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Game was not canceled.
freakishbean
Member UncommonPosts: 176
THQ Rep as of today:
"THQ has not cancelled its 2014 line-up, and has not made any decisions regarding the planned MMO."
"As part of the ongoing review of our business, we have made decisions to ensure that the company is strategically addressing the most attractive markets. As we have previously announced, we have dramatically reduced our commitment to the kids' boxed games sector which leads to a significantly more focused release schedule moving forward. Our slate for calendar 2012 and beyond is focused on high-quality core games and continues to build our digital platform and business. We are excited for our pipeline of original and high-quality content along with our relationships with some of the best talent in the industry."
So, the company itself came out and said that it isn't canceled and it isn't shutting down.
Needing is Wanting...
Wanting is Coveting...
Coveting is Sinning...
I am SO going to Hell.
Comments
These companies are always so excited. Please look forward to our excitement.
I urge everyone to pay attention to this line:
"and has not made any decisions regarding the planned MMO."
If it was still on for 2014, they would have said it explicitly. Hence we aren't in the clear yet.
...what? Did I miss this? DK3 is live? I wasn't even aware that Bullfrog was alive... I thought they had been merged by EA?
Last I heard the DK IP had been sold off to a Chinese F2P studio or something, have you seen differently?
Being 5/6 done won't help if they have a cash flow problem. Sometimes decisions are made based on what they CAN do, not what is the best thing to be done.
Ok, they didn't cancel it but what happened to the time scheduele and have they cut resources from it or not?
Good news anyways, always suck when they cancel a MMO.
Dark Millenium is pretty much a go, simply because the Warhammer 40k franchise is THQ's biggest draw, next to Saints Row.
Needing is Wanting...
Wanting is Coveting...
Coveting is Sinning...
I am SO going to Hell.
Yep it do not got cancelled
And it is bad news actually
"It has potential"
-Second most used phrase on existence
"It sucks"
-Most used phrase on existence
Needing is Wanting...
Wanting is Coveting...
Coveting is Sinning...
I am SO going to Hell.
Problem is that Dark Millenium is MMO and that means spending close to 10-20 million per year for development. Thats a huge hit since development times in MMO can be double what it is for normal single game. So I can see that cutting DMO is easiest way to save money.
I hope they don't cancel it but it's the easiest target if they are in financial troubles, like stock price might tell.
Pretty bad news all round really. I'm sorry but when a company is in this amount of dire financial straits they can't simply say, 'Oh well this IP we have is great so that MMO which costs 10-20million a year lets just keep going!, not to mention the amount of marketing, support side, admin costs that a MMO throws up.
The business would not survive if they took that attitude because it sounds like they have a cash flow issue without a support net. In that situation you have to get out products as cheaply and as quickly as possible in the hope you have a success somewhere that gives you an overflow. Or you need to be bought/merge with someone.
The problem there is that they don't own their best known IP. I don't know what the licensing agreement is with GW, but if they felt that THQ weren't living up to their side they could take the license away. Knowing GW they'd have no problem doing that. That would make THQ a far less attractive proposition for someone interested in buying, although I believe they do own some of their other creations outright, (Saints Row for instance).
I honestly hope THQ will be alright and that they do end up creating a cracking WH40K MMO but if that does happen it won't be anytime soon....
This looks like a job for....The Riviera Kid!
This company is in it's death throes. Attempting to say that the game has not been canceled is like looking at a ship with just the bowsprit still showing and saying it is not sinking.
Adidas is sueing them for undelievered software, where are they going to come up with the cash for that?
http://www.develop-online.net/news/40025/Adidas-sues-THQ-for-10m-over-breach-of-contract
Your only prayer for this game is that someone buys the assets and continues to develop the game.
Think the OP quote is more a business announcement to investors/market reaction - it means nada to actual gamers discussing WH40K mmo.
Don't throw good money after bad is my advice to THQ.
If they were serious about WH40K - they should go for simpler graphics and more crazy Warhammer 40K scenario rules, more flavor from the TT -
More player customizatons
More racial choices
More faction v factions^n
More fun!
Less shiny graphics/more customizable/destructable environments eg the Orks take over and the raise defences/the place looks like a giant rubbish heap or the Eldar and all shiny towers and tech.
Keep the graphics simple and the gameplay dynamic + expandable => business model == profits long-term sustainable online world.
/rant /rant /rant.
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014633/Classic-Game-Postmortem
I think they should use mechanics closer to Dark heresy instead of the regular EQ/Wow mechanics as well. They just don´t work in the warhammer world, as WAR already have proven.
I do agree that more focus on making a warhammer game and less on graphics is good thinking.
The graphics are already a stylized aesthetic, which is significantly less costly than realistic aesthetic. That's not an issue. Faction structure on the other hand is what GAMES WORKSHOP HAS DICTATED. Every time someone says that the system doesn't work for warhammer I get the uncontrollable urge to crack their skulls in with a ball peen hammer. It's what they used for every major campaign they've held, and has been around since 2nd edition.
As for THQ, they may go under, they may get saved by a few of their upcoming games, they may be working out the legal details of a partnership for DMO. No one knows yet. The only thing to be sure of is that the work currently done on DMO is quite valuable, and that along with the IP license will without a doubt be one of the first things snatched up should THQ resort to selling assets. Games Workshop won't lose out on the royalties from the largest video game launch of the 40k IP, and will be eager to sign over IP rights to whoever buys DMO.
Funny, I get that exact same urge whenever I hear someone say that WH40K is a Starcraft ripoff... lol.
I'm hoping that even if THQ goes under, the rights to the game will get picked up by another publisher (But for the LOVE OF GOD, NOT EA!!).
