omg. i know so many people who work there.

@AlbinoJerk said:

Jesus christ. Why do people feel the need to constantly bitch about GB staff. I've been on here to watch people complain about Vinny, Brad, Patrick, various interns, etc, every time they add new crew-members. Just get over yourselves. It is callous, mean, and unnecessary. They aren't going to get rid of the people you don't like just because you are a raging dick on the comments of every video. If they listened to the comments, there would be only Jeff putting out Jar-Time on YouTube until he died of alcohol poisoning. If you would combine all the negative, hateful comments together into one infuriating post, they would say "I love Giant Bomb except Vinny, Drew, Dave, Ryan, Patrick, Brad, Kessler, and Alex." Shut the fuck up or leave. I understand that posting this makes the whole problem worse, but I have been watching these mean-spirited assholes post this shit for years. This is not white-knighting. This is a violent rage at the people in this world that seem intent at making it a crueler, more cynical place. Nobody say "welcome to the internet", because this shit has repercussions. The boors and the malicious are attempting to destroy all that is noble in the human spirit by creating a culture of destruction. Apathy is one thing, this is active aggression towards other thinking, feeling creatures. To hell with your judgement and your idle, purposeless spite. Anybody who cares about living in a world where people respect and value others, but think that the internet is a vacuum where you can act however you want without impact on the real world, think again. Culture is the sum of all communication, art and ideals. Everything adds up and poisons the whole.

You were able to put into words what I've been feeling for quite some time now. Couldn't agree more.

This is truly insane when I think about how good KOA was.

What kind of world do we live in were 1.2 million sales of a new IP is bad?

@SimplyTron said:

@zombie2011 said:

@SimplyTron said:

@UnrealDP said:

@Jace said:

CBS, please go grab Rich. GB needs a decent east coast correspondent. Most of the GB community already loves the guy, he would be a great fit.

Real classy, mate. Way to be a dick...

Sorry but he is right. I mean, this whole story just reeks of someone just reading game forums and other sites to write their own article. Check out patricks journalistic work and interviews to see how its done.

Alex reports news, and this is news. Some people (like me) don't go to other game sites, they rely on GB for everything related to video games. Where is Patricks coverage of this? Oh right, there is none so fuck off.

Whatevers man. You been brainwashed. Imagine the possibilities if Rich actually wrote this stuff and how united the community would be. No more fighting. No more suffering. No more eyes rolling when something unfunny is said or written. We would have peace.

All I meant by "decent" is well-liked. Rich seems to be liked by the majority of the community. While I personally have no problem with Alex's writing/reporting, it's no secret that the community is divided on him. That fucking panel.... but I digress.

Anyway, I meant no disrespect to Alex. It's just that Rich has a lot of people pulling for him in the GB community and it would be great to see him here.

@drakesfortune said:

Oh gee wow, you mean the government doesn't know anything about the video game industry, or how to pick winners and losers? Shocking! Gee, let's have them run our healthcare system too!

The government is completely inept at running things. So the idea that taxpayers should guarantee 75 million dollars, and invest in video game companies, is silly. This was inevitable. Anyone who knew anything about MMO's, Kingdoms of Amalur, and video games, would have known to stay the heck away from investing 75 mil into it. Or backing it up, or whatever. That Kurt Schilling was attached to it, a baseball player, should have been an even bigger warning. Would any of these hapless politicians invested $10 of their own money in this business? Doubtful.

But hey, it's just the taxpayer's money. Just your money. Who cares about being a good steward of that. That's how we end up with public unions getting insane deals, and states like California where the high income earners are fleeing in droves, the state can't raise taxes high enough to cover the costs of union pensions and health care, and tax revenue, despite being hiked to a ridiculous degree, is plummeting. Guess what, politicians stink at making wise business decisions. This is also what happens when unions negotiate deals using taxpayer money, with the Democrats they help elect. That's the reason FDR was against public sector unions, and was very pro private sector unions. He knew the corruption and stupidity that would ensue if public unions were allowed to exist.

You sir, need to learn a little something about Rhode Island state politics. None of this would surprise or even disturb you. This is basically a once a month thing, or more.

The basic expectations and rules don't even apply there. It's like the wild west of backroom deals.

I'll be honest. I kind of expected this. What they considered to be their first product was going to be an MMO. They openly said that the purpose of amalur and anything else they did was to fund their actual game. I would say the chances of an mmo succeeding, particularly as a companies first product, to be almost zero. I just think it was a terrible business decision.

