Rumors True! FASA Shut-down :(
Submitted by Sideburnt on Wed, 09/12/2007 - 8:02pm.
Mitch Gitelman posted today was the official last day of employment for those who had not moved on to other positions. About half of the team has found positions at Microsoft game studios. It is always sad to see a studio close, especially one like FASA.
I wonder who is going to make MechAssault games now...
Currently Playing: CoD4 Beta, Bioshock
To be clear: this has been in the pipe for a while...since before Shadowrun was released.
Almost everyone at FASA had jobs lined up once Shadowrun shipped.
It will be interesting to see what MLG does. It looks like Gears will be the top game now...unless CoD4 gets big. Perhaps MLG will being hosting PC tournaments.
I think CoD4 has potential to be a tournament game.
I'm sure you were kidding in that last sentence, but for those who don't know: MLG prides itself on being the only console-specific gaming league.
Currently Playing: CoD4 Beta, Bioshock
Anyways, Shadowrun was a mediocre, lackluster game. It's a shame FASA broke up.
What will draw gamers to MLG next year?
They probably won't play H3. They hate R6V. GoW is very glitchy.
Rumors are still flying rampant that there will be one more big thing coming to Shadowrun. Many adjectives and other sundry things have been tossed in the air by specific sources.
My heart longs for them to be true, but my mind tells me to buttress the walls.
In a land of chipmunks, an angry gnome is king.
They probably won't play H3. They hate R6V. GoW is very glitchy.
I think it's highly unlikely that they will host tournaments and competitive events for PC games anytime soon.
You can't just host any game you want. You've got to get approval from the publisher to play the game a big events. Sometimes the publisher will not charge the tournament organizers to play the game at their event. Sometimes they will fetch a price. Sometimes they strike deals with other tournaments and leagues to exclusively host the game at their events. Sometimes they disallow the game from being played at all.
With the World Series of Video Games folding, the competition for HALO 3 just went up.
It is rumored that another company is going to pay big money to buy the exclusive right to play HALO 3 at their events. MLG and all others would be left out.
MLG and MS are pretty close. I would be surprised if the deal goes down. At the same time, it seems just like something MS would do.
I think MLG would be left in a position where they would play anything to keep gamers coming. If MLG found a hardware sponsor, I think they would play PC games. The current stance of MLG is "we've never said we won't do it". If someone came along and gave them 50 gaming rigs to play their game, I bet they'd play it.
I think MLG would have 10x the marketing opportunities with PC gaming than with console gaming. Multibillion dollar companies make the components (GPU, CPU, hdd, RAM), the OEM systems (DELL, Voodoo, Falcon Northwest, Alienware), and peripherals (headsets, mice, keyboards, etc.). Compared to the PC, the 360 has no peripherals and no third party hardware vendors. It seems to me like a PC sponsor would love to be a part of MLG.
Regardless, the Shadowrun community will die quicker now. This affects MLG as they don't necessarily want to play a game that isn't enjoyed by a lot of people. MLG wants people to watch people play video games. Even though Shadowrun was designed for competition, people may not want to watch it because they aren't playing it.
Strange stuff happening in Shadowrun as FASA closes down: http://shadowrun.hushedcasket.com/2007/09/13/online-oddities-in-shadowrun-after-fasa-folds/
I don't think MLG will give up Halo it is to much of a draw for them. I am willing to bet they would pay more money to get it exclusive.
Almost everyone at FASA had jobs lined up once Shadowrun shipped.
It will be interesting to see what MLG does. It looks like Gears will be the top game now...unless CoD4 gets big. Perhaps MLG will being hosting PC tournaments.
Synide told me that at Chicago....eXt alluded to it. When you think about it it's justifiable...25 mil for a game that sold less than 300,000 and got reamed in the reviews... :(
I love Shadowrun but it is ultimately what drove FASA into the ground. I'll keep playing. Hopefully MLG doesn't drop it. R6V better get dropped....every tourney it gets more and more boring...bleh. Gears gets more and more entertaining to watch.
The money is actually for the broadcast rights for Halo 3, not the tournament rights. Basically, the CGS is putting up big money to be the only company that can show Halo 3 action on TV in a tournament setting. I think that MLG will be able to use Halo 3 for their tournaments, but putting it on a USA special like they did last year is probably out, they just can't match the pockets of DirectTV.
DJ
It's certainly sad to see a good dev close its doors. It's too bad Shadowrun got the reviews it did, or else I think it would have been immensely popular. I still think most of its criticism was unjust.
Sadly, because it wasn't widely adopted, and Fall 07 being what it is, I didn't want to devote time to a game that only 2 of my friends were playing. What could have been is really a shame.
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