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A source close to Electronic Arts told IGN today that Oddworld Stranger, the unusual new action game from Oddworld Inhabitants, will appear on Xbox only in early 2005. There will be no PlayStation 2 version.

IGN learned the PlayStation 2 version was much farther behind in development than the lead Xbox version, and EA decided it didn't want to ship them in staggered fashion. The fundamental architecture of the Xbox game's code required that the development team working on the PS2 version would have needed another five months or more to get up to speed with the Xbox version. Oddworld Stranger was originally designed for the Xbox, and apparently, it will remain exclusively for the Xbox.

When contacted, an EA representative had no comment. However, the representative did say that the game is scheduled to ship in Q1 2005, and that Oddworld Stranger might ship in the earliest months of that quarter.

Oddworld Inhabitants has always had a fickle feeling for the PlayStation 2. Originally, Munch's Oddysee was scheduled as a PlayStation 2 exclusive, but after learning how difficult the PS2's hardware was, and complaining openly about the PS2's architecture, Munch's was shifted to Xbox. Munch's Oddysee was a disappointing in both gameplay and sales. Oddworld Stranger appears to be a marked change in the company's approach.