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Microsoft Buys Lionhead Studios

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the doesn't-matter-if-you're-black-or-white dept.

Grench writes "The BBC has an article on Microsoft's purchase of Lionhead Studios. They focus in particular on Peter Molyneux, and the kind of talents and expertise that he can bring to Microsoft's future gaming efforts. A sequel to Fable was mentioned as a probable endeavor." From the article: "Some of the giants of the games industry, such as Electronic Arts and Ubisoft, were reported to have been interested in acquiring Lionhead. But Microsoft has emerged as the victor, adding the studio to its roster of British gaming talent. In 2002, it acquired developers Rare in a $375m deal."

73 comments

  1. EA was never realistic by Duds · · Score: 2, Interesting

    He still isn't fond of them regarding the ripping apart of Bullfrog after he sold out. EA's overall control is the reason he left Bullfrog in the first place. Bullfrog was last seen converting Quake 3 to the PS2.

    That said, it'll be interesting to see if it's any easier at Microsoft. They make pains to say they won't be excercising creative control, but another 2 failiures like B+W2 and the movies and you wonder how long that will survive.

    1. Re:EA was never realistic by chrismcdirty · · Score: 1

      Don't forget Fable. That wasn't quite as good as it was hyped to be.

      --
      It's like sex, except I'm having it!
    2. Re:EA was never realistic by Grench · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I've never played Black and White 2, but The Movies seems to have a fair community - I bought the game for my stepson, and he's spent countless hours making movies to go on TheMoviesGame.com's community site, and even more time than that watching other people's movies and rating them.

      It's really quite an interesting title; I'm yet to play it myself, but it's just the sort of innovative game I'd expect from someone like Peter. Not sure why it hasn't sold all that well. Shame.

      --
      He's Jesus, for Christ's sake.
    3. Re:EA was never realistic by Duds · · Score: 1

      Fable did however, sell 2 million copies.

    4. Re:EA was never realistic by EggyToast · · Score: 1
      Because "interesting" doesn't always equal "fun." And similarly, fun isn't equivalent. I know some people who loved Black & White for the creature training, and because of that, had a great deal more fun playing the game itself (since the creature, when well trained, actually does a lot of work for you). But a lot of people found it stupid and wanted to play what the game was telling you to play (the RTS-aspect) and the creature was an addition that didn't seem to work too well.

      I like the guy's ideas, and I think he's definitely an asset. What he really needs, though, is exactly what he just got -- a parent company that will put a little restraint on what he says before any code for a game is written. Fable sounded great on paper, but was likely impossible to create as written in reality.

    5. Re:EA was never realistic by snuf23 · · Score: 1

      I think part of the reason the Movies didn't sell well is that it's really three games that aren't meshed together very well. You have the standard tycoon style movie studio game, the sims-esque manage your actors and directors component and the movie maker. The tycoon part is pretty simple, the sims part highly annoying and the movie making interesting but irrelevant to the game (the quality of the movie you make in it has no bearing on how well the movie does at the box office).
      The movie making tools are the most fleshed out part of the game but they aren't a "game" in the traditional sense. So it feels like the other elements were put in to have a game component rather than just selling the movie maker as a software "toy". Much like in Black and White where on one hand you had the pet element which was pretty interesting and on the other hand you had a mediocre RTS. It seems like Lionhead comes up with great ideas, but can't always turn them into great games. I do appreciate them making the effort. Even their failed experiments are more interesting than most of the games out there.

      --
      Sometimes my arms bend back.
    6. Re:EA was never realistic by 91degrees · · Score: 1

      I never even heard about this game until this article...

      It's rather a shame that they felt the need to tack a game onto it. There is a fairly substantial market for lifestyle products. Sony has Sony DJ that simulates mixing decks. No game. Just the music. There were a lot of art and animation packages on the Amiga that were a lot of fun to play with, if a little time consuming to get anything worthwhile from. But making movies is a lot of fun.

