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[Lasthope106]

I will buy a SEGA game at full price this year if they buy Relic.

 

[Archie]

What was the last game EA put on Steam? Alice?

Sims expansion packs still come out on Steam, but the last standalone game put on that service was Warp nearly a year ago.

 

[AzaK]

Did Nintendo bid at all? Haha who am I kidding. That would mean they were looking at Wester support of Wii U.

 

[JaseC]

What was the last game EA put on Steam? Alice?

Shank 2 came to Steam without a delay and is even self-published on the service.

Edit: Oh, and yes, it is an EAP game.

 

[Haunted]

Relic to Sega, oh my.

 

[epmode]

So to sum up this thread...

Sega ==> Relic
Ubi Soft ==> South Park: Stick of Truth

Everything went better than expected! Sega has been great for PC this generation and Relic is nothing if not PC-focused. And Ubisoft isn't ideal but they are far better than EA!

 

[DocSeuss]

It doesn't matter that the DLC launched after the DLC policy came into the effect; the games themselves released prior to it and so they're not affected by the change. I provided a case in point in my post but you've missed it so I'll reiterate here: EA pulled the games circa June 2011, and despite the hot air about Valve being the root cause, Dirt 3 has no DLC for sale via Steam even though virtually all of it released in June, July and August 2011.

Ah, I misunderstood what you were saying. My bad.

I'm guessing EA didn't want to split up Crysis' multiplayer user base, and Dragon Age 2 has all that built-in Bioware Social Bullshit no one cares about, if I remember right.

Personally, I wish EA would just man up and release games on Steam. It's not like it could possibly hurt their bottom line.

Spoiler

dammit doc why aren't you asleep this is time for sleeps

 

[Ceebs]

Everything went better than expected! Sega has been great for PC this generation and Relic is nothing if not PC-focused. And Ubisoft isn't ideal but they are far better than EA!

Sega is possibly the best landing spot for Relic possible. They fit in very well with Sega's other western developers.

 

[nephilimdj]

I think WB would be a great fit for them and I personally hope that is where they end up. I guess I'm just feeling a bit pessimistic.

I worry about WB mismanagement, hate to see a studio like Volition end up like Monolith...

 

[epmode]

Sega is possibly the best landing spot for Relic possible. They fit in very well with Sega's other western developers.

Dare I hope for a Homeworld revival? Screw it, I've hoped for that for the last decade.

 

[deviljho]

Did Nintendo bid at all? Haha who am I kidding. That would mean they were looking at Wester support of Wii U.

Vigil is in Austin...
Retro is in Austin...

O.M.G... it means....

Spoiler

nothing :/

 

[EmperorLawlight]

Apart from Saints Row, does THQ have any other important IP? I haven't played much from them this gen.

 

[deviljho]

Apart from Saints Row, does THQ have any other important IP? I haven't played much from them this gen.

Post number... #1665

~_~

 

[exmachina64]

Personally, I wish EA would just man up and release games on Steam. It's not like it could possibly hurt their bottom line.

Origin marketshare and revenue would fall dramatically! /EA logic

 

[Domino Theory]

Don't care for anything from THQ except Volition and Saints Row. Give them a good home, pls.

 

[shiftplusone]

So to sum up this thread...

Sega ==> Relic
Ubi Soft ==> South Park: Stick of Truth

Sega picking up Relic is not a bad thing... but Ubi Soft? Err... the thought of buying Stick of Truth of Uplay doesn't seem very appealing to me at all.

Shit, there goes my plans of getting to play South Park on PC without any hassle

 

[batteryLeakage]

Relic with Sega sounds like a good outcome, if true. Assuming they don't try to force any Uplay shit into the Steam release, Ubisoft publishing South Park wouldn't be so bad either.

I'm concerned as to the fate of Volition and/or Vigil. I'd be disappointed if the EAs or Warners of the world got them, although that's probably the most likely outcome. Maybe Square-Enix has a chance? Eidos seems to have done real well under them and I've been happy with how the games that I've played have turned out.

I wonder if anyone went for the Darksiders IP. I know it didn't do so hot for THQ (so its probably a dead IP)but I really like DS1 and am playing DS2 currently and really enjoying myself. It would be nice if Vigil and DS didn't get split up and found a nice home.

 

[SpeedySwaf]

So that rumor about Nintendo looking at Vigil was just a rumor? Shame.

 

[ThreeSixty]

Shame about THQ's fate. It's not a nice thing when any publisher or developer goes under. I was massively looking forward to the South Park game. I was hoping the sales from that may have saved them. Now I guess we'll never know. I see that the buyers are starting to leak out.

Surprised that Sega bid on anything given their financial situation.

 

[@MUWANdo]

I'm looking at this financial document, and on the bottom of page 5, it seems to say that ETW sold 810k in FY 2009?

The game is still in the top 20 playlist on Steam.

From what I understand, these games make a crapload of money from DLC--the attach rate is high, and they make a lot of it.

Oh my god. This brings me back. The reviews where glorious.

