Cow Mengde
Banned
How about we blame both? Lack of PS3 and Lair sucking.
Yea, but if they made a better game, it probably would have sold more....Ulairi said:System PS3 has X number of units in consumers hands, it becomes a whole lot harder to sell software when there aren't that many people out there who can, you know, actually buy it.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=l0MI2t_u5No&featureDanne-Danger said:http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=lIzqKAFV4-s
How low can we go?
MoogPaul said:Well, they should be getting funding by nintendo, no?
Any truth to that rumor that sony shoved motion controls down Factor 5's throats?
industrian said:If Factor 5 die like this it'll be quite a sad day for videogaming. Considering what they contributed towards the industry before Lair.
Ulairi said:System PS3 has X number of units in consumers hands, it becomes a whole lot harder to sell software when there aren't that many people out there who can, you know, actually buy it.
theultimo said:Shoot, can't F5 just help port and fund a Turrican Sequal in the style of Megaman-9?
Haunted said:They made the Battle of Hoth into a videogame staple almost singlehandedly.
Cow Mengde said:How about we blame both? Lack of PS3 and Lair sucking.
DemonSwordsman said:Ok but Heavenly sword, uncharted, warhawk, rachet and clank all came out the same time. Are ND, Ninja Theory, or Insominac going under? All those games did good because they were good games.
I think that may have something to do with 3 things that they have done that Factor 5 haven't:SolidSnakex said:Insomniac only developers for the PS3. I don't hear any reports of them having trouble paying their employees or possibly going under.
While Insomniac are independent, they have certainly been adopted by SCEA, which of course, has resulted in some awesome games, I would say less breast fed, more over doting adoptive parents.industrian said:Naughty Dog and Insomniac are held close to their mother's teat. Ninja Theory and Factor 5 were fed from the bottle.
depends on what doing 'good' is the context of knowing how much money went into those games too. Oh and heavenly sword wasnt good either.DemonSwordsman said:Ok but Heavenly sword, uncharted, warhawk, rachet and clank all came out the same time. Are ND, Ninja Theory, or Insominac going under? All those games did good because they were good games.
Ulairi said:This is really bad analysis from 1up. The last game Factor 5 released wasn't profitable, this has less to do with the economy but from the industry being about "blockbuster to blockbuster".
Factor 5 made a bad bet on going with the PS3. Had they gone multiplatform or stuck with Nintendo, they'd be in a much stronger position.
Zenith said:Factor 5 must learn to make a new game instead of remaking Star Wars flight combat again and again and again.
KernelPanic said:Phil Harrison said that Sony never forces anything and that all decisions were Factor 5's regarding Lair.
Stop It said:I think that may have something to do with 3 things that they have done that Factor 5 haven't:
1: Created a string of games that have been well received critically and while not best sellers initially, have sold through quite a bit as essential back catalogue titles for PS3 (Buy Resistance 2).
jmonteiro said:Correct, I'm pretty sure Eggebrecht is to blame on that stupid decision (motion controls only). I believe he even admitted to it in some interview. The worst is that even after reviews destroyed the controls he took too long to admit he was wrong and patch the damn game.
HocusPocus said:I guess they can't get funding from Microsoft after they talked down their platform to help hype the PS3 and Lair. I always thought Factor-5 and Microsoft would have been a good fit together.
I'm not too sure about the specifics but actually a few Factor 5 employees worked on SOTE to my understanding.Y2Kev said:Battle of Hoth was first in Shadows of the Empire, which has nothing to do with Factor 4.5! And I think it was coolest there
Yeah... but SOTE was the first time it felt like the filmsEmCeeGramr said:
industrian said:The problem with any possible revival is that the rights to Turrican are held by both Factor 5 and THQ (one holds worldwide-with-exception-of-Germany rights, and the other just has rights to Germany - the majority of Turrican's fanbase is German).
SolidSnakex said:It has a lot more to do with Lair being a bad game than it being on the PS3. It would've so poorly no matter the system it was on.
jrricky said:depends on what doing 'good' is the context of knowing how much money went into those games too. Oh and heavenly sword wasnt good either.
a sad thing when a company goes out though, but betting on the wrong horse was a factor in them surviving or not.