  2. Britian's Silicon Valley. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    " From the article: "Some of the giants of the games industry, such as Electronic Arts and Ubisoft, were reported to have been interested in acquiring Lionhead. But Microsoft has emerged as the victor, adding the studio to its roster of British gaming talent. In 2002, it acquired developers Rare in a $375m deal.""'

    Does anyone across the pond want to comment? Is Great Britian the "Silicon Valley" of gaming?

    1. Re:Britian's Silicon Valley. by chrismcdirty · · Score: 0

      Only if you consider Silicon Valley to be the land of overhyped developers. Seriously, Rare had a run of good games, but when was their last real good one. Same with anything Molyneux has produced.

      --
      It's like sex, except I'm having it!
    2. Re:Britian's Silicon Valley. by Duds · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Always has been. It's not a "new" thing at all. A large proportion of the successful studios at other publishers are british. Team 17 (Worms), Rockstar North (Lemmings, Grand Theft Auto), Eden (WRC, Test Drive next-gen), Melbourne House (Test drive current gen, Test Drive LeMans (DC)).

      The reason if anything is that while America had a tendancy to buy NES in the 1980s, the british were a lot more keen on programmable computers. The NES sold well, the Master system much better, but they were all blown into the weeds by the Spectrum,CPC and C64 (and later the Amiga). Any bedroom guy could and did write commercial software, that's how Molyneux and Rare (as "Ultimate - play the game") got started, and countless others.

      Worms was sent to Team 17 almost complete too.

    3. Re:Britian's Silicon Valley. by FinestLittleSpace · · Score: 1

      it's true that a lot of good british development has died in the past 5 years. Rare didn't run out of ideas... they lost most of their key developers... just look at how most of the key Goldeneye lot left to form the timesplitters team.... it's sad, as rare really were amazing at their peak.

    4. Re:Britian's Silicon Valley. by F_Scentura · · Score: 1

      "Is Great Britian the 'Silicon Valley' of gaming"

      I think some areas in Texas would better qualify.

    5. Re:Britian's Silicon Valley. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Silicon Valley is the Silicon Valley of gaming.

    6. Re:Britian's Silicon Valley. by AndrewHowe · · Score: 2, Informative

      Melbourne House are in Australia. As in, Melbourne, Australia.

  3. Aha! by MyLongNickName · · Score: 3, Funny

    We now know why Microsoft could not afford to buy Bill the digital whiteboard he wants so bad...

    --
    See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
  4. Put some of that Black and White experience to use by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    In hyping Windows Vista as the greatest thing EVER and then letting everyone down with how much it sucks.

  5. lionhead by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 1

    Admittedly, I've only ever played one Lionhead game, but that experience and what I've read of their other games was enough to keep me away from them. I bought into B&W because it was supposed to be an amazing sim/strategy game. It royally sucked. And from I've heard about the hype surrounding B&W2 and Fable and what they actually delivered, things haven't changed. Then again, MS really only seems interested in selling hype and not delivering a product that meets that hype, so maybe it's a perfect match.

    --
    This guy's the limit!
  6. There goes another good game co to hell... by Fallen+Kell · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Everytime MS buys a gamd company, the games then fall apart and then suck. I don't know what they do to them. Look at Bungie Soft, the same people who gave us the Marathon series and Myth series. Marathon was the FPS on Mac for forever, the Doom of the system, and in some aspects even more fun. And if you never played the first Myth: The Fallen Lords, you missed possibly the best real time tactics game ever made in the genera (or any after mods like WWII which converted everything into a WWII units of soldiers, medics, even tanks).

    Then MS came... well, all I can say is go look for games that have the Bungie Studio's logo somewhere on the game now... They are most definitly NOT the only one this happened to. I firmely believe that MS does not have the corporate presence and structuring that is needed to actually produce good games. I personally believe they shreded the Mechwarrior series. Mechwarrior 2 is still the best in my opinion. But do you want to know why? It is because Activision at least gave a HUGE selection of mechs and weapons. There were more different mechs in Mechwarrior2+GhostBear Expansion then in ALL the later games in the series COMBINED. Part of the whole idea in that game is that you really DON'T know all the different mechs that might be feilded against you. That you don't know the weakness of everybody, or their strengths until you get smacked hard by something that surprised the crap out of you...