That's a shame that stuff shouldn't not involve game companies... damn! publishers ruining everything if only we could buy the games directly from the developers.

Sad news. Good luck to all those folks.

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Oh gee wow, you mean the government doesn't know anything about the video game industry, or how to pick winners and losers? Shocking! Gee, let's have them run our healthcare system too!

The government is completely inept at running things. So the idea that taxpayers should guarantee 75 million dollars, and invest in video game companies, is silly. This was inevitable. Anyone who knew anything about MMO's, Kingdoms of Amalur, and video games, would have known to stay the heck away from investing 75 mil into it. Or backing it up, or whatever. That Kurt Schilling was attached to it, a baseball player, should have been an even bigger warning. Would any of these hapless politicians invested $10 of their own money in this business? Doubtful.

But hey, it's just the taxpayer's money. Just your money. Who cares about being a good steward of that. That's how we end up with public unions getting insane deals, and states like California where the high income earners are fleeing in droves, the state can't raise taxes high enough to cover the costs of union pensions and health care, and tax revenue, despite being hiked to a ridiculous degree, is plummeting. Guess what, politicians stink at making wise business decisions. This is also what happens when unions negotiate deals using taxpayer money, with the Democrats they help elect. That's the reason FDR was against public sector unions, and was very pro private sector unions. He knew the corruption and stupidity that would ensue if public unions were allowed to exist.

@AngelN7 said:

That's a shame that stuff shouldn't not involve game companies... damn! publishers ruining everything if only we could buy the games directly from the developers.

As much as I agree with the thesis that direct developer-customer relationship is ideal, I don't really think you can blame the publishers for not wanting to get on board with 38. The only thing they've proven they can do is spend money hand-over-fist with absolutely no results.

@iceman228433 said:

What kind of world do we live in were 1.2 million sales of a new IP is bad?

A very sad and hit-driven one indeed.

@RetroVirus said:

@iceman228433 said:

What kind of world do we live in were 1.2 million sales of a new IP is bad?

A very sad and hit-driven one indeed.

One where development costs are five times higher than years before. One where you need to spend tens of millions of dollars just to have your game look okay.

Don't ask other people to lose money for your entertainment.

@lmenzol: steam sales are still sales , not used copies .. people "waiting" to buy a game for cheap is better than not supporting the developer at all. damn those steam assholes for actually buying games that they would otherwise never buy

@AlbinoJerk said:

Jesus christ. Why do people feel the need to constantly bitch about GB staff. I've been on here to watch people complain about Vinny, Brad, Patrick, various interns, etc, every time they add new crew-members. Just get over yourselves. It is callous, mean, and unnecessary. They aren't going to get rid of the people you don't like just because you are a raging dick on the comments of every video. If they listened to the comments, there would be only Jeff putting out Jar-Time on YouTube until he died of alcohol poisoning. If you would combine all the negative, hateful comments together into one infuriating post, they would say "I love Giant Bomb except Vinny, Drew, Dave, Ryan, Patrick, Brad, Kessler, and Alex." Shut the fuck up or leave. I understand that posting this makes the whole problem worse, but I have been watching these mean-spirited assholes post this shit for years. This is not white-knighting. This is a violent rage at the people in this world that seem intent at making it a crueler, more cynical place. Nobody say "welcome to the internet", because this shit has repercussions. The boors and the malicious are attempting to destroy all that is noble in the human spirit by creating a culture of destruction. Apathy is one thing, this is active aggression towards other thinking, feeling creatures. To hell with your judgement and your idle, purposeless spite. Anybody who cares about living in a world where people respect and value others, but think that the internet is a vacuum where you can act however you want without impact on the real world, think again. Culture is the sum of all communication, art and ideals. Everything adds up and poisons the whole.

Very well written and I couldn't agree more. Bravo.

I'm sorry, Rich. I bought your game...

I really enjoyed KoA. It wasn't perfect, but for what it was, it was great. With all that talent attached to it, I think they over-promised and under-delivered, though. This again goes to show that the gov't shouldn't be lending, or guaranteeing loans, to businesses. Tax payers deserve better. This is like Solyndra for the gaming world.

@Fire_Marshall_Bill said:

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well there goes my hopes for Rise of Nations 2...

@Brodehouse said:

@AngelN7 said:

That's a shame that stuff shouldn't not involve game companies... damn! publishers ruining everything if only we could buy the games directly from the developers.

As much as I agree with the thesis that direct developer-customer relationship is ideal, I don't really think you can blame the publishers for not wanting to get on board with 38. The only thing they've proven they can do is spend money hand-over-fist with absolutely no results.

