The team that brought the world the gift of ICO some years back is winding up work on its second title, Shadow of the Colossus, which is due out shortly both in America and Japan. So what's up next for the team? Colossus director Fumito Ueda fields a few questions on the matter in the latest issue of Japan's Dengeki PlayStation. Asked if he's currently thinking about his next project, Ueda gives a mixed response. He states that he has many ideas which seem like they'd make for interesting games. However, he currently doesn't have anything in mind that makes him say "I definitely have to turn this into a game" -- an idea that offers the strong motivation needed for a game that will go through a lengthy development period. All is not lost, though, based on Ueda's other responses. When asked if he's interested in making a PSP game, he responds in the affirmative, adding that he's wanted to make a PSP game for some time now. He feels that he and the ICO team are good at making games with a realistic world, but believes that if they were to take a different approach -- using "SD" (super deformed) style big headed characters, for instance -- this could result in an interesting game as well. This isn't to be taken as confirmation of a PSP game, of course. It's not a flat-out denial either, so there may be some hope for PSP owners. Fans of mobile gaming aren't so lucky, as when asked if he's interested in making a cell phone game, Ueda responds in the negative. For its last question, Dengeki asks Ueda if he feels three years is too long for development. He agrees that it is too long, and hopes to shorten the development time as much as possible. This may not be possible, though. "If we were to make our next game, it would, naturally, be on the PS3," Ueda explains. He goes on to state that there are many areas of the next generation system where the format has yet to be decided, and so development could end up taking a long time. Hopefully, Shadow will keep us busy as we wait for word of Ueda and crew's next project, be it PS3 or PSP.
