backtop

Print 6 comment(s) - last by Johnmcl7.. on Sep 27 at 9:30 PM

PGR4 is only on Xbox 360, but future Bizarre Creations games won't be  (Source: Microsoft)
Microsoft's racing game series may be in limbo after the loss of Bizarre Creations special relationship

One of Microsoft’s most loyal developers, Bizarre Creations, was snatched up in an acquisition on Wednesday by Activision. UK-based videogame developer Bizarre Creations is best known for its Project Gotham Racing series for the Xbox and Xbox 360 and Geometry Wars game on Xbox Live Arcade.

Activision said in its statement to the press that the acquisition represented the “latest step” in the game publisher’s “ongoing strategy to enter new genres.” Last year, Activision entered the music rhythm genre through its acquisition of Red Octane's Guitar Hero franchise.

Although Bizarre Creations has close ties to Microsoft, it was not tied exclusively to the Xbox. Bizarre Creations is currently finishing development on third-person action game, The Club, for Sega, which is due to be released early 2008 for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. All future titles will be published by Activision.

Mike Griffith, President and CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc., said, “Bizarre Creations will play an important role in our growth strategy as we develop an original new intellectual property for this important racing segment, expand our portfolio in other genres and utilize their proprietary technology for cross platform development.”

“Our goal at Bizarre Creations has always been to do all we can to nurture our creative and passionate teams, who excel at and enjoy what they do. Activision's independent studio model will continue giving us creative freedom to build exciting new brands,” said Martyn Chudley, Managing Director of Bizarre Creations. “Their financial support and marketing prowess will also enable us to build upon the commercial success that we currently enjoy, and take the company - and our games - to an even higher level.”

The Bizarre Creations-developed Project Gotham Racing 4 for Xbox 360 is set to release in early October. While Microsoft owns the Project Gotham Racing series intellectual property, it seems unlikely that the original creators will return to the series.

Microsoft responded to the news in a statement recorded by 1UP, “Project Gotham Racing is a signature racing franchise for Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE and we plan to continue the series but we have nothing further to announce.”

Bizarre Creations will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision will start to develop two new titles alongside current projects. Activision expects that its first game from Bizarre Creations will be released after fiscal year 2009. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Comments     Threshold


This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled
MSR
By kelmon on 9/27/2007 9:40:54 AM , Rating: 3
I've never had the opportunity to try Bizarre's XBox games but I will forever (at least until senility sets in) them for Metropolis Street Racer (MSR) and the Dreamcast. Aside from the PlayStation Wipeout series, I honestly believe that this one of the few racing games "done right" and the focus on driving skills was very refreshing. Damned hard game, mind...




RE: MSR
By SigmaHyperion on 9/27/2007 11:30:03 AM , Rating: 2
You would love Project Gotham Racing then. For all intents and purposes they're the exact same game, right down to the "Kudos" system. PGR strikes, IMHO, the perfect balance between a fun arcade racer and a realistic sim racer.

So, just imagine MSR, but with graphics like this:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1045/718273110_ed4d...


RE: MSR
By therealnickdanger on 9/27/2007 3:12:37 PM , Rating: 2
Definitely. Well said. I was an MSR/Dreamcast fan myself and have long enjoyed the PGR legacy.


RE: MSR
By Johnmcl7 on 9/27/2007 9:30:40 PM , Rating: 2
Definitely...I always thought MSR would die with the Dreamcast, I couldn't believe it when my brother told me that batman-themed racing game (which is what I thought it was!) actually was a new MSR. Then PGR2 came along with Edinburgh (city I lived in at the time) and great online play, didn't seem like it could get any better.

My favourite aspect is probably still the cone challenge, as this seemed to embody the kudos aspect perfectly forcing very different car control to normal racers and exploting every last bit of the kudos system to keep that combo going. Admittedly when the car just swings fractionally too wide and knocks a cone losing me 50,000 kudos I feel like smashing the console.

John


RE: MSR
By BladeVenom on 9/27/2007 9:04:31 PM , Rating: 1
If you want a game that needs driving skills, try GTR 2.


GW
By Aikouka on 9/27/2007 8:51:00 AM , Rating: 2
As long as we get more Geometry Wars, I have no complaints. I know on October 2, I will be buying Geometry Wars: Waves and getting a free copy of Project Gotham Racing 4 :D.




“So far we have not seen a single Android device that does not infringe on our patents." -- Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith









botimage
Copyright 2012 DailyTech LLC. - RSS Feed | Advertise | About Us | Ethics | FAQ | Terms, Conditions & Privacy Information | Kristopher Kubicki