|
|
|
#51
It's a Nintendo tradition to pull off weird shit like this, look like they're going to fail horribly, yet somehow manage to do pretty well.Originally Posted by Shuma
I have been spelling doom for everything after N64, but I have only ever been right about the 3DS and even then it's more accurate to say the 3DS turned out to be underwhelming rather than a complete and utter failure.
E=mc^(OMG)/wtf
Most likely its the mmo, which it may be slated for 2013 could easily hit 2014, and what ever games they haven't leaked announced, talk to ghost so the ghost can tell us about.
No qaurter back men, only forward or we will hold this line forever!!!
[IMG][/IMG]
Row Row Row Fight the Powha
Hirm, you take that back. Space Marine is AGES better than Renegade and while there wasn't quite enough action for me, it is certainly comparable to some of the other titles today.
The biggest problem with SM was that Multi fell a little flat, which is the component that gives a game continued existence. Plus 40k is a niche market and a 40k game was released with about 3 or 4 other titles that were competing for the same market share and have existing 'audiences'.
#54
are you on some kinda drugs?!?! Renegade was made of win and stealth tank rush.Space Marine is AGES better than Renegade
WOAT? Renegade SP was at least on par with SM, MP was way cooler though - vehicles just make my day =)Space Marine is AGES better than Renegade
Warhammer 40K - 2012
Blood Angels - 2nd Company: W3 T1 L3
Dark Eldar - Kabal of the Blood-Dipped Spear: W3 T0 L1
Grey Knights - 3rd Brotherhood: W0 T1 L1
#56
i remember the golden days of being an invisible nod black hand and then trying my best to find and kill a havok. invisible sniper combo ftw!
#57
I was drawing a comparison of another famous RTS studio going off wild. Don't shoot me for it.
You should check out Priority Vox Channel Secundus, a blog!
Not even in the toe? I'll make it the pinky toe, you won't miss it.
Besides, didn't westwood die or get absorbed into EA a while before they made Renegade? Basically 'Westwood' was just a front name that EA used to make C&C games by that point.
While I'd take any info with a grain of salt regarding THQ's survivability, if they did drop, what would happen to the license to make GW games?
#59
Not quite. That graph goes back to 2007 but THQ didn't restructure to move away from the "kiddy" games until last year. I know because I had a number of friends and ex-workmates who were working at the Australian studios when they got shut down. THQ's share price was in decline long before the restructure. The restructure was probably a response to the declining share price more than anything.That is what has happened to THQ ever since it restructured and moved away from its "kiddy" games. Even Relic's games haven't saved the company or kept it floating, with the stock slumping since Company of Heroes - at this point it really is like watching the titanic sink.
Westwood died because it wasn't making enough games or selling. THQ isn't like Relic. Relic would die without THQ. THQ is a publisher like EA. THQ won't survive without their developers.Not even in the toe? I'll make it the pinky toe, you won't miss it.
Besides, didn't westwood die or get absorbed into EA a while before they made Renegade? Basically 'Westwood' was just a front name that EA used to make C&C games by that point.
While I'd take any info with a grain of salt regarding THQ's survivability, if they did drop, what would happen to the license to make GW games?
"Space is full of mysteries. For every planet there could life, for every dust there is history, for every galaxy there could be danger waiting for you to explore."
dnt worry westwood lovers, guys that made a renegade mod for some shooter or other is making a proper release now.
#62
Not necessarily. Relic has built some pretty good cred over the years. If THQ were to let them go, so to speak, Relic would need to try to survive on their own my marketing themselves around and showing builds to potential publishers in order to sign deals - this is what most developers that aren't owned by publishers need to do, and it's what Relic needed to do before THQ acquired them. It can also work the other way...a publisher wants a game made, then sends out the message they are looking for someone to make it and a handful of developers basically compete to sign the deal...whoever can convince the publisher that they can do the best possible job in the timeframe and budget.Relic would die without THQ.
A developer like Relic probably wouldn't have too much of a problem finding potential publishers for their games, one way or the other. Yes it'll be harder, as they won't have the THQ backbone to lean on, but they can certainly survive and survive well. Remember THQ only acquired Relic in 2004, Relic had done a few games (notably the Homeworld series) before that point.
