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Ghostbusters Game Confirmed, On Hold

Posted by Zonk on from the back-off-man-i'm-a-scientist dept.

IGN confirms a delicious rumour that's been circulating since this past weekend. Yes, Virginia, there is a next-gen Ghostbusters game currently in the works. Footage from the work in progress, made up by developer Zootfly, has been circulating with much debate over its authenticity. Unfortunately, right now it doesn't look like we'll be seeing this title any time soon. From the article: "We are very glad to see the overwhelming response to the Ghostbusters prototype movies. What you've seen is indeed in-game footage of early prototypes on the Xbox 360, running on ZootFly's proprietary engine. Due to licensing issues, further development of the Ghostbusters game hit a bump on the road. But everybody here at ZootFly is working actively on resolving the challenges with the owners of the Ghostbusters IP."

74 comments

  1. ahh by nomadic · · Score: 1

    So many good memories of the David Crane Ghostbusters game from the 80s...

    This looks a bit too FPSish though.

    1. Re:ahh by MaXiMiUS · · Score: 1

      Would you prefer a role playing game? Or perhaps a strategy? Action? Adventure?

      They're just names, a name doesn't make a game. I just wish this was a rumor about them developing it for the Wii, instead of the 360 ;)

      --
      It's never just a game when you're winning. - George Carlin
    2. Re:ahh by Skidge · · Score: 1

      Yeah, that was the first computer game I ever got. I have a feeling it wouldn't be all that great if I went back to play it now, but I spent many hours playing it on my Tandy.

    3. Re:ahh by AKAImBatman · · Score: 2, Informative
      So many good memories of the David Crane Ghostbusters game from the 80s...

      Dang, beat me to it. There goes my "what do you mean it's on hold?" gag. :P

      As a consolation prize, here's a link to information on the game (for those who don't know):

      http://www.atariage.com/software_page.html?Softwar eLabelID=208

      If you don't have an Atari 2600 and/or don't want to track down a physical cart, it's not hard to find the ROMs on the 'net. You can use this little proggie for emulation:

      http://stella.sourceforge.net/

      Just remember to read the manual in my first link before playing! The 2600 was fun at times, but it was nowhere near as userfriendly as modern systems. Things that we take for granted today (e.g. title menus, controller buttons to start games, graphical option selection, etc.) were all invented after the 2600 was nearly dead and buried. (Or was that undead and outliving CD-ROM consoles?)
      --
      Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
    4. Re:ahh by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 2, Insightful
      This looks a bit too FPSish though.
      Normally I'm among the first to complain about FPSes made from licenses that just aren't FPSish (coughstartrekvoyagercough) but IMO this actually fits. The movie is actually about guys who shoot stuff, and I for one spent far too much of my 1980s-based childhood in my backyard wearing my school backpack and shooting imaginary ghosts with the garden hose to not want to similarly bust ghosts on an Xbox.
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      Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
    5. Re:ahh by mwvdlee · · Score: 2, Insightful

      http://c64s.com/game/1362/ghostbusters/ :)

      FPS-style might work if they don't follow the archetypical "shoot anything that move" game shown in the trailer. IMHO, a ghostbusters game must include:

        - Racing the Ghostbusters car.
        - Cooperative multiplayer.
        - The need for the capture unit to "kill" ghosts.
        - Strong puzzle/tactical elements.
        - Humor (not a strict requirement perhaps, but the movies have humor too).

      But that's just my opinion, and it'll probably end up as a run-of-the-mill plasma-gore-fest shoot-em-up which appeals to nobody but spotty teenage boys.

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    6. Re:ahh by gEvil+(beta) · · Score: 3, Funny

      ...I for one spent far too much of my 1980s-based childhood in my backyard wearing my school backpack and shooting imaginary ghosts with the garden hose...

      Just please don't tell us how your little sister got "slimed."

      --
      This guy's the limit!
    7. Re:ahh by blincoln · · Score: 1

      FWIW, the C64 version linked in a post below is (AFAIK) the best version, as it has content and features not in the other releases. They all have the same basic gameplay, the C64 vesion just lets you do more and has nicer graphics.

