Konami has announced that Silent Hill Origins for the PS2 shipped to retail stores in North America yesterday. Originally to be released in May, they pulled a fast one on us and never sent word that the date had been changed. Nice surprise though isn’t it?

Featuring enhanced visuals for the PS2, Silent Hill Origins tells the tale of Travis Grady, a lone truck driver making a routine delivery when he makes an unfortunate detour to the mysterious town of Silent Hill. Players must help Travis escape the city’s horrific inhabitants and unravel the mystery of the strange hallucinations from Travis’ past, visions that have plagued him since childhood. Throughout the game, Travis can use his fists, his wits and an array of weapons including a meat cleaver, pool cue and sledgehammer to fight his way through the nightmarish world of Silent Hill and face more than one possible ending.

For more on the PS2 version of the highly popular Silent Hill Origins, click here.

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Around the middle of January, I posted Amazon and Gamefly listings for Silent Hill Origins and everyone was curious as to whether this was just some sort of mass slip-up or if it was a legitimate listing. Today, we received confirmation from Konami that Silent Hill Origins is indeed coming to the PS2 in May.

Acting as a prequel to the popular horror series, Silent Hill Origins follows troubled truck driver, Travis Grady, who gets stuck in Silent Hill while making a routine delivery. He quickly discovers that all is not well in the fog-smothered town, and that its shrouded streets hide grotesque creatures and dark secrets. Moreover, as he explores the seemingly abandoned town, Grady is confronted by crippling memories from his troubled past and it becomes clear he must escape from this horrid town while resolving the memories that have plagued him since childhood. Cool! Nothing is scarier than a demented truck driver trapped in a town overrun with demonic creatures.

The PS2 version will of course offer a visually enhanced version of the PSP version, with elements that are new to the franchise and it also promised to provide the player with an enhanced sensation of isolation. Creepy! While retaining the cinematic experience of the previous games, it also has an intuitive ‘Cineractive System’ that allows players to face down horrifying monsters while the control scheme changes intuitively for each situation. Players also have an enhanced camera system that actively tracks Travis, and fans of the series can will be happy to know that the original soundtrack was composed by Akira Yamaoka.

For more information, check back often as more details and screenshots are sure to emerge.

Via: Press Release

Is this legitimate or just a slip up of some sort? Who knows at this point, with Konami being silent as the grave and refusing to make an official comment either way regarding a PS2 port of Silent Hill Origins. However, this has not stopped Amazon or Gamefly from listing it on their websites with a posted release date of March.

Granted, the boxart pulled from either site looks legitimate enough, but until official word comes spewing forth from the mouths of Konami higher-ups - don’t get too excited like I did and knock your drink over onto your keyboard.

Stay tuned folks until we find out if this news is true or not, and until then, like the enigmatic Rev. Jessie Jackson always says “Keep Hope Alive!”

Thanks: Siliconera

In a recent interview with long time Silent Hill Sound Designer, Akira Yamaoka, Wired News found opportunity to discuss with the master how he comes up with those spine-tingling sounds we have all come to loathe and love. Mr. Yamaoka sheds light on the history of his design process with the SH series, how the tools of the trade have changed, and more recently, how he pulls-off working with a UK-based development group almost half way around the world (apparently lots of emails). Yamaoka gives explanation why Silent Hill made it onto the PSP, as well as his confirmation that he will be working on Silent Hill 5 for “next-gen” consoles. Yamaoka also states why the 360 will be the most viable platform for Silent Hill, and, more interestingly, how 80% of Silent Hill sales are outside of Japan. The most interesting part of the interview was when the topic of Silent Hill for the Nintendo Wii was brought up. Here’s what went down:

WN: What is the future of the Silent Hill series?
AY: We’re making Silent Hill 5 for next-gen consoles. Are there any other platforms besides that? [laughter]
WN: There’s the Wii.
AY: Ah, the Wii. Wiiiiiiiiii… Silent Hill Wii. Can we do it? Will players like it?
WN: Yeah! There’s a lot of potential there, using the remote as a flashlight, or a knife…
AY: Yeah, there’s potential.
WN: But no plans.
AY: No plans. The Wii user isn’t a hardcore user.

So there you have it. Konami thinks the Wii is too “kiddie” for Silent Hill. Ahh well… that’s their loss, right?

Via Wired.com