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Factor 5 president details canceled Star Wars projects
Factor 5 earned plenty of goodwill from Star Wars fans with its Rogue Leader series across the Nintendo 64 and GameCube, but the studio planned to do more with the universe beyond those games. During an episode of IGN's Nintendo Voice Chat, former Factor 5 president Julian Eggebrecht detailed the team's attempts to bring their Star Wars prowess to the Xbox, Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii. Factor 5's lost efforts included a Rogue Leader trilogy collection for the original Xbox, complete with online multiplayer. Management at LucasArts was rapidly changing at the time, resulting in the project being canceled, though Eggebrecht doesn't remember specifically why. Factor 5 then moved on to a launch title for the Xbox 360 called "Rogue Squadron: X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter," which had players working as the Rebels' Red squadron in cooperative multiplayer fighting against Imperial forces. LucasArts' management wasn't sure if launch titles made sense for them at that time however, and the project was eventually canceled. Sony President Shu Yoshida contacted Factor 5 shortly after, but he was more interested in an internal PS3 launch project than the studio's work on Rogue Leader. The result was Lair, which Eggebrecht described as a "pretty big mistake" due to the PS3's complex architecture and the project's unreasonable ambitions for a launch title. When Factor 5's exclusivity window with Sony ended in 2007, the studio's gaze was set on the Wii. They reworked the Rogue Squadron trilogy project originally built for Xbox and added optional play styles (you could steer an X-Wing with the Wii wheel and manage its pedals with the Balance Board, for example). Beyond piloting ships, Factor 5's "Rogue Leaders" used the Wii Motion Plus for 1:1 lightsaber battles between 20 characters, complete with force powers. Rogue Leaders essentially ran on Lair's graphics engine at 60 frames-per-second and featured ducking and dodging beyond what's found in Wii Sports Resort.
Concept art shows Superman and villains from Factor 5's canned game
It would have been a bird! It would have been a plane! Back in 2008, Factor 5 was working on a Superman game codenamed Blue Steel. The studio ran into trouble, as did the game's erstwhile publisher, Brash Entertainment, and the Superman game was cancelled. Siliconera dug up some concept art by character designer Daveed Kaplan depicting Superman as he would have appeared in the game -- and revealing some of the villains that would have been included. Surprise! Lex Luthor is there, in ginormous armor, as are Darkseid, Kalibak, Zod, and Zod's associate Non. You can see all of them as they would have appeared, had they not been banished to the Phantom Zone, at Siliconera. [Update: The Siliconera post is no longer available, and we have removed our image, at Kaplan's request.]
Rumor: Factor 5's Animal Wars revealed, possible Turrican reboot
It's been a few years since Factor 5 shut down its US operations and now it would appear we're getting a look at some of the shuttered studio's projects underway right until the end. Remember Superman? That wasn't all the company was working on, if this thread on NeoGAF is legit. Some leaked concept art of what is being called a "Beaver Pioneer" and some nondescript robot appeared on the site -- later in that same thread, a poster claiming to be an ex-Factor 5 employee called the game Animal Wars. It supposedly "played like Warhawk," pitting animals against each other in a WWII-themed setting. How novel. Perhaps more interesting is the concept art of a lone white robot, what some in the thread are saying is from a Turrican reboot that was in the works at Factor 5, but there doesn't appear to be enough evidence to effectively conclude as much. As of right now, it seems the closest we have to a real Turrican reboot is Hurrican. [Image credit: NeoGAF]
Factor 5 accused of fraud in new lawsuit
A new lawsuit by former employees of Factor 5 claims the company fraudulently shifted assets to avoid ponying up $900,000 in unpaid wages to employees and millions to creditors. The Marin Independent Journal reports the suit outright states that the company stopped paying workers on November 1, 2008 and let them go on December 19. That explains why there were rumors of the company shutting down six months before the official closure announcement was made in May.As for the alleged fraud, the suit claims that Factor 5 moved assets (source code and other IP) into a company, now called White Harvest, to shield it from creditors. The plaintiffs claim that the company is being run by the same people, same lawyers, "with all the same management and ownership and control," and is performing the same work that Factor 5 was up to -- just with a new name and address. Expect to see more about this kerfuffle in the future.[Via Gamasutra]
Rumor: Factor 5 was working on a sci-fi PS3 exclusive
After Lair tanked, things haven't been going all too well for Factor 5. In fact, things got so bad that the company's North American arm was severed not too long ago. Along with the loss of that studio came the loss of the games it was working on -- specifically the one pictured above.The image comes courtesy of Unseen64, which got a hold of a whole set of concept art from Factor 5's canceled and untitled PS3 exclusive. Looking closely at the artwork, it's obvious Factor 5 was working on some sort of space-age odyssey, which appears to most resemble a shooter, or even possibly an RPG. Maybe both ... like a Mass Effect equivalent for PS3, perhaps.
