one where he beats women, or the one where he uses them as doorstops? Can’t keep them straight …
Well I’ll admit this is cool and all as GOW3 was one of my favorite games of last generation.
But without remastering the whole series this seems like a dropped ball. Even with Ascension at least for more value. Unless something REALLY special is coming with this I’ll wait till it’s cheaper.
The most impressive game in the series! Ascension’s multiplayer should be included Santa Monica, thought it was brilliant (Adds longevity)! I’ll def buy this remaster, excellent game.
Unrelated, but when will we get the ability to use a bluetooth headset on PS4 like we could on PS3?
Yes it is 60fps, yes it is 1080p. yes it is $39.99.
Guys, you should have a special weekend sale for GOW games to go along with the celebration, especially for the ones playable in the Vita. Please give your little console some extra love. My money is there in the wallet, awaiting for your mercy.
Hmm… As in yes! There will be another 10 years. And they begin with God Of War 4!
“Creating an original game is really hard; it takes a combination of creativity, tenacity, guts, skill, and let’s be honest here, no small amount of total lunacy to imagine and see to the finish an entirely new world.”
That right there sums up why we’re seeing so many remastered games so far. It’ll be good for PS4 owners that had the 360 as opposed to the PS3, but as a PS3 owner who already played this game five years ago, I just can’t get excited. Still, because of this first line, I’m patiently waiting for the exciting new games to come out (and no, don’t talk to me about The Order) and certainly the likes of Arkham Knight (soon!), Uncharted 4, and even an original God of War PS4 game if it’s good enough (#3 really wrapped up everything, and I didn’t bother with Ascension).
We hear you and that’s OK, remasters often help us open the door to new players who perhaps did not play God of War 3 5yrs ago, but who we can bring it to on the PlayStation 4. People often forget, the more players we can bring into a franchise, the better for everyone. At Santa Monica Studio, we’d like as many PlayStation fans to experience our games as possible, form generation to generation.