2001, Game of the Year (Runoff)

[The_Liquid_Laser]

SvennoJ said:

BraLoD said:

I wish ICO came out for the PS1 as it was originally supposed to.

Same with The Last Guardian for the PS3.

Also the responsible for the souls-like genre is a game series called King's Field, from From Software themselves, Demon's Souls is the sucessor for that franchise (with a lot of Shadow Tower influence as well).

Demon's Souls is the evolution of what From Software was making since the PS1 days.

Why though? ICO on ps1 would have been severely compromised and TLG still had issues running on PS4 pro.
Instead of fitting the game to the available hardware, Team ICO was allowed to postpone until tech caught up with their ambitions.

I guess this is what Miyazaki said about ICO
https://screenrant.com/dark-souls-elden-ring-ps2-ico-hidetaka-miyazaki/

The creator of Dark Souls and the upcoming Elden Ring reveals that none of his games would exist had it not been for the 2001 action-adventure game Ico on the PlayStation 2.

Miyazaki recently revealed in a Famitsu article (pointed out by Video Games Chronicle) that the first time he played the 2001 PS2 game Ico, it had such a profound effect on him that he changed career paths to start working on video games. He tried the game out after visiting a friend in college, giving the game a try upon his friend's recommendation. He told Famitsu, "It was a beautiful, untold experience and story that I had never imagined, and I'm very sorry to my friend, but I was quietly moved and silent." Miyazaki went on to express how the game changed his life and further congratulated Ico and the creator (Fumito Ueda) on the 20th anniversary of the game's launch. Without Ico, Miyazaki likely would not go on to make Dark Souls - one of the most influential video game franchises to date.

Besides earning the praise of the Dark Souls creator, the original article highlights Ico's impact on other titans in the entertainment world. Masahiro Sakurai (Super Smash Bros.), Neil Druckmann (The Last of Us), and Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) are just a few of the talented people whose creativity was reportedly fueled by Ico. The game's objective - navigating a giant crumbling castle with a mysterious young girl - inspired many with its unique art style and brilliant direction. Fumito Ueda has since gone on to make stunning games like Shadow of the Colossus and The Last Guardian, and news of the developer's (of genDESIGN studio) new game has been teased with hopefully a major reveal coming in the near future.

The limitations on hardware power in the early 2000s likely forced game developers to be creative with little resources, which led to some truly stunning games like Ico inspiring some of the best entertainers in today's industry. Incredible to think that - without the game about the young boy with horns leading a strange girl through a castle - gamers might not have had the chance to play Dark Souls or battle the disgusting flesh monster known as The One Reborn in Bloodborne. Miyazaki's moving praise for Ico and its director also serve as a grounding reminder that even the most admired auteurs in the gaming world have to find inspiration somewhere.


One of the best games of 2001 that went largely unnoticed by the general gaming public at the time.

Despite the positive praise, the original title did not sell well. By 2009, only 700,000 copies were sold worldwide, with 270,000 in the United States, and the bulk in PAL regions.

Compared to GTA3

Within a year of release, the game had sold six million copies and generated over US$250 million in revenue; by January 2003, it had sold seven million and generated over US$350 million.

It makes sense that Ico inspired Dark Souls.  However, I had always seen Shadow of the Colossus having a major impact on Dark Souls.  There are so many giant bosses in Dark Souls, but there is action combat.  It feels like they took the puzzle-bosses of Shadow of the Colossus to the next level of gameplay.