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[stonedwal]

I think they just expanded too quickly. Like fizzelopeguss said, they went from one studio developing GRAW for the PC to four studios working on a bunch of games in about 3 years.

I'd be interested in what the contracts for Wanted and Terminator were like - I would have thought they'd have been a work for hire type of deal - just look at the credits screen for Wanted, it runs for about half an hour and most of the people on it are movie company executives - but all of these layoffs would suggest something different was at hand.

It'd be a shame seeing Grin go down, but I think they need to focus their energies in the main studio. Bionic Commando seems like a good game with some weird design decisions from what I've played so far - I'd like to see them do another project like Rearmed.

Solution: Strider Rearmed

This.

 

[birdman]

Not even this, it's Licensed games for bad movies. If you're gonna get a license, get something worthwhile.

What's the last good movie game you played?

 

[sykoex]

Only game I enjoyed from them was Rearmed. Hopefully they transition to making handheld games.

 

[Decado]

Honestly, who cares (well, sucks for the people who were laid off)? What else have they done that's any good besides Bionic Commando: Rearmed?

 

[BeEatNU]

damn that sucks but that's the nature of the beast.

I <3 Rearmed

 

[Sean]

That's unfortunate. While the only game I bought from them was Bionic Commando Rearmed, they seemed like very nice folks when they were guests on the Giant Bombcast.

 

[ZeoVGM]

FROWN

:lol :lol :lol

The thread ended in the second post, people.

 

[Shin Johnpv]

So I guess Mad World outsold it. If people wouldn't be losing their jobs, this would actually be a bit funny.

It REALLY REALLY REALLY sucks that people are losing their jobs. I wish all those folks good luck on finding new jobs. That said though yeah, they should get what's his name on a pod cast again and ask him about mad world outselling wanted.

 

[ArjanN]

Sucks for them.

Wanted and Terminator even if very short, were still better than the majority of movie based games.

 

[Johann]

Wikipeida says the studio only employed 230, so 160 is a rather large percentage to chop!

The official site says they have 130 in Stockholm and 250 in total. I wonder if it's a misquote because that is like seeing half of everybody in your office disappear. Then again, they had two huge bombs.

I was never a fan of their shooters but it's a shame they had a cut of that size. I've got to wonder if this is the end for movie-licensed shooters. I thought the Terminator game would sell well since it was released alongside the movie and it had a pre-rendered trailer for marketing.

 

[gutter_trash]

was it Barcelona? or Stockholm?

 

[Ether_Snake]

Worst is, it's not really their fault. What do you expect when you're paid to make a licensed game in a few months? This.

Hopefully they get acquired by a studio that can give them better work.

 

[Troidal]

As much as I fucking hate license games, I still feel for the employees who lost their jobs. I know for a fact that not everyone wanted to work for on those games necessarily, but that's life. Best of luck to those who were axed.

I see what you did there...

Best of luck to those who lost their jobs.

 

[Slavik81]

Quality > Quantity

Are you refering to employees or games?

 

[Keyser Soze]

FROWN

 

[TouchMyBox]

What's the last good movie game you played?

I don't think I've ever played a good movie game. But as far as I'm concerned, licensed movie games are only in it for the cash, and you're not likely to make cash from licenses from sub-par movies (though it's unfair to critique them over picking up the terminator license, as it was hard to see that one coming)

 

[birdman]

I don't think I've ever played a good movie game. But as far as I'm concerned, licensed movie games are only in it for the cash, and you're not likely to make cash from licenses from sub-par movies (though it's unfair to critique them over picking up the terminator license, as it was hard to see that one coming)

With how bad the 3rd one was and who directed Salvation, it isn't that much of a achievement to see it coming.

 

[~Devil Trigger~]

Yea they were doing too much and the games came out meh


They should've never contracted Terminator, should've pushed more on Wanted, had alot of promise and good ideas.

Take your time guys9that goes for all devs/pubs)

 

[TouchMyBox]

With how bad the 3rd one was and who directed Salvation, it isn't that much of a achievement to see it coming.

Meh, I thought the 3rd one was a decent popcorn flick, and the 4th had a snazzy trailer.

Take your time guys9that goes for all devs/pubs)

But yeah, this. Greatness cannot be rushed, and the gaming populous is too savvy not to notice.

 

[sixteen-bit]

I hope those out of a job can get back on their feet quickly

 

[DevelopmentArrested]

Impossible...Wanted sold 6-8 million in the US alone.

4-5 was predicted.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=15191415&postcount=27
6-8 is a nice profit!

 

[TouchMyBox]

4-5 was predicted.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=15191415&postcount=27
6-8 is a nice profit!

I don't get it, if this is true, how can one make a game that's short on content, release it at full price, move more units than the majority of games could ever dream of moving, and still not be satisfactory?

 

[A Twisty Fluken]

would have sold better on genesis

 

[UraMallas]

That's a bummer...but it seems like Bionic Commando is not gonna fair so well either. Loved Rearmed, though.

Bionic Commando had to be close to the top of my list of worst games this generation. No hyperbole, it was an abortion. That doesn't mean that I want people that made the game to be out of a job, however, I hope they find work soon.

 

[jrricky]

I don't get it, if this is true, how can one make a game that's short on content, release it at full price, move more units than the majority of games could ever dream of moving, and still not be satisfactory?

Are you that gullible or are you joking?

 

[Jonnyboy117]

They should stick to XBLA.

 

[manueldelalas]

Turd Parties don't sell on HD.