    --
    We were all warned a long time ago that MS products sucked, remember the Magic 8 Ball said, "Outlook not so good"
    1. Re:There goes another good game co to hell... by code-e255 · · Score: 1

      I disagree. All the latest PC games published by Microsoft Games I've played were stable and fairly bug-free at release, something that a lot of publishes these days just don't seem to give a f*ck about. That means Microsoft don't rush their developers, they support them. Besides, it's the developer who makes the game, not the publisher. If a game sucks, it's probably the developer's fault. Financing, marketing, and maybe quality assurance - that's the publisher's job. The only way a publisher can screw a game up is by trying to control what the developers make, forcing them to make an early release, or by not paying them to make patches after release. As far as I know, Microsoft Games don't do any of that.

      Ever heard of Freelancer, Rise of Nations, or Age of Empires? Those are published by MSG.

    2. Re:There goes another good game co to hell... by Swanktastic · · Score: 3, Funny

      I also disagree. The Bungie Webmaster in 1996 is just as funny in 2006.

    3. Re:There goes another good game co to hell... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Everytime MS buys a game company, the games then fall apart and then suck. I don't know what they do to them.

      Having lived through the Microsoft buyout of a game studio, perhaps I provide some insight into why acquired studios seem to lose their mojo. Disclaimer: This are my opinions only, and come from the individual contributior perspective, not that of the studio management.

      First off, Microsoft corporate culture does not map well to a typical successful game studio, and no matter what assurances are given that the studio's culture and operations are going to be left intact, within a couple years the studio becomes fully integrated into the 'Microsoft Way'.

      Probably most destructive are the Microsft one-size fits all HR policies such as stack ranking. Game development is truly a team effort, and successful studios have managed to create teams where most of the performers are above average. Instead of being able to reward people fairly, a pre-determined number of people each year have to be given a "poor" review which includes no compensation increases of any sort, and the warning that if they fail to improve by next year, they will be on the list of people to be 'managed out'. On the other end, a smaller pre-determined number of people will be rewarded handsomly no matter if they have not produced anything to merit such. So a culture of teamwork, focus on the product,and pride in the company will quickly morph into a culture of individual self-promotion, politicts and backstabbing, and a disdain for the company.

      Additionally, as part of Microsoft, the studio no longer has the urgency to make the next game great and complete it in a timely manner. With Microsoft's billions insuring financial stability if a game is cancelled, and no direct financial upside to producing a hit game, the pressure of living close to the edge that was present in the old culture that helped the team focus is supplanted by a devil may care attiude that creeps into the 'rank and file'.

      As a result, many of the developers tranform from passionate, competitive people who strive for excellence into someone who just 'does their job' and goes home at 6pm sharp. Others just leave for greener pastures. Management gets thier large bonuses in any event.

      There are other issues of course, such as loss of control over future projects, headcount restrictions that prevent a studio from hiring desperatly needed people, and so on.

    4. Re:There goes another good game co to hell... by justins · · Score: 1
      Then MS came... well, all I can say is go look for games that have the Bungie Studio's logo somewhere on the game now...

      You could say a lot more. The games Bungie is making are still extremely good. The problem isn't that quality has diminished, it has not. It's that the have become Xbox-oriented.
      --
      Now before I get modded down, I be to remind whoever might read this that what I am saying is FACT. - bogaboga
    5. Re:There goes another good game co to hell... by EmperorKagato · · Score: 1

      Myth 2: Soulblighter has all the best mods since it was easier to mod development.

      The Halo series is one of the leading products on the XBox.