Leaked images from Factor 5's Wii 'flight' game
Click image for more almost-made gameness With Factor 5 closing its doors in the US, it's uncertain whether the games that were in development there will be moved to its German studio, or if the titles will be scrapped entirely. Courtesy of Unseen64, we have some concept art from a flight game the company was working on for Wii. Supposedly, these are images created using the Wii version of Factor 5's Lair Engine, though that is unconfirmed. Based on the images, however, we can glean that the game would have had players visiting several different parts of the world, as there's a few images striking an amazing resemblance to Big Ben. We've put in word to Factor 5 for comment, but we're hoping the employees have already set sail toward a brighter future, much like the Crimson Permanent Assurance. Sadly, real life isn't as fun ...%Gallery-63467%
Factor 5 shuts down US operations
Factor 5 officially announced the closure of its US operations recently, concluding a story that feels like it's been just out of reach for half a year. The developer had been having some rough times since the poignant failure of Lair. Following that, there was its falling out with Brash Entertainment (which led to layoffs), leaks of the Superman and Kid Icarus games, and, obviously, the closure of the studio.The bright side on this really dark tale is that Achim Moller, CEO of Factor 5 Germany, states the company has "partnered with both old and new friends in the industry who will reveal our upcoming projects over the next months." With E3 visible in the smog-filled distance, perhaps we'll learn what the German-based developer is up to soon.[Via Kotaku, Siliconera]
Alleged screens and video from Factor 5's canned Superman game
Some footage and screens from Factor 5's Superman project have managed to make their way online, courtesy of Unseen64. While we would've liked to have seen some actual gameplay, sadly the only items on offer are a brief CG trailer (past the break) and some screens. We'd offer our opinion on it all one way or the other, but all of this media seems to be from really early in the game's development -- who knows which way the title was headed?Well, in the opposite direction of Superman 64 would have been nice.%Gallery-47397%[Via IGN]
Rumor: Early Factor 5 Kid Icarus model flies out
Early last year, we saw some potential concept art for a Wii Kid Icarus update from developer Factor 5. Today, NeoGAFfer Shiggy posted what may be an early character render from "late 2007/early 2008." We've included the original Famicom Disk System version's character art for comparison.This is about as tenuous a rumor as there could possibly be because: A) We don't know if the Factor 5 Kid Icarus game was ever real. B) We don't know if this image or the previous concept art was actually from that hypothetical game. C) Even if it was real at some point, the game is most certainly dead now, due to the state of Factor 5. We don't want to cast aspersions on Factor 5. They are responsible for true classics like the Turrican series, as well as recent favorites like the Rogue Squadron games. But we won't lament the early demise of this (probably fake) interpretation of Pit. After all, he's got Solid Snake hair circa-Metal Gear Solid and he's wearing a sort of Ryu Hayabusa ninja outfit. We could only imagine this game's story involving Pit getting infected with a techno-organic super-virus codenamed E.G.G.P.L.A.N.T.
