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SOE confirms studio closures, cancels The Agency
Following earlier reports of studio closures and mass layoffs, Sony Online Entertainment has issued an official statement regarding its "strategic decision to reduce costs and streamline its global workforce." The company confirmed the closings of its Denver, Seattle and Tucson studios and the elimination of 205 jobs. Additionally, SOE announced the cancellation of The Agency, the long-delayed, cross-platform spy MMO under development at SOE Seattle. The company said it's discontinuing production of the title to "focus development resources on delivering two new MMOs based on its renowned PlanetSide and EverQuest properties, while also maintaining its current portfolio of online games." SOE added that the Denver and Tucson studios' projects would be transitioned over to its San Diego headquarters. The company's full statement is posted after the break.
Mega Man Universe canceled
Capcom has posted an apology and notice of cancelation on the official Japanese website for Mega Man Universe, an odd DIY Mega Man game that was scheduled to launch on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network later this year. The retro-styled platformer was a cheeky amalgam of remade Mega Man 2 levels, customizable characters (including the crooked caricature from the North American Mega Man 1 box art) and user-created levels. According to Capcom's notice, the decision to extinguish Mega Man Universe was given impetus by "various circumstances." Those may involve the departure of Mega Man creator and Universe conceptual lead Keiji Inafune, who left Capcom in October 2010. We've requested further comment from Capcom.
Hudson 3DS titles listed as canceled in latest Famitsu
This week's Famitsu notes that several Hudson 3DS titles have been canned, according to Andriasang. The current list includes some of the planned 3DS titles like Bomberman, Bonk and Omega Five, which were all announced last October. Hudson has gone through a serious shift since the Konami takeover earlier this year. Konami is set to take full control of the company and replace Hudson's CEO with its own next week. Update: A Konami spokesperson tells Wired the publisher hasn't "distributed any official list of Hudson products yet."
'Bourne Ascendancy' was canceled Starbreeze game, corroborates ex-dev
According to one-time Starbreeze Studios game director Mikael Lindgren, a Jason Bourne game was indeed the studio's reported cancellation a year ago. Posting on his freelance game designer company site, Zoetropa, Lindgren lists "The Bourne Ascendancy (Cancelled)" on his resume, referring to himself as Starbreeze game director for the apparent EA-published project. (On his LinkedIn page, Lindgren dates his most recent stint at Starbreeze from August 2009 through April 2010 -- right about when Starbreeze confirmed the unnamed game cancellation.) Lindgren's claim of The Bourne Ascendancy cancellation is further evidence that Starbreeze's surviving EA collaboration -- codenamed "Project RedLime" -- is the rumored Syndicate reboot. A series of trademarks and a US Copyright Office document previously linked the two companies to a possible Syndicate game. Last month, Starbreeze licensed Unreal Engine 3 for long-term use, presumably replacing its heralded proprietary game engine -- which powered its Chronicles of Riddick series and The Darkness -- for current and future projects. Lindgren's resume also reveals a canned Avalanche Studios' game under the working title "Arcadia" that was to be published by THQ. He credits himself as a senior designer for the game and notes his Avalanche tenure as November 2007 – March 2008 on LinkedIn. It's likely that Arcadia was one of two reported publishing contracts lost by Avalanche that led to the studio's significant downsizing in late 2008. [Pictured: Partial screencap of Mikael Lindgren's "Resume" page on Zoetropa.com]
Yakuza: Of the End, Motorstorm: Apocalypse delayed in Japan; Disaster Report 4 canceled
Citing "various circumstances," both Sega and Sony have announced delays of major game releases, reports Andriasang, while Irem has outright canceled Disaster Report 4. Sega announced that Yakuza: Of the End has been pushed back to a "TBA" release date in Japan, while Sony has altered the MotorStorm: Apocalypse launch to "TBA," as well. both titles were scheduled to be released in Japan this Thursday, March 17. While neither company directly cited the massive earthquake and devastating tsunami that struck Japan on March 11 as the cause of the delays, it's evident that the disaster prompted the moves; though it's unknown if the reasons extend beyond the two games' disaster-themed premises. Andriasang also reports that Sony has temporarily closed its PlayStation repair and information center, located in one of the worst hit areas of Japan, the Miyagi Prefecture. Just yesterday, Square Enix temporarily shut down the Final Fantasy XI and XIV servers to conserve power in the country. Meanwhile, Irem has canceled Disaster Report 4 without citing a specific reason, according to Andriasang. As the title suggests, DR4 centers around players escaping a city that has just suffered a devastating earthquake. Both DR4 and Yakuza: Of the End were only announced for release in Japan. It's unclear at this point whether MotorStorm: Apocalypse is still on track to launch across Europe this week, as SCEE told GameSpot UK, "[The game's release is] under discussion at the moment. We'll get back to you when we know more." (The game's release in New Zealand was previously delayed following the severe earthquake that struck Christchurch last month.) The North American launch was set for April 12 two months ago. To find out more about how you can help those affected in Japan by the past week's events, head over to RedCross.org.