If THQ is dead, Relic would have the choice. Bigfishgames or any other of those Indie publishers, Atari, Codemaster, Valve, EA, Rock Star games, Activision-Blizzard or cut down on budget for games being developed in order to be a publisher. Also 1C company or any of those European publishers.
I really can't imagine Rock Star(the publisher of GTA) and EA being the publisher for Relic.
I can't believe Dreamcatcher is dead. And bought out by JoWood too.
JoWood is official Bankrupt too.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/foru...res-Bankruptcy
SpellForce series is dead guys get it while you can. Also a fun tank game you may like is Panzer Elite Action(If you play World of Tanks I can suggest that game).
#64
I think EA would be quick to grab Relic if it was for sale, they need to strengthen their RTS base to compete with the likes of Blizzard.
I wouldn't want EA to grab Relic. They'd become Bioware Victory Vancouver...
Okay, can someone tell me what isn't niche? Only Modern Warfare? What the hell? If 40k is niche then I guess Assassin's Creed is niche too."40k is a niche market"
Oh and yes, I hope Relic survive this and keep doing what they do best: awesome RTS games. Like Homeworld, DOW and COH. But most of all I'd like to see a new Homeworld getting made. Niche or not. Perhaps if they free themselves of THQ and find a better publisher (or self-publish, or join up with Blackbird Interactive etc.), they'll remain the major force that they are in the RTS genre. Their only competition is Blizzard and perhaps EA with their C&C franchise. Others include Gas Powered Games (SupCom2) and Stardock (SOASE).
Perhaps it would have been the best if Relic took the Stardock route: make good quality games, get paid, make more games, listen to the community, get paid again, make more awesome games, etc...
I hate the fact that THQ made Relic do action games. Space Marine was good enough for me but except the final 5 minutes (the boss fight) nothing too memorable. Relic are masters of RTS (even RPG-RTSs)... Hhhh I'm really not gonna like it if Relic burn because of THQ's ways! :@
----------
Fire, you're just giving them ideas... :S
Question would the 40k go with Relic or stay with THQ? i am just wondering
Now you see, Here at the Imperium of Man. We only use, propane fueled Promethium. Thats a flame burning heretic i tell you Hwat!
I think its THQ that hold the licences for 40K. If so and THQ does shutdown/cut off Relic then they'll have some big problems. Of course the specifics of the contracts have hopefully got contingencies in them to protect parties in this eventuality of a split. Worst case is relic loses the rights and has to renegotiate their own licensing agreement with GW - and I've no idea what effect that would have on distribution of current products.
... I for one don't think THQ will hand over the 40k IP to Relic just like that... In which case Relic will be in lots of... brownies. It will be really bad and unjust to Relic to become stripped off their own franchises.
#70
Let's be clear. Relic is entirely OWNED by THQ. If THQ is sold, Relic will be part of that sale. If THQ folds completely (no buyers, nothing sold off), Relic is GONE.
All of Relic's created IPs (Homeworld, The Outfit, Company of Heroes) are wholly owned by THQ. Impossible Creatures possibly as well, with Microsoft possibly still owning a slice.
The WH IP is licensed to THQ NOT Relic.
That being said, Relic turns out generally high quality product, and is a well respected "Brand". THQ could very well sell them off... but I doubt it. They're one of the few good things in THQ's stable.
... I was just gonna say "Hey ÜberJumper's gotta know"... ninja'd me.Reading you now, that's not very optimistic. Hm. So Uber, what's your opinion on these rumors? To what extent are they founded? (I understand you may choose not to answer).
#72
The stock price is really all you need to know that THQ's not healthy. I've posted before that they're basically acting like gamblers betting it all trying to find the next big thing. THQ's on life support, so this rumour didn't surprise me at all. It may not be true, but at this point, it's almost inevitable that THQ's going to tank.
They bet heavily on the UDraw (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UDraw_GameTablet) which basically tanked from what I've heard (lot of money to build the hardware, not many sales). They do stupid things like spend a lot of money on Space Marine then seemingly drop the franchise. They've got Company of Heroes Online ramping up and in "Beta" when they cancel it when it should have been a no-brainer to replace Company of Heroes and could very well have generated a ton of money (where as currently Company of Heroes makes them nothing).
