wingnut-interactive
Latest
Peter Jackson ponders original game projects
Apparently, Peter Jackson happily contributed to Modern Warfare 2's gigantic pile of cash, as a recent interview with Ain't It Cool News shows. He goes on at great length discussing his time with the game, most notably his campaign and Spec-Ops progress. More interesting, however, are his thoughts on gaming in general and his eagerness to undertake an original gaming project of his own at Wingnut Interactive. Sure, he's no stranger to gaming (he had a hand in the game adaptation of King Kong, after all), has a TinTin thing in the works and also something based on the upcoming The Hobbit movie, but he's got a few, more original ideas banging around the old noggin. Not only is he considering doing a video game -- a medium he describes is "getting more and more interesting" -- but he's also considering a movie and spin-off game approach. Really, he's at the concept stage right now. With his film The Lovely Bones finally out in theaters, he's now free to initiate his next move. That is when he's not playing Spec-Ops, of course. [Via Gamasutra]
Microsoft says Halo Chronicles is 'on hold' - doesn't use the 'C' word
While Microsoft wouldn't say that Halo Chronicles was "canceled" – Peter Jackson told us during the San Diego Comic-Con that the ambitious episodic series was "no longer happening" – it did confirm to us that the project was "on hold." Today, Microsoft hasn't outright confirmed the partnership's end, but clarified the project's current status."Microsoft Game Studios is deeply committed to supporting and strategically growing the Halo franchise, and our relationship with Peter and his team is something that we greatly value. Given the bandwidth of both of our companies we've decided to put this joint effort on hold and prioritize resources against other projects like Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach and Halo Legends."Jackson's manager re-confirmed to the Company Town blog that the collaboration between Microsoft and Jackson had ended allegedly as early as last January. Microsoft has yet to comment on what role it plays in Wingnut Interactive, Jackson's game production company, said to be "still working on new IP."
Halo Chronicles reconfirmed as canceled, Microsoft still not speaking
After Peter Jackson told us last week, "That Halo project isn't happening," with regards to his not quite a game, not quite a movie, erm, thing, Halo Chronicles, we were still waiting for confirmation from Microsoft that the entire project is officially kaputz. And, well, we still don't know that. Speaking with Peter Jackson's manager, Ken Kamins, the Company Town blog further confirmed that on his side of the Pacific, the collaboration between Jackson and Microsoft (at the least) is over."They were scaling back everything, including the number of Halo games, and it just made sense at that point," Kamins said, allegedly referencing the January layoffs at Microsoft. Furthermore, according to Jackson's manager, "Peter [Jackson] has people in Wingnut Interactive working on original intellectual property." Wingnut Interactive is the studio born out of a partnership between Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh (his business partner), and Microsoft Game Studios. It seems as though Mr. Jackson might be working on some games of his own for now -- with or without Microsoft and, as it would seem, the Master Chief. Microsoft has yet to make any statement regarding, well, any of this.
Peter Jackson: Halo Chronicles 'no longer happening'
After years of speculation – appearing on our E3 bingo cards for the last two years in a row (2008, 2009) – it looks like we can finally lay to rest questions about Halo Chronicles, the much-ballyhooed partnership between would-be Halo movie producer Peter Jackson and Microsoft Game Studios. When asked about the project following a screening of District 9 – directed by would-be Halo movie director Neill Blomkamp – Jackson told Joystiq, "That Halo project is no longer happening, it sort of collapsed when the movie didn't end up happening." First announced in September of 2006, the project was later revealed to be an "episodic" series in 2007 and confirmed as recently as April of last year, when Microsoft said, "Microsoft Game Studios has been hard at work collaborating with Peter Jackson and Bungie on the development of [a Peter Jackson-helmed Halo project]." Another job listing in August of last year again alluded to continued development of the project. With key hires like Ryan Payton for Microsoft's newly unveiled Halo studio, 343 Industries, we're not sure what all is going on if Halo Chronicles isn't. We've asked Microsoft Game Studios to confirm Jackson's assertion and are hoping there's some sort of miscommunication here. Maybe "no longer happening" is a Kiwi euphemism for "totally happening." No?
X06: Two new Halo projects announced (w/ Peter Jackson!)
The most awkward moment of today's X06 press briefing may also have been the most profound. We are of course talking about the moment that Peter Jackson took the stage to massive applause. While PJ -- we call him PJ -- looked a little nervous talking in front of so many people, what he announced could turn out to be one of the biggest announcements for the video game industry this year.