      --
      ----- You know you have ego issues when you register a domain in your name.
    6. Re:There goes another good game co to hell... by sho222 · · Score: 1

      Everytime MS buys a gamd company, the games then fall apart and then suck. I don't know what they do to them. Look at Bungie Soft

      I'm confused. Haven't you played Halo2? Wasn't that developed by Bungie while under Microsoft? That's one of the best games ever made.

    7. Re:There goes another good game co to hell... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      bullshit. Halo2 has nothing on nethack.

    8. Re:There goes another good game co to hell... by richlv · · Score: 1

      i don't think parent referred to tecnical qualito of games. it was more about gameplay quality.

      now, aoe and aoe2 were one of best rts games i've seen. aoe3 was crap.
      not that they are the only ones, lately there are less and less interesting games. oldschool games like simon the sorcerer or larry are bastardised by 3d. great fun series like carmageddon ar fscked up (carmageddon 3 sucked badly).
      lately i'm checking out games for linux - scorched3d, wesnoth, liquidwar. games that are fun to play, even though they are small and without extra graphics :)
      ooh. just noticed, there is a linux version of tapan kaikki for some time already. see ya ;)

      --
      Rich
    9. Re:There goes another good game co to hell... by spysmily1 · · Score: 1

      The fact that the Myth series and Marathon were so great is your opinion. The popular opinion, at least the retail opinion, is that these companies games were not that great otherwise they would not have to sell out. Maybe in an alternate universe those companies would have done better as the population's favor of game buying would be different. That's the thing I dislike about the parent comment, and any comment that rips on one company buying out another, is that since they believe they like the product so much they feel that everyone else believes the same. If the situation was the other way around I bet you there would be just as many complaining that Microsoft's series of games was now going to be ruined by Lionhead based on their current quality of games.

      --
      Videogames made me kill people...I also eat mushrooms to grow bigger.
    10. Re:There goes another good game co to hell... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This all sounds too familiar to the way EA is run.

    11. Re:There goes another good game co to hell... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You don't believe how I agree. If I knew of a company where I could use my abilities I would leave immediately, and even accept a pay cut. And by the way, Microsoft exercises less control over project direction than our last publisher - but under our last publisher we produced good games. At least that explains why that one didn't buy us...

  7. "/." fans were never realistic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "They make pains to say they won't be excercising creative control, but another 2 failiures like B+W2 and the movies and you wonder how long that will survive."

    Maybe with "fans" like demonstrated here they're guarenteed to fail. The Movies just came out this year and people are already ready to condemn it. I'm certain the Machinima (or Sims fans)* community doesn't feel the same.

    *BTW I believe it's Spielberg that came out with a Directors game several years ago.

    1. Re:"/." fans were never realistic by Duds · · Score: 1

      I have to say I didn't "get" the movies at all. The tutorial was utterly useless and it was very confusing. I loved the idea though, I'll probably end up buying it on budget rather than trying to make sense of it at a mate's house.

      I liked Fable, I love everything he did with Bullfrog.

      But I'm talking brutal commercial reality here. \. isn't exactly representative because every topic about Lionhead becomes "cut and paste microsoft gags with lionhead inserted".

  8. Re:Put some of that Black and White experience to by tourvil · · Score: 5, Funny
    Perhaps they could use their B&W experience to reintroduce clippy as a trainable creature.

    Clippy: It looks like you are trying to write a letter. Would you like some help?

    *slap* *slap* *punch* *slap*

  9. Not suprized by Lokre · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I can't say that this was really that shocking. I really enjoyed Fable and B&W (haven't played 2) and am looking forward to Fable 2.

    I really wish that MS can give Pete the time to let some of his ideas come to fruition...I really was dissapointed when some of thefeatures i really wanted in Fable got cut. ( i.e. raising a family, multiplayer) I'm hoping we'll get a Fable sequel (mabey prequel?) that delivers all the promises of Fable 1 that didn't happen.

  10. From the article... by supabeast! · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "We are not afraid to take a risk. With Peter Molyneux you have someone who is able to push the boundaries."

