Project cancelled at Wii developer Factor 5?

There are rumours about a cancelled project and lay-offs at Californian developer Factor 5 (´Star Wars: Rogue Squadron´, ´Turrican´, ´Lair´) in the wake of publisher Brash Entertainment going out of business, as Variety reported.

Factor 5 announced that they were working on at least one Wii game in January and recently specified that they were developing "several projects, both multi-platform as well as single-platform titles for the Wii". This suggests that Factor 5 is actually developing more than one Wii game.

Brash had signed a publishing deal with Factor 5 earlier this year regarding "an unnamed title releasing in 2010 to be announced around the E3 Expo in July."

Now, Factor 5 animation artist Sam Baker (Google cache, now offline) published some details about the financial state of the studio on his blog.

No one at Factor 5 had been paid in a month.... and we weren't going to any time soon. (...) Regardless of the financial issues of the company (which I won't elaborate on), we all stayed and continued to work. If we left, there would have been no hope in F5 staying afloat. We had faith in the projects and the company, so there was no reason to bail just yet. At this time it didn't seem like much more than bad timing and bad luck.

Then we lost health care. Ok, who needs it? If we're going to eventually be paid, some sacrifices would be worth it. I had my own on the side, so I wasn't sweating it. Then things turned bad...

Without proper funding on the project I was working on, the company was forced to stop production. Unfortunately I was finally having a ton of fun working on it and we had made such insane progress that this was a total kick to the chest. It was basically like saying "the work you've been doing for the last 8 months has been all for none, but thanks anyway." After that news, moral was definitely not the greatest. We figured it wasn't a problem, however, because there were other projects that needed us, and we still had work to do. So then...

The president of the company basically told us that if we didn't receive funding in 1 week, all of us should move on and look elsewhere for another job. I had no idea how bad this economy was getting until something like this affected me personally, and yea, it sucks. I have 1 more week left at Factor 5.

Soonafter, the entire blog was deleted and the following rebuttal was posted, presumably by another person (since Sam Baker's Blogger profile went offline).

A writer for 1up came across my blog and read some information that was then misinterpreted. I'd like to clarify what exactly is going on.

Steve Watts of 1UP wrote that I said Factor 5 cut one of their main projects, a comic book superhero game, and that's incorrect. It was a big story in the news that we recently lost a publisher, Brash Entertainment, when they went out of business. This does not mean that we've stopped production on that game, or that it was ever even in trouble. The other projects currently under way at Factor 5 are doing great. We hadn't received payment because of the situation with Brash, which is why I said I needed to look elsewhere for work. I removed my blog because it contained information that easy to misinterpret.

In an interview with MTV's Stephen Totilo since Brash's demise (but before Baker's comments), Eggebrecht addresses fears about their projects, stopping short of confirming one title as a new iteration in the ´Superman´ universe.

One of our large-scale multi-platform projects was started with Brash because it is a dream property for us, hasn’t been given its dues in gaming since the Atari 2600, and has a huge universe to draw from. It also is a long-term project because we were not wiling to compromise quality at all from the start and make this into what we as fans, and hopefully every fan of the property - movies old or new, comic-book, or TV - wants to play. If we have delivered the ultimate fantasy fulfillment in a galaxy far, far away, this one certainly is intended to do the same for a completely different universe.

With that said, things are obviously in flux and we hope that the game proves to be as indestructible as our hero.

So just what is the status of the games Factor 5 is developing? What perspective is there for the employees? We know for sure from Sam Baker's resume and his comments that he will be no longer with Factor 5 next year. And a colleague of his has updated his website with a new showreel only days ago.

I sincerely hope that no games are in danger of being cancelled. Ever since Factor 5 president Julian Eggebrecht claimed that their graphics engine for the Wii "does everything that the PS3 did and then some", I am dying to see the game. And, of course, I wish all Factor 5 employees well. I have met Julian Eggebrecht on a number of occasions and I am sure that he will do anything to prevent lay-offs, if there really is any danger of that.

EDIT The rumours of lay-offs at Factor 5 are true, according to EDGE magazine and an anonymous source. Apparently, half of the workforce has been fired.

The source, who wished to remain anonymous, said 37 people were laid off from the San Rafael, Calif. studio on Friday afternoon. Around 38 people remain, he said. (...)

Our source said, "The thing that bothers me the most about it all is they could have avoided all of this ages ago. It wasn't really the Brash deal going south that was the big problem, but it didn't help much either."

