-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Kotaku: Okamoto "from riches to rags", Game Republic Is Dead
- Thread starter Acosta
- Start date
Prime Blue
Member
Wanted to visit Okamoto's blog and Game Republic's site a few days ago and noticed they were down. Bankruptcy was the first thing that came to my mind, sad to see it confirmed. Now's your chance Nintendo, capture them all! Zelda needs Flagship!
BuckRobotron
Member
Unfortunate. I enjoyed and still have the original Genji on the shelf, and just did everything in Majin except grinding levels to max for one last achievement. Plus, still have Brave Story on PSP (via PSN). None of these titles would ever win major awards, but each is entertainingly competent, and Genji and Majin especially stick in one's memory with their vivid worlds and artwork.
Folklore is one I have consistently heard about and would long ago have played if not restricted to PS3. Will be a primary pick-up if/when I do get a PS3.
Lastly, I hadn't even heard about Knight's Contract before. That must count as something of an accomplishment for Namco Bandai marketing. Mediocre reviews notwithstanding, will get to that one when I find it on sale.
Folklore is one I have consistently heard about and would long ago have played if not restricted to PS3. Will be a primary pick-up if/when I do get a PS3.
Lastly, I hadn't even heard about Knight's Contract before. That must count as something of an accomplishment for Namco Bandai marketing. Mediocre reviews notwithstanding, will get to that one when I find it on sale.
Appollowexx
Member
I'm sure Sony will buy them up.
Don't know if this is already posted but the website for Game Republic is down, http://www.gamerepublic.jp/english/.
Also supposedly there's a sign on the studio door saying "For sale".
Bad news if true, Folklore and Enslaved were great games.
Also supposedly there's a sign on the studio door saying "For sale".
Bad news if true, Folklore and Enslaved were great games.
badcrumble
Member
Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnno it wasn't.OniShiro said:
Well, at least the news finally got out.
The article itself is accurate on only a few points - the actual story behind the "final days" of Game Republic is long and convoluted and I'm not even sure I really want to get into it as I'd probably end up saying something I'd regret and shooting myself in the foot.
For those of you looking for a sequel to Folklore, all I can say is "don't hold your breath." The IP lies in Sony's hands and by their accounts - Folklore was a failure. Truth is, during the last 6 months or so, GR DID submit a proposal for a downloadable, Move-based, Folklore title. The proposal was received fairly well, but failed to pass the internal review board at Sony by a few points. We were told that the IP didn't move enough units in the US to really warrant the risk of making a new one.
So the ball is in their hands. I imagine if you came up with some really awesome concept you might have more luck, but it's probably a dead-end.
As for Okamoto, I will say that he's going through a tough time right now. He's made some some unpopular decisions that will not be winning him any awards with his past coworkers. Word is that he says he's done with the Industry but people who know him think he'll be back when things settle down.
Just wish that things would have turned out different with Clash of the Titans and Knights Contract. There was a whole lot more that went on behind the scenes - especially with Clash that no one knew anything about. Unfortunately, it's still a bit too soon for me to say what went down; maybe in a few more years. Knights Contract started off really well, but again, with the game just now going on sale in Japan - I really shouldn't get into the details. It isn't too hard to imagine what happened there.
While the official stance is that we were thrilled to have the opportunity to make a launch title for the PS3, Genji 2 was originally a PS2 title that we had to change to PS3. I think the total production time for the PS3 version was really short - I remember hearing a figure along the lines of 6 months or so. You have to remember that at that time, the PS3 was brand spanking new and developers were just trying to figure stuff out. Most of the staff agree with you though, the prequel was the better title.
Probably because Enslaved was published by Bandai / Namco, which also published Majin (as well as Clash of the Titans and Knights Contract). Also, both titles featured partner-based gameplay.
The article itself is accurate on only a few points - the actual story behind the "final days" of Game Republic is long and convoluted and I'm not even sure I really want to get into it as I'd probably end up saying something I'd regret and shooting myself in the foot.