Totally crazy, totally canceled indie games, and the people who made them
From World of Goo dev Kyle Gabler to Plants vs. Zombies director George Fan (and everything in between), GDC's "The Failure Workshop" panel was full of thrills. Each of the panel's developers brought a project that never managed to make our acquaintance, offering a detailed explanation of what went wrong. Gabler, of 2D Boy, kicked the chair out from under his studio's robot-based sidescroller Robot and the Cities That Built Him when he and his cohorts finally decided that it simply wasn't very fun. After months of mock-ups and brainstorming, the game was finally turned into a fairly basic prototype (playable here) that sealed the project's untimely fate.
Super Meat Boy misses jump to Wii (falls into chainsaw)
Team Meat today finally laid to rest the troubled Wii version of Super Meat Boy. "We really tried hard to make this happen but not one publisher we talked to thought a retail budget title for the Wii would be profitable at this point in the Wii's life cycle," reads a missive on the Team Meat Blog, "and we totally understand that." Initially planned as a WiiWare title, the Wii version of SMB grew beyond the size constraints of Nintendo's digital platform, and so Team Meat began to look into a box-copy release. Perhaps its spirit will live on in the "Ultra Edition" of SMB for PC.
Panasonic cancels Jungle gaming device production
If you don't remember Panasonic's Jungle, you're not alone. A glance at the online-enabled, portable gaming device's official Twitter feed shows that Panasonic forgot about it, too. There's not been a single update since the device was first unveiled in early October, pining for the affections of MMO players seeking to take titles like Stellar Dawn, Battlestar Galactica and RuneScape on the go. Surprising no one, Reuters is now reporting that the ill-advised device is officially canceled. "Panasonic decided to suspend further development due to changes in the market and in our own strategic direction," the company said. That "strategic direction," apparently, is to not make a device so few would have wanted. Of course, some folks already told you so: "This looks like a non-starter." –Billy Pidegon, M2 Research "I just don't think Panasonic has the right pieces to compete in this space." –David Cole, DFC Intelligence "The absence of strong third-party support will most certainly end in failure." –Jesse Divnich, EEDAR
Alleged screens of canceled 2005 Diablo 3 are heavenly
In internet time, 2005 might as well be the last century. Christopher Nolan was just beginning to tackle a new series of Batman films, many Joystiq writers hadn't even begun their illustrious careers and Blizzard North was rumored to be hard at work on Diablo 3. That is until Blizzard North was closed and most of its staff relocated to Blizzard's HQ in California, of course. Even with the closure, there was still a rumor floating around that a new Diablo would be shown at BlizzCon, a Diablo that actually took place in a Heaven being invaded by Hell. While none of us will ever play that Diablo 3, Kotaku has nabbed some screenshots allegedly taken from the canceled project. Examining the screens, it certainly looks like the Heaven plot was a reality. It also appears that Blizzard North had abandoned Diablo's traditional 2D isometric graphics in favor of a full 3D world, which isn't surprising given the runaway success of World of Warcraft. Hit the source link for more screens.
EA prunes My Garden from 3DS lineup [update]
My Garden, EA's flora management simulator for 3DS, has been canceled. EA announced the death of what was supposed to be a 3DS launch title during an event in New York City today. Though we currently don't have an official explanation for the game's cancellation, it's not hard to see why EA stopped watering this one: In our preview of My Garden several months ago, we described it as a "lifeless" game with a "jumpy framerate," "unresponsive controls" and "uncomfortable" 3D visuals. Update: EA's official statement on the cancellation: "EA has decided to cancel Gardens for the Nintendo 3DS. We didn't feel the title would attract a large audience on that platform. EA is supporting the launch of the Nintendo 3DS with Spring releases of Madden NFL and The Sims."