Rumor: Factor 5 shuts down
The last we heard of Factor 5, they were thinking about a Rogue Squadron compilation. Now, it would seem the company has fallen on hard times, much like other game developers. That is, if you go by this forum post, which was allegedly made by IGN's Matt Casamassina and claims "inside sources" tipped him off to the studio's closing.Our overlords at Joystiq have made the appropriate inquiries and we'll be sure to update you all as soon as we can.[Via Joystiq]
Rumor: Factor 5 cuts 37 jobs
Speaking to a "well-placed source," Edge Online reports that Rogue Squadron developer Factor 5 laid off 37 employees on Friday, December 12th. This leaves around 38 workers to continue development on one or more projects which may or may not be canceled, depending on whose blog you read and how quickly it gets deleted from the internet.While most would speculate that the drama has its origin in Factor 5's botched deal with Brash, Edge's source claims, "The thing that bothers me the most about it all is they could have avoided all of this ages ago. It wasn't really the Brash deal going south that was the big problem, but it didn't help much either." According to the source, the last time Factor folks got so much as a fiver was on October 15th. That's grimmer than most of Lair's reviews.
Factor 5 dev blogs about canceled title, later deletes post
Nearly every company in the video game industry has taken a hit during this economic fiasco -- though we've seen a few cases where the full brunt of the recession has come down on certain developers and publishers. Factor 5, creator of the wildly criticized Lair, appeared to be the latest company to suffer under the credit crunch -- one of its employees, Sam Baker (who blogs under the moniker MISTASAM), recently posted about "financial issues" which kept his fellow developers from receiving payment and health care benefits, and ultimately led the company to "stop production" on a project he'd been working on for eight months.However, this post (cached version), as well as every other post on Baker's blog, disappeared quickly after its publication, and was replaced by a brief correction. In this follow-up post, Baker explains that the closure of Brash Entertainment, whom Factor 5 was working with on what was rumored to be a new Superman title, had caused the economic distress. Baker adds that whatever game Factor 5 was developing for Brash is still alive and well (and was never "in trouble"), and that the rest of the studio's projects are "doing great".This second post is confusing and somewhat contradictive, to say the least. While the erasure of Baker's entire blog certainly gives off an air of impropriety, we can't be certain of what exactly is going on at Factor 5. With the inital post mentioning employee layoffs, we certainly hope the cheery exposition of the second post proves accurate -- not just because of our concern for our fellow man, but because we really want a new Rogue Squadron game.
Factor 5 speaks out on 'Superman' game
Last week's closure of Brash Entertainment left a number of unanswered questions lingering, and as thrilled as we are that Saw is still set to get its game on, we're more curious to find out if Superman survived the publisher's swift implosion. The Man of Steel was allegedly the subject of a deal between Brash and Factor 5 earlier this year, and MTV Multiplayer recently caught up with the Lair developer's president, Julian Eggebrecht, to find out more.While the exec admitted that Factor 5 is working on "several" multi-platform and Wii-specific titles, he stopped just short of admitting that the studio is developing a game based on Superman. "One of our large-scale multi-platform projects was started with Brash because it is a dream property for us, hasn't been given its dues in gaming since the Atari 2600, and has a huge universe to draw from," teased Eggebrecht, who added that "things are obviously in flux and we hope that the game proves to be as indestructible as our hero..."Though still unconfirmed, it seems fairly obvious that Factor 5 has its sights set on the son of Jor-El. We just hope that there's something left of him after his current cross-universe beatdown.
Brash layoffs result from 'tough economic landscape' [update]
Several weeks after another Brash Entertainment co-founder bolted and CEO Mitch Davis admitted his company had been "overly ambitious" in its first year, the publisher of really bad movie-based games has laid out a new "strategic cost reduction plan." Uh-oh, that sounds like ... you've got it: Layoffs. The company will axe 20 members of its staff and do away with several positions in the short term, reports GameDaily. The good news? Six Flags Fun Park for Wii and SAW are still on! Phew.Read Brash's official statement after the break.Update: Variety reports Brash has also stopped paying its developers and is attempting to "return" or sell off many of its licensed properties. Currently in limbo: Tale of Desperaux, Prison Break, Night at the Museum 2, Clash of the Titans, 300, and an announced Superman game (allegedly to be developed by Factor 5).
Rumor: Rogue Squadron compilation locking S-foils in attack position
According to the latest issue of EGM, which just arrived in our mail box, Wii owners could be seeing Rogue Squadron make a return to a Nintendo console, as Q from the Rumor Mill is reporting that Lucasarts has licensed out the Rogue Squadron series of games. Sadly, we're not talking about a brand new game, but rather a compilation of the N64 and GameCube titles, all on one Wii disc. With the whole Play on Wii thing, it seems like this has a good chance of becoming true.Head past the break for the excerpt from the magazine.
