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Bizarre Creations say goodbye 1994-2011

theultimo

Member
Len Dontree said:
Thanks, in that case I'll pick it up. I do want to re-buy a Dreamcast at some point, but no telling when that will be. :)
The only thing I didn't like was some of the new voice acting. It was good, but I miss the charm of the dreamcast blub blub blub stuff. But this is offset with muucccchhhh improved control with dual analog.
 
I'll be online playing PGR4 from 3:00PM-EST until about 9:00PM-EST!

My XBL is same as my GAF. Add me if you want to let the memories roll, along with the tears...
 

Shaneus

Member
I saw them through MSR, every single PGR (got them all on launch), The Club and Blur. They all have a style and feel that have never been pulled off by anyone else... the interfaces were sublime, graphics unique and soundtracks just awesome.

May whatever endeavors you all pursue, your creativity is allowed to flourish over any demands the particular publisher may have.

RIP
 

Phionoxx

Member
Jeez sad to learn of this. All kinds of fun times with friends playing PGR2 on Xbox Live, during the early days of cat and mouse - before most people even knew what it was, and it had to be explained in the pre race lobby. Good times.
 

MechDX

Member
When Sony fans talked smacked in 99 using Grand Turismo and the DC's lack of racers we countered with this:

metropolis-street-racer.426988.jpg


Bizzare you supported the DC and its evolutionary cousin the XBOX when many others wouldnt. Much respect.
 

Kai Dracon

Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
MSR was the game that made me a fan like so many others.

I stuck by even through The Club, which is really the game that Bulletstorm is built upon. Shamefully unexplored concept. PGR4 is my favorite racing game this generation. Blur is great despite its flaws.
 
What a shame. The MSR/PGR series remains my overall favorite racing series, with other racing games essentially being played merely for genre variety before returning to PGR4.

Thinking back I also quite enjoyed the underrated Fur Fighters on Dreamcast.
 
The most heart-breaking part is that they sold to Activision specifically so they wouldn't have to worry about where the next paycheck would be coming from. :(
 
I had to drive to at least four different stores and finally paid 139 Deutschmarks (70 Euros today, much more back then) to get MSR. What a fantastic experience it was at that time.

Since then I was more or less a Bizarre fanboy and adored every game they produced except that Bond thing.

Such a sad, sad ending. The industry seems to face a radical change, especially in the UK. Frustrating news every single day atm.
 

Jimrpg

Member
Bizarre got caught in Activision switching its business strategy. All acti are doing is looking for the developer to give them that next COD or Guitar Hero or Tony Hawk. Thats why they've bought Bungie and Bizarre. Its just not worth it for them to manage run of the mill small studios. Looking back at Bizarre's catalog - yes as gamers PGR4 was a good game but I dont think it sold that many copies, similarly The Club was a fail and Blur. Nothing in Bizarre's catalog since PGR3 screams that they will make the next COD or Guitar Hero certainly if Bizarre had already decided to start Blur 2, Acti probably figured they would just cut them.

Being a gamer I'm outraged that a talented developer like Bizarre is gone now, but it doesn't surprise me given how poor Bizarre's recent games performance have turned out...

The thing is I've always said, Blur was technically a really good racing game, but no one ever thought about the marketability of the game at all. the weapon system mechanically was great and worked great, but it looked like ass and when u put that up against something like Split/Second which people 'get' straight away, its going to lose out. That said I don't think Modnation did that well either!

What I will miss most about Bizarre is that we probably won't ever get to see another game like PGR2, with 10 REAL cities all around the globe with places we've never seen again in Video Games Sydney, Hong Kong, Washington, Barca, Florence, Stockholm, Yokohama, Edinburgh, Moscow radio stations from each country, huge amount of tracks, first really playable online driving game for me - and all the little touches - it was a masterpiece. Then I think they lost their way a little with PGR3 cutting corners to make it in time for launch - bringing back pretty much the same cities in PGR1 and personally all the exoticness was lost from PGR2 with cities like London, Tokyo and New York in an effort to sell the most copies i imagine. PGR4 for me while technically a great game was also a disappointment - the new cities were great but they added on the old cities again to increase the amount of content which really made it feel like i was playing one part new game and one part old, plus bikes really should have been an extra unlockable at the end of the game not part of the game.

But RIP Bizarre - you had talent, and all you should have done was make another PGR2 game, you got close in PGR4 but some cheap design decisions kept it from being another masterpiece
 

Shaneus

Member
arbok26 said:
But RIP Bizarre - you had talent, and all you should have done was make another PGR2 game, you got close in PGR4 but some cheap design decisions kept it from being another masterpiece
PGR4 IS a fucking masterpiece. The intro is the best I've seen for a racing game and it's still the only game so far that lets you race around NYC in the fucking snow. The only reason it failed was due to a complete lack of marketing on Microsoft's part (a la Blur) and having a release so close to Halo 3.

