Sony Polygon: The story of Eight Days, one of Sony’s canceled big bets

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https://www.polygon.com/features/2019/11/20/20973181/the-story-of-eight-days-one-of-sonys-canceled-big-bets

 

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TheThe developers gathered around the caskets, mourning the loss of two friends. People were “gutted,” one at the funeral recalls. Sure, the bodies were printed-out pictures — of video game characters, no less — but the sentiment remained. After two years of work, developers at Sony’s SCE London Studio had to say goodbye to Eight Days, an ambitious narrative action game Sony had just canceled.

 

Announced during Sony’s 2006 E3 press conference, Eight Days was a look at what the seventh generation of consoles was capable of — entertainment products rivaling the biggest blockbusters in terms of action, production, and star power. It was big, bombastic, and positioned as the future of AAA video games.

 

And then it never came out.

 

Sony announced the cancellation in 2008. Since then, SCE London Studio, now SIE London Studio, has focused on the SingStar series and a variety of games for PlayStation Move and PlayStation VR.

 

But though Eight Days never saw the light of day, it has lived on in the game industry’s collective mind, often popping up in lists of “heartbreaking” canceled games and videos speculating why Sony would walk away from the title.

 

We recently talked with five former developers on the project, piecing together the story of Eight Days, and how Halle Berry, the Burnout series, a prison break, and Michael Bay all factored into the mix.

 

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