Looks Like Radical Entertainment Shut Down

James Heller : "Fuck This Shit"

go look at the games these guys have made over the years, there is some truly terrible stuff there, EX: Bebes kids...

@HatKing said:

@Maystack said:

There seems to be a lot of companies shutting down recently. Is the games industry slowly collapsing? I don't want that to happen >.>

It's changing, not collapsing. It's beginning to seem like the middle-tier of games is being phased out. Soon we'll probably only see the massive-budget franchises and the indie games. There's just not enough of a place for the bigger games that sell just okay. It's why THQ is in so much trouble. They have a lot of pretty good games. Other than Saints Row, and really that's debatable, they don't have any massive franchises. It's not a remark on the quality of the games, THQ has put out some fantastic products, but they don't sell particularly well.

This is exactly what I'm thinking. It's a shame really, since a lot of us on these forums enjoy those middle-tier games the most -- high budget titles not aimed at soccer moms or bro gamers, that is. I guess we'll have to settle for mainstream bastardized hardcore games now (Skyrim, Dragon Age 2).

Goddammit. Prototype had one of the most intriguing stories I've ever played....

Sad news. While the Prototype games weren't stellar, they were decent games, and far from terrible. I agree they were quite similar to Infamous, and having the first Prototype released right about the same time as Infamous 1 certainly didn't help. Regardless, this is sad news, and foreboding for the rest of the industry.

The sky-high cost of current and next-gen game development is just so high right now that anything less then a million plus selling game just doesn't cut it anymore, and spells disaster for the the development company. This frustrates and scares me as both an aspiring developer and a gamer.

I hope my fate isn't to pour my heart and soul into a game I truly believe in, like many of these folks surely did, only to have it sell poorly and be forced to make payroll programs the rest of my career; or moving from failed game to failed game never finding a successful IP. That doesn't look good on one's resume, and certainly isn't good for one's soul.

Sounds kinda messed up

@Berserker6666: did you ever play the original Prototype? There where Game Crazy billboards all over that game.

Sad to hear. The Simpsons Hit & Run was my favorite Radical title.

It sucks when a company closes down, but in this case, I'm hoping it'll just mean that those people go on to make better games elsewhere.

Something screwy was happening in the development of those games where they could've been awesome but just... weren't. I'm glad that they're not working for Activison anymore though.

You know what, It's EA douches to the rescue. That's what they're good for anyway. Buying out small hapless companies n slave laboring them to death. If they do buy Radical, they prototype 3 will be smudged with billboard ads n DLCs.

Aww that sucks, I loved the Prototype games :[

Bad news for another development studio but really the quality and originality of the product is to blame. Prototype was a poor mans Infamous in every way.

So by working on other Actvision games they mean Call of Duty right

@Jeffsekai said:

If you didn't want to shut down, then you shouldn't have made a bad video game!

That's what saved Looking Glass Studios!

oh.

Wasn't a huge fan of their games but like others have pointed out, it's a big blow to the Vancouver dev scene. Here's hoping a lot of these people aren't forced to relocate.

Another studio bites the dust. It's sad that this seems to happen more and more.

@CJduke said:

@Manhattan_Project said:

@Xeirus said:

@CJduke: Yup, sponsoring a UFC event is all the advertising you need... /not

I feels its okay to call you a moron. So I will do just that.

You're a moron. : )

Thank you

Clever, you're as clever as Activision, congrats

Bummer to hear that any studio shut down. Wish them all the best of luck in there future computer hating simulations

@Nomin: They confirmed on their Facebook page that the PC version for Prototype 2 is still coming out July 24th, but that's probably going to be it for them. :(

@Little_Socrates said:

Sad to hear. The Simpsons Hit & Run was my favorite Radical title.

Oh God, they did make Simpsons Hit & Run...fuck, now I'm sad. Thanks a lot Socrates. Thankfully, Company of Heroes 2. GET HYPE!

@SmilingPig said:

The prototypes where decent B titles. I guess Activision expect blizzard result from all its companies.

Well Prototype 2 sold under a million units on all consoles combined so I'm assuming it did not make back it's budget.