      Plus it has the copyright or something in the screen overscan area, which I remember was a l33+ programming trick at the time.

      --
      "...always new atoms but always doing the same dance, remembering what the dance was yesterday." -Richard Feynman
    8. Re:ahh by JayBlalock · · Score: 1
      Don't forget about the Sega Master System version! While probably the most obscure release of the game, it had *by far* the best graphics and all the regular features.

      But can we all agree, at least, that the NES was completely worthless and awful?

      --
      Bush: He's Liberal in all the wrong ways.
  2. man by hamburger+lady · · Score: 1

    it would be really cool if they kept that bit where you had to sneak in the building under the feet of the jumping marshmallow man. or the marshmallow-man-bait. that was pretty rad.

    --

    ---
    Is this the MPAA? Is this the RIAA? Is this the DMCA? I thought it was the USA!
  3. ghostbusters, ah my old favorite by justkarl · · Score: 1

    I used to love those movies. I'd buy it...too bad I'm still a PS2 user and don't really want to blow big bucks on a new console. :(

  4. Video by lbmouse · · Score: 1

    Found some video:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmvuH2QpXvc

    1. Re:Video by Who235 · · Score: 1

      That was video of the old Ghostbusters game.

      I think you crossed your streams.

  5. keep the Bill Murray video games coming! by Mowie_X · · Score: 1

    A Groundhog Day type game would be pretty cool. But I guess it would be pretty easy to figure out how to finish if you've seen the movie.

    1. Re:keep the Bill Murray video games coming! by tepples · · Score: 1

      To me, a Groundhog Day video game would be a social sim like Animal Crossing, except without the accumulation of stuff.

    2. Re:keep the Bill Murray video games coming! by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 1

      I've been playing that game for ages! You know, the one where you have to restore from a save point again and again until you finally complete the damn level...

      --
      Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
    3. Re:keep the Bill Murray video games coming! by justkarl · · Score: 1

      Ok, here's a couple more pitches for you:
      Caddyshack Golf sim(like Hot shots golf, etc)
      Lost in Translation RPG(you walk around Tokyo doing NOTHING for 2 hours)
      Garfield(good for the kids)

    4. Re:keep the Bill Murray video games coming! by Drachemorder · · Score: 1

      It might be something like Majora's Mask, I think. Could be fun.

    5. Re:keep the Bill Murray video games coming! by TheMadcapZ · · Score: 1

      Stripes: The Game

      Think Call of Duty meets Leisure Suit Larry.

    6. Re:keep the Bill Murray video games coming! by meringuoid · · Score: 3, Insightful
      A Groundhog Day type game would be pretty cool.

      A game in which you repeat the same short time period over and over experimenting with different approaches until you finally manage to resolve the problems of everybody in town? Nah. It'd never work. Now, if you make one with cute cartoon graphics and lots of fun sailing interludes, THAT would rock.

      (Current mood: heroic. Current music: Duran Duran, Hungry like the Wolf.)

      --
      Real Daleks don't climb stairs - they level the building.
  6. C64 ver 2.0? by Telepathetic+Man · · Score: 1

    I was never very good at the Commodore version. I blame it on youth and inexperience. I think I was only five or six years old when I first played it. Gearing up properly and budgeting was essential it seemed. I would frequently go broke within a few missions and end up not being able to pay the bills. Power bill? Uh oh, can't make that this month. Goodbye containment.

    --
    Just because you can, does not mean you should.
  7. Copy what, now? by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 1
    This sounds a lot like that Super Mario amusement park from a while back. Sure, these people have a neat concept and some demos, but they didn't get a comission or even permission from the IP holders to do anything with it. This is about as official as a Ghostbuster mod for Doom II, with about the same chance of ending up on retail shelves.
    "Not to lose the momentum, a part the ZootFly team is currently working on an original game called TimeO, which is closely related to Ghostbusters. The game follows the adventures of two die-hard New Yorkers. They get trapped deep in the shadow world of a parallel New York. The city itself is a war machine threatening to wipe out our world and they have three days to stop it. As soon as the Ghostbusters IP issue is resolved, the whole team will go back to Ghostbusters."
    How very interesting.. this seems almost exactly the plot of Dan Aykroyd's much-discussed "Ghostbusters in Hell" script for a third film that Murray and Ramis aren't into making.
    --
    Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
    1. Re:Copy what, now? by Mister+Whirly · · Score: 1

      "official as a Ghostbuster mod for Doom II, with about the same chance of ending up on retail shelves."