The chat system built in must have been kept a secret until really late because i cant imagine how anybody in that fucking company thought releasing something arguably worse than what comes free in every system for 30 bucks was a good idea.

Someone asked the devs (WayForward) about that game in an interview, here's an excerpt:

In mid-2004 the publisher THQ came to WayForward with a DS idea. THQ had licensed artwork from the makers of the hit online Korean game "MapleStory" and wanted to use the art for a DS instant-messaging program called "Ping Pals." "We had to prototype the game in the first 24 hours, having never seen the hardware, which is a huge testament to our programmers," Bozon said. They had just a handful of weeks to make the game. "We needed dev kits desperately, and here was a chance to get them."

But the problem with "Ping Pals" wasn't just time. The DS already had an IM program called "Pictochat" that came embedded into every DS. Did anyone raise their hand and ask about that? "I did that on day one," Bozon said, laughing. "THQ had their plan, and they were going to run with it.

"That's probably the game we worked on harder than any other game," he added. "The design doc for that thing was actually a bunch of sticky notes on a dry board, and about every four hours we would redesign the entire game for that entire five-week span because the technology kept shifting. We were working 24 hours a day. There was no point locking the door because there was always somebody in there."

The game was mauled by the critics, receiving a zero from some and a scattering of ones and threes from others. To be fair, the game had one rave review, from the Web site Nintendojo. It reported that, " 'Ping Pals' definitely kick-started something here," and that the game had garnered at least one super-fan. "There's one guy who was 'Mr. Ping Pals,' " Bozon said. The fan e-mailed Bozon, asking about the names and secrets buried in the program. "I was like, 'I don't know. I was half asleep. It was 5 a.m. when we were putting the names on that object.' " The game sold more than 90,000 copies in the U.S., according to sales-tracking service NPD.

 

[GK86]

Shame about THQ's fate. It's not a nice thing when any publisher or developer goes under. I was massively looking forward to the South Park game. I was hoping the sales from that may have saved them. Now I guess we'll never know. I see that the buyers are starting to leak out.

Surprised that Sega bid on anything given their financial situation.

Already been mention, Sega has cash to spare. Well, more like Sammy. Around 2 billion.

 

[Violet_0]

if the Relic -> Sega thing is true, the next Sega All-Star Racing will be exciting!

 

[CecilRousso]

Wait what? The Southpark game to Ubisoft? uPlay? Please no, just no.

 

[shintoki]

Warner is the company looking to expand the most, they are going to clean up here.

 

[Wiktor]

Dare I hope for a Homeworld revival? Screw it, I've hoped for that for the last decade.

Propably the biggest chance it has. And if not..Battlefleet Gothic

 

[PhantomR]

Did Nintendo bid at all? Haha who am I kidding. That would mean they were looking at Wester support of Wii U.

I mean, Iwata-San has made perfectly clear what his stance is on acquiring other companies....it's no secret.

Why would you expect anything different in this situation?

 

[TriGen]

https://twitter.com/kobunheat

I'd be alright with that, as at least they'll make sure the game gets released.

 

[Glass Rebel]

Man, waking up to Ubisoft getting South Park is awful. I hope someone else snags it.


Can you imagine, Obsidian x uPlay, that would be a completely new kind of broken.

 

[Pikma]

Not sure if it has been asked but, any idea of what will happen to the Red Faction IP? I love that series.

I mean, Iwata-San has made perfectly clear what his stance is on acquiring other companies....it's no secret.

Why would you expect anything different in this situation?

And what's that stance?

 

[Shard]

And what's that stance?

They don't do it unless it makes sense for them to do it.

 

[CecilRousso]

Man, waking up to Ubisoft getting South Park is awful. I hope someone else snags it.


Can you imagine, Obsidian x uPlay, that would be a completely new kind of broken.

I wouldn't buy the PC version then. I use uPlay for their own developed titles, like Far Cry 3, but that's the limit. I would buy the PS3 version then, and perhaps not at full price (I doubt that Obsidian will get anything from the actual sales).

 

[@MUWANdo]

And what's that stance?

Their stance is that collective talent as well as individual personnel are what they value, not physical studios or IP or whatever, so they're not in the business of making acquisitions just so they can own certain IPs or directly manage external development.

 

[Erethian]

Their stance is that collective talent as well as individual personnel are what they value, not physical studios or IP or whatever, so they're not in the business of making acquisitions just so they can own certain IPs or directly manage external development.

And given recent actions Nintendo is more likely to enter into partnerships with third-parties rather than acquire studios outright.

 

[catmincer]

And given recent actions Nintendo is more likely to enter into partnerships with third-parties rather than acquire studios outright.

They DO buy IPs though, see Fatal Frame.

 

[Erethian]

They DO buy IPs though, see Fatal Frame.

That was only after partnering with Tecmo to develop Fatal Frame 4.

 

[PhantomR]

Their stance is that collective talent as well as individual personnel are what they value, not physical studios or IP or whatever, so they're not in the business of making acquisitions just so they can own certain IPs or directly manage external development.

