biggest fail in PC gaming industry

[andylawcc]

http://www.hellgatelondon.com
http://www.flagshipped.com

this is the first time I ever spent money on a game that I cannot play again after a year. (well, if you want to argue, there's still single player mode)

Threads on epic failure merged.

PC Gaming Moderator
KeithTalent

 

[Liet]

Oh, I don't know, I think the Atari E.T. game might have been a bigger fail.

 

[Ika]

Just got an email from Hellgate (I signed up for the beta way back and forgot about it).

Dear $Account{AccountName},

Please be advised that NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. will continue to support customers of Hellgate: London with online server support and play through January 31, 2009. In a further gesture of support, we will provide this server support free of charge to all fans and players of the game up until the shut down date.

All of us at NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. appreciate your enthusiasm for Hellgate: London and look forward to providing you with future entertainment products.

For questions regarding the shut down or additional information about Hellgate: London, please visit the game?s official website at www.hellgatelondon.com.

Thanks you,
Namco Bandai Games America Inc.

Does anyone still play Hellgate? I thought it was pretty big news when it came out but I haven't heard anything about it in quite some time.

 

[pontifex]

it was big news until it was released and people started to play it. then the big news was how much it sucked. glad i sold my copy. sorry to whomever i sold that to (was an atoter).

 

[andylawcc]

Threads on epic failure merged.

PC Gaming Moderator
KeithTalent

lolz, epic x2.

 

[Ika]

huh, searched for hellgate and didn't pick this up. epic fail on search

 

[andylawcc]

Originally posted by: Aflac
huh, searched for hellgate and didn't pick this up. epic fail on search

don't hate, xxit happens.

anyway, pontifex's reply gave me an idea. and there are quite a few sellers on ebay selling Hellgate London for $10... and no one is bidding.

 

[TheStu]

I got this game after playing the demo and liking it. After going about hlafway through though, i completely lost interest and haven't played it in almost 6 months or more.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

maybe private servers will pop up?

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: TheStu
I got this game after playing the demo and liking it. After going about hlafway through though, i completely lost interest and haven't played it in almost 6 months or more.

ditto. The missions get sooooo damn repetitive.

 

[Zenoth]

I had forgotten about Hellgate: London as soon as I quit playing the demo for it, I thought it was absolutely horrendous, and it's probably a good thing for the developers not to lose their time on that thing called a game, they should focus on another project to actually make a game and a name in the process.

 

[Juddog]

^^ Co-signed about the demo. The demo was ridden full of bugs, terrible gameplay, and boring on top of it.

 

[lupi]

I got an unopened copy when it went on sale, guess it's time to ebay it to some sucker

 

[Modelworks]

In other news they have an expansion coming.
Yeah, I thought that weird too.

Namco community manager Diane Migliaccio was spotted by Gamasutra as clarifying reports that HanbitSoft now owned the rights to the game. "Hanbit owns the IP and rights to publish anywhere other then the US and EU ... NAMCO owns the rights to publish in the US and EU," wrote Migliaccio on the official Hellgate: London forums

The expansion, oddly enough, is in the works inside the United States. HanbitSoft majority shareholder T3 Entertainment is using its new U.S. studio to develop the update which "surpass[es] The Abyss Chronicles" from earlier this year.

In the meantime, Namco Bandai is sticking by its decision to shut it all down in its own territories after January 31, 2009. "The servers will never exist in the US and EU again. Hanbit aka Redbanana can not have servers in the US or EU," wrote Migliaccio.

 

[Dumac]

HG:L deserved the fail it achieved.

 

[Borealis7]

i enjoyed the single player game but didnt bother with the multiplayer and gave my box away. sure it wasnt like playing the original Diablo back in the day, but it was nice enough for the 20+ hours of entertainment it provided. (for me at least...)
the question is, will future hack'n'slashers use the HG:L model or will they stick with traditional top down view a-la Diablo and TQ.

the next HnS game im going to play is Sacred 2, once i finish King's Bounty which is such a goooooooood game!

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: andylawcc

Threads on epic failure merged.

PC Gaming Moderator
KeithTalent

lolz, epic x2.

Merged fail thread Merged??

 

[SpunkyJones]

Daikatana is still the king.

 

[waggy]

i got the game for $9 and feel i overpaid. it fricken sucked.

 

[jackace]

Game developers are going to need to get their acts together, especially MMOs. Releasing games with buggy and sluggish game play, screwed up and buggy animations, chat problems (in MMOs), lousy group dynamics (in MMOs), etc. is not going to cut it for long term growth.

 

[CVSiN]

Naw.. epic fail was EA/Westwood's Earth and Beyond MMO that basically failed out of the gate. or the Sims Online or even Motor City Online... all closed in their infancy

HG:L was horrible it was all hype and no substance I cant beleive it survived this long.

 

[skace]

Hellgate London is more like epic failed potential. The concept was good, in fact, I'd wager people still want the concept, but they failed to deliver on it. People wanted to fight zombies and have fun, but HGL managed to make fighting zombies in a destroyed post apoc city boring. Argh.

 

[Martimus]

Originally posted by: TheStu
I got this game after playing the demo and liking it. After going about hlafway through though, i completely lost interest and haven't played it in almost 6 months or more.

Similar here. I got through a few acts, but it just didn't hold my interest. The game kind of sucked honestly. Maybe someday I will load it back up to beat it.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: skace
Hellgate London is more like epic failed potential. The concept was good, in fact, I'd wager people still want the concept, but they failed to deliver on it. People wanted to fight zombies and have fun, but HGL managed to make fighting zombies in a destroyed post apoc city boring. Argh.

agreed. HGL had so much potential.

if anyone read the bill roper interview by 1up.com, basically (according to roper), they tried to please everyone by doing so many different setups (action rpg, fps, non MMO vs MMO, etc.), and that ended up causing HGL to "fail" as a game.

i really feel bad for everyone at flagship who put a lot of work into what could have been an amazing game. best of luck to them in the future :thumbsup:

 

[Homerboy]

Santa Clara, Calif., (October 24, 2008) - NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc., today announced that they will continue to support customers of PC game Hellgate?: London with online server support and play through January 31, 2009 despite the closure of Flagship Studios. In a further gesture of support, Namco Bandai Games will provide this server support free of charge to all fans and players of the game up until the shut down date.

NAMCO BANDAI Games appreciate the enthusiasm of all the Hellgate: London players and looks forward to providing them with future entertainment products.

For questions regarding the shut down or additional information about Hellgate: London, please visit the game?s official website at www.hellgatelondon.com.