Criterion Readying Black Sequel?

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Update: Electronic Arts has clarified has that a new Black title is not necessarily in development at this time, as the slide it was mentioned on merely described "past portfolio releases and the pedigree of the studio."

Original Story: Burnout series developer Criterion Games might be working on the second entry in Black, its wildly destructive shooting franchise. Originally released on PlayStation 2 and Xbox in 2006, Black was just recently reissued via the Xbox 360's online Xbox Live Marketplace.

As with the new KOTOR title from BioWare, EA CEO John Riccitiello suggested the existence of a Black sequel during an analyst presentation. One of Riccitiello's slides credited Criterion with Burnout and Black, with the CEO insinuating that the listings denoted new or upcoming releases. EA president Frank Gibeau later confirmed that a new Burnout title is being developed, though he made no mention of Black.

In a recent interview with D+Pad Magazine, Criterion's Craig Sullivan claimed that a new Black title was not in development. "We're honestly not working on [a Black sequel] at the moment," he stated.

That said, Riccitiello's more recent mention of the Black franchise is a curious aside, especially as he was presenting to industry analysts. Shacknews has contacted EA for more information.

Chris Faylor was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
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    February 13, 2008 8:34 AM

    Oh man, that'd be awesome. The gameplay was great - to the point, great levels, great guns, great 'whats-blow-up-able' ... a second one would kickass, even if it didn't have MP.

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      February 13, 2008 8:40 AM

      Agreed. Black was such a great, simplistic game.

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      February 13, 2008 8:57 AM

      I agree. Really enjoyed the first one. Nothing special really, just a mindless shooter that had pretty nice explosions and good feel to the guns. :)

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      February 13, 2008 9:08 AM

      Yes, this is probably my favorite original XBox game, and I've gone back and played it on the 360 as well. (using the original disc). I was honestly really surprised at just how good this game from a racing game developer was.

      It looked absolutely stunning, sounded fantastic and played with solid controls, and if a sequel comes out, I will impregnate a prostitute so I have a firstborn to sell for this game.

    • reply
      February 14, 2008 12:45 AM

      it was really boring for me

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