Few games are so eagerly anticipated that retailers order 1.1 million copies to have ready and waiting on day one - but few games enable you to rip the eyeball from a cyclops’ ocular socket with your bare hands like God of War II does, so perhaps it’s no shock after all.

It should also come as little surprise that Game Director Cory Barlog confirmed at a press conference today that a PSP God of War is definitely in the works. The developer wasn’t announced, but given the fact that Daxter developer Ready at Dawn Studios recently re-jiggered its website to use a suspiciously familiar font, we’re guessing it’s them. Interestingly, he also confirmed that the game will be an all-new continuation of the GoW saga; it’s not a PSP port of either of the existing PS2 games.

Barlog also hinted that it wouldn’t be a shock if, in the future, a new GoW chapter turned up in 1080p resolution and sporting Sixaxis controls. That means PlayStation 3, for you duller knives in the drawer.

Above: God of War II just became the second chapter in a quadrilogy. If this keeps up, Kratos is going to have to learn new cultures' myths just to have more gods to kill

To celebrate the GoWII launch and its intent to spread digital breasts and gore to two more platforms, Sony threw a bash at its flagship Metreon store in San Francisco. There was a green-screen photo op in which visitors could see themselves put onto the game’s box. There were sleep-deprived dev team members and voice actors who look remarkably little like their onscreen counterparts - though Harry Hamlin does indeed resemble Perseus from Clash of the Titans. Nice casting, Sony!

Sony even cooked up the odd spectacle of a bald, loinclothed actor painted white and red who held the Blades of Chaos upside-down and arrived at the Metreon via chariot – followed by a police cruiser and met with an approving roar from the gathered onlookers waiting for the game to go on sale at midnight. Granted, these people had been standing in line for hours and could have been delirious, but at least they knew who it was they were waiting for. 

Obviously, no release date for God of War on PSP has been announced. In the meantime, you should tear the living heart out of the rest of our God of War II launch week coverage. Kratos would approve.

March 13, 2007