Headlines 
25/03/09 - Fumito Ueda at GDC: "The very core of my next game can be compared to ICO's" - News
Fumito Ueda has today revealed that there exists a common denominator between ICO and his new game currently under production.
Speaking at a panel at this year's Game Developers Conference, Ueda was asked about his new game. He paused for a bit and answered; "Let's see. It might be similar to my previous games, probably... I'm struggling to give an answer without revealing too much. There are executives in the room who wouldn't like me saying more but... the very core of my next game can be compared to ICO's."
He was then questioned about what kind of partner we should expect this time, to which he just replied; "No more questions please. I'd end up in trouble."
21/02/09 - Fumito Ueda attends GDC 2009, part of 60 minutes panel - News
Today we received confirmation that Fumito Ueda is participating at this year's Game Developers Conference in a panel with fellow Japanese designer Goichi Suda, Emil Pagliarulo - Bethesda Game Studio and Mark MacDonald - 8-4 Ltd.
The panel, "Evolving Game Design: Today and tomorrow, Eastern and Western game design," will discuss recent trends in modern game design and the direction games are headed in the next few years. The panel is scheduled for the 25th March, between 05:30PM and 06:30PM GMT.
19/11/08 - Fumito Ueda talks on Famitsu: "My new game is based on physical contact" - News
Speaking briefly in this week's issue of Famitsu, Fumito Ueda said that his new game for PlayStation 3 will be based on physical contact, similar to how his previous two games, ICO and Shadow of the Colossus were.
ICO was based on two characters holding hands and the core mechanic in Shadow of the Colossus was the main character holding onto the colossi and climb them. Both of these functions were executed by pressing and holding the R1 button on the controller until the action was completed. A similar form of connection will be present in his new game.
15/11/08 - Fumito Ueda interviewed on Toro Station - News
To celebrate the two years since the launch of the PlayStation 3 in Japan, Sony Computer Entertainment has organized a series of special episodes of its Toro Station newscast. Among the many guests was Fumito Ueda, the creator of ICO, Shadow of the Colossus and the mysterious 'ICO 3', his third project heading for PS3 sometime next year.
During the interview, the two hosts, Toro and Kuro asked him various questions; how does he start working on a new title (he creates a pilot clip demonstrating how the game will look in the final product), what does the word ICO mean (the title is a pun on the word ICON) and on what he is working now.
On this question, Ueda only stopped for a few seconds saying "I am working on a new game for PlayStation 3, obviously. It is now well under production and I think we can announce it to our fans very soon."
Ueda has also revealed that when the team started working on Shadow of the Colossus, the idea was to include an online mode, something which did not happen due to time constraints and lack of expertise with the technology required to implement such a mode.
Before ending the interview, Ueda presented Toro and Kuro a hand drawing of a giant cat, highlighting once more his love for these creatures.
30/09/08 - Sony Computer Entertainment Japan to announce nine PS3 titles at this year's TGS - News
Sony Computer Entertainment Japan has today revealed they have plans to show nine previously unannounced titles for PlayStation 3 and another three for PlayStation Portable at the Tokyo Game Show 2008, which is being held at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba between the 9th and 12th of this month. The games, all presented in playable form, are either being developed or produced by JAPAN Studio, SCEJ's subsidiary for software development.
Persisting rumours keep suggesting that Fumito Ueda's new project may be announced together with these games during Sony's stand presentation next week.
11/09/08 - Team ICO given special Visual Arts award at CEDEC 2008 - News
At this year’s CEDEC (CESA Developers Conference), on behalf of the entire team, Fumito Ueda, Junichi Hosono and Hajime Sugiyama were presented with a special award for Visual Arts for their contribution to the video games industry.
ICO won the award, surpassing other better-known titles like Final Fantasy, Gran Turismo and Metal Gear Solid. The game was praised for its atmosphere and presentation of contrasting light and shadow. Ueda had a few lines ready for the occasion:
"Thank you for this award. When we started working on ICO ten years ago, we faced many challenges because we wanted to create something which did not exist. We are now facing a similar challenge with our new project. Please wait a little more, we are sure you’ll like it very much. Thank you again."
14/08/08 - GamesTM reports on Fumito Ueda’s new game progress - News
The September issue of GamesTM reveals new details on Fumito Ueda’s new game progress:
"Production has not reached the critical stage. The company is very reasonable thanks to our achievements in the past. So, although I do normally get pressured, that’s not happened yet on the current project, and that’s something I feel gratitude for; that the company gives us the opportunity to focus by giving us time."
Asked about what we can expect from his new title he did not have anything specific to add:
"I’m working on a PlayStation 3 title. That’s all I can say."
That said he did confirm he would like to work on a smaller-scale project:
"Yes, I would [work on a smaller-scale PSN game]. As long as time permitted and I had the opportunity, yes."
13/08/08 - Shuhei Yoshida talks on Fumito Ueda with Game Informer - News
Taken from the September issue of Game Informer:
"Ueda-san is a perfectionist, only he can decide what to show, when to show. And even though some say, "Yeah this is good enough, let’s announce it," he will say, "No, no, no…" so hopefully when we show something from them you will like it."
07/08/08 - Kenji Eno talks about Fumito Ueda and his time at Warp - News
Taken from the September issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly:
"At the very beginning, he didn’t pass the application process at Warp. But I still remember the work that he submitted; it was about a dog running in the rain. His technology as an animator, as a CG artist, wasn’t that great, but his ideas and his concepts really struck me, so even though he originally wasn’t on the hiring list, I handpicked him because I saw his potential. Not potential as a graphic artist, but his design and concepts struck me, so that’s why I picked him out. However, people ask me a lot about Ueda, but he didn’t stay at Warp for a long time. It’s not like I groomed him or anything; he already had the talent when he came to work, and he’s a talented person, so he went to whatever future he was supposed to go to. That’s how I see Ueda."
06/06/08 - Miyuki Miyabe's "ICO: The Castle of Mist" reprinted - News
Japanese publisher, Kodansha, has today announced the second edition of Miyuki Miyabe's popular novel based on ICO, "The Castle of Mist." This new edition will receive not only an new cover made by art house, NEONVISION, but also an insert illustration created by the same artist. The reprint will go on sale as of 19 June 2008.
24/01/08 - SCEJ reveals first screenshot for ICO 3, Fumito Ueda's new PS3 game - News
Sony Computer Entertainment Japan's job section was today updated with a new page for Fumito Ueda's new PlayStation 3 game, tentatively called ICO 3.
The positions open are for Planners, Animators, Artists and Effect Designers. Interested parties are being asked to send in their application online, together with material relevant to the position being applied for by post. Planners need to provide an original game concept and their views on video games created in the last five years. For the other positions, applicants should send in a video demo reel of any project they worked on in the past.
In conjunction with these positions, there are also openings for Game Programmers and Technology Development Engineers with experience of Shader and Algorithm programming, Networking and Parallel Processing technology and General Game programming.
The new page welcomes applicants with a screenshot for the new PlayStation 3 game under production.