    Isn't Molyneaux's whole problem that he gets all of these wild ideas and then fails to actually execute them? In which case is he really pushing boundaries, or just being mediocre?

    1. Re:From the article... by Jugalator · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Isn't Molyneaux's whole problem that he gets all of these wild ideas and then fails to actually execute them?

      But then maybe he's just the right guy to balance a company who rarely have any wilds ideas, but often suceeed in executing them? :-)

      --
      Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
  11. Bill Gates by babbling · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This is how Bill Gates *REALLY* works. Microsoft is having a tough time beating Sony, so they buy up the game companies and surprise, surprise, everything is "only on xbox".

    1. Re:Bill Gates by RexRhino · · Score: 1

      I am not aware of any Lionhead Studio games that have been available on any other console than the Xbox. Lionhead pretty much makes PC games, and I think there is only one game (Fable), that was converted to the Xbox.

      So it is not like there is some significant change in how Lionhead does buisness.

      But, I do agree with you, console exclusive games are annoying. But don't worry, Sony will compete the same way (that is why all the GTA games come out on Playstation 2 years before they are released for other platforms).

    2. Re:Bill Gates by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      B&W is coming to DS/PSP, although not by Lionhead IIRC.

      My biggest issue with this is that PM had shown an interest in the Revolution, and his games would be perfect for that control method. Now however there's no chance of that happening.

      I hate this buying up 3rd parties idea that Sony/MS seem to have introduced (I could be wrong, I wasn't into knowing the politics behind games before PS1). It stifles choice and means that the best games don't always end up on the most appropriate platforms.

  12. Goodbye Fable by kunwon1 · · Score: 1

    Ask yourself, has Rare put out anything worth a shit since they were acquired by Microsoft? The bell tolls for thee, Lionhead.

    So much for the Heroes Guild and those funny talking doors...

    --
    Specialization is for insects. -Heinlein
    1. Re:Goodbye Fable by code-e255 · · Score: 1

      Has Lionhead put out anything worth a shit, ever?

      Okay, maybe B&W sold fairly well due to all the hype, and Fable was a decent game for kids, but in my opinion Peter Monyneaux gets too much credit, and the games he works on are just mediocre. It doesn't really matter who publishes them.

    2. Re:Goodbye Fable by kunwon1 · · Score: 1

      Well, I -loved- Fable. It was a new direction for RPGs, and while it was too short, I'd rank it among my most-liked games in recent memory.

      --
      Specialization is for insects. -Heinlein
    3. Re:Goodbye Fable by smbarbour · · Score: 1

      What about the games he made under his previous studio, Bullfrog? Surely you can't think Syndicate, Populous, Magic Carpet, and Dungeon Keeper were all crap?

      Slightly OT:
      How many more big-name EA-acquired studio designers are left for Microsoft to steal away? From Origin they got Chris Roberts (Wing Commander -> Starlancer/Freelancer), From Bullfrog/Lionhead they have Peter Molyneaux. I can think of two more big names (although I don't know if they'd go): Maxis' Will Wright and Origin's Richard Garriott (who has a new company now if I'm not mistaken).

      Also, although not part of an EA studio, Chris Taylor (who made Total Annihilation) went to Microsoft and created Dungeon Siege.

      Another OT:
      Do you think MS will make a patch for B&W 1 so that I can finally finish playing it? It's hasn't worked since I upgraded to XP from 98. (Probably not, I guess)

    4. Re:Goodbye Fable by snuf23 · · Score: 1

      With Lionhead no. Honestly, Peter Molyneux's work with Bullfrog was much more groundbreaking. Populous was the first appearence of many of the elements now common in RTS games. At Bullfrog Molyneux was involved with some fantastic and groundbreaking games:

      Populous
      Powermonger
      Theme Park
      Syndicate
      Magic Carpet
      Dungeon Keeper

      Great stuff and games I highly enjoyed. I guess the only reason I pay attention to him is in hoping that he'll hit paydirt again. Who knows if he will. Of course the same could be said for my interest in what Richard Garriott does.

