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Ultima X - Odyssey Development Cancelled

Posted by simoniker on from the ultimately-canned dept.

eToychest writes "According to a post by David Yeeon on the front page of the official EA site, PC MMO title Ultima X: Odyssey has been cancelled. The post reads: 'As of today, development on Ultima X: Odyssey has ended. We feel that Ultima Online is where we need to focus our online efforts and most of my team will be moving to the UO expansion pack, the UO live team, and an unannounced Ultima Online project.' It's too bad, but perhaps it was for the best." GameSpot sketches out the background, explaining: "The [August 2003-announced] game went through an evolution when its design and development staff were recently moved from EA's Austin, TX studio to the company's main Redwood Shores campus... UXO was to have picked up where the Ultima IX storyline left off", and GameSpy adds that the new Ultima Online expansion pack "will be officially revealed later this month at an EA press event."

3 of 43 comments (clear)

  1. Wow by Snowspinner · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think this makes Ultima Online 2 the only game in history to be cancelled twice, no?

    --
    Philip Sandifer's academic website
  2. Series was long dead by arkham6 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As far as I'm concerned, and I believe many others would agree with me, the series died at the end of Ultima 7.

    The add on does not count in my book. :)

  3. UO/UO2/UO:X History, Long read warning! by BloodAngel_Au · · Score: 5, Informative

    Heres all the details on the twining development, distruction and even Lord British's take on everything, here we go:

    Ultima Online 2 Announced [September 23, 1999, 11:28 pm EDT
    http://www.bluesnews.com/cgi-bin/board.pl?act ion=p ostmessage&boardid=1&id=0&threadid=600 0

    Lord British Moves On [March 30, 2000, 6:15 pm EDT
    http://www.bluesnews.com/cgi-bin/board.pl?act ion=p ostmessage&boardid=1&id=0&threadid=117 25

    Ultima Online: Third Dawn Announced [November 10, 2000, 12:45 pm EDT
    http://www.bluesnews.com/cgi-bin/board.pl?act ion=p ostmessage&boardid=1&id=0&threadid=194 91

    Ultima Worlds Online: Origin Canceled [March 21, 2001, 3:56 pm EDT
    http://www.bluesnews.com/cgi-bin/board.pl?act ion=p ostmessage&boardid=1&id=0&threadid=234 89

    Lord British on Origin [March 23, 2001, 11:47 am EDT
    http://www.bluesnews.com/cgi-bin/board.pl?act ion=p ostmessage&boardid=1&id=0&threadid=235 74

    UO2 'wake' held in Austin March 29, 2001
    http://www.gamespydaily.com/news/fullstory.a sp?id= 1523
    http://www.gamespydaily.com/news/screenshots .asp?i d=1524
    http://www.gamespydaily.com/news/screensho ts.asp?i d=1526

    Wich included burning af almost all the documents to do with UO2

    Lord British Interview [April 09, 2001, 1:31 pm EDT
    http://www.bluesnews.com/cgi-bin/board.pl?act ion=p ostmessage&boardid=1&id=0&threadid=240 83

    Then apparently legal threats from McFarlane lead to this compromise:

    UO: Lord Blackthorn's Revenge [October 31, 2001, 1:29 pm EDT
    http://www.bluesnews.com/cgi-bin/board.pl?act ion=v iewthread&threadid=30105

    Ultima X: Odyssey Announced [August 22, 2003, 10:22 am EDT

    3/21/2004 Origin: The Final Goodbye
    http://www.wumple.com/index.php?p=23

    With many things burnt from Origin, including docs, pictures and various artifacts.

    Ultima X Odyssey Cancelled [June 30, 2004, 10:19 pm EDT

    A bit of reading, I know, but it very interesting read on the history of UO2/OWO, UO, Lord British and EA/Origin from Late 1999 on to now.

    Edit: Just found this: http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?010528fa_FA CT Interview with Ralph Koster.

    and just to sum it up:
    http://www.gamespydaily.com/screenshots/index .asp? id=1100