Activision axing Guitar Hero and True Crime; Freestyle Games reportedly hit with layoffs [update]
Despite a recent cover story in EGM, United Front's True Crime: Hong Kong won't make it to retail. Activision's latest earnings report confirms the game's cancellation, as well as the end of the Guitar Hero franchise. "Due to continued declines in the music genre, the company will disband Activision Publishing's Guitar Hero business unit and discontinue development on its Guitar Hero game for 2011," Activision said in its financial statement. The statement goes on to confirm the cancellation of True Crime. "The company also will stop development on True Crime: Hong Kong. These decisions are based on the desire to focus on the greatest opportunities that the company currently has to create the world's best interactive entertainment experiences." Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg went into a bit more detail on today's investor call: "Despite a remarkable 92 rating on DJ Hero 2, a widely well-regarded Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, as well as a 90-plus rated release from our most direct competitor [Rock Band 3], demand for peripheral-based music games declined at a dramatic pace. Given the considerable licensing and manufacturing costs associated with this genre, we simply cannot make these games profitably based on current economics and demand. Instead, what we'll do is focus our time and energies on marketing and supporting our strong catalog of titles and downloadable content, especially to new consumers as the installed base for hardware continues to grow."Hirshberg continued, saying that True Crime's development, "was't going to lead to a title at or near the top of the competitive open-world genre." To put things more directly, Hirshberg added, "To be blunt, it just wasn't going to be good enough." If that weren't enough bad news, Eurogamer also reports that DJ Hero developer Freestyle Games has suffered "severe layoffs," though it's unclear whether the rhythm series has been affected by the alleged redundancies. We'll update this post as we learn more. [Update: An earlier version of this post was based solely on Eurogamer's report, which has since been partially confirmed by Activision.] [Update 2: United Front Games has commented on the cancellation of True Crime]
Company of Heroes Online, WWE Online canceled
This morning, we reported that THQ would "evaluate the next steps for the Company of Heroes series" after the March 31 conclusion of the Company of Heroes Online beta. We now know that whatever those next steps are, they won't include Company of Heroes Online. The latest THQ earnings report notes that the company has "reevaluated its strategy of adapting certain Western content for free-to-play online games in Asian markets." And, as a result of that reevaluation, it has canceled Company of Heroes Online and WWE Online. COH Online was originally announced as a South Korean release in partnership with Windysoft, and WWE Online was only intended for release in Asia. In an investor phone call, THQ CEO Brian Farrell explained the decision, claiming that THQ's focus is on "developing great content, most of it IP owned by THQ. And the concept of converting some of these concepts for a market -- though Korea's still a great market -- it just wasn't the top of our list for focus." He noted that THQ's "small" Korean office has also been closed.
WSJ: Nokia X7 canceled for AT&T, but at Espoo's behest
Our subsidized Symbian superphone dreams remain squashed, but it looks like we might have a different party to blame -- the Wall Street Journal's anonymous sources say it was Nokia itself who decided to pull plans to launch the X7 exclusively on AT&T. Originally, the phone would have waved the white globe banner at Mobile World Congress next month, but Nokia reportedly decided that AT&T didn't have its back, and wouldn't provide sufficient marketing support -- and cheap enough subsidized prices -- to make it worth the company's while. If you simply must have the handset and live in the US, though, we're sure you'll still find a way. It's only a matter of time before Nokia launches in countries more willing to play ball... and unlocked models appear on eBay.
Square's unreleased Aliens game for Famicom Disk System uncovered
Man, what is it about the Aliens franchise that makes its video game adaptations so easily cancelable? Long, long before Obsidian's Aliens RPG ended up on the cutting room floor, Square had its own unreleased entry into the franchise: A 1987 side-scrolling action game for the Famicom Disk System (the disk-loading NES attachment which never quite made it stateside). A ROM for the canned title recently appeared online; you can check out some footage from an emulated version of the game over at 1UP. It actually doesn't look too terrible -- though back in 1987, we really only had room in our hearts for one unstoppable, alien-obliterating heroine, and that room was totally already spoken for.
'Hero' looks like it could have been Midway's 'inFamous'
Last week we got a tiny, one-image glimpse of Midway Chicago's game-that-could-have-been, Hero. Now we get a better picture of what the title might have looked like, thanks to the portfolio of Tae Young Choi, a concept artist at Midway who worked alongside Stephan Martiniere, the former staffer responsible for the release of last week's image. There are also some small tidbits regarding the game's design to be gleaned from Choi's site, including that there were going to be multiple (presumably playable) characters, each possessing unique super powers. From Choi's descriptions of his drawings, we know that the katana-wielding hero (seen above, fighting an enemy on the wing of Air Force One) could "jump really high," and that at least three other heroes were planned: one that could control water; one that could generate a force field; and a "dumb strong" character with a tail. Choi also hints at one possible cause for the mass destruction visible in the gameworld: an out-of-control laser beam coming from a satellite that's "cutting everything." Unfortunately, the game itself was cut before we ever got a chance to see it in action. Visit Choi's site to peep some additional concept art.