Anyone who thinks PGR2 was the pinnacle relied too much on multiplayer. PGR4 was a better game overall.
 

Linkified

Member
arbok26 said:
Bizarre got caught in Activision switching its business strategy. All acti are doing is looking for the developer to give them that next COD or Guitar Hero or Tony Hawk. Thats why they've bought Bungie and Bizarre. Its just not worth it for them to manage run of the mill small studios. Looking back at Bizarre's catalog - yes as gamers PGR4 was a good game but I dont think it sold that many copies, similarly The Club was a fail and Blur. Nothing in Bizarre's catalog since PGR3 screams that they will make the next COD or Guitar Hero certainly if Bizarre had already decided to start Blur 2, Acti probably figured they would just cut them.

Activision doesn't own Bungie.
 

jax (old)

Banned
Linkified said:
Activision doesn't own Bungie.

what he said. Publishing partners. Bungie isn't that stupid

I think going forward, most firms looking to be bought would really need to consider an Activision future if they want to stay in business.
 

onken

Member
Never played any of the PGR games seriously but I loved MSR.

Though I must say, the market is far too unforgiving now to make 2 big budget bombs in a row. If they had no real ideas then they should tread water with smaller-scale downloadable games on Steam/XBL/PSN.
 
Activision is the biggest cancer of this industry so I big 'fuck you' to anyone who buys their games.

That makes absolutely no sense. The studio is shutting down because YOU didn't buy their games. In fact, if more people actually bought PGR4, they would still be in business today.
 
Thanks for the memories, Bizarre. I played a lot of your great games over the years.

F1 '97
MSR
PGR 1 - 4
Geometry Wars 1 and 2

PGR2 just may be BC's shining triumph. That game was nearly perfect. One of my favorite racers of all time.

I never got around to picking up Blur. I don't feel guilty, as I think I've supported them fairly well over the years. But I will pick it up at some point. Just too many games, man. Too many games.
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
Too bad I don't have a 360 (dead) so I can't buy/play PGR4.

Have PGR1 and the OG X-box. Still some of the most fun I had last generation.
 
Man, I remember talking about MSR with a friend back in middle school...we were both pretty hyped about it, and the game came out and delivered like a mutha fucka.

IT'S AN IDENTITY CRISIS, IT'S AN IDENTITY CRISIS, I DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO, GROW DREADS OR SPORT A BALD HEAD!

One track I remember really enjoying was San Fran, Fishermans Wharf.

First and only racing franchise I've ever really cared about (Inclusing PGR of course).

RIP
 

h3ro

Member
z8NuK.jpg


My Gulf liveried Lotus in PGR4.... first time I'd ever taken a screenshot in game and downloaded it from a website. My mind was blown at the time.

What an absolute pleasure playing PGR4 was. Thanks for the wonderful experience Bizarre. The game environment and weather effects still haven't been topped.

Best arcade racer I've ever played.
 

Noshino

Member
I know that they aren't exactly on good situation, but Sony needs to hire these guys.

They would have the best racing developers:

Futuristic racer? check
Off road racing? check
Sim racing? check

Arcade racer?... Bizarre! >:C


Kaltagesta said:
There was a post in the other thread about this topic that suggested that their financial decline was a result of Activision giving them the free reigns to make their games the way they wanted to. I'm certainly not happy in any way to see this happen, but it does seem that Activision didn't have a great deal to do with this, unless people expect them to prop up an unprofitable arm of the company just to appease the apparently niche tastes of GAF. Do people want Activision to direct companies, or not? I get confused what I'm meant to think, sometimes.

Sure, Activision let them make the game they wanted, and they didn't disappoint. 82% on both GameRankings and Metacritic.

BC took care of the game, Activision was supposed to take care of the rest. Did you see ads for Blur? I saw a few, and I believe I only saw them on Gametrailers....and the ad was ridiculous, it could have easily passed as a Gamestop ad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVr0tcBZqGg

ugh


fernoca said:
Why fuck MS?:p
Granted they gave the impression as if they got rid of Bizarre after PGR4 "bombed", but MS was still interested in Bizarre. There's also the impression Activision was asking for an absurd amount of money considering that there were many interested buyers, but none were willing to pay as much as Activision was asking.

http://www.next-gen.biz/news/bizarre-recounts-strained-relationship-with-microsoft

They didn't like the fact that Microsoft always put Turn 10 ahead of them despite the fact that their work was more efficient and of better quality.
 

