Mirror's Edge 2 Message Board

EA is working on an indeterminate number of new intellectual properties, EA Games executive VP Patrick Söderlund told MVCUK. "We have six to eight completely new IPs in the works," Söderlund said. "The day we stop making new IP is when we go onto life support."

EA's definition of a "new IP," however, may be a bit more liberal than what that term implies at first blush. "We are working on a new Mirror's Edge game, and although that's not a new IP, it is a revival done in a new way," Söderlund said. "We are developing Star Wars: Battlefront, which to us is a new IP, even though it isn't technically."

So by "new," EA doesn't necessarily mean new new, but rather new-ish, or new enough, perhaps. In any case, it does make us wonder what that other handful of fresh IPs are all about. The sky is practically the limit! In fact, there are so many incalculable variables to consider when predicting that sort of thing that we're just going to stop thinking about it. Ah, that's better.

Shockwaves rippled all over the video game internet when EA closed out their E3 press conference with a reveal of Mirror’s Edge 2. And, after careful investigation, scientists believe they may have located the epicenter of the fanquake. We can't see this young man's eyes but I'll bet money that they were wet. May we all be so enthusiastic about the games yet to be announced for the rest of our lives.

Mirror's Edge 2 was just announced. Online across the globe, gamers are excited. While many are looking forward to the sequel in Japan, there is a group of gamers there who are not thrilled with how the protagonist looks. This isn't the first time gamers in Asian have objected to Faith's appearance. Back in 2008, a Korean fan, unhappy with Faith's looks, decided to give the Mirror's Edge character a makeover that apparently would make the character more appealing to Asian gamers. It's sometimes true that Asians and non-Asians have different appreciation of physical appearances. At that time, the game's producer Tom Farrer told Stephen Totilo that he found the revamped image "kind of sad", adding, "We wanted her to be attractive, but we didn't want her to be a supermodel. We wanted her to be approachable and far more real. It was just kind of depressing that someone thinks it would be better if Faith was a 12-year-old with a boob job." Those comments set off a flurry in Japan, with people online writing an array of responses that ranged from "There's no way Japanese would accept a face like that" to "But foreigners think slanted eyes are sexy". Some in Japan, however, did find the original character design appealing. Now in 2013, gamers in Japan once again seem upset by Faith's appearance—even though, the game's trailer barely shows what she looks like. Above, you can see a much clearer look. In Japan on Twitter, people generally seem more excited, simply tweeting out the game's release info. On Japan's most popular gaming sites Hachima and My Game News Flash, however, commenters are going off on the character design. "The main character is once again way too homely," wrote one. Other added that the character was "not cute" or just plain "ugly". "Yep, just like before, slanted eyes," added another commenter. One gamer even wrote, "Dear EA, Dragon Age is also like this, but why are all the faces this fugly?" "We said change this," wrote one commenter. "Once again," added another, "this looks like a face that Japanese gamers won't accept". It's really to early to tell! In the images EA released, the Mirror's Edge protagonist does look slightly different, which isn't uncommon. Character designs do tend to evolve over time, and that seems to be the case here. One commenter online in Japan did like how the character's mouth looked. At least there's that. I guess. To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft.

Several sites are reporting that an entry popped up on EA's help center page for Mirror's Edge 2, the as of yet unannounced sequel to EA's 2008 first-person platformer. Unfortunately, the entry has already been removed. We're seeking out EA for a comment, and will update this post should they respond.

DICE's Stockholm studio has 300 people and no, not all of them are working on Battlefield content, EA Games Vice President Patrick Soderlund tells OXM. DICE launched Mirror's Edge in 2008, but since then it's been all Battlefield, all the time, with Battlefield 4 scheduled for beta next fall.

Asked whether taking a risk on a Mirror's Edge-type game is worth it when Battlefield is so lucrative, Soderlund responds, "Well it depends, right? Maybe it is and maybe it isn't. It's also important for us - the DICE guys are roughly 300 people in the Stockholm studio; not all of them are working on Battlefield things, and that's intentional, because we don't want to become a Battlefield factory."

One way to circumvent the transition to "Battlefield factory" is to develop a sequel to Mirror's Edge - which is exactly what former Battlefield executive producer Ben Cousins says DICE is doing. "It is general knowledge in the Stockholm dev scene that Mirror's Edge 2 is in production at DICE," he tweets.

It's worth noting that Cousins isn't with EA anymore, but he is based in Sweden.

