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[Arucardo]

Oh no! I hope everyone lands on their feet. Maybe THQ is looking for a racing game devs, can't think of any besides Rainbow Studios that does racing games published by THQ right now.

 

[Kittonwy]

That's my biggest issue here. It does not seem as if their games were given a fair share of marketing dollars. The same thing happened with Raven's games too.

With the way Activision works, why not just let them try their hand at a Call of Duty game? I'm positive they could do something awesome. It's tough to create a game with a new IP and little marketing. Blur was a hard sell, but even 007 wasn't going to be easy as there was no movie tie in and attention was being lavished elsewhere. They sent these games out to die.

They already have Treyarch, Infinity Ward and that Glen Schofeld studio on COD, they're already making one game per year. I wonder how much Activision paid for the Bond license.

 

[Xun]

I knew this was going to happen the moment Activision bought the company.

Fucking sucks.

 

[parasight]

Really sucks to see that many people let go. Bizarre made some awesome games. Really upset about not getting Geo Wars 3 now.

 

[B-Rad Lascelle]

This is simply the inevitable fate of anyone who does business with Kotick.
Utter financial ruin.

 

[Crisis]

Fuck off, Kottick.

 

[BiggNife]

From Ryan Davis' Twitter:

sorry folks, this is real. not entirely surprised, but still entirely crestfallen. WAY TO CRAP UP THIS OTHERWISE AWESOME WEEK, ACTIVISION.

: (

 

[FoneBone]

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/34221/Activision-Blur-will-do-for-racing-what-COD-did-for-shooters

“From a business perspective, we are targeting Blur to do for racing what Call of Duty did for shooters,” Activision CEO Michael Griffith stated. “That was the goal when we originally acquired Bizarre Creations to make this game.
“Blur brings real innovation to the racing category and is looking very strong. You will all get a chance to see this game first-hand at E3, but suffice it to say, we are excited to be entering this genre with this game.”

The writing's pretty much been on the wall since May.

EDIT: And unless Goldeneye and Bloodstone have unexpectedly strong legs, I suspect this is the last we'll be seeing of the Bond license from Activision.

 

[Acosta]

What are they going to do? Blur 2?

Yes? Or another racing game with less "Facebook for racing games" nonsense. You know, they bought Bizarre because they thought they had a hole in their line-up with racing games, many millions after, they have the same hole and a good studio with a great track it´s closed. For that, why bother?, they have just wasted money without even trying to make it work.

 

[GarthVaderUK]

What else would you do? Leave 50 people which is not enough to develop a game...not m uch option.

Not saying it doesnt suck, I love Bizarre and feel horrible about this.

Why not just downsize them a bit and get them working on a smaller project? Activision only seem to be interested in big franchises that they can milk.

 

[Bisonian]

What a tragedy... best of luck to all the affected.

 

[Speedymanic]

As I said, somebody at Microsoft needs to be watching this real carefully as it unfolds, and be prepared to help them set up a new studio like they did with Ruffian for Crackdown. They've been trying to find someone to work on PGR5 for a while now - rumours have pegged MS reps shopping the franchise around various 3rd party Euro devs - and they could theoretically get all the major talent who originally created it back. It was a huge mistake to not pick them up when they went up for sale, and they could rectify a chunk of it.

Why would they do that? Bizarre obviously didn't like working for MS, which is why they chose to jump ship to Acti.

This is very sad news, but you can't help but put some of the blame at Bizarre's door. Why did they decide to do Bloodstone? The Club 2 with online co-op would have sold significantly better.

:/

 

[Blueblur1]

This sucks. I loved the Geometry Wars series and really enjoyed Blur. Goddamn Activision!

 

[Atomski]

Made me sad when they left MS and now this makes me even more sad .

 

[dark10x]

I wonder who is next? Neversoft? They haven't had a success in a while.

This is very sad news, but you can't help but put some of the blame at Bizarre's door. Why did they decide to do Bloodstone?

Who knows how much of a choice they had in it. Do we even know how development went? It feels like it was rushed to market yet given little to no marketing. With the most recent Bond movie cancelled, Activision was left with a license of little value to them.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Why not just downsize them a bit and get them working on a smaller project? Activision only seem to be interested in big franchises that they can milk.

