Thread for topic that screwed up Digital Anvil thread

[Bandit LOAF]

​

Gamespot has announced that Microsoft will close their Austin Digital Anvil studios in the next month.

The professional news sites will probably eulogize Digital Anvil as the proverbial little engine that couldn't, an attempt by Wing Commander's Chris Roberts' to fight the power and set up a small studio in an era when good development meant big money.

That's a disservice: Digital Anvil was never small. They launched with three announced titles in the works and a fourth under wraps... and at the same time developed some of the highest quality film work in the world, basically in their spare time. Others may complain that Digital Anvil shipped only four games - but well note that all four were truly amazing, fun experiences that harkened back to the glory days of computer gaming.

I had the opportunity to visit both Digital Anvil studios several times. Their original base, at Third and Congress in downtown Austin, was a beautiful homage to all things Wing Commander -- game posters on all the wall, movie props on every flat surface. Digital Anvil was a classy operation. The new offices, also downtown and soon to be empty, were clean and professional... and they reminded me more of Origin's old offices than anywhere else in the world.

What's more, their employees were consummate professionals. Many have moved on since, but men like Adam Foshko, Martin Galway, John Guentzel, Jorg Neumann, Eric Peterson, Chris and Erin Roberts and Phil Wattenberger are the best in the business; friendly to an old Wing Commander fan such as myself and at the same time responsible for world class game development.


The Wing Commander community owes Digital Anvil several times over:

Many know that the studio assisted in the production of the Wing Commander movie; in fact, Digital Anvil was chiefly responsible for the two aspects of the movie that were universally lauded - the beautiful introductory sequence and the amazing 3D effects.

Further, Digital Anvil employees have continued to support our community for many years with no benefit for themselves; much of the fascinating development material currently found in our Archives was provided by Digital Anvil employees. During the release of the movie they were always happy to listen to us. During the development of the Wing Commander movie they would occasionally contact us to ask about tiny little pointless facts -- the mechanics of jump points, the proper names for types of laser rifles and such. I especially remember finding a typo in their Wing Commander Movie website (it was dated '2564' instead of '2654')... I called them up, asked to speak to the webmaster and they had it fixed within minutes. That's true dedication to our strange cause.


First and foremost, however, Digital Anvil continued the Wing Commander series' legacy and spirit with StarLancer and FreeLancer, a pair of first class space combat games developed in an era when making such games was not necessarily commercially viable.

They not only believed that the genre could be re-ignited when no one else thought it was worth the risk, they convinced the largest corporation in the world to back their attempt. The company should never be forgotten by Wing Commander fans for this alone.

Our hearts go out to everyone who has to relocate and everyone who cannot. Digital Anvil deserves better. It is a cold comfort at this moment, but our community happily recognizes the 'Lancer games as being the equal of any title that legally bore the Wing Commander name.


--
Original update published on December 2, 2005

 

[K1nG Gr4H4m]

That sucks.

In 5 years, there will only be Microsoft, EA and Ubisoft in North America.

 

[Bob McDob]

In 5 years, there will only be Microsoft, EA and Ubisoft in North America.

Wow, LucasArts is going to die?

 

[Bandit LOAF]

Nintendo, too (presumably, they're as North American as Ubisoft).

 

[K1nG Gr4H4m]

From their Studio in Montreal, Canada

Source: http://games.ign.com/objects/733/733359.html

Dreamcast
Speed Devils Online Racing

Game Boy Advance
Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu
Kong: The 8th Wonder of the World
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars Trilogy: Apprentice of the Force
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow

GameCube
Batman Vengeance
Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu
Disney's Tarzan Untamed
Far Cry Instincts
Peter Jackson's King Kong
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell 4
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory -- Limited Collector's Edition
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow

Macintosh
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell

Nintendo DS
Battles of Prince of Persia
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Nintendo Revolution
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell 4

PC
Batman Vengeance
Disney's Tarzan Untamed
Peter Jackson's King Kong
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell 4
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory -- Limited Collector's Edition
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow

PlayStation 2
Batman Vengeance
Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu
Disney's Dinosaur
Disney's Tarzan Untamed
Far Cry Instincts
Peter Jackson's King Kong
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (Demo Disc)
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell 4
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory -- Limited Collector's Edition
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Demo Version (Demo Disc)

PlayStation 3
Project Assassin
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell 4

PlayStation Portable
Peter Jackson's King Kong
Prince of Persia: Revelations
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell 4

Xbox
Batman Vengeance
Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu
Far Cry Instincts
Peter Jackson's King Kong
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lockdown
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell 4
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory -- Limited Collector's Edition
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow

Xbox 360
Peter Jackson's King Kong
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell 4

 

[Bandit LOAF]

And Nintendo of America has probably developed ten times as many games in the US, thus making the comparison entirely reasonable.