Yeah but this isn't the only case where a developer is affected by the business side of things in the industry (sure they also had a part in their own demise by not delivering with the game , even though the game wasn't bad quality wise) but still is pretty shity that developers who make the thing we care about end up paying for the 'mistakes' of the publisher

@theredcoat24: Man Rise of Nations was an amazing game! Yea it's too bad we will never see that now.

If they laid off the entire staff, they are about as good as bankrupt.

I thought KoA:R was an okay game. But I suppose they needed it to sell better than it did, especially if they were planning to make an MMO. I wonder what will happen to the Kingdoms of Amalur setting - perhaps they'll sell the IP to another game company? There were a few neat ideas in that game's universe.

Well. This is a shitty day for some.

I suggest hiring Rich Gallup back? Form the Tri-Force of video production (Vinny, Drew, Rich)!

Holy crap, guys. Joystiq just reported that a whole bunch of studios are on twitter trying to help out the guys at 38!!!

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/05/24/industry-rallies-to-get-former-38-studios-big-huge-games-staff/

apparently #38jobs is trending on twitter.

@AlbinoJerk: Agreed a thousand percent.

Every god damn article and video on this site has someone complaining about a member of the staff. Patrick is too talkative, Brad sucks at every game, Vinny is too loud, Alex isn't funny enough, blah blah fucking blah. Stop fucking tainting a great site with your entitlement and self righteousness.

Bummer. I'm curious to hear 38's side of this, especially given Schilling's recent comments. I get the feeling those guys were fucked over by somebody. It's hard to believe a company that big were dumb enough to get into that much debt so easily.

This is unfortunate, good luck out there folks! Maybe we'll see the entire Time Trotters team at GS once again!

@White said:

Well. This is a shitty day for some.

I suggest hiring Rich Gallup back? Form the Tri-Force of video production (Vinny, Drew, Rich)!

Nah hire me, i'll quit MTV in a heartbeat and move from NYC. Vinny, Drew and Joe. Just goes better.

Unfortunate, Unsurprising and tragic for all parties involved. Everyone lost today. Frankly I'm amazed 38 didn't try to sell Big Huge Games, even on the cheap to save themselves.

maybe it's just that bad. :(

My heart goes out all affected.

p.s. I don't imagine 38 actually ever expected to sell 3 million copies of Reckoning. (if you believe Curt Schilling's twitter they beat EA's own expectations) Rather that they were so deep into the Red on Copernicus, that they had to sell that many Or secure more funding to stay afloat according to Gov. Chafee. Not quite the same thing as expecting to. Which if true means 38's senior mgt should have done something months or even years ago to improve their financials.

They neither 3 million copies of Reckoning nor secured more funding so here we are.

@DrRandle said:

Let this be a lesson to the environment of game development. Somebody comes out with a truly unique product with an amazing combat style that, while by no means perfect, was trying to do something different and it failed.

Call of Duty Again will come out and sell a gillion copies.

Oh c'mon. This is no reflection of what consumers want at all. 1.3 million copies with virtually no promotion shows that consumers were interested in the game.

This is about 38 being undercapitalized, undermarketing, having a bad business plan and most of all being poorly managed. This is a failure of senior leadership to control expenses, manage cash flow and ship &promote product in a timely fashion. 38 spent too much, didn't promote their IP enough and took too long.

making a great game is not enough, it never has been and never will be in the world of business.

Well, this sure got fucked in a jiffy. It's amazing to see a company go from a lot of potential to flat-out dead in a matter of days, if not hours. The guys posed the perfect question on the Bombcast: how the fuck did this sneak up on the company?

spend 5 years developing a MMO with no progress and this is what happens. THe MMo market has changed dramatically when this was first conceived. no way 1.3 million was going to keep this afloat.

I truly hate MMOs. Another great game series killed by an MMO project. I really wish more companies would smarten up and get off the MMO train.

I really enjoyed Reckoning and truly dismayed their will not be a follow-up to the title. Given a bit more focus and a bit smaller game world the sequel could have done very very well.

Confirmed! Rich Gallup is coming to Giantbomb.

This just sucks. Honestly, you cannot have an MMO in production for that long. The 3 Million figure is crazy to consider that no one really knew of the game. Sucks for everyone that lost their job too. Looks like poor managing of funds and buying Big Huge Games. Don't know if that studio's game really caused it to close but I am sure resources were divided and following Skyrim must have been hard.

I wonder who is going to pay $20 Mil for this IP?