What I don't understand is how the entire C level of leadership of THQ still has their jobs after presiding over their ridiculous stock price fall.
Yeah this is exactly why I didn't dismiss the rumors right away, I've read this someplace else. And I wish I could provide an answer to all those questions, but... A "gambler" is perhaps sugarcoating it. The COH Online decision confused me too. I know about the uDraw also, but didn't know they cancelled it... And only yesterday I learned that Space Marine isn't getting a sequel. Also, their "new unannounced RTS" announcement is getting postponed three times, while I can't see how they hope to make a competitive and feasible MMO out of Dark Millenium... I mean, there's a whole bunch of competition out there: EVE, WoW, and now SW:TOR...? And even SW:TOR may flop... I don't know man, this seems pretty dire. If it wasn't for SR3 and the trickles from DoW/CoH... Bad...
----------
Although far-fetched, can it be that someone is deliberately doing this within THQ? The goal being "getting weak enough to be sold to EA or someone"? Why would they deliberately sabotage their own games? Or perhaps it is sheer incompetence or sheer bad luck... Or some kind of vested interest...
Also, their press-release can be read as a "buy us" pamphlet, bragging and advertising themselves and their good products while at the same time evading (for example) to state what their plans with the MMO are, and they also never explicitly denied getting sold or looking for buyers. They just basically said "we're not cancelling our 2014 lineup" and bragged about Saint's Row 3, and the kiddie games.
#74
yeap. and aliens landed in the sixties and we never went to the moon.Although far-fetched, can it be that someone is deliberately doing this within THQ? The goal being "getting weak enough to be sold to EA or someone"? Why would they deliberately sabotage their own games? Or perhaps it is sheer incompetence or sheer bad luck... Or some kind of vested interest...
Uhh, no, I'm actually a proponent for the idea that we did actually land on the Moon. Only halfwits and paranoids kinda question that. And non-science people, science noobs. (My god, the phrase). Anyhow, there's been some scandals in the gaming industry lately, like that guy with the gamepads (can't remember his name now). And I'd never underestimate human greed or what not... And I did say it is far-fetched. So, yeah. Take that Mantaray!
#76
haha. i was just gonna point out how conspiracy-ish that sounded
I feel that thq could move through this, if they can get them a money grinder, like wow and swtor up and churning. Just will have a little faith that something will go right.
#78
Again not necessarily. Relic can feasibly survive on their own without THQ. They may or may not need to change their name, but they can certainly survive on their own.If THQ folds completely (no buyers, nothing sold off), Relic is GONE.
I'd be interested to know the specifics of this actually. While THQ would own Dawn of War and Company of Heroes, unless the contract specifically said they acquired Homeworld as well I'd imagine that would still be owned by Sierra.All of Relic's created IPs (Homeworld, The Outfit, Company of Heroes) are wholly owned by THQ. Impossible Creatures possibly as well, with Microsoft possibly still owning a slice.
THQ and Relic Acquired the rights to the Homeworld franchise sometime around the release of CoH so 05-06'ish if i recall correctly. Though it was never stated whether the rights were transferred to Relic proper or if THQ held on to them.
THQ owns the rights to DoW(But they would need GW to be onboard completely to allow another publisher in on an established series, GW is very picky with their IP), CoH, & The Outfit. and possibly Homeworld as well.
It's very rare that a company survives total liquidation of its parent company, as they would have to completely restructure the company and basically rehire all their talent, draft new contracts, apply for a new buisness liscence, etc. More often than not the developer will split up and the employees will go their seperate ways.
#80
W_P if THQ went belly up, there is no relic. Yes the employees could try and band togeather and launch a startup or they could try and form a new independent studio but it wont be relic. I doubt they would have sufficent capital on hand to relaunch in their same location and would essentially be a startup company with some of the developers and crew from the company. Much like how many of the developers of barking dog and homeworld teams are now working at other studios like kereberos and the sins folks, etc. Frankly many of the people associated with DOW and COH are no longer at relic, jumper would be more knowledgeable in this but I was under the impression much of the design teams behind their early works are no longer at the company.