I think that's the answer to your question.

 

[RustyNails]

 

[teruterubozu]

Yes? Or another racing game with less "Facebook for racing games" nonsense. You know, they bought Bizarre because they thought they had a hole in their line-up with racing games, many millions after, they have the same hole and a good studio with a great track it´s closed. For that, why bother, they have just wasted money without even trying to make it work.

Well, Activision has piss-poor studio management. That's no mystery.

 

[StealthGoblin]

Seeing as how Microsoft and Activision have a strong relationship, you'd have thought Kotick would have tried selling them to Microsoft. Microsoft would have been dumb to say no, especially since they are looking for a team to make the next PGR.

Very talented team.

 

[Archie]

I wonder who is next? Neversoft? They haven't had a success in a while.

The Guitar Hero team has already been shitbinned, and the remaining people are working on an "action shooter game".

 

[Slayer-33]

PGR 2 is the most fun I have ever had online with any racing game ever.

And with confidence I can say that NO other racing game has ever struck the perfect balance between sim/arcade gameplay as perfect as this one.


Ever. EVER.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

I loved Blur but back when they were Pysgnosis, they really helped push the PS1. I remember F1 CE being one of the first PS1 games I bought that I played thoroughly. I recently even went as far as to hunt down a copy of the original and did find it for just 10 dollars. Still my favorite F1 game to this day.

 

[enzo_gt]

PGR 2 is the most fun I have ever had online with any racing game ever.

And with confidence I can say that NO other racing game has ever struck the perfect balance between sim/arcade gameplay as perfect as this one.


Ever. EVER.

Yep, was truly a unique experience, that community online was absolutely GODLIKE. Plus PGR2 had some of the best selections of tracks ever.

 

[Nirolak]

The Guitar Hero team has already been shitbinned, and the remaining people are working on an "action shooter game".

...Call of Duty?

 

[Struct09]

There was definitely talent in that studio, may the developers land on their feet

 

[Kintaro]

In a world of "what have you done for me lately," the writing was on the wall for this studio.

Blood Stone - Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC (2010)[3][4]
Blur - Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC (2010)
Geometry Wars: Touch - iOS4 (via iTunes App Store) (2010)
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 — Xbox Live Arcade (2008)
The Club — Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC (2008)
Geometry Wars: Galaxies - Nintendo DS, Wii (2007)
Project Gotham Racing 4 - Xbox 360 (2007)
Boom Boom Rocket — Xbox Live Arcade (2007)
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved — Xbox Live Arcade (2005), Windows Vista (2007), Windows XP (via Steam) (2007)

Taken from wiki. This just wasn't going to cut it from a studio that big. =/ To be honest, I forgot this studio was still around but this is what happens when you hop into bed with a cutthroat publisher like Activision.

Hope everyone let go does well.

 

[Slayer-33]

F1 CE was ungodly on psx, that was another gem I had bought from this amazing team.

 

[dwebo]

I enjoyed Blur's demo. Haven't played anything else by them, but it seemed like these guys knew what they were doing. Best of luck to them!

 

[KennyLinder]

PGR 2 is the most fun I have ever had online with any racing game ever.

And with confidence I can say that NO other racing game has ever struck the perfect balance between sim/arcade gameplay as perfect as this one.


Ever. EVER.

I agree 100%. PGR2 is the best in the series for me, and its my favourite online game ever. Ever.

I was so gutted when I heard about this news earlier today, so upset for them. The worst part is I know some people that got made redundant from Sony Liverpool went there, and now they've lost their jobs again. The north of England is getting thin on the ground for dev studios.

 

[StealthGoblin]

If studio Liverpool are looking for people, the Bizarre guys would do a great job there.

 

[V_Ben]

Maybe Evolution / SCE Liverpool is hiring. Hope they all land on their feet.

 

[brotkasten]

Activision claims another victim. Please developers... think really, REALLY hard before getting into bed with the devil.

But they have MONEY!

 

[Hixx]

pgr 1, 2 and 4 are probably in my top 5 racers of all time.