Canceled 'Day to Night' Midway game unearthed in concept art
Former Midway background artist Brian Beppu was at one point drawing up concepts for a PlayStation 2-era game named Day to Night. As the title suggests, Day to Night looks like it was going to be some type of zombie game -- as seen in the concept panels above, a hobbled humanoid approaches a gentleman who appears to be a cowboy in snowy woods. A handful of environments are also on display, varying from a cheap roadside motel to a graveyard overtaken by jungle brush. Given the fact that this art is now nearly a decade old, Day to Night likely lost its shot at becoming a finished product before Midway's less than successful final years. Little else is known about the title, in fact, so feel free to shoot us a tip if you know more.%Gallery-112471%
Super Meat Boy WiiWare canceled, retail 'looking grim'
The saga of the WiiWare version of Super Meat Boy has come to an abrupt, disappointing end, with Team Meat tweeting today that the project has been canceled altogether. The team is still considering retail, but adds that the possibility is "also looking grim." We've contacted Team Meat for further comment. Keep an eye here for updates as we get them.
Lorne Lanning laments 'The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot' that never was
Game Informer has posted its recent print interview with Oddworld Inhabitants founder Lorne Lanning, a (five-years-later) followup to the magazine's April 2005 announcement of The Brutal Ballad of Fangus Klot, OWI's would-be effort to delve further into the "more hardcore" elements of the Oddworld ... world. After finding the situation with EA (which published OWI's Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath on Xbox in 2005) "unworkable," Lanning recounted, OWI turned to Majesco to fund and publish the Fangus project, another Xbox game built on Stranger's core framework. But only a month after the game's announcement, "the shenanigans started" and OWI shut down its development studio. "Sometimes developers get fired by publishers and sometimes developers fire publishers," Lanning said coyly, "and that's probably all I should say about it." Publisher "incompetence" aside, Fangus did sound like an odd pitch: A "close to the Earth" dog-man herdsman turned "pit fighting" slave -- to the Russian-like cat mafia -- who escapes his years-long imprisonment a hardened killer dead set on vengeance and the liberation of his people ("the timeless mythical battle between cats and dogs," in other words). Also, Fangus has terminal rabies and "would control a flock of ravenous sheep-like creatures to take down enemies and solve puzzles," according to GI's description. "We wanted it to be really hardcore," Lanning concluded.
Rumor: AirPrint support for Mac and PCs canceled
Some things, as the saying goes, are not meant to last. Apparently, that is the case with the new AirPrint feature in the upcoming iOS 4.2 for the iPad that was set to allow users to print wirelessly to any printer connected to their Mac or PC. I say "was" because it is becoming increasingly apparent that Apple has pulled some of the AirPrint functionality off the table, at least for now. Developers are reporting that references to printing via a Mac or PC have been removed from online documentation, and the downloads that Apple had provided for beta versions of OS X 10.6.5 and iTunes 10.1 -- specifically so that developers could test AirPrint from their apps -- are no longer available. Support for printing directly to a limited set of new HP network-connected printers that support AirPrint natively are unaffected, but this is of little comfort, as most end users do not have these printers yet, and the ability to print via a desktop would have allowed printing to any brand or model of printer that was connected. Many developers have raised questions concerning the change on Apple's developer forums, and while an official response or announcement has not been publicly made by Apple as of yet, one developer reports that they contacted support via e-mail and received the following reply: "Support for AirPrint on Windows and Mac has been canceled. We will be in contact with you if another opportunity arises in the future." While this would not be the first time that Apple has pulled or changed a significant feature prior to release, it is frustrating for developers who have spent time, money, and other resources developing an app that relies on that feature to have it suddenly removed. Further, the lack of notice or official communication from Apple on the matter adds to the uncertainty, as developers are left not knowing whether the functionality will ever be released, leaving some very promising apps in limbo until an announcement is made.
Team Ninja's Dead or Alive: Code Cronus and Project Progressive canceled
For Dead or Alive: Code Cronus, the long-delayed action game from Team Ninja, there is no longer any question as to its status. It's just "Dead: Code Cronus," now. Team Ninja head Yosuke Hayashi confirmed the project's cancellation in an interview with Famitsu (translated by Andriasang). After all these years, Hayashi said, "It was just on the framework level." Also on the chopping block: "Project Progressive," mentioned in passing in this 2007 interview with former Master Ninja Tomonobu Itagaki. These two dropped projects aren't the only evidence that Team Ninja is looking forward. "We're developing [Ninja Gaiden 3] with the idea of restarting at the beginning, saying, 'We'd like to make the action game that's most interesting for the current era.' With this meaning, it's going to be a game that's not bound by the past more than necessary. Of course, we will be valuing the past," Hayashi said, "but in a good meaning we'd like to make it into a game that's not tied down by the past." The image released at TGS actually holds vague clues about the content of Ninja Gaiden 3. Hayashi teased that Ryu Hayabusa "seems to be doing something with [his] right hand," which is covered with unnatural-looking blood. Team Ninja also has Dead or Alive: Dimensions and Ni-Oh in the works. Hayashi expects Dimensions to be released first, followed by Ninja Gaiden 3.
