A post on Eurogamer this morning claims that Ubisoft has confirmed a retail release for Beyond Good & Evil HD. Of course, the confirmation doesn’t seem apparent on any Ubisoft sites, but I’m willing to believe Eurogamer has the goods.

Anyway, the game will come bundled with From Dust and Outland—two Ubisoft games previously only available as downloadable titles—on September 21. The bundle will also be an Xbox 360 exclusive, says the post.

As to whether or not this package will see a North American release as well remains to be seen. But who knows? Ubisoft’s been doing some great business everywhere…I can’t imagine why they’d only release some of their fan-favorite stuff in one region only. Keep your eyes peeled…

Via Eurogamer

Though we were happy to receive the original Beyond Good & Evil as an HD remake earlier this year, no such news is as exciting as hearing about Beyond Good & Evil 2, the endlessly rumored sequel to the last generation classic.

In fact, news of said sequel surfaced at the Montpellier In Game 2011 conference recently. Michael Ancel, creator of Beyond Good & Evil, was on hand at the event showcasing new concept art for the sequel, including a peek back at the leaked video of the game from 2009.

The video below showcases some pretty stellar art for Beyond Good & Evil 2, a project that is reportedly being handled by a sizably small team within Ubisoft. Later in the video, Ancel showcases the previously questionable leaked trailer from 2009.

As mentioned, here’s the original leaked video:

If the game looks that great in motion, I’ll definitely be impressed.

Disagree, Agree? Discuss below.

Those who have waited patiently for Beyond Good & Evil HD to appear in the PlayStation Store will be happy to find it available next Tuesday, June 27 for $9.99. The game was released to numerous positive reviews back in 2003 and has since then become a cult favorite. Beyond Good & Evil now has better visuals and audio, so check it out.

Those who purchase the game within its first two weeks of release will receive two free PlayStation Network avatars. Now that’s reason enough to buy it right there.

via PlayStation Blog

Xbox Live users have a month and change to remain smug about Beyond Good & Evil HD. The PlayStation Blog announced today that the cult-classic remake will arrive on the PSN this May, and early purchasers of the game will get a little bonus. Anyone purchasing the game in the first two weeks of release will get a Jade and Pey’j avatar (pictured above). They look pretty sweet, though Pey’j looks more fit than he does in the game.

I guess he’s been hitting the treadmill in the last eight years.

[via PlayStation Blog]

Awesome things are generally not free. Free things are generally not awesome.

When you can get both in the same time, you jump the hell on it.

That’s why you should click this, right here, right now. Do it.

[SlickDeals via Joystiq]

Microsoft is kicking off another XBLA promotion next week with the House Party, which more importantly includes the HD remaster of Beyond Good & Evil and the Xbox iteration of PC action / RPG Torchlight. To amp the hype, MS announced the release dates and prices for all included titles and get this – Beyond Good & Evil HD will only be 800 points / $10. God damn.

Here’s the rest:

February 16 - Hard Corps: Uprising (1200 MSP / $15)

February 23 – Bejeweled Blitz (800 MSP / $10)

March 2 – Beyond Good & Evil HD (whoop whoop! 800 MSP / $10)

March 9 – Torchlight (1200 MSP / $15)

March 16 – Full House Poker (800 MSP / $10)

Damn it Xbox Live Arcade, I have enough games to play! Why must you tempt me with nugget-sized downloadable fare!

First world problems! GRAAAAGH.

[via Game Informer]

For a series with only one title, Beyond Good and Evil has had an interesting history. Originally released in November of 2003 for the GameCube, PC, PlayStation 2, and Xbox, it’s a game that is fondly remember by those that played it. And those that didn’t (myself included) have been hearing about it for over seven years now. Unfortunately, the later group far outweighs the former. With developer and publisher Ubisoft releasing Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time just two weeks after Beyond Good & Evil, it seems there wasn’t enough room in their marketing budget to create two financial hits.