      --
      Sometimes my arms bend back.
  13. Re:Put some of that Black and White experience to by orderb13 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Yeah, but then Clippy will end up crapping all over your word doc and then eating some of the letter at random. I mean, how are you going to explain that to your boss? "I'm sorry, but Clippy ate it."

  14. total creative control by CheechWizz · · Score: 2, Insightful
    I just hope they start making some good games again. Back in the days Peter Molyneux made some very nice stuff but ever since he left Bullfrog and started Lionhead most of his stuff was more about the hype than about the games. Some people liked B&W 1 but I never could get into it, too many little annoiances to be really entertaining. Fable was good, but way, way too short, I finished it in one day and I wasn't even trying. That's basically the story of lionhead games, good idea, poor execution (wheter it be controls, length or something else).

    I think his problem is that now he's a super-mega-uber game developer and people are to much in awe of him and his status to go against him on game design issues and in the end it's hurting the games. At Bullfrog there probably were enough people around that knew him before he got the status he now has to tell him an element of the game wasn't working.Giving creatives who made a couple of hits total creative control is seldom a good thing, just look at George Lucas(first example to come to mind, Image comics is another) , creativity flourishes within confines.

    Having somebody to answer to is probably really good for Lionhead, altough Microsoft would'nt be my first choice I would've rather seen Ubisoft buying them, they seem to be really on the ball the last couple of years.

    1. Re:total creative control by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Man you got that dead right. I worked for the guy. Talk about someone not wanting to hear criticism. You wouldnt believe the crap decisions that he has pushed through everyone, regardless of the whole team thinking it was a dumb idea. The comparison with george Lucas is perfect, although GL isnt actually a hypemeister like Peter.
      To be honest, the worst, most destructive thing about the company was PM, and ironically, thats what everyone wants to pay money for the company for. The best thing that could happen to LH is for PM to retire.

    2. Re:total creative control by J-Doggqx · · Score: 1

      I never got into Black & White, but I bought Fable because it was supposed to be completely open RPG full of character customization and bursting to the gills with content.

      What I got instead was a short, linear game with repetitive enemies and unoriginal story. What really irked my friends and I was the fact that the game forced you to be a warrior that could also use magic and a bow, instead of being only a wizard or archer. After that my friends and I decided to black list any future games that were associated with Peter Molyneux.

      His ability to hype a lackluster product is brilliant though, so he should fit in with Microsoft's OS division at least.

      --
      END OF LINE
  15. Re:I bet you below and above me right now... by Duds · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I was going to flame you until my ontopic comments were ignored for 2 "hillarious" and utterly offtopic anti-windows rants.

  16. thank god by Davey+McDave · · Score: 0

    EA didn't get Lionhead? Phew! At least Lionhead isn't in the clutches of an evil, ruthlessly monopolising corporation, eh? .. eh?

    --
    I've got the spirit, lose the feeling.
  17. Re:Put some of that Black and White experience to by Dr.+Spork · · Score: 1

    Yeah, I also thought Mr. Malyneaux talked a good game, but as far as I can tell, they still haven't written a good game. It was maybe merciful for MS to buy them, now they can subsidize their sucking.

  18. oh no!! by seventhc · · Score: 1

    Does this mean the games will no longer work?? Or will they just suck? Or a little of both, maybe they will suck and you'll be happy when it crashes. Time will tell.

    --
    'sig' deleted due to the stupidity of it's 'nature'
    1. Re:oh no!! by snuf23 · · Score: 1

      Oddly enough most of the stuff coming out of MS games division is pretty stable.
      And they did relase Rise of Nations which is IMHO one of the best RTS games of all time.

      --
      Sometimes my arms bend back.
  19. Ask Oddworld by metamatic · · Score: 1

    After Lorne Lanning sold out and agreed to make Munch's Oddysee an Xbox exclusive, Microsoft expected him to deliver.

    It didn't, perhaps not surprising since he had pissed off most of the Oddworld fan base. So Microsoft dumped them. Now they're making FPS games for EA ("Stranger's Wrath").