#mirrorsedge Few recent games have had as many requests for a follow-up as Mirror's Edge. If you go by the amount of love professed for it on the internet, the first-person freerunner charmed the vast majority of people who played it. But the 2008 release didn't sell well enough to merit a sequel and it seemed that hopes for a Mirror's Edge 2 have been in vain. Until now. More »

#mirrorsedge What's the future of Mirror's Edge, that flawed but beautiful cult-favorite of a first-person parkour game? More »

DICE knows its Mirror's Edge fans want a sequel with a desperate, craven passion, but with the focus on launching Battlefield 3, we haven't gotten more than vague hints that a second isn't impossible. With Battlefield 3's release around the corner, now DICE is offering slightly less vague comments about continuing the Mirror's Edge story.

"I think it's something that people are ready to get into again," producer Patrick Liu said. "We see that there's a huge fan following -- it's almost like a cult. And we know what strengths we had, and what weaknesses we had in that game. If we were to release a new game, we'd know what to improve and how to reach a broader audience. So I definitely think there's a market there."

The story here is what Liu isn't saying -- he isn't saying that DICE has given up on Mirror's Edge; he isn't saying a sequel will never happen; he isn't saying Faith will return as a 7-foot male cyborg with tribal tattoos and a pot belly. Not that that's something he would say, but still, he didn't say it.

#mirrorsedge You know how Battlefield 3 looks absolutely stunning? That's because it's on a new engine, Frostbite 2. And if rumours are to be believed, so too is Mirror's Edge 2. More »

The Mirror's Edge and Battlefield franchises are related through more than developer-publisher relations -- they're poised to share digital DNA. If it is made, a sequel to Mirror's Edge may use Battlefield 3's Frostbite 2 engine, according to Official PlayStation Magazine, which writes, "The Frostbite 2 engine will pave the way for Mirror's Edge to make a free-running return."

We don't know much more about the potential sequel or OPM's "inside whispers," besides the fact that Mirror's Edge is an "important franchise" to EA. We may have to wait until EA and DICE stop coddling Battlefield 3 for confirmation of another game or details about its engine. For now, dreaming about free-running on Frostbite 2 will have to tide us over. Mmmm...

The Mirror's Edge and Battlefield franchises are related through more than developer-publisher relations -- they're poised to share digital DNA. A sequel to Mirror's Edge may use Battlefield 3's Frostbite 2 engine, according to Official PlayStation Magazine, which writes, "The Frostbite 2 engine will pave the way for Mirror's Edge to make a free-running return."

We don't know much more about the potential sequel, besides the fact that it's an "important franchise," and we may have to wait until EA and DICE stop coddling Battlefield 3 to hear any more details. For now, dreaming about free-running on Frostbite 2 will have to tide us over. Mmmm...

Mirror's Edge 2 is still in the works, and will more than likely use the Frosbite 2 engine, according to EA Games President Frank Gibeau...

No, it was never cancelled.

Like the Gap and cargo shorts, EA is "trying to figure out how to bring Mirror's Edge back."

EA Games label president Frank Gibeau told CVG that the Mirror's Edge franchise is unequivocally not dead. "I greenlight the games. I did not kill it -- as God is my witness," he swore. According to Gibeau, the publisher is looking for ways to bring back the franchise in "a way that fans will be excited," while still reaching a larger audience. "We need to go from version one to version two so that it sells two to three times as many, it finds a much bigger audience."

DICE, developer of the first game, is currently working on Battlefield 3. According to earlier reports, EA requested that the developer focus exclusively on that game, instead of a Mirror's Edge sequel. A EA spokesperson later commented that Mirror's Edge is an "important franchise," but there was "nothing further to announce."

In late 2008, EA released two new intellectual properties; while both failed to break sales records the world over, they went a long way towards proving to the world that EA was serious about changing its image. The more successful of the two games just saw a sequel released: Dead Space 2 opened to strong reviews and is outselling its predecessor two to one. The other game, however, hasn't had such an easy time of things. According to a Press 2 Play TV report - translated by Eurogamer - "EA was shown a prototype" of a Mirror's Edge sequel but "declined" to pursue it, ostensibly opting to focus all of developer DICE's efforts on the upcoming Battlefield 3, as previously reported.

Nearly two years ago, EA's Patrick Soderlund said, "You will see another Mirror's Edge for sure. It's just a matter of when that time is and what we do with it. We have a small team on it and I'm excited about what we do." While Soderlund could have been talking about EA Mobile's better-than-it-should-be Mirror's Edge for iOS, the name Mirror's Edge 2 popped up on a DICE lighting artist's portfolio a few month's later. EA CEO John Riccitiello even said "it's a game that deserves to come back," and we don't think he was referring to mobile.

So has Mirror's Edge 2 been rejected by EA? We'll have to wait for EA to get back to us before we know anything for sure but, if it has, we just wanted to say thanks, EA. For breaking our hearts. On Valentine's Day.