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Ultima X: Odyssey: Post Cancellation Q&A
Koltrane
Member UncommonPosts: 1,049
The MMORPG community is still reeling over the one-two punch of announced cancellations of Warhammer Online and Ultima X: Odyssey. The team over at HomeLAN spoke to EA's Aaron Cohen about the termination of the latter game. Excerpts follow:
HomeLAN - First, how long had Ultima X: Odyssey been in development before the decision was made to cancel the game?
Aaron Cohen - The game had been in development for close to two years.
HomeLAN - The decision was made earlier this year to close down the Origin offices in Austin, Texas. How much did this move affect the development of the game?
Aaron Cohen - Development didn't slow significantly after the move because we added several members of the Redwood Shores studio to the UXO development team.
HomeLAN - Has there been any thought given to simply replacing Ultima Online with an all new revamp of the original game?
Aaron Cohen - We are constantly looking at ways to improve, polish and enhance the game. However, there are no plans to replace the current game with a revamp the original game.
Many would raise a few eyebrows at these answers, but none is more curious than this response:
HomeLAN - Ultimately, what was the main reason for the decision to cancel the game?
Aaron Cohen - We decided to focus our resources in Ultima Online. The enthusiastic response to the Ultima Online 7th Anniversary Edition and the upcoming expansion pack convinced us to devote all our energy and resources to that game and that community.
This response is strangely reminiscent of EA's stated reason for the cancellation of Ultima Worlds Online: Origin (aka UO2) back in 2001:
After evaluating the futures and potential of both Ultima Online and ORIGIN, Electronic Arts and Origin Systems have made the decision to increase their focus on Ultima Online by halting production of UWO: ORIGIN (UO2). Rather than create ORIGIN as a parallel world competing with Ultima Online, many resources that would have been required to complete ORIGIN will instead be refocused into Ultima Online, making sure that we can expand and support it for some time to come.
Many criticized the original decision that EA decided to scrap a new title to focus on a (then) 4 year old game. Now UO is 7 and, while still a viable persistent world, is definitely showing its age. Cynics may have a hard time accepting this reason for the abandonment of the project, but, nevertheless, Cohen states that this was the issue that brought down the axe on such a promising title.
For those of you keeping score, it's Ultima Online: 2, Other Ultima-based MMORPGs: 0
Read the Q&A in its entirety by clicking here. For more on the history of the original Ultima Online follow-up, UWO:O, click here.
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Old timer.
Comments
always the same old Lies,cant hear any more anything from E)A
i bet Richard is laughing about them from his Throne in Britannia
Hail to Lord British
down with EA to the Dungeons
This is borderline insanity. Ultima Online was arguably the best mmo experience for many of us. There is no way the 7 year old UO would make as much as a totally revamped sequel to the game. Can you all imagine the excitement if you heard there was an Ultima Online 2 in the works?
Besides, if EA did not want to create a mmo that would compete with UO and wanted to focus their efforts there then why did they start with Origin and waste 2 years there? Furthermore, why did they then do ANOTHER title and waste another 2 years. Its a total shame that EA has the rights to this title. They have totally destroyed it.
I think that EA was scared of EQ 2 and WoW and their product wouldn't measure up. After seeing the great jobs they have done with their other online offerings, they were probably right ......
LOL its always stay tuned for more and better things to come...that would mean i guess TSO shutting down for more to come. ANd the quote that we are expanding in the MMORPG space brought me to tears..ya you cancelled 3 games in 1,5 yrs
Whats your definition of expanding?
Schonk 22 Reaver - Horizons
Icedeath 50 Ice Wizard - DAoC
Schonk 48 Hunter - DAoC
Schonk Bounty Hunter - SWG
Schonk 20 Monk - FFXI
Schonk 48 ShadowKnight - EQ
i still don't get it, but people love to compare computer
related stuff to the car-industry, so i'll give it a try:
if a car-manufactor would have a car that is selling really good,
would he stop building new models forever?
If he figures that he don't have enough manpower to build a new model,
then the logical step is to expand, right?
to stick with the comparison: the old car is fine and when
it's get rusty you can repaint it a couple of times,
but there will come a point when the engine just blows...
pity when you don't have a new model in stock then!
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just my 2 cents
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just my 2 cents
Very interesting analogy. The fact is that EA has cancelled 2 Ultima themed MMOGs in development. Both times the reasoning was that they didn't want to detract from UO. They don't need to worry, as there are plenty of other developers who will be happy to fill that role.
I tip my hat to UO for its longevity and certainly respect the trails it blazed, but to sacrifice newer, more evolved titles in order to prolong the life of an aging game is specious logic at best. I am absolutely positive UO will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2007, but I don't believe it will see much growth beyond bots and tertiary characters for long timers.
Why EA wants to kill off potential successors to UO is beyond me.
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There are 10 types of people in this world...those who understand binary, and those who don't.
MMORPG.com Staff
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Old timer.
intel sucks even with their 3.6
Imperium Acranum rapped me
While I was looking forward to UX:O, I am currently enjoying UO very much. It's kind of a lose but win thing for me.
UO must make them a decent amount of cash if they can eat the loss of several years of development for two projects and still keep UO going. Either that or EA Sports and the console division is raking in a TON and keeping everything else afloat.
Whatever the case, existing UO subscribers are probably happy and I think they greatly outnumber the amount of people that would have subscribed to UX:O
thx, i just though this would make it clearer, was i was really trying to say
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just my 2 cents
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just my 2 cents
Ultima Online is still a viable title and is doing better than some newer games, but is it attracting new players? I would say that the number of people playing UO for the first time is minuscule, compared to secondary / tertiary accounts and those returning after an extended absence. There are hard core UO players who will play until they shut off the last server, but does this equate to prolonged financial success? Doubtful.
I still have the original Starsiege: Tribes on my hard drive and occasionally will fire it up and find a match. It's still fun and I love playing it occasionally, but finding active servers with people actually is becoming a bit of a chore, and this is a free game. The analogy is not without its flaws, but the fact remains that most former Tribes players have moved on to newer, flashier, sexier games. It seems to be the way of these things.
UO is approaching a respectable 7 years of operation and we should all be pleased to see a game achieve such a milestone, but to sacrifice the promise of future titles merely to maintain a long running game is not the best move IMO. Of course, one look at EA's track record with MMOGs (Motor City Online, Majestic, The Sims Online) is enough to give even a huge publisher like Electornic Arts pause.
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There are 10 types of people in this world...those who understand binary, and those who don't.
MMORPG.com Staff
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Old timer.
I was hardly surprised by this news. When they "moved" the team from Austin they lost the heart, soul, guidance, of the team.
One of the guys I know is now working for SOE, EA is a bunch of idiots for letting this happen. They're totally
Fangzore
Whatever you guys want to say, Ultima Online was an awesome game, many cool quests. and the Addition of Factions added a lot. I agree EA is just now gunna milk the game to the fullest. they did the same thing with UO2 they used it for propaganda to bring attention to the series. Then they cancel the game, and peolpe just end up tryin UO so then they do the same thing again with UXO, i mean, UXO looked amazing i thot it would for sure b my next deticated mmorpg experience, but yet again EA and Origin get money sick and fail to please the hype. From now on, im not even gunna pay attention to anything that Origin says they are gunna make, or do make. ive had enof and played UO for 4-5 years up until a year ago i was hoping for a new game of the same flavor to play. but no they failed their customers and i think people are gettin sick of it