Look at it similar to what happened with ironlore. They were dissolved, if THQ goes belly up there wont be anything left. Now that is unlikely and a more likely scenario would be parts of THQ get parted off if there is a buyer. But that is a decision of THQ not the studios contained within them.
The IP as others have stated is the property of THQ. The studio responsible for it has no ownership of it, depending on how the contracts are decided and wrote.
The stock price does indeed tell the entire tale, but the important factor in the stock is the earnings and if their cashflow rather then the multiple of equity in the company. That extra stock price could have financed many more things thou. IT certainly is a bad thing for any buisness to have your stock drop that much and I share similar questions to jumper as to why management has not been sacked for it.
Those who walk through the shadows, seek not the light.
If you disagree with a moderational decision, follow this.
I have a great idea that would make Warhammer MMO very different and unique compare to other MMO's. Hoping it won't be a copy of WoW.
#82
White_Pointer:
THQ purchased Relic. Relic is not an independent studio like it was when it released Homeworld, Impossible Creatures, and Homeworld 2. Sierra, in exchange/ as part of the deal for publishing/funding Homeworld got first refusal rights for their next two projects (IC and Homeworld 2).
When THQ purchased Relic they got Relic and all their IP, Homeworld was owned by Sierra, not sure about IC and Microsoft. Ron Moravek, then studio manager of Relic post THQ buyout, with the help of THQ got the Homeworld rights back from Sierra (Vivendi Universal).
Unless Relic is sold off, they won't survive a a complete collapse of THQ. They have no money in the bank, as they ARE THQ.
Weavern's info about the design staff is correct. I think only Quinn Duffy remains from the Homeworld days. CoH, DoW/2, IC and HW2 lead designers are at Blizzard.
#83
Which is ironic, since DOW1's designer is lead on Diablo 3 (Jay Wilson) and DOW2's Lead Designer was working on WOW until he made Blizzard DOTA (Jonny Ebbert). I believe other talent headed to Bungie too, as they were recruiting.
Guess it's all on LinkedIn if anybody cares.
EDIT: Ok, so the rumour appears to be entirely disproven now thanks to the fact that THQ are still developing disney games.
#84
Heh, now i suddenly hope that Blizzard will bring out some sort of RTS that is not Starcraft/Warcraft. But chances of that are probably near zero.
I guess we can only hope that THQ somehow survives, seeing that Relics fate is linked to it. Seems that it is too important for THQ to let it go / sell it. A shame really, it reminds me of a drowning man pulling another man down with him in an attempt to stay afloat.
I'm still waiting for Warcraft IV with a new race and with it ignoring everything that happens in WoW and taking place after Warcraft III the Frozen Throne.
Which is never going to happen.
i should point out that stardock is the publisher for SOASE (ironclad is the developer) and funnily enough, stardock was also the publisher for gpg's Demigod
and stardock's last game as developer tanked. badly. (though beta up soon for the "sequel")
perhaps if relic were to go lower budget they could see if stardock wants to be publisher...
#87
Yankov:
Relic IS THQ, they don't go to other publishers. Now they might put something out on Stardock's distribution platform (as they do on Steam), but they'd not go to Stardock for funding (which is what the publisher traditionally does).
stardock doesn't have an online distribution platform anymore.. they sold that. eh.. because it's too successful. (which might render the publishing bit rather moot)
thing about relic and thq is that if thq is to go down, would there not be a possibility of a relic being spun off, if relic doesn't fit the bill of whoever buys thq? it's not like we've not seen developers being bought by publishers, then part company afterwards... for whatever reason.
obviously all this is rather moot. no one has a clue and if they really do, they will be redirecting you to the pr dept.
#89
That's what I indicated above. THQ could sell Relic independently, but I doubt they will. Microsoft's got a studio going in Vancouver, and I know they're getting devs applying from the local studios.
Bungie was purchased by Microsoft and later split off, so it's not entirely unheard of.
#90
i'd just like to say as Uber has in desperation been trying to tell people. THERE IS NO RELIC there is only THQ and one of it's development branches happens to be designated 'Relic'
to continue the analogy;
if THQ decides to split it's relic branch off relic might just die on the ground. but if it does get lucky and lands roots-down. it wont have anywhere near the water and minerals it used to create large glorious fruit for a few years,
But we can still dream!I'm still waiting for Warcraft IV with a new race and with it ignoring everything that happens in WoW and taking place after Warcraft III the Frozen Throne.
