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Activision Blizzard staff layoffs may nix WoW mobile
Previously we reported that a mobile version of WoW was being seriously considered at Blizzard. However, with the finalization of the Activision Blizzard merger, the odds of being able to play WoW on your iPhone just got a lot lower. The newly-merged company is laying off 53 employees in the Issaquah, Washington area by September 27, 2008. Additionally, they are evaluating whether they will keep Vivendi Games Mobile, an arm of the company which develops games for the various mobile markets, like phones. If Activision Blizzard does decide to divest themselves of VGM, you can probalby kiss your hopes for WoW mobile goodbye since the synergy and cost-effectiveness of having the mobile developers under the same roof will disappear. I'm not saying that the WoW developers aren't beyond creating their own mobile infrastructure, or even paying higher prices for it to an external company, but it will be much less likely if they don't have the luxury of teaming with folks who all report up the through same corporate food chain. Among the other companies which Activision Blizzard says are eligible for the chopping block are Sierra Online, Massive Entertainment and Swordfish Studios, with staffing "realignments" likely at Radical Entertainment and High Moon Studios -- the loss of any of which will likely have no effect on WoW development, but may affect other games. Activision has announced that a few highly-anticipated titles are on the bubble, including Ghostusters and Double Fine's Brutal Legend among others. I sure hope they don't mess with Double Fine, since I am a huge Tim Schafer fan, but the upside is that it looks like the new company will have an even stronger focus on keeping their cash cow, WoW, healthy and grazing in the pasture for a long while to come.
Double Fine: Brutal Legend is 'fine,' weevils not
In a way only they could, the mad minds at Double Fine have confirmed that Brütal Legend is not dead. (Unlike the weevils Tim Schafer found in his cereal and has been posting photos of to Double Fine Action News.)In fact, it's via Schafer's latest snapshot of dead weevil-age that the famous designer of such games as Full Throttle and Psychonauts delivered a status report on Double Fine's next creation. Mousing over the photo (under "More Information") reveals pop-up text which reads "Brütal Legend is fine." Rawk. Of course, there's still the matter of who's going to publish the game, given Activision Blizzard's apparent (and, as many agree, unfathomable) lack of interest in it.
ActiBlizz drops Ghostbusters, Brutal Legend in favor of Spyro, Crash & Prototype
We have a love-hate relationship with Activision-Blizzard; we love Blizzard and their games, but really rather hate Activision. This confusing dichotomy was further cemented today with the announcement that the company is streamlining their output by holding on to a few key Sierra franchises. Namely, Spyro, Crash Bandicoot, Prototype, Ice Age and an as-yet unannounced property, leaving Tim Shafer's Brutal Legend, Ghostbusters: The Video Game, WET, and Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena abandoned at the side of the road.However, there's still hope for these games if another publisher swoops in and picks them up. Actiblizz will also be shaking up its Sierra-based internal development studios, with plans to "realign staffing at Radical Entertainment and High Moon Studios" (Prototype and Bourne) and to explore "options regarding Massive Entertainment and Swordfish Studios" (Wold in Conflict and 50 Cent). For the full skinny check out the Yahoo Business report. It's sad to see interesting games like Ghostbusters and, particularly, Brutal Legend get poor treatment in favor of dead franchises such as Crash Bandicoot and Spyro. It's a world gone topsy-turvy, where EA are developing interesting and innovative new IPs and Activision is "streamlining" anything that stands out in favor of safe, boring franchises. [Via Joystiq]
Blizzavision keeps Crash, Spyro, Ice Age, Prototype; loses Brutal Legend, Ghostbusters, and more
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Blizzavision_keeps_Crash_Spyro_etc_loses_Brutal_Legend'; One of the major outstanding questions surrounding the Activision Blizzard merger was: "What the hell is going to happen to Vivendi's other video game division, Sierra?" The new super-publisher announced it will be keeping five of Sierra's franchises total: Crash Bandicoot, Ice Age, Spyro, the still-in-development Prototype, and another as-yet-unannounced title. We're currently looking into the fate of Sierra's other publishing arrangements: Tim Schafer's Brütal Legend (oh, Brütal Legend, we're so sorry!), Ghostbusters: The Video Game, WET, and Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena. Activision Blizzard is also reviewing Sierra's other properties that they will not be publishing: think Bourne, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, World in Conflict, et al. Activision Publishing CEO Mike Griffith says, "We are reviewing our options regarding those titles that we will not be publishing." Those games won't be published by Blizzavision because they're not "a strong fit with [Activision Blizzard's] long-term product strategy." No word on the fate of Sierra's classic adventure games like King's Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, etc. As for the status of Sierra's in-house developers, Blizzavision will "realign staffing at Radical Entertainment and High Moon Studios" – the developers of Prototype and The Bourne Conspiracy respectively – while "exploring options regarding Massive Entertainment and Swordfish Studios" – the devs behind World in Conflict and 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, respectively. Those "options" include "the possibility of divestiture." Also potentially up for sale: Vivendi Games Mobile and Sierra Online, the latter notably responsible for a large amount of XBLA and PSN games. More on this story as it inevitably unfolds.
