Last week, cdv Software Entertainment announced that the Xbox 360 edition of Ascaron Entertainment's Sacred 2: Fallen Angel had gone gold and was expected to ship alongside the PlayStation 3 edition this May. That game's release apparently couldn't come soon enough, however, as Ascaron confirmed today that it has filed for bankruptcy protection in its native Germany. "After four years developing Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, an extended development delay made it necessary for Ascaron to go into administration," the developer said in a statement. "Even with the high personal commitment of all Ascaron employees, it was not possible to make up for this delay." The German developer also said that it has entered into negotiations with "several well-known interested parties to discuss a positive takeover." Ascaron noted that its bankruptcy filing will not impact the release of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, saying that development on both console editions has now wrapped and reconfirming their May release. Ascaron's Heiko tom Felde also emphasized that the PC edition of Sacred 2--released in November 2008--will see no interruption with its online multiplayer component or SecuROM game activation software. Indeed, assuming Ascaron resolves its monetary issues, the game maker said it is already at work on an expansion to the PC game. The developer also confirmed that it has begun development on a full-fledged follow-up, Sacred 3. No other details on either project were revealed.

I hate this kind of news. I don't want to see any game developers to be bankrupt.

LINK

That's no good.

Quick, someone blame piracy.

OT: They took too long and too much money for a single project when they are a small company.

I would be more inclinded to blame their delay and downfall due to including HD consoles.

4 years is way too long to make a Diablo clone for such a small company. Game like this should take no more than 1.5 years.

Another one for the pile....

How many developers and publishers will we have by the end of this gen?

The ones that find cheaper ways to produce games IE on different platforms or download games.

The problem with making download games is that they're faster to develop, so you need to be original and come up with new ideas for games all the time.

Another way is to make PS360 games with lower-quality graphics, but I think we all know that's not gonna happen... not easily at least.

I saw an editorial where they discussed making full 2D console games, ones that are epic and large scale like Link to the Past but helped by the power of the more powerful consoles, the advantages are lower development costs, being able to release on all consoles, and just a low risk while still apeasing the core gamers.  They did an informal survey and didn't find a core gamer that wouldn't mind some really nice 2D console games.

That would be great as far as I'm concerned. I miss 2D and simpler 3D games which are often more interesting and addictive than the high-production values 3D games of today.

Yeah I enjoy 2D games a lot which was a big reason I picked up a Wii, you can download so many older 2D games that were so addictive, I bought Galaga for the millionth time on Wii, just games like that have to be done in a 2D plane and more really need to come. 

There really is no downfall to 2D games and simple 3D, if you're trying to make a low budget game on the PS3 and 360 why not make it with simple graphics, it's worked out for Ninponichi amaziningly well, they might not get the highest sales in the world but they're making a profit, and really why would you take the risk if you're sure your game won't get the sales of a CoD4 or a MGS4?