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THQ: 'We are not developing Saints Row: Drive By'
THQ left very little room for interpretation today in regards to Saints Row: Drive By, the XBLA and PSN spinoff of its puerile open-world series. "We are not developing Saints Row: Drive By," a THQ rep told Joystiq, confirming reports of its cancellation. That likely means there won't be a 3DS Saints Row game either, since core games CEO Danny Bilson said that the planned 3DS project was the same as the XBLA game. Given the kind of weaponry we've seen in the latest Saints Row game -- weaponry we're not too keen to see in 3D -- we're at peace with the cancellation. THQ told Joystiq it had "no further comment at this time" regarding the 3DS title specifically.
Saints Row Drive-By for XBLA and PSN cancelled, according to resume
According to the LinkedIn resume of one Mr. Scott Rogers, "Creative Manager for THQ's CORE games, CORE Digital Games Group and Kids and Family Groups," the downloadable Saint's Row spinoff, Saint's Row Drive-By, has been cancelled. The project was first obtusely revealed when THQ Core Games chief Danny Bilson said the 3DS-bound Saint's Row title was already being made for Xbox Live. Later Bilson said, "We actually changed the design and are doing something more unique. This is just creative but we wound up feeling the game we were building was too much like a section of Saint's Row that you could play in Saint's Row." We're not so sure that canceling a game is the best way to make it more unique – that's old territory. At GDC 2010, Bilson first revealed to Joystiq that THQ would develop downloadable games from its stable of "Core" brands, including Red Faction and Saint's Row. In advance of Red Faction: Armageddon's early June launch, THQ released the underwhelming Red Faction: Battlegrounds on XBLA and PSN. Following a string of negative reviews – including our own 2/5 – a THQ rep called the reception a "disappointment." If Saint's Row Drive-By was shaping up to be cut from the same cloth, a cancellation may have been a wise move. We've reached out to THQ for an official comment on the status of Drive-By and Saint's Row 3DS. [Update: A THQ representative issued the following statement: "We are not developing Saints Row: Drive By."]
Saints Row XBLA aiming to be 'more unique,' says THQ's Bilson
Not much is known about THQ's downloadable Saints Row title, save for the fact that it's in development for Xbox Live and is also likely to land on Nintendo's 3DS in some form. In a new interview with Shacknews, THQ's head of core games, Danny Bilson, alluded to some changes made to the title's direction and its dependence on a larger game. "That one is changed. It's changed," said Bilson. "It's going to be a different--we actually changed the design and are doing something more unique. This is just creative but we wound up feeling the game we were building was too much like a section of Saint's Row that you could play in Saint's Row." Bilson added that this Saints Row would feature an "original game mechanic" that would aid it in supporting the larger franchise. THQ's approach, then, seems to diverge from the one that spawned Dead Rising 2: Case Zero, a downloadable prequel to Capcom's zombie masher, Dead Rising 2. Capcom called its $5 teaser, composed of gameplay similar to that found in the retail follow-up, its "most dynamic sales weapon" ever, having sold over 500,000 units by the middle of September. Bilson, however, believes "you don't want to play something that you can play within the main experience." You might be inclined to agree, but only because there's another dynamic sales weapon pointing at your head.
THQ: Saint's Row for 3DS was already being made for Xbox Live Arcade
The Nintendo 3DS game list has a lot of predictable titles on it, but seeing Saint's Row on there was somewhat of a surprise. But it was a natural fit, as THQ VP Danny Bilson recently said. Not only was Nintendo enthusiastic about putting mature content on its new system, but "the interesting thing about the game is we were already making it. We were already making it as our Xbox Live game and in 3D also. It's designed for 3D already." Wait, an Xbox Live title? The Saint's Row 3 universe is full of surprises -- THQ is planning a whole fleet of games to launch together, and among those is a downloadable XBL game that will unlock content in the full game (and vice versa). The 3DS will share content as well -- "all of our extension properties," says Bilson, "all connect and unlock things in each other." Looks like the game's "new direction" is actually split a few different ways. All of these games are still due out sometime after March of next year.
