Ape Escape PS3 Has Been In Development Since 2006

Sony’s Japan studio began working on the upcoming PS3 Ape Escape game since late 2006. Back then, the game was in rough concept stages. Their plan was to make a sequel to Piposaru 2001.

Piposaru 2001 is a Japan-only PlayStation 2 spinoff where Spike was tasked with vacuuming pants of crazed monkeys to wash them.

Since then the team re-developed Ape Escape PS3 and made it work with PlayStation Move. While the concept may have changed, the ApeClub promo team has been hinting it’s still connected to Piposaru 2001.

Ape Escape PS3 is slated for Q3 2010 in Japan, Q3-Q1 2011 for Europe, and it’s to be confirmed for the US. The final release date depends on the PlayStation Move release date.