The new Prince Of Persia game was recently released with good reviews. But producer Ben Mattes doesn't think so. He goes on to complain about how the lack of innovation in sequals is terrible. And how they tried really hard to bring a whole new formula to the Prince Of Persia series and still keep it Prince Of Persia. He complains that there is a lack of appreciation for everything they did. If its worth anything to yah Ben, I think it's great new style for the Prince.

In terms of us taking a shot and missing, I guess I would have to go a little higher level here and speak about risks in general.

For years we've all been reading complaints about sequels and companies churning out carbon copies of proven formulas without focusing on innovation or taking risks. Fans, developers and critics alike seemed ravenous for new ideas -- new IPs; major innovations -- advances in this art-tertainment (I'm trying to coin a new term here ;)) form we all love.

We tried to really embrace this challenge on PoP. We set out to keep a few core fundamentals but to re-imagine everything else, discarding some very well entrenched ideas not only about the brand but also about videogames in general (and we weren't alone. EA took some major risks this year with new IP and innovations - Mirror's Edge and Dead Space, for example).

What surprises me is how little these high level risks seem to be noticed and appreciated as attempts to shake up the industry and push things forward. Perhaps I'm an idealist, but I think perhaps I was expecting a few more virtual pats-on-the-back for our attempts to do something new.
Whether this means we didn't totally succeed in our risk taking or whether our industry in fact has a stronger appetite for the familiar then it wants to admit remains to be seen. Honestly I hope it is the former.

Sayyed via xbox360.ign.com »