@Jeff The time is now, pick up the phone and HIRE RICH GALLUP

This is really unfortunate to hear, although not terribly unexpected, considering the reports from the last week or two. My heart goes out to all the employees affected by this :(
 
3 million is a pretty lofty expectation for a new IP, but I'm guessing the main issue was a lot of mismanagement and budgetary issues. Kingdoms of Amalur was a pretty enjoyable game, but I wish they would have set their sights lower. A huge budget and staff, and spending years on an MMO and building this universe as well through KoA was pretty much destined to not do well.

@Jace said:

@SimplyTron said:

@zombie2011 said:

@SimplyTron said:

@UnrealDP said:

@Jace said:

CBS, please go grab Rich. GB needs a decent east coast correspondent. Most of the GB community already loves the guy, he would be a great fit.

Real classy, mate. Way to be a dick...

Sorry but he is right. I mean, this whole story just reeks of someone just reading game forums and other sites to write their own article. Check out patricks journalistic work and interviews to see how its done.

Alex reports news, and this is news. Some people (like me) don't go to other game sites, they rely on GB for everything related to video games. Where is Patricks coverage of this? Oh right, there is none so fuck off.

Whatevers man. You been brainwashed. Imagine the possibilities if Rich actually wrote this stuff and how united the community would be. No more fighting. No more suffering. No more eyes rolling when something unfunny is said or written. We would have peace.

All I meant by "decent" is well-liked. Rich seems to be liked by the majority of the community. While I personally have no problem with Alex's writing/reporting, it's no secret that the community is divided on him. That fucking panel.... but I digress.

Anyway, I meant no disrespect to Alex. It's just that Rich has a lot of people pulling for him in the GB community and it would be great to see him here.

I do, cuz I had no actual problem until I saw how he responded to peoples complaints, which are by all accounts a matter of opinion. How he talks, acts on that panel as we saw or just writes. But telling the community no one at Giant Bomb gave a shit what we thought, that was over the line and I think clearly not how the other guys respond to the community. We all saw that with Ryan and his apology. Manned up to say he was wrong and didn't tell anyone he was better than them. All he had to do was leave the comments section alone but instead he showed his true colors. And that panel...

The video game industry is such a competitive and saturated industry, that selling 1.2 million copies is still considered a failure. Really makes you respect people who risk everything to start a small video game company and succeed in the industry.

Getting laid off isn't really that bad in most cases.

Hiring talented people is tough. If someone is any good at their job in this industry, they're usually employed. When you get laid off it's like firing a red hot signal flare for growing companies to come find you. The most talented and well connected people will probably be making good life upgrades as a result of this business.

There are some sad exceptions(writers for instance have the hardest time finding steady work in games) and to those people, best of luck.

@SimplyTron: I'm gonna hold my stance that you're ether joking and super unfunny/awful, or you're by some tragedy being serious right now and just a complete wanker. I really want to believe that it couldn't possibly be the later, but there's a lot of ignorance like this on the internet that has persuaded me otherwise.

@Roger_Klotz said:

The video game industry is such a competitive and saturated industry, that selling 1.2 million copies is still considered a failure. Really makes you respect people who risk everything to start a small video game company and succeed in the industry.

Also makes the prospect of doing so that much more frightening.

NOOOOO!

I don't think that they set a goal of 3 million. I think he was saying that the game had to sell 3 million copies to help keep the company afloat a little longer.

This whole story is about budget. 3 million was needed because of how much 38 was spending making their MMO. Over a million copies is impressive unless you are blowing $4 million a month.

Look at Atlus. 500,000 units is amazing for them because they intelligently manage their budgets and make sure they make minor games without risk.

38 didn't seem to have a plan to make money beyond buying a mostly completed game with BHG.

Read the Kotaku FAQ. They did a break down of the loan. RI only set milestones for moving the company and hiring a certain number of people. I wonder if 38 was employing people with nothing to do just to hit their employment numbers?

Wow, they were betting that a fantasy single player game was going to sell over 3 million without the Elder Scrolls name just to break even? Kind of a bad business model to begin with.

@UnrealDP said:

@SimplyTron: I'm gonna hold my stance that you're ether joking and super unfunny/awful, or you're by some tragedy being serious right now and just a complete wanker. I really want to believe that it couldn't possibly be the later, but there's a lot of ignorance like this on the internet that has persuaded me otherwise.

I don't see how any of what I said, or what anyone else has said shows that I am ignorant. Opinionated? Mean? A Jerk? Maybe. But not ignorant. Please use words correctly.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Sorry for everyone involved. Good luck guys!