One of the great downfalls of an acquisition or merger, in the game industry, is the loss of great franchise titles. Sierra, or Sierra Online, once stood on its own as a company with great gaming titles but later fell into the depths of Hades under many different company names.
Sierra’s last stop on the acquisition highway was Vivendi, years after much of Sierra’s steam had slowed. Now, they’re part of Activision Blizzard so we had high hopes they’d find a great use for some of the old Sierra properties long since collecting dust. Space Quest, Kings Quest, Leisure Suit Larry and especially Gabrielle Knight were some of our favorites, but times have changed.
“We are retaining only those franchises that are a strong fit with our long-term strategy including Crash Bandicoot, Ice Age and Spyro, as well as Prototype and a second game that has not yet been announced. We will not publish any other titles that previously were part of the Vivendi Games portfolio and we are currently reviewing our options regarding those titles,” says Activision Blizzard (joystiq)
This is unfortunate news, Activision Blizzard now has a large set of franchises on their hands, many of which have collected dust for years. Those dust collecting franchises could rise from the dead and reinvigorate their old fan base… or be dropped to the earth as unwanted scrapes after a big hunt with the vultures awaiting their take (sorry, too much watching of Animal Planet)
A reworked Kings Quest or Gabriel Knight could have seriously awesome potential in this time and age, imagine a dark comedy version of Gabriel Knight or a huge scaled world in King Quest using todays graphic engines. Although, these titles could also go the way Atari has gone and taken a well remembered franchise and made mud of its great name (*cough* Alone in the Dark).
Unfortunately, we’ll probably never know the distance an old franchise could go in this new world. We’ll have to pull out an old copy of our prized posessions and remember just how great they once where.
@The Last of Us features Naughty Dog’s “longest ever” campaign
… me likes. I quite like long SPs, so, bring it 🙂
The entire premise of the game sounds really nice, so this turns out to be one of the games I’m looking for.
@Sony confirms 4K movie service for PS4
… eh? I guess they’re trying to create a market for their TVs? Just doesn’t make sense. Somebody else should create content and be able to distribute it in order to drive up demand. If you do both then you’re risking too much.
As for eye resolution, it’s about 60 arc seconds. Think of a 3DS held at 10 – 12 inch away from the eyes.
@Ubisoft confirms Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
… but Assassin’s Creed III is still quite recent. This is slowly becoming a Call of Duty thing. Not much of a fan.
@What was your favorite moment in the TD Gaming Podcast over the years?
I honestly can’t tell. Just too many to pick from.
Cop-out. Pick your favorites and just go with them.
@The Last of Us features Naughty Dog’s “longest ever” campaign: Again, as a PS3 fanboy and a huge Uncharted fan I can’t be more excited about The Last of Us. Already pre-ordered it.
I don’t believe it’s going to be a bad game so the more the better. However, I hope it’s more difficult than Uncharted 3 and is more tactical or strategic rather than an interactive movie. Sure, it’s not going to be open world but add some more decisions to it!
BTW, the fact that the infected are not zombies has been long known and is not a spoiler in any way unless you’re employing Paul’s blackout strategy while waiting for game releases 😉
@Sony confirms 4K movie service for PS4
Don’t care, don’t want. I’m usually satisfied with DVD-quality movies, I very rarely use the Blu-ray drive in my PS3. The movies should be more about other qualities than presentation. I hated Avatar which was nothing else than Pocahontas in space and all the fancy 3D CGI effects couldn’t save the movie for me. This is Sony being Sony and messing things up for no purpose whatsoever.
@BioShock Infinite‘s ending may cause controversy:
Insert disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author of this comment in his private capacity and do not in any way represent the views of the podcast’s staff 😉
This is great news! As an ardent atheist I’m always looking forward to breaking boundaries as far as talking about religion and showing it in media goes. In my opinion a game where Jesus and the Christian God are presented is nothing different than Kratos and Zeus in God of War. If you want to quit your job because of a controversial portrayal of a fictional character it’s your choice.
@What was your favorite moment in the TD Gaming Podcast over the years?
I only started listening some 30 episodes ago but I always enjoy Paul’s one-liner ‘don’t give a f*cks’ 😉 No hate mail for you, Paul, sorry…
@Naughty Dog
I agree. Every time they say they created amazing AI it always falls short. I still remember AI in FEAR using empty see-through shelves as cover. I just wish they would make a good Crash Bandicoot game. I miss them so…
@Sony better-than-life videos
I thought Sony learned their lesson with 3D: do not support technology unless it’s widely accepted by the consumer. If you care about resolution so much then you are fickle. You can have a 4k Star Wars Episode 1 but it will still be shit. It’s all about the content.
@Bioshook
I agree with Paul. Sounds a lot like a publicity stunt. Reminds me of Hitman. Never cared about controversy. Incest in Metal Gear Solid 2. Ghetto in GTA San Andreas. As long as they implement it appropriately and not just to shock some weak minded fools so that they make some racket i.e. free publicity.
@Assasins Greed
Milk is going sour. Maybe the franchise is really turning into the bull. Last one I played was AC2. I like the franchise but I prefer to leave it for later. To much of the same game can ruin franchise.
@QOTW
I enjoy each and every episode. And I plan on enjoying it for a long time to come…