Violent shooters/RPGs.
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Epic Mickey developer Junction Point closes
- Thread starter VanWinkle
- Start date
Violent shooters/RPGs.
*Concept art gets leaked out
Not that it really changes things but i dont get where that false narrative keeps coming from.
The person in charge of Disney Interactive changed in between acquiring and dumping them IIRC. The new person is more focused on mobile games instead of console games (which is probably why the recent WreckIt Ralph game got farmed out to some low budget studio by Activision)
Zoe
Member
Maybe he and Richard Garriott can get together then.
If you make games that don't sell and lack quality it's hardly the fault of the generation, it's your own fault for releasing a product not worth buying.
I love the scapegoat of its the fault of next generation, shit product don't sell.
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
Sucks, especially since Warren said this was like his dream job working at disney. What were the sales Figures on Epic Mickey 2? Was it similar to THQ betting on U Draw to have the same if not bigger success on PS3/360 because of how well the Wii version did only to end falling beyond short of expectations? Would explain the Constant Sale Prices I've been seeing on Epic Mickey 2 with the Permanent Price Drop that just happened sunday.
GameplayWhore
Member
Aquamarine
Member
AGITΩ;47043517 said:
I estimated in the other thread they were 740k worldwide. Disney expected them to be around 2 million.
So, Disney probably had to deal with a $6 to $8 million budget shortfall...what other reason would they have for instantly shutting down the studio?
Joe Shlabotnik
Banned
Epic Mickey was so infuriating. Such an ingenious concept for licensed material--maybe the best idea ever for a licensed property--such a wonderful love letter to Disney in so many ways... wrapped around such a hot mess of a game.
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
Well, even if it broke even, they'd probably want to shut down the studio from an RoI perspective and (as they note in their PR) to re-align with their new strategy, which is licensing and mobile.
I was talking about the early steampunk stuff which i assume most everyone else would be.
That cover is still somewhat indicative of the final game, since it features locations from it and its not like Mickey or the blot dont look like that.
The art in the Game Informer story was amazing and the final game completely failed to live up to it. Even with EM2 being on PS3/360 they still couldn't manage to get it close to that original unveiled art.
I guess he won't be doing a Duck Tales game anytime soon.
Glass Rebel
Member
Well, he can work on something like Portal. Doesn't have to be violent.
Dr. Kitty Muffins
Member
Maybe he can get together with the boys who left Irrational.
YuriLowell
Member
I feel bad for the people who were laid off but you made two bad games that never lived up to the original hype, sorry.
Exterminieren
Banned
If that's the case, he either goes cap-in-hand to Nintendo, starts an iOS studio or retires, because it's going to be incredibly difficult for him to make the games he wants to any other way.
Hopefully this guy lands on his feet:
He earned it...
He worked for JPS only from Jan-July 2007.
I dont remember what they showed in the original Game Informer article other than like art of the opening area which was definitely in the game, art of one of the 2D levels which seemed to get recreated pretty accurately, and art of the Its A Small World levels which the final game stayed pretty true to.
Stuff like this from the orignal leak I dont remember being in the article:
I dont know what the fuck people were expecting out of the game if you're going to tell me this looks nothing like the Lonesome Manor on the GI cover:
I mean it looks as about as close as you're going to get on the wii
Yeah... Writing was kinda on the wall here. Epic Mickey was a great idea with lackluster execution.
I'm personally sad to see Junction Point go and Epic Mickey finish. The first game at least, with its flaws, was a fascinating concept with a lot of love put behind it, even if the execution wasn't brilliant, which is what makes me want to go back to it. I for one was glad they didn't stick with the "steampunk" vision. The second game definitely was a step down but I would like to give it another chance someday.
UncleSporky
Member
That was misinformation, AFAIK we don't know how much it sold.
GhaleonQ
Member
Indeed. Spector and (unfortunately) Okamoto's Game Republic don't belong in the same class as the Irems and Cings and Mitchells. This should be a blot on their careers, but the team is still packed with talent. Good luck to them.
Once again, indeed.
Wideload hasn't made a console game since Guilty Party, and their most recent game was mobile. I wouldn't count unhatched chickens
*resigned sigh*
Like the hat?
Banned
Sad, I was hoping to see warren tackle duck tales
JennyTablina
Member
I was one of the original EM's fans - the game certainly had flaws (too many fetch quests, the fact they pretty much nerfed "Scrapper Mickey" to the point that it has absolutely no real bearing to the game as a whole, camera issues) but I loved the large tributes to Disney history and was keen on seeing how Oswald would be introduced back into Disney cannon. It had moments where it shone and you could really feel the love put into it.
