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Argonaut's Malice, Orchid Cancelled

Posted by simoniker on from the sans-doubt-a-shame? dept.

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a Gamesindustry.biz report that Argonaut's flagship title, Malice, has been cancelled by publisher Vivendi Universal. This 3D platform title was one of the first ever demonstrated for the Xbox, during Bill Gates' 2001 unveiling of the console, and had more recently added a PS2 version, plus Gwen Stefani of No Doubt's voice for the lead character. The former Starfox developer "..does hope to find a new deal for the game [Malice]", so we may still see it eventually. Also in Argonaut's disappointing news was the fact that their 3D beat-em-up Orchid has been cancelled by Namco - though Namco are still publishing their quirky I-Ninja action title.

10 comments

  1. Wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    In related news, President Bush has labeled Argonaut a terrorist organization and has authorized the siezure of all their assets. Argonaut's CEO could not be reached for comment after being hospitalized due to what police are calling "A wicked kick to the nuts by an unknown assailant."

  2. The worst part by True+Freak · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think the worst part of this is:

    "A lesser but still unfortunate footnote to these events is the retail failure of Kung Fu Chaos, the quirky Xbox title which was developed by Argonaut's Just Add Monsters studio and published by Microsoft. Although it received significant critical acclaim, the game simply didn't shift any units at retail, and as such Microsoft has not commissioned a sequel, leaving Just Add Monsters working on a new game instead."

    Kung Fu Chaos is one of the best games I have ever played. And it's even more fun with a group of friends.

    --
    My comments may be crap...but they are my crap...and I am brave enough to stand by them...Never post as AC!
    1. Re:The worst part by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Although it received significant critical acclaim..."

      Funny, I remember seeing scores in the 50s. Then again, I only checked three sites.

      I know there are one or two sites in existence that average the scores of many publications... but I forget the URLs. Anyone care to refresh my memory?

  3. Canceled by Masami+Eiri · · Score: 1

    And I was really looking forward to Malice... hopefully they'll find another backer.

  4. big loss... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    wow!
    even though argonaut was behind it, malice looked stupid, dark and ugly from the start.
    i certainly won't miss it.

    1. Re:big loss... by alcharn · · Score: 1

      I could not agree more. From the start I was even remotely interested. Yeah...I am not going to miss it so much either.

  5. Malice? Malice Who? by superultra · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Malice, once merely an Xbox graphics demo, never really looked like more than just that: a graphics demo. For a while there, Microsoft picked up to publish themselves. They later dropped it, along with that absolutely atrocious Bruce Lee game, to Vivendi. Me, I'll wait patiently for Psychonauts. If they cancel *that*, someone. will. die.

  6. It was bound to happen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Malice just kept getting delayed again and again, most folks had given up on it. They need to just let it die.

    As for KFC 2, it's too bad it's not going to get a sequel, that was a really good party game. It would have been cool if they could have mixed in other characters from other titles, a miniature "Sub Zero" or "Scorpion" would've made part 2 an absolute must-have...

  7. E3 by raventh1 · · Score: 0

    I searched for this game at E3, this explains why it has dropped off the radar for the past year.
    Duke Nukem Forever anyone?