RpgN

Junior Member
PGR2 was and still is an amazing arcade racing game. They were one of the few to create a racing game that was so good to me...What a shame to have a talented company like that closed down.
 
BloodySinner said:
That makes absolutely no sense. The studio is shutting down because YOU didn't buy their games. In fact, if more people actually bought PGR4, they would still be in business today.

actually, its the business model that's at fault. cost are too high, demand too low
 
I still remember downloading the pgr3 demo when the 360 first released, and being in complete awe of walking around the garages, and how they implemented motion blur, and very nice textures in. My mind was blown
 

clav

Member
Was there a reason that Microsoft didn't pick up Bizarre? Seemed like a good studio to join or have they already merged part of the team from PGR to Turn 10?

16ie1ll.gif
 

Fox318

Member
claviertekky said:
Was there a reason that Microsoft didn't pick up Bizarre? Seemed like a good studio to join or have they already merged part of the team from PGR to Turn 10?

16ie1ll.gif
They already have Turn 10, they don't need two car game devs.
 

RayStorm

Member
*sigh*
After MSR PGR sold me an import Xbox close after US release to spare me 3 months of waiting till the EU release. PGR3 made me a launch day buyer of the 360 and made me regret to have to sit in classes while my early morning bought 360 and PGR3 were waiting at home for me.

While I'm certain that MS will find capable hands for a PGR5, I don't know if it can be the same.

I do have fond memories of Formula 1 and system link. That was quite something at the time.

PGR2 is probably my second most played online game, just after Counterstrike (betas). And had my Xbox DVD-Rom not broken down it would have surpassed CS I'm certain.

Noshino said:
They didn't like the fact that Microsoft always put Turn 10 ahead of them despite the fact that their work was more efficient and of better quality.

No, lets not fuck MS for that, but rather for not releasing PGR4 about 4 months later in spring. That probably would have helped the most. And would have put enough time between Forza 2 as well as Halo.
That they prefer their first party studio however is to be expected.

Shaneus said:
PGR4 IS a fucking masterpiece. The intro is the best I've seen for a racing game [...].

Anyone who thinks PGR2 was the pinnacle relied too much on multiplayer. PGR4 was a better game overall.

While PGR4 is a crown jewel I wouldn't put the intro as the first point why it was.
And if you think PGR2 was not the pinnacle, you underrate multiplayer.

Nothing better than drifting with an old Corvette Stingray through rainy Chicago at night.
Which is also why PGR2 is a bit better than 4. Not night racing, but the overal amount and quality of the cities. PGR4 in my book suffers from only ofering 4 new cities and tracks.
 

Noshino

Member
RayStorm said:
No, lets not fuck MS for that, but rather for not releasing PGR4 about 4 months later in spring. That probably would have helped the most. And would have put enough time between Forza 2 as well as Halo.
That they prefer their first party studio however is to be expected.

Read the article to see what Im talking about.

As for 1st party studios, iirc Sony does move around their dates to accommodate others.

And let's be honest, Forza 2 could have used some more time on the oven.
 

Aselith

Member
WHAT THE FUCK. Seriously Activision needs to fucking die. Not like in the Biblical sense but they just need to be gone. Cancer on the fucking industry.
 
MSR, PGR, PGR2, PGR3, and PGR4 were an unbroken series of successes, and by far the most enjoyable racing games I've ever played. PGR4 especially felt like an perfectly complete package and it's a shame more people didn't get to enjoy it. Wrestling a Maserati 250F through the snow on the Nurburgring is an experience that has yet to be topped.

Thanks for all the good times, Bizarre.
 

RayStorm

Member
Noshino said:
Read the article to see what Im talking about.

As for 1st party studios, iirc Sony does move around their dates to accommodate others.

And let's be honest, Forza 2 could have used some more time on the oven.

I am well aware of that article.

And agree with Forza 2 (and 3 for that matter) doing well with more development time.

But as I said before they didn't delay Forza 2 further and obviously had Halo 3 as their halo-game and that's why I fault MS for not delaying the release of PGR4 until spring.
Had they done that, it would not have faced as much competition as it did and probably would have gone on to do better and BC would not have been put in as bad a spot as they seemingly were.

But still I can't fault MS for putting the interest of their own employees, no matter how incompetent they might be before those of contracted outside developers.
 

V_Ben

Banned
Sumo Digital are a great racing studio, and this will only make them better. Glad to see he found re-employment so quickly.
 
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