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Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock sequels canceled
A planned trilogy of games based on the long-running British sci-fi drama Doctor Who has been cut short, as the British Broadcasting Corporation confirmed with Polygon that two sequels for Supermassive Games' adventure game Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock have been canceled. Developed in a licensing partnership with the BBC, The Eternity Clock premiered for the PlayStation 3, PS Vita, and PC platforms last year to a largely negative critical reception. Speaking to Polygon, the BBC's vice president of digital entertainment and games Paul Joffe noted that while the corporation's relationship with Supermassive "was and continues to be good," no further partnership projects are planned following next week's release of the PlayStation Move educational game Wonderbook: Walking with Dinosaurs. Supermassive Games' current project is Until Dawn, a "teen horror movie"-styled game for the PlayStation Move.
Chocobo Racing 3D cancelled, creator says
An upgraded Nintendo 3DS version of Square Enix's PSOne-era mascot racer Chocobo Racing has ceased development, creator Takashi Tokita confirmed with Siliconera. "The original Chocobo Racing was made by me," Tokita told Siliconera. "But the one for the 3DS was a project being handled by someone else, and as far as I know, it has been closed. Now, if I had made it, I would have made sure that it came out. Unfortunately I was not!" Chocobo Racing 3D was one of the first games Square Enix announced for the Nintendo 3DS, though few details were revealed regarding the project beyond a handful of screenshots and a brief gameplay snippet. Rest in peace, little chocobo. May you roam forever free in the great choco-rodeo in the sky.
Fez 2 canceled [Update]
Development on Fez 2 has ceased. The announcement was made earlier today by a tweet on the official Polytron account, which we then corroborated and verified with creator Phil Fish. "It's true," Fish told Joystiq in an email. Fez 2 was originally announced during last month's E3-concurrent Horizon conference, where it was the surprise, show-ending reveal of the event, following a cavalcade of other new indie developments from different developers. Beyond the fact that it existed, however, and that Fez composer Disasterpiece was also involved in production, nothing specific was known about the project. Update: The official Polytron Corporation website has been updated with a short, candid message reiterating the game's cancellation.
InnoGames shutting down pirate-based browser game Kartuga
If you've loved the chance to have nautical pirate battles right in your browser courtesy of Kartuga, we've got sad news for you. InnoGames announced today that the the game has not managed to meet the company's standards for quality. The game also fails to meet the company's standard for cross-platform games, and with no way to bring it up to speed in an appropriate timeframe, the decision has been made to shut the game down in the very near future. Players with existing cash shop currency will be able to transfer that currency to another title run by InnoGames by August 14th. No exact date for the server shutdown has yet been established, but the official announcement specifies that the game will be available for a few more weeks. Our consolation goes out to all players and any development team members affected by this unexpected cancellation. [Source: InnoGames press release]
Project Awakened on hold due to 'alternate funding options,' donors receiving refunds
Phosphor Games has cancelled its self-powered crowdfunding initiative for Project Awakened and will be issuing refunds to everyone that has contributed to the drive thus far, according to a missive of the game's official website. "At this time we need to put our funding endeavor on hold effective immediately. Everyone who pledged money will be receiving a full refund," the message reads. "There have been some alternative funding options that have recently been presented to us, so please continue to keep an eye out on our Facebook page for future updates." Phosphor turned to DIY crowdfunding after its initial efforts to raise capital on Kickstarter fell short of the company's goal.
Capcom: None of the canceled games had been announced
Capcom's recently revealed slew of game cancellations didn't involve anything previously announced. In a follow-up conference call to last week's financial statement, the company clarified that most of the canceled games were due between April 2014 and March 2015, although a few were scheduled for the current fiscal year ending March 2014.Capcom revised its financial forecasts last week with a "special loss" of around $73 million, due to those cancellations. The company also announced a switch to more internal development following disappointment with projects outsourced overseas.Asked if the company was considering reducing "the number of development lines for home video games," Capcom said developing for that market is still the core element of its strategy. Even if packaged software sales drop, the company said it believes console and online (such as DLC) sales will continue to increase.
T-Mobile: if you buy a phone with 'UnCarrier' and cancel, you own it -- but can trade it in
During its Q & A, T-Mobile's just confirmed that if your purchase one of its phones under its new contract / non-contract "UnCarrier" system, you'll be obligated to buy it out -- but you could keep making monthly payments, or even trade it for another device. If you opt for the latter, you'll get "fair market credit," for your handset, according to the carrier, which said it would decide such a value. In other news, all phones sold will be locked -- so should you decide to switch and keep the phone, you're gonna need T-Mo's help.
In the year 20XX, Mega Man Online is cancelled
It's been quite some time since we heard anything about Mega Man Online, which we first heard about in May 2010. Unfortunately for fans of the Blue Bomber, it looks as if we've now heard the last of it, as Korean website This Is Game has received confirmation from the game's developer, Neowiz, that the project was officially canned last November. The studio's representative stated, "Both companies have continually discussed to find agreeable points on quality, development time, communication and etc. Ultimately, both companies have agreed to stop the development of Rock Man [Mega Man's Japanese name] Online [early last] November." It's sad news for fans who were looking forward to going Maverick-hunting with some of their closest friends, but if the much-requested Mega Man Legends 3 can't even get through the pipeline, it shouldn't be too surprising that this didn't, either.