For those of you looking for a sequel to Folklore, all I can say is "don't hold your breath." The IP lies in Sony's hands and by their accounts - Folklore was a failure. Truth is, during the last 6 months or so, GR DID submit a proposal for a downloadable, Move-based, Folklore title. The proposal was received fairly well, but failed to pass the internal review board at Sony by a few points. We were told that the IP didn't move enough units in the US to really warrant the risk of making a new one.
So the ball is in their hands. I imagine if you came up with some really awesome concept you might have more luck, but it's probably a dead-end.
As for Okamoto, I will say that he's going through a tough time right now. He's made some some unpopular decisions that will not be winning him any awards with his past coworkers. Word is that he says he's done with the Industry but people who know him think he'll be back when things settle down.
Just wish that things would have turned out different with Clash of the Titans and Knights Contract. There was a whole lot more that went on behind the scenes - especially with Clash that no one knew anything about. Unfortunately, it's still a bit too soon for me to say what went down; maybe in a few more years. Knights Contract started off really well, but again, with the game just now going on sale in Japan - I really shouldn't get into the details. It isn't too hard to imagine what happened there.
Shadow780 said:
While the official stance is that we were thrilled to have the opportunity to make a launch title for the PS3, Genji 2 was originally a PS2 title that we had to change to PS3. I think the total production time for the PS3 version was really short - I remember hearing a figure along the lines of 6 months or so. You have to remember that at that time, the PS3 was brand spanking new and developers were just trying to figure stuff out. Most of the staff agree with you though, the prequel was the better title.
OniShiro said:
Probably because Enslaved was published by Bandai / Namco, which also published Majin (as well as Clash of the Titans and Knights Contract). Also, both titles featured partner-based gameplay.
wrowa said:
Thanks! I'm actually at a new studio that just started up this year. We're very small (less than 20 people) but I like it. Working in a small team means you get to do a lot more of everything and has given me a lot of opportunities to learn that I wouldn't have had at GR. It was a fun ride but the last few months were dark. A number of friends ended up leaving the industry for good, but I guess that's nothing new these days.
PepsimanVsJoe
Member
Well
I started Clash of The Titans and holy crap there looks to be nearly 100 weapons to find and grind. I'm a sucker for this sort of thing so already the game kind-of has me hooked.
I started Clash of The Titans and holy crap there looks to be nearly 100 weapons to find and grind. I'm a sucker for this sort of thing so already the game kind-of has me hooked.
Oh man, good to hear you've gotten a new job since then.
I realize this is probably out of your knowledge, but do you know if Bandai was ever considering localizing Ultimate Butoden? It was GameRepublic's second last game, and from what we've heard, a really good one. I'd like to play it, even if I didn't buy Origins 2 (I'm sorry
).
I realize this is probably out of your knowledge, but do you know if Bandai was ever considering localizing Ultimate Butoden? It was GameRepublic's second last game, and from what we've heard, a really good one. I'd like to play it, even if I didn't buy Origins 2 (I'm sorry
).Sagitario said:
I think it's really bad
just buy Folklore..and if you have it already, well..buy 2nd copy of Folklore.
slade
Member
Fuck the haters, I loved Genji 2. Easily PS3's best launch title and it gave me my Onimusha fix while Capcom were busy with lesser games like Dead Rising and Lost Planet. The camera was the games only problem and you could adjust for it.
RIP GameRepublic, your death is just one more indication that Onimusha type games are forever dead. I don't trust Capcom to handle Onimusha, they would probably hand it off to Ninja Theory and we would wind up with a Samanosuke that looks like Ninjatam.
RIP GameRepublic, your death is just one more indication that Onimusha type games are forever dead. I don't trust Capcom to handle Onimusha, they would probably hand it off to Ninja Theory and we would wind up with a Samanosuke that looks like Ninjatam.
Similar threads
- Locked