No Brtal Legend at E3 for you!
Are you ready to rock? We said are you ready to ROCK?! Oh, um, well in that case we're sorry to inform you that Double Fine's Brütal Legend -- the rock opus featuring Jack Black -- won't be melting faces at E3 this year. The news comes as the game's maestro Tim Schafer informs MTV's Multiplayer that new Brütal Legend info will have to wait until after "the dust settles from this whole [Activision Blizzard] merger thing." As Joystiq points out, Activision is not attending E3 anyway, though Schafer's announcement means Brütal Legend won't be making it to the company's offsite event on Tuesday either.Truly, it is a sad day for rock.[Via Joystiq]
Brtal Legend will not make E3 appearance
Due to the conference's inabilities to meet its exuberant demands (1,000 brown M&M to fill a Brandy glass), Double Fine's Brütal Legend will not be making an appearance at next week's E3 Media and Business Summit. Designer Tim Schafer and co-conspirator Jack Black made the announcement yesterday while floating across the River Styx on a yacht made entirely from the bodies of those whose heart stopped when LucasArts ceased making adventure games. The duo then proceeded to fly off on black motorcycles so fast that they broke the sound barrier and permanently deafened every person within a 20 mile radius, with engines that sounded like a Schecter guitar plugged into a wall of Marshall amps cranked to 12 (yes, one louder than 11).... Okay, so that's not really how it happened. Rather, Schafer told MTV Multiplayer via email that the game wouldn't be at E3, but he hopes to discuss it soon after, "as soon as the dust settles from this whole [Activision Blizzard] merger thing." We're not surprised, of course, given Activison won't be attending E3 at all, but it sounds like the game will be missing out on the publisher's non-E3 event set for next Tuesday.
Jack Black: Brtal Legend coming 'someday'
At the MTV Movie Awards a few weeks back, Jack Black came wearing a huge gash across his neck. But you'll want to direct your attention below the wound -- no, not to the pantaloons -- to Black's slightly more subtle statement: a "Brütal Legend" tee. We're not sure how many casual viewers have attempted to google the term, only to be stifled by the key command for an umlaut, but those of us attuned to Black's sense of style certainly appreciate the nod to Tim Schafer's seemingly in limbo project, for which Black lends his vocals. When questioned about his getup, Black responded, "I just wanted to represent. I do this video game Brütal Legend. It's coming someday."MTV Multiplayer followed up with Sierra on Black's impromptu plug, reporting that the publisher was, obviously, grateful for the nationally televised marketing. Still, Sierra declined to elaborate on Black's vague promise, saying only, "we are excited to reveal more details regarding our plans for Brütal Legend very soon."
Return to Quest Quiz: Tim Schafer
Alright, Tim Schafer, you win. After targeting various industry folks with a typically contrived adventure game puzzle and then assembling their responses in our GDC Quest Quiz feature, we simply weren't prepared for your relentless response to our silly challenge. Not only did you trick us into doing all the hard work, but you successfully navigated through our made-up-as-we-went-along chicane of bizarre logic. But don't grow complacent in your victory -- we'll get you next time.The PlayerDouble Fine's Tim Schafer, designer of Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, Psychonauts and upcoming god of gwar epic, Brütal Legend. Prior to the release of those games, he worked on The Secret of Monkey Island, Monkey Island 2 and Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle.The PuzzleYou're standing in front of a cave. The goal is to get inside the cave, taking care to foil the ferocious robot bear guarding the entrance first.The Inventory (1) perforated parasol (1) rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle (1) sealed manila envelope (1) miniature macaroni Tim Schafer statue Make your way past the break to read our adventurous e-mail exchange.
