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Curt Schilling's '38 Studios' lays off entire staff, Big Huge Games to be closed
- Thread starter duckroll
- Start date
EA Partners published the game, IP Rights still with 38/RI.
I H8 Memes
Member
This Governor is something else.
Omg no.
John Rabbit
Banned
i like the cut of this governor's jib.
This is weird that the governor is saying that "the game failed." Their analysts are way fucked, if they expected Amalur to actually sell 3 million copies. There's no way anyone actually in the know about the gaming industry expected this game to hit 3 million copies. Obviously their business plan was to get Amalur out the door, and plan on building an IP for the MMO...
"Horrible violence and sexism" in the game? Sounds like this governor has an agenda...
"Horrible violence and sexism" in the game? Sounds like this governor has an agenda...
This industry is doomed then. The game wasn't even that huge or impressive looking.
Hes too busy making sure anything he can sell off to pay himself back is being done.
Fine Ham Abounds
Member
Heh, anyone else catch what the hell he just said about justifying supporting a game with this much violence and sexism?
Wow, that news guy is a prick
Wow, that news guy is a prick
we.are.the.armada
Member
It can be a very risky and tough business. Best luck to all of these guys and hopefully that MMO will be alright in the end.
Foliorum Viridum
Banned
Can anyone who isn't Blizzard just stop making MMOs?
Like seriously. I've not played Amalur yet but it looks like quite a fun RPG. Why couldn't they just focus on stuff like that
Like seriously. I've not played Amalur yet but it looks like quite a fun RPG. Why couldn't they just focus on stuff like that
I H8 Memes
Member
Oh man this douchbag reporter :lol
SolidSnakex
Member
I really don't know how it cost that much. They picked up BHG and THQ's canned game. Amalur is clearly a retooled version of that. The old gameplay videos of it look identical right down to the animation.
I read that more as it's what they needed to keep solvent (IE continue paying their 400 person staff to work on the MMO for the foreseeable future). I don't take that as the break-even point for KoA. Just the reality that MMO's are a fucking money sink that nobody in their right mind should enter (if they're just trying to displace WoW).
lastplayed
Member
You just need to do it right. World of Tanks is raking it in, and that launched as F2P.
EYEL1NER
Member
Pretty crazy news.
Releasing a game as good as KoA was quite an accomplishment for the people working there though.
I hope the DLC stays up for a while. I wasn't planning on buying it anytime soon and don't really want to be forced to tap into ny MS point reserve and grab it now. Or hopefully if it gets taken down soon, some notice is given first.
Releasing a game as good as KoA was quite an accomplishment for the people working there though.
I hope the DLC stays up for a while. I wasn't planning on buying it anytime soon and don't really want to be forced to tap into ny MS point reserve and grab it now. Or hopefully if it gets taken down soon, some notice is given first.
Baron_Calamity
Member
While sad, for some reason none of this was unexpected.
Elder Scrolls Online.
CosmicQueso
Member
And the state is responsible for deciding to loan the guy $75 million. All I'm saying is it's deeper than just one guy being responsible. He did a bang up job mismanaging the hell out of it, that's for sure, but all the news has been "the poor state and taxpayers". The former gov deserves plenty of blame, as does the state, for agreeing to provide the loan to begin with.
SteveWinwood
Member
Huh. I guess. Best guess.
On steam I'm pretty sure EA had nothing to do with it. It lists 38 Studios as the publisher. They even charged more for it than on origin. I could be totally wrong though. I'd rather my money not go to EA though...
Projectjustice
Banned
Why would a state fund a videogame company with tax payers money. That is just beyond any comprehension.
Fine Ham Abounds
Member
I wish I had recorded that stream. I missed the exact wording of that violence and sexism bit, and that reporter deserves some youtube exposure.
To be honest, that game was started way before the current MMO landscape.
They have to release it.
Foliorum Viridum
Banned
I'm not familiar with that game but if the title is anything to go by that sure as hell as an ISP.
38's MMO? Just another WoW clone probably. The other thread with some screenshots suggested as much to me, anyway.
BlazingDarkness
Member
QisTopTier
XisBannedTier
Darksiders is a wow clone too right?
Hari Seldon
Member
Yeah that is what I don't get. And somehow tie the loan to the number of employees the company had? Seems ludicrous. 1.2M sales would have been fine if it was a 50 person studio like it should be.
Foliorum Viridum
Banned
Still going to be another gravestone, an MMO released out of step with what the rest of MMO industry is doing does not sound like a winner to me.
This is why game developers need to cut way back on development. There has been this endless race to balloon developers into huge inflexible behemoths that churn out AAA games, but the costs and risks simply don't work for a majority of developers. Even with games as popular as they are now and the ease of development, developers and projects need to start small.
The AAA race made sense when you had to justify a high MSRP to justify manufacturing and distributing physical copies of your game, to again justify huge marketing costs. But digital distribution has changed the game. Not every game needs to be sold at $60, and have XX hours of single player gameplay or have multiplayer to make up for it. Not every game needs the highest production values possible or top of the line physics.
We can't all get that CoD cash. Especially if you're taking in tax dollars, you need to make a flexible and quickly profitable developer and worry about expanding after your income stabilizes.
John Rabbit
Banned
"They said we were better off not meddling [in the development or business strategy]. If I had meddled there wouldn't be all this violence in these games. All this sexism."
pretty sure thats about 99% right.
My only guess is because of the large number of people 38 studios had to hire as part of the agreement, but I don't know how many of them worked on Reckoning versus their MMO which was the biggest moneysink...but the MMO wouldn't factor into Reckoning's budget and 3 million expectations. If it's not staff then I have no idea how it cost that much.
I'm pretty sure it needed 3 million in sales to keep the company afloat, not to break even.
Combichristoffersen
Combovers don't work when there is no hair
3 million just to break even? Dayum son. Sucks for those who worked at the studios, hope they'll be able to land new jobs ASAP.
Government Funded ventures including tax breaks etc are nothing really new. They are a slippery slope though as we have seen in Europe where Countries have felt the need to save money and begin dicussing removing industry perks etc and the industry threaten to move thousands of jobs out etc.
You gotta look at it this way. Rhode Island probably got fooled by those beautiful charts this gen showing how amazing the industry was doing record profits etc. They just forgot to mention like 99% of that was due to Nintendo
LegendofJoe
Member
There is a lot going on here that isn't known. I don't trust that 3 million figure. Is the Gov including the operating costs of developing the MMO along with that of KoA?