 

[nincompoop]

would have sold better on fucking genesis

fixed

 

[octopusman]

make a PC version that installs next time.

 

[Ether_Snake]

You guys are being stupid.

The blame is first and foremost on the publisher, not the devs. You have no idea.

 

[JDSN]

Fucking Wii.

 

[Kittonwy]

Just heard via CGtalk and confirmed with a someone i know that GRIN has axed 160 jobs across thier studios in Stockholm, Barcelona and Gothenburg... apparently due to bad sales of Wanted and their latests Terminator game, guess thats what happens when you expand the bubble so much!

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=59&t=768094

How can they afford to hire so many people? The model of "expanding to 200+ people and crank out games that are developed in one year" does not work, it does not result in good games, good games take time and man-hours don't work this way, you simply can't get quality out of that kind of model, it also means the team would have to go through crunch time every year instead of every other year or every third year, that's a lot of stress on the staff to get good ideas out of them.

 

[CamHostage]

You guys are being stupid.

The blame is first and foremost on the publisher, not the devs. You have no idea.

Agreed. None of Grin's titles are bad games... some are misguided or developed as $60 with $30 gameplay components, but all are fairly decent and BC:Rearmed is fantastic. Aim more towards manageable products and less on the mega-budget ambitions for forgettable licensed product. (And do more 2D!)

 

[element]

4-5 was predicted.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=15191415&postcount=27
6-8 is a nice profit!

6-8 million is more then a nice profit. Most games hardly break 2m units even when multiplatform.

breaking 1.5m you are very happy.
breaking 2.0m you are thrilled.
breaking 3.0m+ you are doing cartwheels.
breaking 4.0m or more you are thinking about what type of car you going to get...

 

[BlazeHedgehog]

I get the distinct impression that GRIN really over-extended themselves there. After Re-Armed they should've just stuck with Bionic Commando and just Bionic Commando.

Don't release three unpolished games! Release one polished game! It's a better way to earn respect.

 

[MoogPaul]

I think it's great how according to GAF no one deserves to be fired. What a wonderful world the internet is. You know, sometimes, people do shitty jobs. Not that I'm saying all 160 deserved to be canned, but I'm sure a bunch of them did.

 

[Tylahedras]

I played wanted on 360... I thought it was pretty fun.

Terminator looks pretty bad though. And Bionic commando looks... awkward.

 

[speculawyer]

Who?

 

[firehawk12]

I kind of hope that the guy who produced/worked on the Wanted game is still there... the one who went on the various gaming podcasts when the game was about to ship and liked to drop a "shit" or "fuck" after every other sentence.

Hopefully he gets another chance at a real game.

 

[EternalGamer]

In general, I think games need to be ALOT shorter. It's the reason so many of us don't finish games: the developers don't have enough ideas to maintain an interesting 20 hour game, so we get lots of repetitive filler.

I would love to see a company dedicate themselves to making a really awesome 2 hour game that you can replay in various ways (like Hard Rain may be).

 

[xbhaskarx]

Not even this, it's Licensed games for bad movies.

Not even this, it's short and bad licensed games for bad movies.

 

[-PXG-]

It sucks that hard working people have to lose their jobs. But come one, they haven't made anything good lately.

 

[MoogPaul]

I kind of hope that the guy who produced/worked on the Wanted game is still there... the one who went on the various gaming podcasts when the game was about to ship and liked to drop a "shit" or "fuck" after every other sentence.

Hopefully he gets another chance at a real game.

So bad game be damn, give that guy another chance because he likes to curse? Well, I guess it worked for Andrew Dice Clay...

 

[Zen]

In general, I think games need to be ALOT shorter. It's the reason so many of us don't finish games: the developers don't have enough ideas to maintain an interesting 20 hour game, so we get lots of repetitive filler.

I would love to see a company dedicate themselves to making a really awesome 2 hour game that you can replay in various ways (like Hard Rain may be).

I agree about Heavy Rain, but I think the real culprit is ycould be lack of an attention span TBH. I haven't played a game yet that I haven't finished...
Patapon 2: 26 Hours and counting.

 

[avatar299]

Massive layoffs are common in the entertainment industry. You hire a bunch of guys, steamroll through a few projects and then let them go. I don't see what the fuss is.

Oh and get that Peter guy on a podcast. Madworld outsold Wanted. LOL

 

[Rated-Rsuperstar]

Just heard via CGtalk and confirmed with a someone i know that GRIN has axed 160 jobs across thier studios in Stockholm, Barcelona and Gothenburg... apparently due to bad sales of Wanted and their latests Terminator game and Bionic Commando, guess thats what happens when you expand the bubble so much!

Fixed.

 

[AltogetherAndrews]

That's a shame

 

[AstroLad]

Massive layoffs are common in the entertainment industry. You hire a bunch of guys, steamroll through a few projects and then let them go. I don't see what the fuss is.

Oh and get that Peter guy on a podcast. Madworld outsold Wanted. LOL

yeah who cares we're all gonna die anyway

 

[HK-47]

Massive layoffs are common in the entertainment industry. You hire a bunch of guys, steamroll through a few projects and then let them go. I don't see what the fuss is.

Oh and get that Peter guy on a podcast. Madworld outsold Wanted. LOL

I see. Tell me more about your fascinating insight into the entertainment industry.

 

[AndersTheSwede]

Damn, sorry to hear so many people from my hometown (Gothenburg) get axed.

But if these games have been as bad as people are saying...