Free Radical Design closing doors according to GamesIndustry.biz and others

[patjuan32]

Dodece said:
I do not view Haze as being the cause of the probable downfall. I view the game as merely being a symptom of the disease. Which eventually killed the company. Since the company was ailing it would be little surprise if development was failing. Basically the game was shitty, because the staff was having a shitty time. Which is as good an explanation for Haze as anything else. Shitty management is probably to blame. Making poor strategic choices, poor financial choices, and in the end was probably abusive to the employees. Given the origins of this developer it is not at all surprising if they did implode due to internal conflict.

For all the mention of Nintendo. I would say that makes little to no sense. The most logical conclusion would be Microsoft coming to the rescue. For no other reason then Lionhead, and Rare being right down the road. If nothing else its highly likely that both these studios will claim a fair share of the terminated. However others have said it the developer has little of value. The name brand recognition has been poisoned, and the intellectual properties are of no real merit. A word to the wise with developers a good franchise starts with a good story. Not with a good premise. You cannot kill a good story.

Microsoft just closed Ensemble Studios in order to make their gaming division profitable. Why would they want to take on more employees. Secondly, Microsoft has declared Rare to be a casaul developer. Maybe it's just for this gen but who knows?

 

Nintendo is a very logical choice. Iwata stated that Nintendo needs to develop relationships with developers in Europe. This would give them a chance to do that. Secondly, Nintendo has the Q Fund which they use to invest in Studios, it's actually part of their business. Last Gen they invested in Game Designer's Studio, which was a subsidary of Square before they merged with Enix and Nintendo EAD Tokyo. This gen they spent 26 million to open an office in South korea. They also used the Q Fund to invest in their second party studios like Camelot and others. The most important happening in the purchase of a studio is that the team can stay together. Rare and Lionhead only have so many positions available and will not be able to absorb all the talent.