    --
    GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
    1. Re:Ask Oddworld by Duds · · Score: 1

      I loved Munch's. It's easily my favourite of the 4 Oddworld games.

      I agree though it's good evidence. It didn't work at EA either, they've actually pulled out of games now.

  20. RIP Lionhead by Tom · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Too bad, another game company with great ideas bites the dust. Yes, I mean that. Look at Bungie - whatever came of them? Halo 2 their greatest idea since M$ bought them out?

    Of course, what M$ wants - what M$ needs - are a few killer games that are Xbox-exclusive. Probably half of the original xbox sales were thanks to Halo. With the PS3 rapidly approaching, the 360 will lose a lot of market share if there aren't any great exclusive games, and quickly.

    --
    Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
  21. Don't worry?! by babbling · · Score: 1

    Don't worry because Sony will compete in the same way?! That's a bad thing. Two wrongs don't make a right.

  22. Resistance is FUBAR! by berenixium · · Score: 1
    Damn! They got Molineux. Rest In Peace, buddy.

    Captain John Luc Picard (Steve Jobs): "We've made too many compromises already; too many retreats. They invade our space and we fall back. They assimilate entire worlds and we fall back. Not again. The line must be drawn here! This far, no further! And *I* will make them pay for what they've done."
  23. hopefully by carterhawk001 · · Score: 1

    microsoft will not end up hurting lionhead. the deep pockets of MS could give lionhead a lot more freedom that in already has.

  24. Farewell Lionheart by WarpGiGA · · Score: 1

    I shall never buy or play a game published by Microsoft. As B&W was among my favorite games of all times in terms of archievement and innovation I am sad to have to say goodbye to the Black & White games, and it seems everything Lionheart will ever produce...

    (Ofcourse everyone who followed you like me, knew/feared this would eventually happen with the xbox exclusives and Microsofts determination to buy innovation instead of innovating themselves, I'm not sure what would have been worse EA or Microsoft but at least I'm still allowing myself to play EA games.)

    Farewell Lionheart, may all your wishes come true.

  25. so much for Linux by MikeFM · · Score: 2, Insightful

    So much for Linux versions. From a developer that was at least warm to the concept. Damn.

    --
    At what price learning? At what cost wisdom? The price is a man's peace of mind, and the cost is his life.
  26. Farewell by rabbot · · Score: 1

    R.I.P. Lionhead. I hope they at least gave you a plot next to Rare. I'll come lay some flowers.

  27. My prediction for one year from now... by LordZardoz · · Score: 1

    I would have to guess that one year from now, either Lionhead will be shut down or that Molyneux will move on and start a new studio.

    Molyneux tends to make games that are very high concept and that often have a more niche fanbase then say, a Project Gotham or Halo type game. Microsoft is probably not the best fit as a publisher for them. I suspect that whoever holds the purse strings will end up demanding certain changes in a given title, or that Molyneux will end up wanting to delay a game to get it perfect, and that the resulting conflict will end the working relationship.

    I could be wrong, however. Microsoft is not chronically stupid. Its also possible that Microsoft as a publisher will exert a positive influence by keeping Molyneux from overhyping his games, and keep him on a track that gets his games finished in a timely fashion. Microsoft is not EA, after all, nad has been known to back some very good and original games.

    END COMMUNICATION

  28. RIP blah blah blah. by xtieburn · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Take a look at the companies MS Games has bought up.

    Bungie made Halo by a long long way the most succesful game they ever created.
    Digital Anvil made freelancer the most succesful game they ever created.
    Ensemble Studios made Age of Empires the most succesful game they ever created. (I hope your noting the pattern here)
    FASA made Crimson Skies the most succesful game they ever created.
    Rare remain the only studio that hasnt prospered quite as much as theyd hoped though with Perfect Dark and Kameo. Hardly a bad start.

    (and lets not have 'Bungie made Halo for PC!' crap. Thats not the point, MS not killing off the studio, is.)