      Except for the fact that a new Ghostbusters movie is in the works (with no doubt countless other merchandise to be released), and Vivendi entertainment says that they are working on a Ghostbusters game...

      --
      "But this one goes to 11!"
    2. Re:Copy what, now? by Digital+Vomit · · Score: 1
      but they didn't get a comission or even permission from the IP holders to do anything with it

      Another great example of how intellectual property rights promote the creation of new and interesting things.

      :-(

      --
      Modern copyright is theft of culture from everyone and it retards the progress of the useful arts and sciences.
  8. Wrong system! by tarlos25 · · Score: 1

    Put it on the GameCube (or the Wii, I'll get one eventually) and I'll consider it. Maybe for the PS2, but I don't have an XBOX and don't want one yet.

    1. Re:Wrong system! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh Noes!!!11! Tarlos isn't going to buy the game! That must mean it sucks and I shouldn't buy it either!

      Really, who cares what you would 'consider?' Do you have something to add to the conversation? If not, STFU and GBTW.

    2. Re:Wrong system! by Taulin · · Score: 1

      I also agree the Wiimote would be good, but it's futile to yell a game is on the wrong system. You need to get the system that has the most games you want to for it(360). Not get a system you want and hope games come out for it(Wii).

  9. When there's something strange... by SuperStretchy · · Score: 1

    Who ya gonna call- to get this published? I think a old-school TMNT OHV-type game would be fun...

  10. Meanwhile, in remake country... by Iwanowitch · · Score: 1

    Not exactly next-gen, but hey, there are people around DOING something about the lack of Ghostbuster games...

    --
    One CS student VS 893 DOS games: Let's play oldies
  11. This would be another fine use... by ciw42 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ...for the Wii-mote/Nunchuck combination.

    In fact, I'm more excited by this than I was by the prospect of having light-sabre battles. Not that I'll be holding my breath.

    1. Re:This would be another fine use... by camperdave · · Score: 2, Funny

      Not that I'll be holding my breath.

      Apparently, that's not the only thing you should be not holding

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
  12. A new Ghostbusters Game?! by Manmademan · · Score: 3, Funny

    What next? Forty Years of Darkness? Earthquakes? Volcanoes? The dead, rising from the grave? Dogs and Cats, living together?

    1. Re:A new Ghostbusters Game?! by Stalin · · Score: 2, Funny

      Mass hysteria.

  13. Wii Controller... by Hercynium · · Score: 1

    I *so* want to see a Ghostbusters game \on the Wii!

    I imagine aiming at the ghosts with the remote while moving with the nunchuck... and with today's graphics the ghosts would look phenomenal!

    --
    I'm done with sigs. Sigs are lame.
    1. Re:Wii Controller... by Lectoid · · Score: 1

      Luigi's Mansion

      --
      Is it just me, or do you hate it when people say "Is it just me..."?
    2. Re:Wii Controller... by radish · · Score: 1

      ... and with today's graphics the ghosts would look phenomenal!

      With today's graphics yes, with the Wii's.....I'm not so sure :)

      --

      ---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"

    3. Re:Wii Controller... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      don't forget pushing the controller towards the screen or flicking the nunchuk to throw out the trap!

    4. Re:Wii Controller... by NonSequor · · Score: 1

      Elebits is probably the next best thing. It's incredibly satisfying to throw cars around with the capture gun.

      --
      My only political goal is to see to it that no political party achieves its goals.
    5. Re:Wii Controller... by Hercynium · · Score: 1

      Well, graphics are nice and all, but if a Ghostbusters game does come to the Wii, I'll be the first to market with a silly-string attachment for the remote!

