I saw that article earlier today as well. Very disappointing. I mean, this is pretty much what we figured; Take-Two assumed that the Wii would be a flop, panicked when they saw the tremendous Wii sales (and slow PS3 sales) into announcing a version, then realized that there weren't enough developer resources to get it done. Firaxis Games is a pretty small developer; I should know, since I worked there in 2005.
I'm a humongous fan of the Civilization series, so I'd like to see this game be successful. However, I can't avoid the feeling that this is the wrong game on the wrong platform, like Viva Pinata on the 360. The slow pacing of turn-based strategy games doesn't lend itself well to the 360's demographics. Ever wonder why there are lots of turn-based strategy games on the DS, and practically none on the PSP? There's a good reason for that.
On the Civilization forums I frequent, there's been a lot of resentment over the cancellation of the Wii version. A lot of Civ fans are hardcore PC jerks, who look down there noses at all consoles to begin with, so the thought of buying a "dumbed-down" version of Civ for the 360/PS3 doesn't hold much appeal. The anecdotal evidence I've read suggests that a lot of these individuals were more open to a Wii version, simply because of the mouse pointer functionality. Anyway, I don't know how this game will end up selling. I hope it will manage 500k, but I'm worried it might be totally ignored.
End of 2008 totals: Wii 42m, 360 24m, PS3 18.5m (made Jan. 4, 2008)
