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Crackdown House Realtime Worlds Goes Into Administration
by Kris Graft [PC, Console/PC]
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August 17, 2010
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Dundee, Scotland-based All Points Bulletin and original Crackdown creator Realtime Worlds has hit financial hardship and entered into administration, Gamasutra can confirm.
A staffer for the PR house representing UK-based corporate recovery group Begbies Traynor said in a phone call that the firm is handling Realtime Worlds' administration, confirming reports that originally appeared on UK-based Develop Tuesday morning. An official statement is forthcoming, the rep said.
As administrator, Begbies Traynor will decide whether Realtime Worlds can continue on as a company in light of financial difficulties, or more likely if the studio can recover more money by selling off assets or liquidating entirely.
Calls to studio founder and creative director Dave Jones and the studio's Boulder, CO-based online support office went unanswered Tuesday morning.
The move into administration comes less than two months after the launch of the studio's online action MMO, APB. It garnered a lukewarm reception from game reviewers, although Realtime in July categorized the launch as "very smooth."
About a month after the launch of APB, the studio issued a statement saying that it would be "shifting staffing emphasis" in order to provide more live service for the online game. Realtime said the shift involved a "small number of redundancies" at the company.
Last week, the company confirmed it had to lay off workers, but did not confirm a report that said 60 had been let go. In May 2009, Realtime said its headcount hit 250, and offices covered 34,000 square feet of space total; in August 2009 it opened a new office in Dundee, shooting to grow to 300 employees by year end.
Realtime recently unveiled the social virtual world Project: My World. Prior to APB, the studio had released Crackdown, published by Microsoft Game Studios, for Xbox 360 in 2007, gaining a loyal fanbase. Realtime spinoff studio Ruffian Games developed Crackdown 2, released this year and published by Microsoft.
The studio was founded in 2002 by Jones, originator of the Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings franchises. He was also co-founder of DMA Design, which became current GTA house and Take-Two subsidiary, Rockstar North.
[UPDATE: Appeal PR, the firm representing Begbies Traynor, issued an official statement to Gamasutra Tuesday that said Realtime "has gone into administration in the face of lackluster demand for its latest online 'cops and crooks' game APB: All Points Bulletin."
Paul Dounis with Begbies Traynor said that his company is "currently involved in a consultative process with the 200 staff employed in Dundee." He added that the administrator will employ "some" of the 42 staff in the U.S. office to assist in selling the business.
"Our intention is to continue trading the company while we attempt to find a going concern buyer which will safeguard the future of the business," Dounis stated. He also said he hopes any buyer will continue to develop APB.
Richard Wilson, CEO of video game trade body TIGA said, "This is a very sad day for Realtime Worlds, Dundee and for the Scottish and UK video games industry. ... Despite today’s terrible news, Dundee and Scotland remain good places to do games business."]
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~300 people working on APB and MyWorld = large studio.
Yet Another Stupid Company Folds Because Of Trying To Make Yet Another Massively Multiplier Online Game.
Seriously, when companies will realize that MMOs are REALLY risky and unless you are SURE that you can do it right, you should not even try?
I mean, making MMOs is another level of work, it is BEYOND AAA
But still I feel sorry for all the devs who lost their jobs, or are probably soon to lose their jobs. That is the real tragedy.
I wouldn't say the game failed on a technical level. It ran quite well even considering I was in Canada and playing on a European server. The combat and missions were very badly designed to start with and continued to be bad even with the majority of the testers reported how poor it was.
On the positive side, the level design of the city was very high quality as was the car and avatar customization. Some company could easily take this over and make a much better game out of it.
Let's not be irrational about this. Capitalism, for want of a thesaurus, works. Big and small companies go bankrupt all the time. These are all lessons (to those that heed them at least) about what works and what doesn't. Realtime Worlds composition of talent and execution versus money invested, did not work.
These are tough times, but it's not like the idea of a company that can pay it's own way and turn a profit have become extinct or something.
2. "Old" players (if almost two months can be thought of as old) rather quickly saw/unlocked 99.99% of the content (the rest is locked into a few unrealistic areas)
3. "Good" players soon ran out of opponents due to being able to pick your fights (who fights against players that haven't lost the last 30+ missions? right, only the new players, who then get smeared across the floor, and then leave the game...)
You can not have a working everyone vs everyone in an only PvP game that offers progression in items. It just won't work, except for the early adopters and those players that are really excellent. (and through the items become gods)
Now the quality, salaries all is huge to support even for the big one.. Videogame is becoming a no-business area.
How you can risk so big money in concepts? It is not movie that with FX is fine, you know the script can be crap… videogames need to be fun or the player will quit as fast as he can..
10 years tech is fine right now for online products… and you will offer much better products than web games.
we could use more developer unity in situations like this. why not feel a little compassion for the hundreds who have to pay their bills without income now. i'm just saying....