VC Monday Madness: Super Turrican 2
Super Turrican 2 (SNES, 1 player, 800 Wii Points)Wii Fanboy says: download it! With there being only the one Virtual Console game this week, it had better be a good one, right? Well, Super Turrican 2 is a pretty solid title, but with the other great entries in the genre available on the Virtual Console, why should you check this one out? Well, hopefully the video helps answer that, otherwise we only have one thing to say: explosions. Each week, we here at Wii Fanboy like to check out the latest Virtual Console releases in our VC Monday Madness feature, in the hopes that you can make the most sound decision possible regarding purchasing retro titles from the Wii Shop Channel. If you're looking for more retro goodness, check out Virtually Overlooked, which talks about games that should be on the Virtual Console.
Super Turrican 2 assaults the Virtual Console
Before straddling a winged lizard and doing a nosedive, developer Factor 5 was the source of one of our favorite pastimes: the unrelenting obliteration of aliens, robots and the occasional Sasquatch. Our memory's a bit hazy when it comes to Super Turrican 2, so there may well have been a robotic alien Sasquatch in there somewhere. Super Turrican 2 (SNES, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): Factor 5's destructive bullet dispensor arrives on the Virtual Console this week, challenging players to foil "the menacing hordes of ... The Machine," who may or may not be Galactus. Check out some videos after the break and become hypnotized by that spinning "2" in "Super Turrican 2." It's like, three dee and stuff!
Microsoft's Shane Kim on Xbox 360's MMO failures
EDGE spoke with Microsoft Game Studios corporate VP Shane Kim about the MMO genre's failure to come to fruition on the Xbox 360 game console. Two MMOs that were planned for the platform -- Marvel Universe Online (an in-house project) and True Fantasy Live Online (developed by Factor 5) -- were cancelled. Check out the interview for all the quotes, but we have the gist of it here.While Kim noted that the cancellation of those specific games was "the right decision," he also said "there's nothing to say those titles can't be successful on the 360." Some critics (such as NCsoft) disagree. They argue that the Xbox Live service is too restrictive for an MMO developer's workflow. "I think those are real challenges ... we work very hard to create a stable and secure environment on Xbox 360 and that's where you see that tension," said Kim. "I'm sure we can solve that problem though in a way that is good for MMO developers and customers because we want that content: and we're getting very close. But we're late with that, and we feel bad about that."
The VC Advantage: A good old-fashioned code list
We've been diverging lately into video game history and ephemera in these VC Advantage columns, because those are usually a lot more interesting than just plain old cheats, while keeping in the spirit of extending the enjoyment of games through secrets. But sometimes it's nice to get back to the original stated purpose of presenting codes for Virtual Console games as if we were writing a column in an old gaming magazine.Mega Turrican seems like an excellent candidate for this treatment, because it is hard as all get out. While previous entries in the franchise involved huge, maze-like levels, Mega Turrican is basically Contra but faster (and with backgrounds that don't contrast enough with the enemies) -- a straightforward left-to-right run-and-gun. And that is almost universal code for "punishingly hard game whose first level you will see about fifty thousand times."With that in mind, an invincibility cheat seems like a perfectly relevant and helpful thing to offer. It couldn't be easier to pull off, either: just pause the game and hit A, A, A, B, B, B, A, A, A. You don't even have to write this one down! You can also skip a level by hitting right, left, down, right, and then B while paused. And now you can pretend to be successful while playing Mega Turrican![Codes via GameFAQs]
Lair updates finally flying in -- will it change people's minds?
Long, long, long overdue is the update to Lair's control interface, but on April 17th, it's finally arriving on the Japanese PS Store. The update not only allows a left analogue stick control scheme, but a better aiming function as well as two new dragons to mount and ride. Yep -- now you have the Wind and Poison dragons at your beck and call. But that's not all -- new custom themes will be available that change at random on startup. Will we see this stuff outside of Japan? Who knows -- if some of it's free, that stuff won't necessarily have to.[via N4G]