Do the right thing MS, get these guys up and running again with PGR5. Fucking Activision...

 

[Regulus Tera]

This "absorb studios and close them down after a dud or two" bullshit is killing the industry.

 

[Trojita]

Really love how brutal Activision are, they cut off the excess fat and Bizarre is one with bomb after bomb. Activision has made me quite a bit of money, love him or hate him Kotick knows how to run a business very successfully, Bizarre not being able to make a hit is not his problem.

That analogy would only make sense if the things he was cutting off were cancerous cells that were self inflected. Kotick runs every IP into the ground.

Being the publisher, it is his problem.

 

[B-Rad Lascelle]

Why not just downsize them a bit and get them working on a smaller project? Activision only seem to be interested in big franchises that they can milk.

If Farmer Bobby loves milking so much can't he just buy some cows?

 

[Wizman23]

Glad to see my favorite dev is signed on with them cocksuckers for the next 10 years.

 

[sixteen-bit]

So it's real? I was really hoping it was just a rumor

 

[Slayer-33]

pgr 1, 2 and 4 are probably in my top 5 racers of all time.

Do the right thing MS, get these guys up and running again with PGR5. Fucking Activision...

PGR 5 on xbox 720 as a launch title!

 

[Kuran]

I hope the same ones saying 'screw you Activision' are somehow not part of the millions that bought Call of Duty whatever on launch day.

 

[Archie]

...Call of Duty?

I was thinking GUN 2 (as a reactionary move to RDR's success), but CoD would make sense.

 

[KennyLinder]

So it's real? I was really hoping it was just a rumor

Very real I am afraid.

 

[APZonerunner]

Why would they do that? Bizarre obviously didn't like working for MS, which is why they chose to jump ship to Acti.

This is very sad news, but you can't help but put some of the blame at Bizarre's door. Why did they decide to do Bloodstone? The Club 2 with online co-op would have sold significantly better.

:/

They just weren't making enough money out of third party dealings. They were asked at the time why, and the reasoning was that when they decided to sell outright MS were approached but weren't interested. They basically said "we already have Turn10." Just look up some of the interviews from the time. There were some great threads on GAF about Microsoft being idiots for not picking them up, too... so like I say, they could pick up some of the talent towards a new PGR team now.

I doubt they "decided" to do Blood Stone - Acti probably gave it to them based on the fact that traditionally Bond games developed in the UK have done better.

 

[Nirolak]

Oh no! I hope everyone lands on their feet. Maybe THQ is looking for a racing game devs, can't think of any besides Rainbow Studios that does racing games published by THQ right now.

THQ essentially shut down Rainbow and has the remaining staff working on downloadable titles, so I'm not sure if they're interested in racing anymore.

 

[BrokenSymmetry]

Yep, was truly a unique experience, that community online was absolutely GODLIKE. Plus PGR2 had some of the best selections of tracks ever.

Yes, the PGR2 online community was incredible. May have something to do with the fact that the racing was pretty forgiving for collisions. In PGR 3 and 4 it was too easy to spin people out, making the community somewhat less friendly. The daily online tournaments in PGR4 were a great idea, though.

 

[Blimblim]

Yep, was truly a unique experience, that community online was absolutely GODLIKE. Plus PGR2 had some of the best selections of tracks ever.

Agreed. I had such great times with PGR2, something I couldn't replicate with PGR3, 4, or any other racing games.

 

[KareBear]

Glad to see my favorite dev is signed on with them cocksuckers for the next 10 years.

Dont worry Activision does not own Bungie.

 

[Hey You]

I thought there were plans for a Blur Franchise?

 

[B-Rad Lascelle]

Glad to see my favorite dev is signed on with them cocksuckers for the next 10 years.

Bungie is dead to you. Don't support the evil. They made their choice.
Buy their games used or not at all.

Dont worry Activision does not own Bungie.

Doesn't matter. For every good Bungie game we get to play in the future, 5 promising game developers will be sacrificed to the gods. We can't support it.

 

[skyfinch]

Bought Xbox 1 because of PGR1. Bought Xbox 360 because of PGR3. Very sad. They're a talented group of people who suffered from the lack of marketing for their games.