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Activision shuts down Bizarre Creations

Corleth the Fey

By Corleth the Fey
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mushashi

mushashi

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Listen this thing I said about the NASCAR license, it certainly isn't documented fact. It was an educated guess at best and I'm sorry if it came across as anything more than that, espeically given people's follow in comments from this.

I'm not even sure when Activision acquired the NASCAR license but it is at least known that another UK studio (Eutechnyx) is making it for them.

Frankly, I can't see that NASCAR games have ever or will ever be huge sellers. Prove me wrong if you have the figures of what EA's games sold, but just because people like to watch it in the US, I wouldn't really think that translates to playing it (not with the other more varied competetion in the racing genre).

Also, a NASCAR game is always going to have worse than weak sales in Europe and Japan. Assuming BLUR got published in Japan, I would think it found a following and that on the equivalent of RLLMUK in Japan, they love to bits there as well.

Eutechnyx paid for the NASCAR license themselves, Activision is just handling publishing for their title:

IndustryGamers: Isn't it unusual for the developer, rather than the publisher, to get the license rights? How did you secure the NASCAR license? Did NASCAR come to you or you reached out to them?

Darren Jobling: It is unusual for a developer to hold the rights to a huge license such as NASCAR, but it is indicative of the shift that is happening in today’s games industry. Licensors appreciate that they can get much closer to their game by working directly with a developer – they can talk directly to the people that affect changes within the game, and similarly receive direct feedback from gamers on what needs to be included in the experience to make it appeal to them.

Eutechnyx was working with ISC (NASCAR’s track licensing arm), acquiring the rights to circuits for our free-to-play community racing game Auto Club Revolution. ISC loved our market strategy and asked if we’d meet with the senior execs at NASCAR to advise them on the future of the video game market.

After meeting NASCAR, we drew-up a bold proposal with strategic plans for how to reboot the NASCAR franchise and bring it up-to-date in the world of video gaming. Being a developer, we approached this from the consumer’s perspective, without any regard for typical licensing restrictions. Essentially, fun was at the heart of the idea. Although we have more than our fair share of NASCAR fans at Eutechnyx, we are a British team and so we felt it important to talk extensively to the NASCAR fan base in order that we could understand the key elements that make NASCAR the number one spectator sport in the USA.

NASCAR loved our proposal and asked us to present our ideas to all of the teams involved in the sport at NASCAR’s R&D Center. That was a nerve wracking meeting but their seal of approval meant that we could secure the worldwide exclusive license.

Darren Jobling: Eutechnyx chose Activision for NASCAR The Game 2011 because they came up with the most passionate and exciting pitch to distribute the title – they “got” NASCAR and they understood Eutechnyx, it was as simple as that.

Square-Enix handled the publishing of Blur Racerz in Japan (they seem to have some deal with Activision to do localisation and distribution for their games in that market), made #50 on PS3, never seen again so sold a few thousand at most, the X360 version was reported at 796 copies, might have cleared a thousand in the end.

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Jack Walsh's coffee shop

Jack Walsh's coffee shop

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Listen this thing I said about the NASCAR license, it certainly isn't documented fact. It was an educated guess at best and I'm sorry if it came across as anything more than that.

In light of your excellent research, better downgrade describing what I said from "educated guess" to ....

talking+out+of+his+arse-+image.jpg

Just read yesterday's Liverpool Echo report. It mentions that:

Bizarre is the second-biggest employer in Liverpool’s video game sector, which regeneration officials say is crucial to the city’s economy.

Does that mean Sony Liverpool is bigger than BC's 200 staff, or are they including the headcount of Evolution into that as well?

Oh, has anyone seen any TV coverage of this yet, or either local TV or the likes of News 24, Sky News (disgrace if those two haven't given all the air time they have to fill) or ITN?

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Velse

Velse

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Does that mean Sony Liverpool is bigger than BC's 200 staff, or are they including the headcount of Evolution into that as well?

Oh, has anyone seen any TV coverage of this yet, or either local TV or the likes of News 24, Sky News (disgrace if those two haven't given all the air time they have to fill) or ITN?

Evolution probably doesn't count as Liverpool as Runcorn is a fair distance outside. Sony employs, I think, over 500 people - the building includes development, two different shifts of QA (who are quite tightly packed!) and a fair amount of executive type staff.

Not seen it on the news.

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Jack Walsh's coffee shop

Jack Walsh's coffee shop

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I visited Sony Liverpool a few years back. Shocks me to hear that building could contain 500 people, unless all of QA is contained within several below ground dungeons floors.

And when you say two shifts for QA, do you mean in doing all the QA for Europe (1st & 3rd party TRC submission), they basically run that operation 24/7 ?

So are you formerly of Sony Liverpool or still there. Guess if it's not the latter, you might be able to shed some light on Paul Hollywood (one of co-founders of Evolution) getting shafted by dickheads in the London office?

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Jamin

Jamin

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I visited Sony Liverpool a few years back. Shocks me to hear that building could contain 500 people, unless all of QA is contained within several below ground dungeons floors.

It is a surprisingly big building inside, and yeah the QA bods (internal and external in seperate rooms) are both crammed together like sardines. If the shift patterns now work on 24/7 working hours I'd say there would easily be enough room for 500 employees, even if there isn't there'd still probably be enough room.