Despite the weak market penetration (how’s that for a business-y term, huh?) of Beyond Good & Evil, it’s critical success was enough for Ubisoft to justify a sequel (sort of). When Beyond Good & Evil 2 was announced in 2008, it was revealed that series creator Michel Ancel would be the game’s designer and that Ubisoft Montpellier would be handling development. While Ubisoft still seems confident that Beyond Good & Evil 2 is still in development, rumors of Ancel’s departure (which proved to be false) and the lack of any kind of information or reveal has left an almost Half-Life 2: Episode 3 taste in the mouth of fans.

But fret not, Beyond Good & Evil-ites. An HD remake of Beyond Good & Evil is on the way to Xbox Live as part of their next promotional push, the Xbox Live Arcade House Party. Over 90% of the game is being re-textured and everything is now running at a consistent 60 framers per second. Producer Eric Damian-Varnet told us at a Microsoft event during CES that they’ve been at work on HD remake for seven months now. We had a chance to play a short section of the game and there’s no doubt that, for a seven year old game, Beyond Good and Evil is looking good. On top of this the always desirable achievements will be included and there will be a little bit of difficulty tweaking. What really remains to be seen is how well the gameplay has aged. From what I played of it, the photography mechanic still seems pretty unique and the controls feel surprisingly tight. However, the general consensus is that the story and the character of Jade are reasons you’re coming to this game. And those will remain completely intact.

I’ve got to imagine that with the uncertainty surrounding the development of Beyond Good & Evil 2, Ubisoft will be using the sales numbers from this HD remake to gauge interest in the future of the franchise. If you want to see a Beyond Good & Evil 2 then you might want to think of picking this one up and reliving some memories.

A press release just issued from Microsoft announced five kickass games to hit the Xbox Live Arcade in February, coinciding with an Xbox Live House Party. While details aren’t yet available for the House Party event, you can bet that it’ll involve some kind of Microsoft point kickback for purchasing a certain number of games.

And damn, what games they are. Beyond Good & Evil HD, the HD remake of the 2003 cult classic, will finally give you a chance to play the best game you should’ve bought but didn’t. In addition, the Diablo-like Torchlight will hit the Xbox Live Arcade with a number of bonuses and improvements over the PC version.

In addition to those we’ll get the Contra-esque Hard Corps Uprising from Konami, Bejeweled Blitz Live from Popcap Games, and Full House Poker from Krome Studios.

Only one release date is available at current — Hard Corps Uprising will launch on February 16, with the other four games following one per week in some unspecified order afterwards.

Some of the developers at Runic Games chatted a bit about the additions and changes to Torchlight on the XBLA in the company’s forums. Control is direct, and attacks will scoot you forward. The developer likens the game to PS2 action RPGs Dark Alliance and Champions or Norrath. All the skills are present, though secondary item sets have been removed for the sake of simplifying the inventory.

As you can see from the screenshots below, the UI has been completely reworked too. A tweet from a Runic employee even promises new armor sets, quests, weapons, and a new pet. No word on multiplayer, so assume it’s not included as that’s the banner feature for Torchlight II. I’ve already played the game on PC, but I know I’ll be getting this one for the pointssssss.

Goddamn 2011 is wasting no time in hitting the awesome is it? Click the screens for full size.

[via 1up, Runic Forums, Twitter]

Ubisoft’s gone remake mad, but you’d have to find a stone cold bastard to scoff at this decision. 2003′s Beyond Good & Evil will get the HD revamp treatment, bumping the game’s resolution to 1080p, updating the game’s character models, reworking the game’s textures, and re-mastering the game’s awesome, awesome soundtrack (are you listening to that YouTube video yet?). The game will appear on the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network with respective support for achievements and trophies.

Beyond Good & Evil released during Ubisoft’s “we’re going to make awesome games that nobody will buy” season along with Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Because of its poor financial performance, the game did not launch the series everyone hoped for. Just recently, Ubisoft confirmed the existence and development of a Beyond Good & Evil 2, so Beyond Good & Evil HD may be a a move to raise brand awareness for the sequel. No release date is available for the game yet, but expect it in 2011.

[via IGN]