Starcraft: Ghost, gone?

Any fans of Starcraft?

March 24, 2006 - Few games have had as many ups and downs as Blizzard's ambitious action gaiden to its famed StarCraft series, StarCraft: Ghost. In its unveiling at the Tokyo Game Show in 2002, the console-only game was the biggest news imaginable, a full new outing in a franchise that had not seen its deserved share of action in many years. Following that unveiling, however, the game saw numerous delays, and depending on what show you caught the game at, StarCraft: Ghost did not always impress media watchers in the glowing ways that a game of its stature might be expected to earn. While the title continued to improve, its extended development time had it competing with increasingly impressive new titles every year. The game also suffered setbacks in development, as its original coding team at Nihilistic was forced to leave the project behind when its contract was up due to other engagements. The game seemed as if it might get back on track when new developer Swinging Ape took over the project (and the focusing on just PS2 and Xbox, with the GameCube version officially cancelled), but of course, that was in July of 2004, and this is now March of 2006.



And now, StarCraft: Ghost has hit yet another crossroad, as franchise creator and project overseer Blizzard has announced that it "will indefinitely postpone production" on the game as the company shifts its focus to new next-gen systems. The good news is that Blizzard hasn't yet given up the Ghost -- the company explains in its announcement that it is evaluating the potential of StarCraft: Ghost as a next-gen title, and indicates that if the game goes that route, it will utilize the additional console power for a more impressive game than was originally conceived. The bad news, of course, is that this leaves little chance of seeing the current-gen StarCraft: Ghost version continued to release, and it promises an even longer (or eternal, if worse comes to worst) wait for StarCraft fans.

"Like many in the industry, we've been impressed with the potential of the new consoles, and we're looking forward to exploring that potential further," stated Mike Morhaime, president and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "In addition to allowing us to determine the best course for StarCraft: Ghost, this review period will help us lay the groundwork for our future console games."

Despite the cursed development history, StarCraft: Ghost has plenty of promise. Its concept is a cross between classic StarCraft RTS play and single-player stealth action (ala Metal Gear.) The game focuses on a female hero from the intriguing Ghost character set out of the StarCraft series, who have special powers and incredible Terran technology in their arsenal. Late in development, StarCraft: Ghost also added online multiplayer features, which promised to please fans of the RTS franchise who have been dying for the series to get anywhere near the number "2" after being left behind for other Blizzard franchises after the original release, a few expansion packs, and a billion hours of logged-on and LAN multiplay.

Will StarCraft: Ghost go next-gen? Or is this the end for our pony-tailed heroine Ghost Nova? Blizzard plans to make its specific plans for the future of StarCraft: Ghost known in further announcements, so please check back in between your Brood War bouts for more news.

http://xbox.ign.com/articles/698/698434p1.html

Delays I can take, but this close to the axe?

Thoughts? Like threads?

Blizzard recently removed all mention of Ghost on their website.

I really hope it's not gone, the E3 2005 build was killer fun. I'm hoping (very reservedly) that Blizzard will pull a fast one on us and announce a Revolution version at E3 this year. After all, they only canned the GameCube version because of it's lack of online support, which the Rev has. Probably only wishful thinking, but it would be great, wouldn't it?

I remember Ghost trailers: "Coming Summer 2003!"

Ah, it's no surprise, really, after all the mess with its development... shame, though. Would have been fun.

Dude, this totally sucks. I've been waiting for this game for years. Ever sense I heard of it at E3 of 2004.I'm a huge Blizzard fan and've played all StarCraft games. I really wanna play a StarCraft game when the cam is up close and personal. But it could be that they've got plans of a StarCraft 3 or Diablo 3 and have yet to annouce it. I just hope it comes ot within the next 2 or 3 years.

I actually forgot this game was in development. Funny when you think about it.