Ni no Kuni Wizard's Edition oversold, some orders being canceled
The special "Wizard's Edition" of Level 5's Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, available exclusively through Namco Bandai's online shop, has been oversold, resulting in a multitude of issues for those that placed orders while the package was supposedly still in stock.Digital River, the e-commerce middleware provider that powers Namco Bandai's shop, experienced an error in its ordering system that resulted in the Wizard's Edition's erroneous post-sellout availability. As a result, some orders have simply seen shipping delays, while others have seemingly failed to process at all or have been cancelled entirely. The number of non-existent packages sold is unknown."If your order(s) has been cancelled, we will be reaching out to you by email with additional information as soon as possible," an official update reads. Affected customers that feel proactive about resolving their issue can also contact Digital River directly by emailing namcobandai.en.cs@digitalriver.com, or by calling 952-392-2057.It's also worth mentioning that while Digital River says it will be addressing the issues of everyone affected, the update does not go into detail about what that resolution may look like. To be on the safe side, we recommend tempering your expectations towards a refund and an apology.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Police Warfare Kickstarter suddenly and mysteriously canceled
The Kickstarter for Police Warfare, the proof-of-concept-turned-real-project from ex-Ubisoft/EA/Activision/Epic employee-driven Elastic Games has been cancelled by the studio, roughly two hours ago as of press time. As of its cancellation, the project had raised $25,025 of its sought-after total of $325,000 from 784 different backers."Thank you so much for the incredible response to the game," reads an update on the Kickstarter. "We're shutting down the kickstarter account but this is by no means the end of Police Warfare. News will be coming." Joystiq is digging around for more information and will update as soon as we have additional details.
Bethesda has no comment on Prey 2 cancellation rumor
Publisher Bethesda has no statement on the rumor that Prey 2 has been canceled, a story which gained significant traction yesterday. Dutch site PSFocus reported that the game, in development at Human Head Studios, was kaput and that an official announcement would be made next week.The last time Prey 2 showed up on our radar in a significant capacity was around GamesCom last August. As IGN notes, GDC talks planned for the game were cut a few weeks before the show.This isn't the first time this year a high-profile Bethesda title made its way into the rumored cancellation mill, as DOOM 4 went through the experience twice in six month. The difference? Bethesda flat-out stated "DOOM 4 isn't cancelled."%Gallery-131026%
THQ denies rumors about cancellation of its 2014 lineup
Yesterday, a series of tweets by IGDA Mobile SIG chair Kevin Dent alleged that THQ was in financial trouble, and that it was canceling its 2014 game lineup (most notably Warhammer 40k: Dark Millenium Online) and shopping itself out to potential buyers.This evening, THQ's Australian PR department issued a statement to the contrary, as posted by VG247. "THQ has not cancelled its 2014 line-up, and has not made any decisions regarding the planned MMO," THQ said. According to the statement, the only reduction to THQ's lineup has been to move focus away from the "kids' boxed games sector" following poor performance of the most recent version of the uDraw. " Our slate for calendar 2012 and beyond is focused on high-quality core games and continues to build our digital platform and business," the statement said. "We are excited for our pipeline of original and high-quality content along with our relationships with some of the best talent in the industry."Note that THQ said it "has not made any decisions" about Warhammer 40k: DMO -- that's hardly a statement of unwavering support. Regardless, the statement is clear about the rest of the 2014 lineup.
Rumor: WAR40K canceled, THQ readying itself for sale [Updated; rumor debunked]
It's been a rough couple of years for Warhammer MMORPG fans, and if the rumors are true, it's about to get a bit bleaker. Kotaku reports on a tweet by games industry insider Kevin Dent that indicates that THQ has "canceled its entire 2014 slate of releases to position the company for sale." This would include Warhammer 40K: Dark Millennium Online, which Dent referred to as "the Games Workshop MMO" on his Twitter page. We'll keep you posted as we learn more. [Update: THQ's Australian PR department has issued a statement asserting that the company has not in fact canceled its 2014 lineup and "has not made any decisions" regarding WAR40K.]
Amazon canceling some Transformer Prime pre-orders, supply shortages to blame
Were you one of the eager beavers who pre-ordered ASUS' new superslate, the Transformer Prime, from Amazon? It turns out, demand for the tablet was so great that it's outstripped the retailer's supply, so Bezos' business is apparently canceling orders placed on or after November 22nd and issuing refunds. Sad news for those who had their hearts set on getting the Prime this holiday season, but maybe it's a blessing in disguise -- the delay gives you the opportunity to size up the competition before taking the quad-core plunge. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
The Soapbox: The best complaint is an empty seat
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. This is a public service announcement for you. Yes, you, with the post open for the message board and your finger hovering over the "post" button. I can't see what you've got written there, but I'm willing to bet some form of "turning the game into World of Warcraft" is there if you're posting about another game. Or possibly FarmVille. Hopefully I'm getting warm. Look, the point is that I now you're about to post this hateful diatribe about threatening to leave. But I've got a better suggestion for you. How about you delete that post, unsubscribe, and then head outside for a walk with some friends. Play a different game, maybe an offline one, for a couple of days. Don't whine and just leave.