So is this the 5th studio that'll be working on CoD as a supplement to Treyarch? :/

@Manhattan_Project said:

@Xeirus said:

@CJduke: Yup, sponsoring a UFC event is all the advertising you need... /not

I feels its okay to call you a moron. So I will do just that.

You're a moron. : )

Thank you

So I guess Prototype 2 for PC is vaporized.

I will miss them for sure, they were a pioneer of game development scene in Vancouver area. If company like Radical can't exist as an independent company, then there's little hope of others managing to survive in this rapidly diminishing market. Last month was Slant Six. Who's next, Relic? United Front? It seems the current burden of real estate prices is simply too high to support this kind of industry, with tax subsidies lagging behind Ontario and Quebec. One can't simply follow traditional model of game development anymore, most bright minds finding outlet in smaller ventures such as mobile or indie gaming and crowd funding endeavours. Used to be that developers or upstarts were given some leeway to whiff their bats once in an odd while; now if it isn't a gland slam at every bat, might as well close up shop before suffering the humiliation of finding your office locked one day and given boxes to rummage through your belongings.

@Xeirus said:

@CJduke: Yup, sponsoring a UFC event is all the advertising you need... /not

I feels its okay to call you a moron. So I will do just that.

You're a moron. : )

So they are now making CoD maps?

They could make it an annual franchise, ergo Radical was doomed from the start. Hopefully the guys will move around and form a smaller studio to put out something downloadable and interesting.

Spotty track record to say the least, its bad for most of the people there you can only work with the project your given I guess.

I guess that Dan Harmon endorsement just wasn't enough.

Thats a shame.  They had some good stuff.  I wonder what changes they made or didn't make in the past few years that brought this.  

@Murdoc_: Sad but true. I really liked both Prototype games. I haven't finished the second game yet. But I hope to do so soon. Should we add the state of the video game industry to another thing President Obama f---ed up in America? We added Obamacare and even the current economy. What else shall the American people blame the liberals for?

@CJduke: Yup, sponsoring a UFC event is all the advertising you need... /not

@HarlequinRiot:

It's more. With the price of development rising for the mass market games and the change in technology on the 360 and ps3 we saw a lot more closures and buy outs then ever before. It really put more power into the publishers hands and even among publishers we saw the smaller ones go under or get bought.

On the plus side the "backlash" has been a strong foundation for garage developers coupled with more options for digital distribution, so it's not all shit just yet.

I'd be interested in seeing how many game development studios have closed each from about 1990 on. It seems like so many more are closing now, but I don't really know if it's more than other generations.

Man, I hate it when gaming companies get shut down. This is depressing news.

@Rox360 said:

@Gremmel said:

1991-2012? Maybe not but all your money into one basket ey...

Who keeps money in a basket...?

No kidding. That's like the worst place to put your money. Baskets are meant for like... picnic snacks. Or fruit. One might even say eggs. But money? No sir.

@AngeTheDude said:

@Xeirus said:

@CJduke said:

@Manhattan_Project said:

@Xeirus said:

@AngeTheDude said:

I like how Activision complains that their games didn't find an audience yet they didn't even bother to advertise for Prototype 2 AT ALL.

Exactly what I was thinking, how the hell do you expect to sell if no one even knows the damn thing is out?

Not that it was a good game or anything, but jesus man...

Are you guys serious? They ran commercials for the game on everything from ESPN to A&E. In the middle of playoff games and Storage Wars. A shitload of them.

LOL seriously, I was watching a UFC pay per view and it was sponsored by Prototype 2 for gods sake. Not to mention all those live action commercials. And there were ads all over the internet, how did you guys miss all that?

All over the net? I spend plenty of time online and I never saw a single spot for it. They even mentioned it on the bombcast that they hadn't seen any either. I know I'm not alone...

Prototype 2 had NO net buzz whatsoever. TV is so fractured at this point that it is impossible to advertise to every demographic you want. If even the Bombcasters didn't know that Prototype 2 was coming out, then something was definitely amiss.

I think by sponsoring a UFC pay per view with Prototype 2 commercials Activision was doing its part. The game had no buzz whatsoever because Prototype 1 wasn't a very good game so no one even cared that there was going to be a prototype 2 to begin with. I don't think the GB crew didn't know Prototype 2 was coming out because of bad advertising, but because they just didn't care about the game and weren't excited for it.