      Silly string attachment - $10.00
      Silly string refills - $2.00
      Silly string cleaner for your living room and your precious flat-panel TV - $39.95!

      --
      I'm done with sigs. Sigs are lame.
    6. Re:Wii Controller... by Guppy06 · · Score: 1

      Don't cross the nunchuks!

  14. Well by hkgroove · · Score: 5, Funny

    Development on the game was going fine until dickless here shut off the power grid.

    1. Re:Well by drinkypoo · · Score: 3, Funny

      Is this true?
      Yes, it's true, this man has no dick.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  15. Wrong system! Wiimote Greater than HD... by trdrstv · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Put it on the GameCube (or the Wii, I'll get one eventually) and I'll consider it. Maybe for the PS2, but I don't have an XBOX and don't want one yet.

    You know... I can't help but Agree that this would be hella fun on the Wii. Infact I have a Wii60 that is hooked to an HDTV (Component cables on both), and if it were multiplatform I would pick the Wii version if it 'put me in the suit' and used the WiiMote as the Proton pack...

    In fact I think of Ghostbusters while playing Elebits. HD graphics are nice, but immersion with the WiiMote would trump all.

  16. No GB3. by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 1

    Despite the recent resurge of rumors, there isn't a GB3 in the works, according to many sources including Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. Aykroyd has had a script ready for ages, but Bill Murray had zero interest in it, studios weren't into it, and even Harold Ramis has cooled on the idea at this point.

    --
    Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
    1. Re:No GB3. by Mister+Whirly · · Score: 1

      Hey, I never claimed it would be a good movie... I am thinking it will be more like the Dukes of Hazzard or Starsky and Hutch - you know, a crappy remake with little or nothing to do with the original...

      --
      "But this one goes to 11!"
  17. big understatement by slurry47 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    " - Humor (not a strict requirement perhaps, but the movies have humor too)."

    Wow, "have humor?"

    The first Ghostbusters is one of the funniest films of all time.

    "Why worry? Each one of us is carrying an unlicensed nuclear accelerator on his back."

    --


    Dirt doesn't need luck.
    1. Re:big understatement by chrysrobyn · · Score: 1
      " - Humor (not a strict requirement perhaps, but the movies have humor too)."

      Wow, "have humor?" The first Ghostbusters is one of the funniest films of all time.

      Did you even see the second one? The inside of the Statue of Liberty was covered in Pink Mood Slime and she was driven around with a joystick. That's not even approaching funny. The first movie was great. The cartoon was a staple of many children's Saturday mornings and later their schoolday afternoons. The second movie was like the second Gremlins.

      [Homer voice]MMMmmmm. Ecto Cooler Hi-C.[/Homer voice]

      Only now does it occur to me that a Wii controller would be a great way to wield a proton pack...

    2. Re:big understatement by Quietude · · Score: 1

      Not just a joystick, an NES Advantage. The cartoon was great. The first movie was great. The second movie... stunk on ice. At least for the most part. "Only a Carpathian would come back now and choose... New York. Tasty pick, BONEHEAD!" "Vhy am I drippings vith goo?"

  18. Listen... by trdrstv · · Score: 1

    You smell something?

    1. Re:Listen... by Captain+Splendid · · Score: 1

      Back off, man. I'm a scientist.

      --
      Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
    2. Re:Listen... by Fozzyuw · · Score: 1
      Ray... When someone asks if you're a God... YOU SAY "YES"!
      Yes, have some.

      My childhood started at the end of the He-Man/Transformers/GI Joe time and moved into the Ghostbusters era. My best record, when I was a kid, was probably watching the first movie 3 times in a row. It's still one of the first movies I buy on any new format I own (VHS, DVD, PSP)

      Cheers,
      Fozzy

      --
      "The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth." ~1984 George Orwell
    3. Re:Listen... by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 1

      When somebody asks... if you're a mod... you say... YES!