Sources: Sam Baker's blog (Google cache, now offline), Variety, MTV, EDGE
Thanks to: 1UP, Joystiq, Silwer, Kotaku

´Metal Gear Solid 4´ no longer PS3 exclusive?, part VIII

Hideo Kojima is hinting at a new installment in the ´Metal Gear´ series, possibly on Xbox360, via this teaser site. It contains a flash animation that apparently features the Xbox360's ring of light, pictured below the screengrab for comparison:





Alternatively, the small caps letter ´i´ could hint at a whole number of other platforms: the iPhone, the DSi and the Wii. The exclamation mark is part of the ´Metal Gear Acid´ logo, but could also reference the MGS series symbol for being discovered by the enemy. A reference to ´Metal Gear Acid´ is unlikely since the directory the teaser animation is in reads ´MGST´. This strongly suggests a ´Metal Gear Solid´ title, perhaps with a subtitle beginning with the letter ´T´.

Only in mid-October, a Konami spokesperson confirmed: "We're actively looking into a [Metal Gear Solid 4] release for the Xbox 360" in a Japanese magazine. Shortly afterwards, the journal removed the quote from the article.

Speaking to Eurogamer in late August, the series' creator Hideo Kojima tried to dispel the rumours about an Xbox360 version and wished people would stop asking.

Because MGS4 was optimised for the PS3 it is probably not possible. But, you know, what kind of disturbs me sometimes, because a lot of people ask me about this PS3/360 question, is that it's not about the hardware - I want people to look at the game itself. Sometimes I even feel like it should be on a PC so that people don't ask me about hardware and platforms.

Still, Kojima himself hinted at an Xbox360 version. Many industry experts, myself included, have taken the non-exclusivity for granted. The PlayStation3's poor hardware sales and the game's staggering budget simply do not make an unlimited exclusivity a viable option from an economic point of view. And there were plenty of indicators that an Xbox360 version was already in the works. Here is another updated rundown of all the other hints and rumours regarding this debate from day one.

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Part I, October 2006

Electronic Gaming Monthly tease readers with the headline ´Metal Gear Solid 4 on Xbox 360?´ on the magazine´s cover.

However, on the NeoGAF forums, former EGM editor Che Chou seeks to squash the rumours.

It's simply a rumor that Konami higher-ups are pressuring Kojima Productions to consider making MGS4 a multiplatform game because production costs on the game are unsurprisingly high and only getting higher. With PS3 install base numbers not looking all that rosy due to console cost and manufacturing problems, Konami is scared they can't recoup their investment on only 1 platform alone.

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Part II, December 2006

On his blog, industry insider Daniel Boutros claims that an Xbox360 version of MGS4 has been confirmed behind closed doors.

It's coming a few months later than the PS3 game, but it's happening folks.

This is said to be because publishers - including Konami - don't believe there'll be enough PS3s out there by the time the game hits because of the blu ray diode failure issues. (...)

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Part III, January 2007

Speaking to GamePro, Hideo Kojima himself says that ´MGS4 is actually for the PS3 only,´ adding a significant ´so far´.

If I say too much, Mr. Kutaragi might get really upset. I think that the PS3 is difficult to work with, but so was the PS2. (...)

I do have strong interest in creating something for the Xbox 360. In the US and Europe, it is selling, and I think it will sell a lot this year as well. I'm a fan of Gears of War as well, it's very interesting.

Frankly speaking, I want to create something on the PC. It's a multi-platform [format]. I've been regularly studying work on the PC anyways, and I want to provide something as a world-wide platform because of the consequences with timing on the PlayStation platforms, MGS4 is actually for the PS3 only so far.

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Part IV, April 2007

The VG Resource Center claims to have received a statement by an anonymous source within Konami.

Yes, in fact, we are working on putting Metal Gear Solid 4 on the Xbox 360 and PC, which should both come out roughly 6 months after the PS3 release. However, we've been working with Microsoft so the 360 and PC versions will both take advantage of Xbox Live and Games for Windows Live, with such features as achievements and the ability for 360 and PC owners to play against each other in multiplayer.

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Part V, May 2007

An alleged Microsoft employee writing for Destructoid confirms that the game will be released on Xbox360 no more than one year after the PlayStation3 version. The article reads:

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots will not be a PS3 exclusive after all. It has been confirmed that it will make its way to the Xbox 360 in 2008.

There is no true date set for the release at this point, but November of 2008 has been mentioned. This is not set in stone as Konami is working with Microsoft to bring the date forward as much as possible. (...) The announcement hasn't been officially made yet, but the source works for Konami, and I know for a fact that MS has been negotiating this for months.

The article has since been subjected to a ´Cease and Desist´ order.

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Part VI, July 2007

A Reuters article cites Kazumi Kitaue, head of Konami's North American and European operations speaking about a multi-platform MGS4.

Kitaue said Konami may need to expand the target hardware for its blockbuster fighting game Metal Gear Solid, which has so far been developed for Sony's PlayStation machines, to other consoles in the future to recoup development costs.

