Posts tagged Sadness
Hell Yeah! developer Arkedo closes its doors
Feb 23rd
Just days after the iOS release of Hell Yeah! Pocket Inferno, the quirky yet tiny indie developer Arkedo Studios has sadly broken up. While there are a couple more finished titles that are in the pipeline for release, production at the studio is officially kaput.
On his blog, co-founder Aurelien Regard cited dwindling resources as the reason for the split,
It has been decided to disband the team when there still was enough money to get good conditions for everyone, rather than replace permanent positions with interns and a bad atmosphere. As in any human matter, it is important to know when to stop, to get a clean situation. It is precisely because we did this at this time that everyone from Arkedo is still having a good time together, even after it’s officially over.
At the very least, this is an admirable way to handle such a closing. When so many larger studios are satisfied with gouging their content and exploiting their employees to prolong the inevitable, it’s nice to see Arkedo handle things so intelligently.
That said, this news is really quite heartbreaking. While Hell Yeah! failed to make the splash many of us were expecting, the games these guys thought up were always bursting with distinctive character and ambition. Go play Big Bang Mini if you need proof. I’ve grown to be a bit of a fan of their work, and it’s truly disheartening to see them stamped out so abruptly.
[Source: Game Informer]
Cyber Trooper Virtual On and Virtua Striker rereleases are not coming out West
Jan 31st
A lot of Sega fans were pretty elated with the news that select Model 2 classics would be receiving new life in the form of digital rereleases on PSN and XBLA. Virtua Fighter 2 reminded us of the roots of 3D fighting, and Fighting Vipers finally gave us less experienced fighting fans (myself included) a chance to experience one of the genre’s forgotten gems. Sonic: The Fighters…was…well…Sonic: The Fighters.
Now, after happily digesting those gaming morsels, we’re ready for some more. Unfortunately, when (or if) something comes, it probably won’t be the robot brawling classic Cyber Trooper Virtual On or the arcadey soccer game Virtua Striker. After revealing that both of these games would be hitting digital download services in Japan, Sega announced yesterday that there are no plans for releases out West.
Considering the disappointing performances of Fighting Vipers and Virtua Fighter 2 on US sales charts, I suppose I can’t say I’m surprised at this news. All the same, it’s damn disappointing. What has the world come to when a game about giant robots punching each other isn’t considered viable in every market everywhere?
[Source: Joystiq]
Sega officially closes European and Australian offices
Jun 28th
The rumors have been circulating for a while now, but as of today, the news is official: Sega Europe and Australia are now closed. While the UK offices will remain open as Sega’s European nerve center, distribution has been spread to a number of different parties, with Koch Media and Level03 handling territories in Europe and 5 Star taking over for Australia.
Despite the sad news, Sega Europe’s COO Jurgen Post seems optimistic for the publisher’s future:
“SEGA is entering a new and exciting phase that will position the company as a content led organisation maximising sales with strong and balanced IP such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Total War, Football Manager and the Aliens franchise. The company will benefit from a clear focus and realigned strategy for our digital business and packaged goods and we are confident that this will lead to a successful future.”
With the new focus on digital games and popular IPs, it’s hardly surprising that Sega is taking some very deep cuts now, but I am very curious to see how this will affect the publisher’s work with studios like Creative Assembly and Sumo Digital.
That being said, it’s always heartbreaking when so many people lose their jobs, and I think I speak for any Sega Addict when I say that our hearts go out to anyone personally affected by these closures. Our best wishes to all of you, and thank you for everything you’ve given us Sega fans. Truly sad news indeed.
[Source: IGN]
20,000 copies of Binary Domain sold in March
Apr 14th
The NPD has released the sales numbers for Binary Domain in March and they aren’t good. With only 20,000 sold it’s no surprise why Sega has made the recent decision to drastically cut the amount of big budget physically released games they publish. From my perspective, it’s extremely unfortunate that a new IP as good as Binary Domain has come out to no fanfare especially compared to the 1.3 million copies of Mass Effect 3 sold in March. This is just further proof of both how much of an effect big marketing campaigns can have for a game and why publishers are scared of creating new IP’s.
I would have loved to see what that sales number would have been if Sega had marketed Binary Domain a little better. It still would have had tough competition coming out in the same month as Mass Effect 3 but at least the average gamer would have known it exists.
[Source: Joystiq]