Which is never going to happen.
Yankov - Stardock does have an online distribution system, but its only scaled for their own products now, rather than being an open distribution for other developers. Side bonus is that they managed to keep their connection speeds from when they owned impulse, thus it gives a crazy fast download speed because its only catering for a tiny number of games.
We can always make our own warcraft 4, change names around, make it rarcraft, change orks to sporks, and make the graphics really crappy. Sigh who am I kindding bye bye homeworld bye bye warcraft
2K anyone?
Works for me ^^invisible sniper combo ftw!
#94
And how would that fit in with C&C generals 2 ? i guess they could immediately go work on the dlc and expansions...I think EA would be quick to grab Relic if it was for sale, they need to strengthen their RTS base to compete with the likes of Blizzard.
*mildly disgusted with negative price discrimination*
Despite the fact that the RTS genre is no where near as popular as the FPS genre is at the moment, and also due to the fact that Relic have made several successful strategy games in the past, I would imagine it could work like how DICE and the Medal of Honour team do under the EA label. Just because EA has more then one studio able to develop FPS games does not make them redundant if they cater to different spectrum of the FPS audience with their varying franchises, not everyone likes Battlefield for example despite the fact they previously liked Medal of Honour (as weird as that sounds). The same can apply to strategy games, not everyone likes Command & Conquer's gameplay or overarching theme so another strategy game under the EA brand could cater for those on the other side of the spectrum. That doesn't even take in to account that if you give people two quality strategy games they might be likely to buy both anyhow, it is not like there is the same saturation of RTS games competing for the same dollar as there is with FPS games at the moment.
Even if Relic were bought by EA and put to work on the C&C franchise it could be like when Westwood and Westwood Pacific(?) were alive, while Westwood were supporting their latest newly released C&C game Westwood Pacific were busy developing the next game in the C&C franchise. So assuming they were bought by EA they might not necessarily be stuck on working on DLC and expansions for EA's existing strategy franchises, or franchise rather since EA really only have C&C off memory.
One percent of the Blood Gods consume 99 percent of the blood and skulls. #OccupyTheSkullThrone
"Repent! For Tomorrow You Shall Die!"
STEAM & GFWL: Malkael (Brother Malkael)
@ Imperial Honour
EA would probably allow Relic to continue DoW even allow them to make HW3 if they bought the licenses. Could later on ruin it like C&C Red Alert and C&C4.
#97
Only if EA also acquired the 40k license from Games Workshop.EA would probably allow Relic to continue DoW
yeah.. i know that.. but for the purpose of this thread, it might as well not have one if it's not for 3rd parties. brad isn't going to build another impulse any time soon (unless he's been telling a load of porkies about selling impulse)
Here's THQ's new business brief. The good news is this
http://www.businesswire.com/news/hom...y-High-QualityThe company’s five internal studios are developing games aligned to several of THQ’s key franchises, including the upcoming launch of UFC® Undisputed™ 3 and Darksiders® II, as well as Company of Heroes, inSANE, Saints Row, Warhammer 40,000, and the new title from Patrice Désilets and his team
Then there's this open letter to the THQ board of Directors with some not so good mumblings...
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=460203
#100
Oh crap, I completely forgot about the assassins creed guy being at THQ now. I guess with iNsane, devils third and him, THQ are slowly building up.
In other news, THQ proceeded to drop kids licensed games. Looks like Brave will be the last Disney title!
Finally, that letter - it seems to echo what UberJumper has said. Ignoring the grammar (which anybody can screw up, and just makes it look more human, i suspect this guy just lost his job/failed an interview and wrote it while pissed off, then immediately hit the send button before reading) it sounds like somebody observant has decided to start a fire under the board's arse. Don't think you normally see this sort of stuff, but its still very revealing of the internal state of the company, and morale. Some of those numbers scare me however - it sounds like people are getting paid far too much for fuck all work.
Also, one more time : Announce a new Relic game already! Jesus Christ!
Last edited by Hirmetrium; 26th Jan 12 at 5:56 AM.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