"Since Metal Gear Solid was born for the PlayStation, we would like to keep it a PlayStation game. But we might have to take some steps," Kitaue said. (...)

Only days later, the Official Xbox Magazine claims a "bankable source" confirmed that the game would be coming to Xbox360 "a few months" after the PS3 version.

Soon after, music and videogame retailer HMV lists a PS3 and an Xbox360 version on its website, detailing 2008 release dates of April 18 and September 26, respectively, later claiming an "admin error".

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Part VII, January 2008

Xbox site XboxFamily claimed to have been told about an Xbox360 version of ´Metal Gear Solid 4´ being in the works, citing an inside source with the game´s publisher.

Speaking to a Konami rep at an undisclosed distribution meeting, I was told, after a lot of nagging, that yes indeed MGS was in development for the 360. The rep stated that Metal Gear Solid will be released for the Xbox 360 between 12 to 14 months after the PS3 version hits shelves. This is not a rumor.

Only some months before, in a Reuters article published in late November, the game´s assistant producer Ryan Payton said the following about the publisher´s high expectations for the game.

Payton said the new "Metal Gear Solid" needs to sell over a million copies on the first day it goes on sale due to its costly production, but that may be a tough mark to hit given sluggish PS3 sales.

EDIT Here are some interesting theories by other media outlets, starting with the brand new Offworld, Boing Boing's gaming site.

Back in July, as many may have forgot, a French games blog suggested a rumor that Kojima Productions might have a December Surprise up its sleeve. December 12th, they said, six months after the release of the game (that length of time, players will note, fitting in nicely with the fiction of ´Metal Gear Solid 4´) might trigger an in-game event.

PC World (via Yahoo News) also has some interesting comments on this:

Since the colors are electric green on black, and since the symbol to the right looks an awful lot like the symbol in the middle of the power button on the face of the 360, it's not hard to see why.

On the other hand, it's actually just the universal power symbol, also known as IEC 5009 (which refers to "power" but alternatively to "standby" or both "power/standby") as well as IEEE 1621, where it refers explicitly to the "power control user interface." It's also on Apple laptops, Windows-based laptops, desktops, various other electronic devices, and if you look at the touch button on your PS3 -- yep, it's there too. That it's green may have some significance...or it may be a red herring. Hard to say.

EDIT Here is another interesting theory, courtesy of TVG, focussing on the inverted exclamation mark.

TVG has its own theory: MGS4 was released globally on the 12th of June (12/06). Invert that date like the exclamation point, and you get '06/12' – which is tomorrow.

So, is Konami finally confirming tomorrow that MGS4 will be heading to Microsoft as the last great third-party PlayStation exclusive to go multi-platform?

Sources: Konami, Joystiq, Joystiq, Eurogamer, Offworld, PC World (via Yahoo News)
Thanks to: Kolt, Kotaku, Kotaku

Forbes publishes Wii lifetime sales

Financial publication Forbes has published the lifetime sales of all three current-gen consoles. The current tally is as follows:

Wii: 35 million units
Xbox360: 23 million units
PS3: 13 million units

The article goes on to quote David Gibson, an analyst with Macquarie Securities about profits and losses made per hardware unit sold.

Sony loses money on each Playstation sold. Microsoft (...) might just break even. But every Wii brings in $6 of operating profit for Nintendo.

However, this bit of information appears to contradict earlier research data. Back in November 2006, a market research company estimated that only the PS3 was a lossmaker. Of course, there is a difference between pure revenue and operating profit, which might explain the contradiction. But despite its reputation, the Forbes article is already wrong on at least one count, noting that Nintendo "brought out the Wii gaming console three years ago".

At any rate, despite those phenomenal sales figures, some media outlets suggest that the Wii demand is cooling off in Japan.

During its first year on store shelves, the console sold an average of 386,000 units a month. In its second year since release, that figure is down 24% to 292,000 a month. With the holiday season upon us, the Wii would have to sell 2 million total units over the season to bring its average back up to where it used to be.

Of course, the curse of such phenomenal sales figures as the Wii experienced so far is that they are difficult to sustain. A boom, in economic terms, is a volatile situation and everything but stable.

The Forbes article details, however, that the Wii is expected to sell more units in 2008 than the best-selling console to date, the PS2, sold in its strongest year, 2003.

And in the portable space, Nintendo clearly reigns supreme. With the new iteration of the Nintendo DS the handheld sold half a million units in one month in Japan.

All in all it would appear as if 2008 is wrapping up as another winner for Nintendo, on both console fronts. Let's see what 2009 has in store for us and the big three.

Sources: Forbes, Nintendo Wii Fanboy
Thanks to: Joystiq, Nintendo Wii Fanboy, Chart Get!