 

[Howard Day]

Not to mention Sony Entertainment, Vivendi, and Jowood (not that anyone would want to ever mention Jowood) All of these have offices in the states - none of them are based here. And those are just the ones I can think of off the top 'o my head.
I find it highly unlikely that any or all of these are just going to disapear, even in 5 years. Hell, EA looses it's NFL license in what? 4 years? You can bet there'll be other sharks in the tank when that happens.

 

[ChrisReid]

I find it highly unlikely that any or all of these are just going to disapear, even in 5 years. Hell, EA looses it's NFL license in what? 4 years? You can bet there'll be other sharks in the tank when that happens.

It doesn't "lose" the license, it comes up for renewal. And if the brand already wasn't by far the most popular choice for football games, five years of seeing nothing but "EA Sports presents Madden 200x" will surely entrench it further. By that point EA will also be the only company with an accurate up-to-date library with all the current NFL players digitized and modeled, which is one of the more expensive costs of making a football game these days.

But people who spend time complaining about how a few companies control too much of the gaming industry are just running off sensational headlines. There are dozens of major independent entities in the industry that are in great shape and won't be going anywhere any time soon. Having a few megacorporations like EA and Microsoft is actually a very good thing, otherwise there'd have been nobody to fund expensive projects like Wing Commander 3/4 or Freelancer.

hmm, so much for a new pc-based free- or starlancer

There hasn't been much chance of the Star/Freelancer sequel being designed with the PC as the flagship platform in a long time.

 

[Malar]

A hail to the good Ol' times of gaming past.

I also had assumed that they were already vanished, therefore this sad fact didn't shock me as it should be for being an old gaming enthusiast, though.

Speaking of megacorporations, history has proven that there had been existed also independent developers without the help and restriction (read: more marketing/hyping, therefore less individual creativity allowed, which seems not so accessible to a great audience, or am I'm wrong?) of those megacorporations. But yes, there have been (and perhaps still) good exceptions within such compromise, being bought by a big company like it was the case of Origin Systems or Digital Anvil...

 

[Howard Day]

It doesn't "lose" the license, it comes up for renewal.

Of course. The assumption I was making is that they will loose it when it comes up for review and renewal. This license will be a huge freaking diamond in the crown of any publisher good enough to grab it. You can bet there will be serveral other companies going for it with everything they've got. EA certainly doesn't have a lockstock on the talent in this industry - in fact, much of it seems to be moving away from them and out to other smaller companies... Not that that matters. EA has so much pull with new recruits that they can easily replace anyone they loose.

And if the brand already wasn't by far the most popular choice for football games, five years of seeing nothing but "EA Sports presents Madden 200x" will surely entrench it further.

Hmm. I doubt this very much - 5 years of the same Madden commentary with no other options? I dunno - that sounds pretty dull to me. Plus, the number of innovations being made to each game has already begun to stagnate. EA has little or no incentive right now to do anything creative with the game. Just re-polish the artwork each year, and update the player stats.

By that point EA will also be the only company with an accurate up-to-date library with all the current NFL players digitized and modeled, which is one of the more expensive costs of making a football game these days.

I think you're overestimating the amount of time it takes to make this sort of artwork. All the 3d scans, digitally aquired textures and whatnot are most likely owned and supplied by the NFL, not EA. Those would go to the new developer/publisher when the contract runs out. Therefore all a competitor would have to do is swap out the faces and re-name and number the characters. This of course assumes that the competitor's company would have experience makeing a football game - which of course they would, if the NFL chose them over EA. This sort of "transfer art" is not at all difficult. Maybe a month worth of artist time. Maybe. If they're lazy.

