Vivendi axing most everything

[BladeVenom]

of all the Vivendi brands only three upcoming games made the cut in the new company ? Crash Bandicoot: Mind over Mutant, The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon and PROTOTYPE.

Developers and Franchises for Sale

Getting cut and up for sale are:
Massive Entertainment
World in Conflict
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
Swordfish Studios
The Bourne Conspiracy and High Moon Studios
Ghostbusters
The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena
Brütal Legend
Sierra Online
Sierra (and probably most of their many franchises.)

The only good news was that F.E.A.R. was sold back to Monolith Productions.

 

[exar333]

Normally I would say "good riddance" to most of these franchises, but I know where they likely would go "Cough, Cough, EA, Cough".

Please stay with us Vivendi!!

 

[drebo]

If something isn't profitable anymore, there is no reason for a company to hold on to it. Sell off the IP and use the money to invest in something new.

 

[Ika]

Oh noes Sierra!

 

[invidia]

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand

LOL

 

[ConstipatedVigilante]

Awww...no more Riddick?

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: invidia

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand

LOL

Yeah, that just screams quality . . .:roll: That shouldn't be sold, it should be buried so deeply in Vivendi's archives that it'll never see the light of day.

 

[sticks435]

Originally posted by: ConstipatedVigilante
Awww...no more Riddick?

There was an article on gamespot saying that Dark Athena was still coming out.

 

[lupi]

With the amoutn of money blizz brings in there, wonder why so many seemingly decent hyped titles are getting axed.

 

[BladeVenom]

Originally posted by: lupi
With the amoutn of money blizz brings in there, wonder why so many seemingly decent hyped titles are getting axed.

I think that's the reason they're getting the axe. Blizzard is such a big money maker they see no reason to keep around all the rest.

 

[Flammable]

i'm ashamed world in conflct is gone

 

[BladeVenom]

Originally posted by: Flammable
i'm ashamed world in conflct is gone

It's not quite gone yet. Someone could still buy it and the studio who created it.

 

[SunnyD]

Originally posted by: Bateluer

Originally posted by: invidia

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand

LOL

Yeah, that just screams quality . . .:roll: That shouldn't be sold, it should be buried so deeply in Vivendi's archives that it'll never see the light of day.

+eleventybillion! :thumbsup:

On a side note, I'm surprised about Ghostbusters, that was actually supposed to be one of the marquis titles in the next year or so. World in Conflict too is a bit shocking.

I guess Vivendi/Activision says "If it doesn't have Guitar Hero or World of Warcraft in the name, it's not profitable".

 

[shingletingle]

Originally posted by: Flammable
i'm ashamed world in conflct is gone

Why are you ashamed? Or did you mean it's a shame that it's gone?

 

[drebo]

Originally posted by: SunnyD
I guess Vivendi/Activision says "If it doesn't have Guitar Hero or World of Warcraft in the name, it's not profitable".

No, if the revenue it generates in sales doesn't surpass the cost to produce, market, and get it on store shelves, it isn't profitable.

None of the games mentioned are large market games. They're either dead franchises (Sierra) or they're niche games. Neither of which is profitable.

Trimming the fat does not make a company evil.

 

[DefRef]

Originally posted by: SunnyD
I guess Vivendi/Activision says "If it doesn't have Guitar Hero or World of Warcraft in the name, it's not profitable".

Don't forget Call of Duty, too. If they could put out a "World Call of Guitar War Duty Hero Craft" MMO, they could bail out Wall Street themselves since they'd have the money. All the money. In the whole Universe.

 

[Modelworks]

The one on that list that really surprised me was Massive Entertainment.
There is no way that world in conflict was not a successful title.
It got many game of the year awards.

 

[drebo]

I didn't say anything about it being a successful title. I said it was not a mass-market title. Little Johnny isn't going to be begging his mother to buy him World in Conflict in the checkout line at Target. The RTS crowd is smaller even than the MMO crowd, and with no recurring revenue, it's no wonder that they don't make much money.

Now, I'm all for cutting costs in game development (less focus on graphics, more on gameplay), but the RTS market is really, really crowded right now. With RA3 and SC2 on the horizon, none of the smaller franchises are going to be doing anything for a while.

 

[Frodolives]

Originally posted by: ExarKun333
Normally I would say "good riddance" to most of these franchises, but I know where they likely would go "Cough, Cough, EA, Cough".

Please stay with us Vivendi!!

Vivendi couldn't have handled the Tribes IP much worse than they did. Anyone else might as well have it.

 

[PieIsAwesome]

Sell Homeworld to THQ/Relic. =D

 

[postmortemIA]

Originally posted by: Modelworks
The one on that list that really surprised me was Massive Entertainment.
There is no way that world in conflict was not a successful title.
It got many game of the year awards.

there was supposed to be expansion for PC where player plays other side...

 

[Regs]

Originally posted by: Modelworks
The one on that list that really surprised me was Massive Entertainment.
There is no way that world in conflict was not a successful title.
It got many game of the year awards.

The game was niche. I'm a big strategy fan and even I couldn't find the heart to buy the game. Act of War or Company of Heroes, yes, but World in Conflict seemed more of action strategy. The developers said it themselves, they went into uncharted territory. I actually applaud them for actually trying something different though.

 

[Lazlo Panaflex]

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
[

The only good news was that F.E.A.R. was sold back to Monolith Productions.

Ya...can't wait for F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin! :beer:

 

[Oyeve]

Monolith. Whatever happened to Shogo: Mobile Armor Division franchise? I loved that game.

 

[L337Llama]

I was sort of interested in the new Riddick game since I never played the original version of escape from butcher bay, I figured i'd try the new version when it dropped.