Syberia 3 for PS3 could be April Fool's joke

April 17, 11:50 AMDetroit Video Game Industry ExaminerWilliam Usher

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Microids recently announced that Syberia 3 was going to be released for both the PC and the PlayStation 3 (sorry Xbox 360 owners, you were left out of the loop for this game). However, given the recent economic decline and the unfortunate state of expenses required to develop for the PS3, Microids may only see Syberia 3 as a PC only release.

According to the recent press release by Microids, Emmanuel Olivier, President of Microïds, stated that “Syberia 3 is not an April Fool's joke. The game is highly expected by the community of fans of adventure games and fans of Kate Walker and it will be launched, it is one of our most strategic projects at Microïds and we have been anticipating it for a long time."

Oliver went on to say that..."It will be released on PC for sure, however, on PS3, this could actually turn into an April Fool’s joke because SONY is the only decision-maker on this point, as strange as it may seem to some people."

This situation is not strange at all; Sony needs money any which way possible from the financially bleeding sore that is the PlayStation 3. The company has had a tough time turning a profit on the PS3 hardware and coercing publishers and developers into spending more for development and manufacturing rights is a sure-fire way to make some kind of profit from the PlayStation Brand.

So in this instance, even with Microids having paid more than 15 million Euros of royalties to Sony for their entire catalog to be manufactured on PlayStation consoles in the past, it does not mean that Microids will receive a cheaper fare this time around for Syberia 3. Furthermore, the bloated financial requirements for independent developers to pay Sony for manufacturing purposes on their consoles has created a backlash that will ultimately prevent a wider range of exclusives from appearing on the console. The President of Microids is hoping to change this and give PS3 owners an opportunity to experience the third installment of the Syberia series.

"Sony Computer Entertainment has already censured Microïds in 2003 by denying that Syberia was released on PS2 in the United States though it had previously been released in Europe on that console. The same refusal happened for a dozen other Microïds titles for the U.S." Says Oliver. "The revenue shortfalls due to the PS2 games we were not able to sell in the United States, a highly significant territory, coupled with the excessive royalties paid to SONY for the European territories, have so far prevented Microïds from having the ability to reinvest in an ambitious sequel to the Syberia series."

So here is where gamers come into the picture: Microids wants fans of Syberia to speak out about this ridiculous endeavor by Sony to milk independent companies of the necessary finances to fund and develop games for PlayStation game consoles...in this particular case, the PlayStation 3. The President of Microids wants gamers to rally support by sending messages to the following address: supporToSyberia3PS3@microids.com

The press release ends with Oliver saying, "Syberia 3 on PS3, an April Fool's? It's up to Sony"

I suppose now it's up to the fans.