The past few weeks have not been kind to game developers. Many publishers have had to slash entire development studios in wake of the current world recession. Rumor has it that Factor 5, famed developer of Star Wars Rogue Squadron series, has been shutdown for good. Matt Casamassina of IGN Nintendo leaked out a possible confirmation of these talks…
I was hoping the rumors weren’t true. Contacted Julian over at F5 to shed some light, but he didn’t get back to me. Got an e-mail from an inside source tonight:…
…[Redacted] wanted me to contact you with some late breaking news. We just learned from inside sources that developer Factor 5 has officially closed their doors as of today. That’s some pretty big news considering that those guys have been around for quite a while. It’s definitely a real shame! I hope that this information is helpful to you…”
Known best as one of Nintendo’s top third party developers, Factor 5 has been most famous for pushing hardware to the limit of graphical capabilites with both the N64 and Gamecube. The developer was originally confirmed at the E3 2006 Wii premier to of been working on a new Pilotwings, but later canceled the project. However, IGN.com confirmed back in January 2008 that the studio was hard at work on a non-Virtual Console Wii title. This announcement flared many rumors that Factor 5 had been handed rights to develop a new Kid Icarus for the Wii.
Factor 5’s latest title, Lair, ultimately bombed due to broken PS3 ‘sixaxis’ controls. Could Lair of been the cause of this slow and painful death?
Let’s hope this growing rumor is just an exaggeration. I was really starting to look forward to “crazy-hair’s” Kid Icarus game.
time for ninty to pick up these guys and make them a first party developer… it would be shameful to let them disappear… SW:Rogue Squadron 2 on the GC it still one of the most gorgeous game to watch to date, even with the current gen of console out!
I guess Nintendo could come to their rescue like they did with Retro Studios, especially now that they got plenty of cash to spare. Though I’d still be sceptical of them handeling a possible Kid Icarius revival.
Eurogamer has also confirmed the demise of Free Radical Design. Too bad really. I was looking forward to Timesplitters 4 on the Wii. 🙁
I said it in the forums, and I’ll say it here: seeing Factor 5 and Free Radical shut down bites.
These companies both made (mostly) good games with original ideas. They also both decided to invest heavily in developing for the PS3 this generation — a gamble that most definitely did NOT pay off, and is probably part of the reason for the shut down announcements. This isn’t a comment or gripe about the PS3, just about how game development has become so expensive that it can be very risky for smaller studios.
Hopefully the talented designers, developers, and other staff from both companies will land on their feet in these tough economic times.
🙁
I think the pattern is what’s most upsetting. ex-Nintendo 2nd parties and their relatives are just falling apart.
Rareware – the living Dead
Silicon Knights – made the biggest losing game in history (and will never EVER get funding again) – Terminal
Factor 5 – Dead
Free Radical – Dead
Paradigm Entertainment – Dead (and anonymously – no one even noticed on Nov 3rd 2008)
Retro – Died inside when its core members abandoned it.
Argonaut – Dead
What’s worse is the talk that Silicon Knights, Factor 5 and Free Radical were all about to finally return to Nintendo, having given us the finger and failed for it for the last 3 years.
That might be true, but making games for Nintendo doesn’t garauntee success either. It’s still a financial gamble… although, a smarter gamble at this point because the risks are lower and the rewards potentially higher.
This is much less about Nintendo vs other companies than it is about making smart market choices. Putting most/all of your eggs in one basket is always dangerous, but that is what many development teams have done to meet the cost of making “next gen” games with tremendous HD graphics. Just one more reason I expect to see a greater emphasis on small downloadable games for all consoles in the future.
ejamer: QTF
Still, I hope that Nintendo will save some of those realities, as it has money, and even if it [Nintendo] doesn’t guarantee 100% success, it’s sure a lot safer place where to develop than the “outer world”!
Yes! Now they don’t get to screw up Kid Icarus.
It would be a shame to see the developer of what was, in my opinion, the best GameCube game in its history go down in flames!
However, I must admit that Factor 5 made some critical gameplay mistakes in the games that followed SW:RS 2… The on-foot missions on the Rogue Squadron sequel were a total miss, and, although I don’t have a PS3 and did enjoy playing a little bit of Lair on the in-store demos, spending a summer-blockbuster-budget on developing a game exclusively for one console that only a minority of gamers owned has to be the biggest mistake in gaming developing history (after Rare moved to MicroSoft Studios, that is).
I was totally unaware that Paradigm shut down last month too 🙁
I LOVE Pilotwings 64, it is so great! From the info on Wiki, the original team was gone long time ago…
It’s very clear that these companies are shutting down because they just don’t want to be seen as the kiddy developer to all the other developers. It’s purely ego driven just like HD development. Even though these guys made games for the core they must have some how felt like nintendo was holding them back. Yet we get No more heros and Man hunt on the cleanest system they have ever made.
What is sad was it seems nintendo was a necessary evil for these companies. Just like the guys that left retro the artist starts getting in the way of making smart business moves. After EA slimmed down I’m left wondering who is going to be making these grand new ideas they have.
Another thing is you guys have to realize nintendo is making money while these guys are going under… is that nintendo fault that these guys lost their way?
Just goes to show you, if you for get what gaming is really about then gamers will forget you….. Notice how I did not say the hardcore. Expect more of this as some of these guys use a line of credit to pay guys……….. MS is going to have a field day now.
it’s sad that people are losing their jobs, but i agree with the statement about putting all your eggs in one basket. if they had diversified a bit more and spent less on development perhaps we wouldn’t be here now. hopefully when the dust settles nintendo will pick up some of the better developers for their own teams. i don’t think they should necessarily come to the whole company’s rescue.
No, no, no… they CAN’T stop shut down after having claimed that the Wii can do the same as the PS3 at a lower res. Now they gotta prove it if they gotta be pulled out of the grave (maybe Nintendo can buy em up?)
Oh well, if it’s true that’ll be a real shame.