Iwata reveals three canned Kirby games, more than a decade in the making
The relative ease of Kirby games usually result in their powderpuff protagonist avoiding death from start to finish -- however, Kirby's not immune to the most permanent form of death there is: Project cancellation. In the most recent Iwata Asks, Kirby's Return to Dreamland producer Shigefumi Kawase revealed that three installments in the franchise were killed off mid-development, explaining "We spent 11 years ... making and abandoning these three games." The three Kirby titles in questions would have been starkly different: One was a 2.5D four-player adventure title (sort of like Return to Dreamland, but with more depth), one was a fully-3D exploration-centric game and the other was an animated platformer with "pop-up visuals." They sound charming as all-get-out, which makes us all the more forlorn that they're dead as doornails. Goodnight, sweet princes. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.
The Game Archaeologist answers Asheron's Call 2: The highlights
MMO sequels are funny animals. Sequels (along with prequels and "reimaginings") are ingrained into the entertainment industry so deep that it makes sense that MMO studios would follow suit. And yet these types of games -- with their ever-growing nature and heavy involvement with loyal playerbases -- are not always conducive to such projects. More often than not, a sequel to an online game becomes its ancestor's main competition, which is not a desirable outcome for the studio. Perhaps back in the early 2000s, studios simply didn't know better. There's good evidence that the typical "hit video games need a sequel" mindset ran rampant across the industry, from the multiple attempts at Ultima Online 2 to the release of the don't-call-it-a-sequel sequel of EverQuest II. Perhaps developers didn't realize that MMO players didn't necessarily want to be uprooted and moved to a new game every few years. While sequels, spin-offs and remakes are still present, the genre learned a hard lesson with Asheron's Call 2 in the first half of the decade. Asheron's Call was a success on Microsoft and Turbine's behalf, and a sequel -- with vastly improved graphics and deeper gameplay -- seemed like a logical next step. Unfortunately, it was a Greek tragedy in the making, destined for a short but memorable life in our world. This month we're going to look at the brief shining star of Asheron's Call 2 and get all sorts of misty-eyed romantic over it!
Disaster Report creator reports on the disaster of Disaster Report 4
Irem's PS3 survival adventure sequel, Disaster Report 4, was promptly canceled after Japan's March 11 earthquake. Kazuma Kujo, who created the series during his tenure at Irem, has been tweeting about the lost game, with his comments summarized and translated by Andriasang. While the previous Disaster Reports took place during or immediately after a disaster, Kujo said, Disaster Report 4 begins about a week after the event that wrecked the city, allowing players to see the social effects (like discrimination causing strife in shelters) and even recovery efforts following a catastrophe. Toward this theme, you would also have been able to travel with a variety of different characters you meet in the city, as opposed to the single partner of previous games. Since the emphasis was no longer on fleeing the city, you could even visit the same location later and see it partially rebuilt. All of this sounds really interesting, until we remember that it was canned. Kujo said that it wasn't the earthquake that ended this game, but Irem's slow progress in completing it. Kujo has since left the company for a new developer, Granzella.
Mytheon closing up shop
Faxion Online wasn't the only UTV True Games project to be axed following the company's acquisition by Disney. It turns out that Mytheon, too, is in the process of closing down for good. In the sole announcement on the Mytheon forums, the team posted a note that the game would be spinning down starting this past July 27th in preparation for a final shutdown at an undisclosed date in the near future. Players can no longer register for the game nor download it. Mytheon planned to launch in 2010 but was kept in beta testing far past the projected release date. This announcement ends on a bittersweet note: "Finally, we'd like to send out a huge thank you to all our players who've joined us on this journey. Keep challenging fate, The Mytheon Team." [Thanks to Paul for the tip!]
Star Wars Galaxies puts the end of the saga in the hands of the players
This is how the galaxy ends: not with a wimper, but with a mighty bang. At least, that's what SOE hopes as Star Wars Galaxies' devs map out the final few months for this sunsetting MMO. Instead of weeping into a glass of strange blue milk, the team is issuing a challenge to the Imperials or Rebels. The stakes? The fate of the galaxy, once and for all. SOE is ramping up the Galactic Civil War in the game, by adding new events and opportunities to win points for your respective side. The Civil War got a little bigger with the recent GU20 update that put the war footing on an interplanetary scale. At some point before the December 15th shutdown, the game will tally up the score and determine who won -- for all time. Depending on which side comes out victorious, the ending of the game itself will change. If you're a neutral party, don't worry; SOE is making sure that you can participate in shutdown events as well. Take note, as only players that subscribe or have an account in good standing prior to September 15th can participate in this final battle, since registration -- and game charges -- will cease after that date.