Exactly. When you buy a studio you're buying an IP and some buildings, as the talent (ESPECIALLY western talent) is not guaranteed to stay. So what's the point? THQ's development culture and Nintendo's are more than likely oil and water. The cultural fit is not there.

 

[Glass Rebel]

So ~6h until we get concrete news at the earliest? The suspense is killing me.

 

[JaseC]

Ah, I misunderstood what you were saying. My bad.

I'm guessing EA didn't want to split up Crysis' multiplayer user base, and Dragon Age 2 has all that built-in Bioware Social Bullshit no one cares about, if I remember right.

Personally, I wish EA would just man up and release games on Steam. It's not like it could possibly hurt their bottom line.

Spoiler

dammit doc why aren't you asleep this is time for sleeps

As far as I'm concerned, it's no coincidence that EADM was rebranded and relaunched as Origin around the same time.

 

[Dyne]

He was only at Relic for a relatively short time, I wouldn't stress about that too much.

I know Alex, he was crushed when Pirates: Armada of the Damned was cancelled. He's a very hard worker and got hired at Relic soon after Propaganda closed. He was pretty high up at Relic, Director of Production, but higher up people started disappearing off their website last fall and he stepped up to the plate as General Manager in late November. He probably went to Activision because it's an awesome opportunity, not any indication of the state of Relic.

Relic did move back to their original small office location, though, that's got to suck.

Sega needs to buy Relic so they can hire me. All hirings paused when THQ crap came up! Argh.

 

[Vilam]

Exactly. When you buy a studio you're buying an IP and some buildings, as the talent (ESPECIALLY western talent) is not guaranteed to stay. So what's the point? THQ's development culture and Nintendo's are more than likely oil and water. The cultural fit is not there.

At least if you're buying Volition you've got a good chance of retaining employees... They're in the middle of nowhere; it's not like they can just jump ship to the mobile game startup down the street.

 

[AzaK]

I mean, Iwata-San has made perfectly clear what his stance is on acquiring other companies....it's no secret.

Why would you expect anything different in this situation?

IP buyouts to expand their scope.

 

[AHA-Lambda]

The Ubisoft news isn't too bad I think personally, wouldn't be a personal choice though.

It doesn't matter that the DLC launched after the DLC policy came into the effect; the games themselves released prior to it and so they're not affected by the change. I provided a case in point in my post but you've missed it so I'll reiterate here: EA pulled the games circa June 2011, and despite the hot air about Valve being the root cause, Dirt 3 has no DLC for sale via Steam even though virtually all of it released in June, July and August 2011.

Very true, and besides EA could have released their games in Steam and sold DLC through Origin like ME2.

 

[ThreeSixty]

Already been mention, Sega has cash to spare. Well, more like Sammy. Around 2 billion.

If that's true then why did Sega dramatically downsize; kill all of their european branches and say they're only going to release retail games for four franchises? Does it have something to do with the idea that only Sega of America is in trouble; whilst the mothership over in Japan (as in Sega Sammy Holdings) is financially secure?

If you could elaborate I'd appreciate it.

 

[Linkhero1]

Did Sega really get Relic or is it rumored? I'm wondering why they would pick them up when they're going Digital only and where did Sega get the money to buy off a studio and their ips?

 

[deviljho]

At least if you're buying Volition you've got a good chance of retaining employees... They're in the middle of nowhere; it's not like they can just jump ship to the mobile game startup down the street.

Austin isn't the middle of nowhere.

 

[AHA-Lambda]

If that's true then why did Sega dramatically downsize; kill all of their european branches and say they're only going to release retail games for four franchises? Does it have something to do with the idea that only Sega of America is in trouble; whilst the mothership over in Japan (as in Sega Sammy Holdings) is financially secure?

If you could elaborate I'd appreciate it.

Because most of Sega's money comes from the Sammy division not the games division, so yeah many of Sega's games were disappointments and they cut back dramatically on AAA releases leaving only the viable ones. The Relic buyout would help flesh out their current strategy portfolio and does seem a good fit for them even it unexpected.

 

[JaseC]

Very true, and besides EA could have released their games in Steam and sold DLC through Origin like ME2.

Mass Effect 2 released in 2010. Basically, the way Valve's DLC/microtransaction policy works is, with games released circa June 2011 and later:

- Any DLC must be made available through Steam, but not exclusively (i.e. it's free to be sold elsewhere), and
- Payment for microtransactions/in-game currency must utilise the Steam Wallet

 

[Erethian]

Austin isn't the middle of nowhere.

Volition isn't in Austin, you're thinking of Vigil.

 

[Wiktor]

The Ubisoft news isn't too bad I think personally, wouldn't be a personal choice though.



Very true, and besides EA could have released their games in Steam and sold DLC through Origin like ME2.

the bizzare thing is that they don't sell DLC through Origin. You have to go through BioWare store for them.

 

[deviljho]

Volition isn't in Austin, you're thinking of Vigil.

My bad... I'm always thinking of Vigil :l