I've also greatly enjoyed the Dawn of War and Space Marine games by Relic, and would actually be pretty upset if those series' were to be discontinued.
Yup. The IP is massive. They could start with a simple unit of gameplay that's modular to expand into other missions for other races and eventually pull the full WH40K world together... cheaper and building your game with a lot of ppl interested in the IP.
The current/old direction is enough to make teeth fall out during rem sleep.
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014633/Classic-Game-Postmortem
ya keep the hype up guys we (thk)need a serious buyer for this ip,can sell something that isnt being raved about!oh brother i am so tired of this!
Vaporware.
I called it for JGE and I'm calling it for DMO. Just because Vigil had a great run of successful games doesn't mean a damn thing in this industry. All profits go to the parent company... and stay there. In 2011 THQ failed to produce more information about their product, instead we had bad news leaking out from disgruntled staff. When the bad news hit the press, it was not the developers that denied it, it was the head of THQ... eventually. He waited a while to deny the rumors because he wasn't paying attention to the media. He wasn't paying attention to the media because he isn't thinking about the project.
Chris Taylor from Gas Powered Games hyped 'Kings and Castles' right up until the day when they closed the door on the project. Fortunately for us rational people, this sitution is not as misleading. What we have here is a bankrupt developement house that is recieving limited funds from it's parent company for the purposes of creating sure thing, one off, console games. Here is something for Vigil to deny...
In 2006, THQ acquired Vigil Games.[4]
On May 10, 2007, THQ reported its highest annual sales figures and net profits ever for the fiscal year which ended March 31. THQ's revenues reached over $1 billion.
In March 2008, THQ announced the development of the world's first ever cheerleading game using the Wii Balance Board.[5]
On November 3, 2008, the company closed five of its internal studios.[6]
In March 2009, THQ spun off Heavy Iron Studios and Incinerator Studios as independent companies, and announced it was looking to sell Big Huge Games.
In May 2009, THQ agreed to sell Big Huge Games to 38 Studios.
In August 2009, THQ acquired Midway Studios San Diego for $200,000. The sale of the studio includes all assets, except for the TNA iMPACT! video game.[7]
In February 2010, THQ announced that Juice Games and Rainbow Studios would be part of a reshuffle, and would now bear the title THQ Digital Warrington and THQ Digital Phoenix respectively. It is said 60 members of staff face redundancies between THQ's US Rainbow studio and the UK Juice Game's studio.[8]
In August 2010, THQ unveiled the uDraw GameTablet, a $70 accessory for Nintendo's Wii console that lets gamers draw and play on their television screens. The white, 9-by-7-inch peripheral houses a Wii Remote on the left, with a doodle pad and tethered stylus on the right.
THQ says more software for the uDraw will launch every couple of months.http://www.worldofudraw.com/#/home.[9]
On December 31, 2010, THQ closed its Korean office and canceled the development project of WWE Smackdown vs. Raw Online.[10]
In January 2011, THQ sold off its Wireless division to a Swedish mobile company called 24MAS.
On January 12, 2011, THQ unveiled its new logo.[11]
In March 2011, THQ, after its game Homefront was released, suffered a 26% stock drop. The large drop was speculated to be a result of Homefront's poor reception.[12]
On June 13, 2011, THQ announced the closure of Kaos Studios (the developer of Homefront)[13] and THQ Digital Warrington (formerly Juice Games).[14]
On June 27, 2011, THQ announced it was dropping the long running Red Faction franchise. This was believed to be due to the poor reception over the latest game in the franchise, Red Faction Armageddon.[15]
On August 9, 2011, THQ has announced that its development focus will move away from licensed kids and movie-based titles by closing down THQ Studio Australia and Blue Tongue in order to focus on "high-quality owned IP." The company has also closed down THQ Digital Phoenix (formerly Rainbow Studios), thus dropping the MX vs. ATV franchise.[16][17][18]
In January 2012 THQ stocks fell below USD$1, with the threat of the NASDQ delisting the stock unless the share price improved.
So wait, all of that has to do with Vigil...how?
We know THQ is in deep shit, especially with this adidas lawsuit. But how is all that on Vigil to explain? DMO right now has a functioning in house game engine, a significant amount of art and animations, and a great deal of design work done already. The game is too far along to just disappear. THQ is banking everything they have on it's success, and should they as a company not survive long enough to launch it, it's a VERY valuable asset to be sold off in the event of bankruptcy. Most of the hard stuff has already been done, so any developer looking for an easy way to break into the MMO market would be salivating at the thought of buying a nearly finished MMO along with the studio that developed it.
I would believe THQ doesn't have rights to sell Warhammer 40k license away. Worst case scenario, THQ sells Vigil but keeps license, Vigil buyer ends up with game but no license. Gameworkshop can't sell license to that company because THQ has exclusive rights.
Since we don't know what actually reads in contract between THQ and Gameworkshop it's unclear what would happen if THQ goes bankcrupt. It's a potential warp storm waiting to happen. Hopefully THQ is wise and cuts all the crap experiences that has caused current situation and put money on real games.
If THQ files for bankruptcy, the company essentially ceases to exist. They sell off assets to pay bond holders first, then privilaged stock holders, then common stock holders, and then the company dissolves. You're right in that they won't be able to sell the 40k license, but those rights are still reserved by games workshop. So in the event that Vigil gets sold as a result of THQ going bankrupt, the company buying Vigil would then have to go to Games Workshop and negotiate a deal between them.
Chances are very good that an agreement would be reached. Games Workshop stands to make a significant amount of money in royalties from a successful 40k MMO, and potential buyers of Vigil are definitely going to be paying THQ for the work already done on DMO in addition to the IP rights to Darksiders, and they won't want to lose out on all that because they couldn't negotiate a deal with Games Workshop.