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Velse

Velse

Posted
Posted

I visited Sony Liverpool a few years back. Shocks me to hear that building could contain 500 people, unless all of QA is contained within several below ground dungeons floors.

And when you say two shifts for QA, do you mean in doing all the QA for Europe (1st & 3rd party TRC submission), they basically run that operation 24/7 ?

So are you formerly of Sony Liverpool or still there. Guess if it's not the latter, you might be able to shed some light on Paul Hollywood (one of co-founders of Evolution) getting shafted by dickheads in the London office?

It was a rough guess. The QA department works in two shifts, early and late, as far as I know, so it isn't a workhouse or anything - friends there enjoy themselves anyway. You're right that you'd not fit anywhere near that number in at one time, and my estimate may well be out! Whatever it is, it's more than the 200 at Bizarre.

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Guest

Guest

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170 million people watch Top Gear worldwide.

Which baffles me as to why someone like codies didn't pick up the Top Gear license Upto 3-4 years ago. Crazy. It makes total sense to make a top gear branded game. Even an iPhone one about stupid car stunts/challenges.

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Ferine

Ferine

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I know it has its own thread, but having just played Blood Stone I think it's a quality product. Not world-beating or genre-defining, but it captures the essence of Bond fantastically and doesn't overreach itself.

I only mention this as I've seen people in this thread talk about the game like it's a bad one or a developmental failure, but having played it I got the impression it was limited by budget and schedule more than the developer's ability; what's there is very polished. I'd have been very happy to see where Bizarre could take the license next, although evidently that's not going to happen now.

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Dudley

Dudley

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In the States, where the money is?

Yeah like Slum says Top Gear's got a following there and even better, one that matches demographically with console gaming.

Borrow an engine, maybe ego and you could do something cheap, knock it out for £30/$40 and do pretty well I suspect and it'd still be pretty good.

And yes the lack of anything on iOS is completely mind boggling.

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Jack Walsh's coffee shop

Jack Walsh's coffee shop

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What, as in Activision is cutting back on keeping studios going, in light of the loss they'll make on one of their once super profitable franchises?

Looking at the sales data on BLUR:

http://gamrreview.vgchartz.com/sales/33717/blur/

At least it kept selling, so word of mouth must have been working to an extent.

There as with Blood Stone, after two weeks, the PS3 and 360 sales have been 120K combined, internationally.

10K of that is Japanese 360 owners. Good for them.

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Guest

Guest

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Possibly because there's already an unrelated game series called Top Gear? Downforce was released in 2007.

Nah, that's some ickle game out there that they could bat aside; and the TP licence/program itself would run over that easily.

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user removed

user removed

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I didn't buy Blur until recently. When I heard Split/Second was out at the same time, I thought I'd rent both to see what they were like. Split Second was fun, but didn't grab me. Where as Blur was Mario Kart for the grown ups who played Mario Kart when it first came out. I was sold immediately and bought it recently for all of £13 from Amazon.

Plus Geometry Wars 2 is one of my most played games this generation!

Gutted!

It really is a kick in the nads as the early Mechwarrior series was some of my favourite games all time, I used to praise Activision. To see them really messing up so much marketing and the studios taking the fall is depressing.

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gone fishin

gone fishin

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What, as in Activision is cutting back on keeping studios going, in light of the loss they'll make on one of their once super profitable franchises?

Looking at the sales data on BLUR:

http://gamrreview.vgchartz.com/sales/33717/blur/

At least it kept selling, so word of mouth must have been working to an extent.

There as with Blood Stone, after two weeks, the PS3 and 360 sales have been 120K combined, internationally.

10K of that is Japanese 360 owners. Good for them.

250k sales for Blur- that's atrocious. There's no way Activision would have made any return on that- how long were nearly 200 people working on that game for?

I really think the lacklustre reviews for Blood Stone were the final nail in the coffin (unless it managed to get some amazing sales). With the lack of any marketing push for it (and with it being a Bond game, that's surprising), Activision must have known about potentially shutting down/selling Bizarre Creations even before Blood Stone was released. Is it not Actision that bases it's bonuses on a mixture of sales and average metacritic scores?

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mushashi

mushashi

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Is it not Actision that bases it's bonuses on a mixture of sales and average metacritic scores?

I think the metacritic ranking is important no matter what big company your working for, it's not some exclusive Activision thing.

Activision were going to pay out a $40 million bonus in 2012/13 if Bizarre had hit some sales targets, at least they waited for results, unlike Viacom.

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Dimahoo

Dimahoo

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Wouldn't it be great if some news came on that said "BC bought by EA".

First game to be SSX.

I don't think this team's failing will be an issue provided they don't get split up.

I mean what back catalog do Activision have compared to what EA have?

Remember they own all the Bullfrog shit as well, hell, maybe they'll do the the next NFS assuming EA assign Crit.. to Burnout duties.

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Robo_1

Robo_1

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Remember they own all the Bullfrog shit as well, hell, maybe they'll do the the next NFS assuming EA assign Crit.. to Burnout duties.

Not a bad suggestion at all. The only problem is that EA seems to have plenty of devs under their wing already.

One thing BC do have in their favour, is that their internally developed engine works great on both 360 & PS3. As great as it would be to see a PGR5 from them, it would be a waste of a technically proficient multi platform development team.

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