    Lionhead was going down. You had either EA, Ubisoft or Microsoft. So which do you want? EA who has bought and dissolved countless companies with no regard for there worth? Ubisoft who have recently taken a liking to absurd protection methods. Or Microsoft who buy up companies to use there names and ideas exclusively? Its not exactly a clear cut 'MS are teh evil' situation.

    I know to a lot of people they're the big evil corporation but seriously take a step back and look around for two seconds. You really think the other publishers are better? In fact take a look at the other studios MS owns, you really think Lionhead is gone now?

    Im not saying bad things arnt going to happen to molyneux's baby but MS, in this case, is arguably there best option. (With Ubisoft coming a close second. Lets not even suggest the Bullfrog destroying EA.) Heck, Id even go so far as to say they stand a chance of releasing some pretty solid stuff.

    A little less of the incessant farewell, RIP, crap and perhaps a little more perspective on what is going on.

    1. Re:RIP blah blah blah. by Dutchmaan · · Score: 1

      Bungie made Halo by a long long way the most succesful game they ever created.

      Moot point. Bungie had created the Halo concept and game engine before MS took them. One should ask.. what has Bungie produced since their acquisition by MS. Oh yeah, Halo2. and soon to be Halo3.

      MS took a creative game company and turned it into a digital factory.

    2. Re:RIP blah blah blah. by xtieburn · · Score: 1

      No, your just looking at pre MS bungie with rose tinted lenses.

      Bungie has made pretty much nothing other than Halo type games. Pathways in to Darkness, Marathon, Marathon 2 and Marathon Infinity leading up in to Halo are all essentially progressions of the previous game. They even have similar worlds and themes running through them.

      With the exception of myth (Which, because Take2 already owned 20% of Bungie before MS got there, went to them. As in MS cant continue that series.) and Oni (Which was released while MS were in control.) your 'creative' game company has been churning out the same kind of game for its entire existence.

      but then so has ID and they're pretty succesful. Its daft to think that continuing a succesful line of games is some how wrong or that the company was this creative powerhouse before Microsoft ruined them. Neither are true.

    3. Re:RIP blah blah blah. by mister_slim · · Score: 1
      I'll assume you're not talking about the Crimson Skies that was made by Zipper (now owned by Sony).

      The team that made High Road to Revenge was dissolved, with the employees laid off.

    4. Re:RIP blah blah blah. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So you're saying that Bungie always made unoriginal shooters, and Halo was successful because of Microsoft's huge piles of advertising money? Fair enough.

      I think the fanboys have subsided enough now, I can say that I Love Bees was the best creative work to come from Bungie's universe, and it wasn't even made by Bungie. The Halo universe in itself has about as much depth as a potato chip.

  29. RIP blah blah blah.-Earth: Final Activation. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Ubisoft who have recently taken a liking to absurd protection methods. "

    Oh I don't know. Midway with their online activation for Earth 2160 is not far behind.*

    *Just like XP and we all know how we feel about XP.

  30. So.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Will Lionhead games now be released late with half their features cut and receive poor critical reception?
     
    Oh, wait....

  31. The Movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    IMHO the great missed opportunity with The Movies was that it should have been released as the ultimate toy for creating your own machinima movies. Apart from gamers, many people who don't normally play games would have been interested - schools, ad agencies, film companies, etc. Instead, the game was marketed as yet another god game, and if you bought it, drearily forced you to try to run a studio before letting you into the fantastic machinima-creation functionality. A wasted opportunity and now Lionhead pays the price. If MS re-released just the 'make your own machina movie' functionality as a stand-alone tool/game for PC I believe they could have a hit.

  32. Re:Put some of that Black and White experience to by PhoenixOne · · Score: 1
    Isn't that exactly what Clippy does now?

    --
    Spell cheek you've failed me four the last thyme!
  33. Probably as much worth as RARE... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I mean, come on. They managed to skip a WHOLE generation while making some relatively mediocre games.