"supporting other existing Activision Publishing projects"
 
So CoD map packs then.

Another one bites the dust, modern game development is greaaaaat.

And COD has a new DLC studio

It's unfortunate to hear any type of closure no matter who the team is. I hope all the employees find jobs soon.

Make best-selling-game-of-month, get shut down.
 
Remember kids, Japan is supposed to be doing WORSE than this. Somehow.

That sucks...I enjoy the Prototype games even thought they do have their issues.

@Xeirus said:

@CJduke said:

@Manhattan_Project said:

@Xeirus said:

@AngeTheDude said:

I like how Activision complains that their games didn't find an audience yet they didn't even bother to advertise for Prototype 2 AT ALL.

Exactly what I was thinking, how the hell do you expect to sell if no one even knows the damn thing is out?

Not that it was a good game or anything, but jesus man...

Are you guys serious? They ran commercials for the game on everything from ESPN to A&E. In the middle of playoff games and Storage Wars. A shitload of them.

LOL seriously, I was watching a UFC pay per view and it was sponsored by Prototype 2 for gods sake. Not to mention all those live action commercials. And there were ads all over the internet, how did you guys miss all that?

All over the net? I spend plenty of time online and I never saw a single spot for it. They even mentioned it on the bombcast that they hadn't seen any either. I know I'm not alone...

Prototype 2 had NO net buzz whatsoever. TV is so fractured at this point that it is impossible to advertise to every demographic you want. If even the Bombcasters didn't know that Prototype 2 was coming out, then something was definitely amiss.

I hope one day we'll see articles like this concerning Activision and EA.

Ahh, what a glorious day that would be.

The prototypes where decent B titles. I guess Activision expect blizzard result from all its companies.

@CJduke said:

@Manhattan_Project said:

@Xeirus said:

@AngeTheDude said:

I like how Activision complains that their games didn't find an audience yet they didn't even bother to advertise for Prototype 2 AT ALL.

Exactly what I was thinking, how the hell do you expect to sell if no one even knows the damn thing is out?

Not that it was a good game or anything, but jesus man...

Are you guys serious? They ran commercials for the game on everything from ESPN to A&E. In the middle of playoff games and Storage Wars. A shitload of them.

LOL seriously, I was watching a UFC pay per view and it was sponsored by Prototype 2 for gods sake. Not to mention all those live action commercials. And there were ads all over the internet, how did you guys miss all that?

All over the net? I spend plenty of time online and I never saw a single spot for it. They even mentioned it on the bombcast that they hadn't seen any either. I know I'm not alone...

@Manhattan_Project said:

@Xeirus said:

@AngeTheDude said:

I like how Activision complains that their games didn't find an audience yet they didn't even bother to advertise for Prototype 2 AT ALL.

Exactly what I was thinking, how the hell do you expect to sell if no one even knows the damn thing is out?

Not that it was a good game or anything, but jesus man...

Are you guys serious? They ran commercials for the game on everything from ESPN to A&E. In the middle of playoff games and Storage Wars. A shitload of them.

I haven't watched TV in like 2 years, I don't even know anyone who regularly watches...

@vinsanityv22 said:

As such, some employees will remain working for Radical Entertainment supporting other existing Activision Publishing projects, but the studio will cease development of its own games going forward.

Translation: Another Activision-owned developer forced into Call of Duty Map Pack slavery. God this fucking company is awful. When will the COD Bubble pop? Kotick and co. are quickly destroying everything they have EXCEPT that one franchise - when it falls, they're screwed.

I don't even like Prototype, but Radical was a good studio. Especially when they made stuff like Crash Bandicoot games - Crash Tag Team Racing and Crash of the Titans (believe it or not; quality games). Stuff like Spimpsons Hit and Run, Scarface...even Dark Summit and Mario is Missing were interesting. This company didn't deserve to bite it...especially when Prototype 2 sold over a million units between the 360, PS3 and PC SKUs. Yeah, it didn't sell as well as the first one, but I'm sick of studios shipping million-selling games and getting closed down.

There is something wrong with the industry when that is grounds for shutting a studio down!

"Spimpsons Hit and Run" Now THAT I would play ;P