Didn't they (somewhat) talk down the Wii?travisbickle said:They talked down the 360?
olubode said:Didn't they (somewhat) talk down the Wii?
olubode said:Didn't they (somewhat) talk down the Wii?
the rogue squadron series is pretty goodBebpo said:Factor 5 doesn't make good games. They make pretty games, but not good games. so it won't be a shame to see them go. Hopefully the employees find jobs at better developers headed by better project leaders.
olubode said:Didn't they (somewhat) talk down the Wii?
Y2Kev said:This doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the economy, does it?
A writer for 1up came across my blog and read some information that was then twisted around and misinterpreted to mean something else. Id like to clarify what exactly is going on.
Steve Watts of 1UP wrote that I said Factor 5 cut one of their main projects, a comic book superhero game, and thats a complete lie. It was a big story in the news that we recently lost a publisher, Brash Entertainment, when they went out of business. This does not mean that weve stopped production on that game, or that it was ever even in trouble. The other projects currently under way at Factor 5 are doing great. We hadnt received payment because of the situation with Brash, which is why I said I needed to look elsewhere for work.
Factor 5 is not going under, and I dont know why Steve Watts quoted me saying so. Dont believe every rumor that is posted on the internet, especially if it has been spun to create a story that is far from the truth.
Mario said:Yes, it does.
Whats happening is the credit crunch and stock market falls have made it harder for publishers to fund projects. In order to cut their overheads, many publishers have cut staff and cut back projects (especially ones beyond the end of 2009). This has a flow on effect to developers having projects cut and budgets reduced.
We are going to see more of this news in the coming months.
What is more concerning is that this is only the effect of the economy in general. I'm predicting even greater cutbacks early next year on the back of what will happen in videogame retail this Christmas (too many good games across too many platforms which cost too much to make) on top of softer consumer spending. A lot of expensive games will underperform which will see more publisher belt tightening in Q1.
Expect a bunch of developer closures in March next year and a sombre GDC 2009.
travisbickle said:They talked down the 360?
Cow Mengde said:
Cow Mengde said:
What kind of blog is that? That's the only post.Cow Mengde said:
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2008
More Raining, More Pouring...
Snowballing like crazy.
So I figure I'm at liberty to talk about how my company is doing, because it's really not confidential, and it's part of my industry experience. I feel I'm obligated to share my stories with others interested in getting into this field, so here goes:
When I came back from The Orphanage, I find out no one at Factor 5 had been paid in a month.... and we weren't going to any time soon. It was incredibly lucky that I got the Orphan gig when I did, or else I would have been in deeper shit than I am right now. Anyway, regardless of the financial issues of the company (which I won't elaborate on), we all stayed and continued to work. If we left, there would have been no hope in F5 staying afloat. We had faith in the projects and the company, so there was no reason to bail just yet. At this time it didn't seem like much more than bad timing and bad luck.
Then we lost health care. Ok, who needs it? If we're going to eventually be paid, some sacrifices would be worth it. I had my own on the side, so I wasn't sweating it. Then things turned bad...
Without proper funding on the project I was working on, the company was forced to stop production. Unfortunately I was finally having a ton of fun working on it and we had made such insane progress that this was a total kick to the chest. It was basically like saying "the work you've been doing for the last 8 months has been all for none, but thanks anyway." After that news, moral was definitely not the greatest. We figured it wasn't a problem, however, because there were other projects that needed us, and we still had work to do. So then...
The president of the company basically told us that if we didn't receive funding in 1 week, all of us should move on and look elsewhere for another job. I had no idea how bad this economy was getting until something like this affected me personally, and yea, it sucks. I have 1 more week left at Factor 5. Financially it won't be the end of the world for me, but I really need to work on my reel and find a new gig fast. I wish the best for all my coworkers. They've been great fun to work with, and this last year has certainly been an amazing experience that I will always remember. I've learned a ton, gotten way faster and organized, and I feel like I've grown as an artist/professional because of the people I've met and the challenging yet sometimes stressful situations I've been a part of.
Til next time!
- Sam