But people who spend time complaining about how a few companies control too much of the gaming industry are just running off sensational headlines. There are dozens of major independent entities in the industry that are in great shape and won't be going anywhere any time soon. Having a few megacorporations like EA and Microsoft is actually a very good thing, otherwise there'd have been nobody to fund expensive projects like Wing Commander 3/4 or Freelancer.

Damn straight. Without the big companies, you're never gonna see anything expensively innovative. Note that I didn't say innovative.

There hasn't been much chance of the Star/Freelancer sequel being designed with the PC as the flagship platform in a long time.

Sad but true.

And now I feel crappy for taking this thread off topic. Sad to see DA go, but such is the way of things. With any luck the survivors will start up a new company, and we can yet again see a lounge filled with WC memorabilia.

 

[Maj.Striker]

If I could just weigh in my two cents on the NFL license. In my opinion there's no way EA loses this endorsement in four years or so. My big reasoning for that? Who's got the money to match EA? The only major player in the gaming market that I can think of would be Microsoft and let's face it, they don't need it as badly as EA will likely want to hang onto it. Like Chris said, MS won't have a current database of modelled NFL players and stats they would have to start from scratch. It'd be massively expensive for them to undertake. Unless they just do exceptionally well over the next few years I don't see them looking at this deal seriously. I don't think EA is a monopoly but I do think the license is a bad thing for the NFL genre. It means that for us football fans we are stuck with 4 straight years of Madden which, in my personal, opinion is a pretty sucky game. I know lots of people like it, it just doesn't work for me. So my only other option is playing games like Blitz the league using made up characters and names. That's not nearly as much fun. I liked NFL fever by MSG. They might try to get the license but in the end I bet they just don't feel its worth it.

 

[ChrisReid]

Of course. The assumption I was making is that they will loose it when it comes up for review and renewal. This license will be a huge freaking diamond in the crown of any publisher good enough to grab it. You can bet there will be serveral other companies going for it with everything they've got.

And none of them just realized this now. Nobody else was willing or able to secure the license, and EA is increasing sports game market share faster than all its competitors, so why would anything change when the license comes up for renewal?

Hmm. I doubt this very much - 5 years of the same Madden commentary with no other options? I dunno - that sounds pretty dull to me. Plus, the number of innovations being made to each game has already begun to stagnate. EA has little or no incentive right now to do anything creative with the game. Just re-polish the artwork each year, and update the player stats.

Football games period sound pretty dull to me, but Madden has been surging in popularity year over year. It's not just *a* popular game, it's consistently one of *the most* popular video games each and every year, and not just looking at the sports genre alone. EA spent $1.5 billion in the last year to secure exclusive sports rights, what other company would even consider that? The only possible contenders would be Sony and Microsoft, and their sports attempts have always been major flops.

I think you're overestimating the amount of time it takes to make this sort of artwork. All the 3d scans, digitally aquired textures and whatnot are most likely owned and supplied by the NFL, not EA. Those would go to the new developer/publisher when the contract runs out. Therefore all a competitor would have to do is swap out the faces and re-name and number the characters. This of course assumes that the competitor's company would have experience makeing a football game - which of course they would, if the NFL chose them over EA.

The NFL doesn't choose a licensee, they grant the license to whomever pays the most. They certainly don't digitally scan and texture their players. Each studio does that individually, and it's a very time and money consuming process. This was one of the major barriers to reentry that analysts wrote about as an after-effect of the license agreement when it was first announced.

And now I feel crappy for taking this thread off topic. Sad to see DA go, but such is the way of things. With any luck the survivors will start up a new company, and we can yet again see a lounge filled with WC memorabilia.

Yeah, the Digital Anvil memorial sure got screwed up.

If I could just weigh in my two cents on the NFL license. In my opinion there's no way EA loses this endorsement in four years or so. My big reasoning for that? They might try to get the license but in the end I bet they just don't feel its worth it.

Yeah, absolutely, of course it's not. It's worth it for EA because they'll sell six to ten million copies each year across ten platforms, but Microsoft could only ever hope to sell a small fraction of that to its XBox and PC user base. Midway and Take2 can neither outspend EA nor hope to recoup their investment if they did.

 

[cff]

Not to mention Sony Entertainment, Vivendi, and Jowood (not that anyone would want to ever mention Jowood) All of these have offices in the states - none of them are based here. And those are just the ones I can think of off the top 'o my head.

Jowood?! They have been close to bankruptcy how many times? Twice in the last 3 years?