The second....feels a bit phoned in of the first few hours I played, there's still some really great references in there and it's nice to see they attempted to add more character to main street. But the Musical idea was terribly done, little of the game's original troubles were fixed, and then they added the horrid box puzzles to boot. It's sad because I wish Junction Point had fixed the fundementals, before even attempting to add the extra puzzles and such.
That and it's extra sad because it was quite clear only Junction Point seems to care to use Oswald as something other than an obscure chaarcter to stick on Disney Parks Merch, sort of hope Oswald gets used in some other projects, though it's becoming clear that Disney need some major kicks up the rump when it comes to management
The second....feels a bit phoned in of the first few hours I played, there's still some really great references in there and it's nice to see they attempted to add more character to main street. But the Musical idea was terribly done, little of the game's original troubles were fixed, and then they added the horrid box puzzles to boot. It's sad because I wish Junction Point had fixed the fundementals, before even attempting to add the extra puzzles and such.
That and it's extra sad because it was quite clear only Junction Point seems to care to use Oswald as something other than an obscure chaarcter to stick on Disney Parks Merch, sort of hope Oswald gets used in some other projects, though it's becoming clear that Disney need some major kicks up the rump when it comes to management
Well...both games were pretty poor. The first game sold well, but word of mouth was not positive. When the second game showed up with mediocre reviews once again I'm sure most people wrote it off.
If it had received rave reviews and was genuinely a great game that solved all of the originals problems it probably would have succeeded.
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
It's a pity. While neither Hail to the Chimp nor Guilty Party are great games, both have very interesting elements and feel very much like "almost, but not quite" successes, and Stubbs is pretty good with no qualifications attached. I have no problem with them going to mobile, but I'd hate to see them in the license grinder, just producing pablum. Unfortunately I expect most of Disney's original mobile content to come from outside, and the studios they actually own will be stuck fulfilling quotas :/
This one hit the hardest.
How did they manage to screw up those awesome concepts so hard?
Fudgepuppy
Banned
Make one game that's a success - Be put instantly on making a sequel.
Make a second game that's not a success - Be instantly shut down.
That's how it's done in the gaming-industry; Invest more and more until you first see losses and then immediately bail out with the remaining money.
Make a second game that's not a success - Be instantly shut down.
That's how it's done in the gaming-industry; Invest more and more until you first see losses and then immediately bail out with the remaining money.
McBradders
NeoGAF: my new HOME
Sad. I wish those involved only the briefest of stints unemployed
Pie and Beans
Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
Peoples jobs and all that, but theres gotta be some sense to this industry beyond putting out utter tripe like the Epic Mickeys and expecting your sugardaddy/momma to keep you around because you got a bum rap this time around.
Videogame industry is just going through puberty right now and the lessons to be learned are hiring the correct project managers and the right talent and running with that, NO BLOAT. The success of Minecraft being born from Notch's personal tinkering and inspiring ideas and then forming a staff around that and the millions thats raking in is no anomaly. In comparison Junction Point just wasnt housing the raw talent and hunger for development to make something truly special from the Mickey Mouse property yet pulling in some insane 600 people to do so. Shit went wrong.
Videogame industry is just going through puberty right now and the lessons to be learned are hiring the correct project managers and the right talent and running with that, NO BLOAT. The success of Minecraft being born from Notch's personal tinkering and inspiring ideas and then forming a staff around that and the millions thats raking in is no anomaly. In comparison Junction Point just wasnt housing the raw talent and hunger for development to make something truly special from the Mickey Mouse property yet pulling in some insane 600 people to do so. Shit went wrong.
Don't think that worked for Homefront though.
diffusionx
Gold Member
Same for any industry. Markets don't work if companies can't fail.
I hope these people land on their feet and end up working on better/more productive projects.
Ehhh.... Honestly they probably want to dump the IP at this point. The DS game being mediocre as well doesn't help things.
Hopefully Disney Infinity will do well because it looks pretty cool.
It was a different time and attitude when Disney was trying to really hack it in the traditional publishing field.
I dont know how you can have that jaw dropping concept art probably some of the coolest i've ever seen and then have game look nothing like it or evoke any of the spirit of it.
if you gave me a game that looks like this and plays well on pc i wouldve bought a collectors edition and i dont do that.
if you gave me a game that looks like this and plays well on pc i wouldve bought a collectors edition and i dont do that.
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