Brtal Legend official, Psychonauts 2 not in the cards [update]
We're a bit late getting to this news, so we're cobbling together two Double Fine headlines in one post. First and foremost, Brütal Legend has been officially announced by Sierra and Double Fine. The game stars a roadie named Eddie Riggs (played by Jack Black) as well as several rock icons including Lemmy from Motörhead, Rob Halford of Judas Priest, and Ronnie James Dio (NSFW). We don't know much about the game except that it tells the legend of the "Age of Metal." Double Fine's Tim Schafer says it best on the company's blog: " The moral of the story is that Brütal Legend is going to be the best f***ing game you have ever played." So there you go. Oh, and in case you're wondering, the image above is a special message from Lemmy and Tim Schafer to all the publishers that passed on Brûtal Legend. You can check out the first trailer for the game after the break.The other bit of Double Fine news is that it looks like a sequel to Psychonauts may be in the works. Listed on Double Fine's projects page is a banner featuring the Psychonauts cover art with the words "Coming Soon" emblazoned across it. It's hard to imagine the original being ported to any more platforms, so we're assuming that the banner refers to a wholly new project. Here's hoping.[Update: It was nice while it lasted, but Joystiq has learned that Double Fine's projects page does not signify that Psychonauts 2 is in the works. It turns out that that "coming soon" placeholder is merely for the upcoming page about the original game. Sigh.][Via Joystiq (and Joystiq)]Read -- Brütal Legend announcedRead -- Psychonauts 2
Brutal Legend is finally announced (officially)
Sure, we spotted the cover story on Game Informer over a week ago but up until now, Sierra has been mum on Tim Schafer's latest, Brütal Legend. That means Tim's been mum. Which was funny. On Friday, Sierra made the announcement and Schafer took to Double Fine's blog with the news. Sure, you may be inclined to laugh at Sierra but know that their intentions are pure. Read Tim's account of a mama bear, an eviscerated hunter, and Ronnie James Dio. We think Sierra is supposed to be the mama bear. Either way, Lemmy from Motorhead and Tim offer the above photographed message (Johnny Cash-style) to the publishers who didn't feel the metal.Want to let the world – and the establishment – know you love Brütal Legend? If you pre-order the game at GameStop you get a free t-shirt; alternatively, you can order a different t-shirt directly from the Double Fine store which ensures Tim Schafer can continue to live in the manner of comfort all great game designers have grown accustomed to. Peep the tees after the break. Brütal Legend is due out on Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2008 (the never reliable Gamestop lists 11/03/08).
First Brutal Legend video is ... well, it's brutal
The marketing for Tim Schafer's latest game is in full swing and – even though the game designer can't talk about the game himself (check out Double Fine's blog to watch him squirm) – the Game Informer cover and now video trailer sure as shinola confirm its existence. It turns out Brütal Legend is appropriately titled; the trailer is full of axe-assisted dismemberment on the part of protagonist (and rock roadie) Eddie Riggs.So let's run down the checklist: Rockin' metal soundtrack? Check. Buckets of violence? Check. Overwrought mythology? Check. Bitchin' Hot Rod with flame exhaust? Check. Demon wings? Check. Sexy metal babes? Check. All in a video game format? Very check. Wait a second, this game wasn't designed by Tim Schafer at all. No, it was designed by the collective fantasies of every teenage boy who's ever lived ... Schafer's just the tool they'll use to see their vision writ large.
Tim Schafer's Brutal Legend lands on Game Informer cover
"A Rock 'n Roll roadshow through the twisted mind of Tim Schafer?" That sounds fantastic, though we imagine it comes across like nails on a chalkboard to the publisher hoping to hear terms like "shooter," "sequel," "football," and "based on the hit movie" in the game pitch. Preferably, it'll be all of those.And for all we know, Double Fine's Brütal Legend could contain any of the above. For now, the only information we have is that obtained from the cover of the latest Game Informer magazine (we've confirmed the image is real), graciously snapped and posted by "Iksenpets" on the official Double Fine forums. The image reveals who we assume to be Jack Black's character -- an axe-wielding, axe-wielding roadie named Eddie Riggs. Oh, and when you check between the pages to find out more about Mr. Schafer's latest road trip, be sure to find out how NF HELL 4K2: The Movie: The Game is coming along.[Thanks, Max]
Brutal countdown for Double Fine's Brutal Legend?
The countdown seen above recently popped up on Xbox.com. Set to expire tonight at midnight ET, we speculated earlier today that it had something to do with Ninja Gaiden 2 and the alleged screenshots of it in action. A news report on IGN, however, points in a different direction, as Double Fine -- makers of the critical darling Psychonauts -- recently trademarked the name "Brutal Legend." This corresponds with rumors of a game of the same name starring Jack Black. While we're as excited as the next gamer to see what Tim Schafer and company have cooking, the timing for such an announcement seems odd. With such a packed holiday lineup and the imminent release of Halo 3, it's strange that Microsoft would be announcing a new game. Still, the Tokyo Game Show is right around the corner, so anything is possible. At least we won't have to wait long to find out, right?