      --

      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

    4. Re:Listen... by Apoklypse · · Score: 0

      "The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth." ~1984 George Orwell
      "The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth." ~2004 George Bush

  19. This would be great.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...on the Wii. Just imagine it with the controller.

  20. Idiots by bateleur · · Score: 1

    Who gets a game to that stage of development without the approval of the copyright holders?!

    Even if they cut some kind of deal now it's going to cost them a fortune.

    1. Re:Idiots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think one of them said "I ain't afraid of no copyright holder..."

    2. Re:Idiots by Maul · · Score: 1

      There may be a little more to just "getting permission" than they are at liberty to say. It is very likely that the game developers received permission to start developing a game, but later stages of the game need final approval from the IP holder. Or there are some disputes over royalties/distribution/etc. Or there are some gray areas as to who owns what IP related to the Ghostbuster's franchise that need to be cleared up before development continues.

      --

      "You spoony bard!" -Tellah

    3. Re:Idiots by Quietude · · Score: 1

      Nobody steps on copyright law in my town!

  21. Old school fun! by Valdrax · · Score: 1

    A Groundhog Day type game would be pretty cool. But I guess it would be pretty easy to figure out how to finish if you've seen the movie.

    Yes, but think of the replay value!

    --
    If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
  22. Does this mean .... by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 1

    .... it is vaporware.

    --
    Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
    1. Re:Does this mean .... by ObiWanKenblowme · · Score: 1

      It's free-floating, vaporous apparition-ware.

      --
      Obvious exits are NORTH, SOUTH, and DENNIS.
  23. Is this true? by amliebsch · · Score: 1, Redundant

    Yes, it's true. This man was no Wii.

    --
    If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.
  24. It's 106 miles to Chicago... by cei · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm waiting to see a Blues Brothers GTA mod, myself...

    Hit it.

    --
    This sig intentionally left justified.
  25. Comedy, not sci-fi shooter by FarSide0013 · · Score: 1

    Ghostbusters wasn't about the shootout with the ghost. Remember the hotel sequence. They spent more time on Venkman getting slimed, blowing up maid's carts and "clearing" the banquet hall then they did shooting the ghost. If the developers nail that humorous part of it, the absurdity of the situation and focus less on the "I have a gun to stop the ghosts from taking over the world" part of it, then I'll be more interested.

  26. Personally... by trogdor8667 · · Score: 1

    I'd be much happier with a Ghostbuster's 3... I could care less about a Ghostbuster's game because I know it won't be worth my time...

    1. Re:Personally... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Much like proper use of an apostrophe.

  27. The secret level by hellfire · · Score: 1

    There's rumors that there's a secret level named "Keymaster tapz dat Gatekeeper" that can only be accessed via a hack distributed on the web.

    --

    "All great wisdom is contained in .signature files"

    1. Re:The secret level by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, isn't it called "Hot Ectoplasm" or something? I think you have to slide your Proton Beam into her Containment Unit...

  28. Holy crap a ghostbusters game? by hellfire · · Score: 1

    Mother pus bucket!!

    --

    "All great wisdom is contained in .signature files"

  29. Re:Comedy, not sci-fi shooter. Use the Script! by trdrstv · · Score: 1

    The Humor is the key. It would be sweet if they took Akroid's script he was shopping around for Ghostbusters 3 and made that the basis of the game.

  30. Is this true? by techstar25 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yes it's true. This man has no dick.

  31. Re:Comedy, not sci-fi shooter. Use the Script! by Conspiracy_Of_Doves · · Score: 1

    Isn't that the script that they turned into the movie 'Evolution' starring David Duchovny?

    --

    Technoli
  32. Ectoplasmic orgasm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Man, say what you will, but this video looks badass. C'mon, tearing away layers of brick with your proton stream? DUDE.

    I'm personally just hoping that if the project is green-lighted, the production team doesn't pull a Uwe Boll and turn the whole game into a mindless shooter. Busting ghosts was only half the fun, the other half was the quirky humor.

  33. It's release date.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...is planned for after Duke Nukem Forever hits the shelves.
    Sometime after the sun has cooled.