Activision cans The Movies for consoles
After months of evasive statements, the publisher admits its Hollywood sim isn't expanding beyond the PC.
In March 2003, the game industry was abuzz with word of a deal struck between mammoth publisher Activision and development legend Peter Molyneux. Under the terms of the deal, Activision would publish The Movies, an ambitious Hollywood mogul sim in development at Molyneux's British shop Lionhead Studios.
At the time, both Activision and Lionhead made much of the fact that the Movies would be released for both the PC and consoles. The fanfare was still going strong a year later, when Molyneux trotted out the game at E3 2004. However, in subsequent months, little was heard about the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube versions of the Movies. When asked about the non-PC versions of the game last fall, an Activision rep bobbed and weaved, saying, "We haven't made any announcements about the Movies for consoles in a while."
Activision's obfuscation ended yesterday, when, during a conference call with analysts, the company revealed that all console versions of the Movies had been canned. Activision chief financial officer Thomas Tippl didn't mince words about the game's fate. "We canceled The Movies slated for consoles in fiscal '07 due to underperformance on the PC," he said. Despite receiving mostly positive reviews, the game did middling business and was only the 15th-best-selling PC game of November 2005, the month it went on sale.
Hot Stories
Newsmakers
-
Carmack on ZeniMax, Apple, and new 'triple-A' game
Q&A: id Software's technical guru explains shock buyout by Bethesda parent, talks about new project, and doubts the Mac-maker will enter the console wars; new wave of iPhone games explained in detail. Full Story
- Posted Jun 26, 2009 12:23 pm PT
- 169 Comments
-
Crosshairs Interview: Remedy Ent. on Alan Wake
We chat with lead writer Sam Lake at E3 2009 about Alan Wake. Full Story
- Posted Jun 29, 2009 1:04 am PT
Featured Stories
-
Starcraft II jettisons LAN support
Blizzard confirms anticipated sci-fi RTS will skip local multiplayer due to piracy, quality concerns. Full Story
- Posted Jun 30, 2009 11:45 am PT
- 936 Comments
-
28% of all console gamers now female - Study
Industry-tracking NPD Group reveals women flocking to Wii, hardcore gaming on decline, online gaming stagnate. Full Story
- Posted Jun 29, 2009 4:45 pm PT
- 501 Comments
-
Shippin' Out June 28-July 4: Call of Juarez prequel, Harry Potter
Ubisoft's Western shooter and J.K. Rowling's boy-wizard lead this week's retail charge along with Mega Man Star Force 3, Worms 2: Armageddon, The Punisher: No Mercy, Ice Age film game. Full Story
- Posted Jun 29, 2009 8:22 am PT
- 66 Comments
-
Obsidian, Sega confirm Aliens RPG 'no longer in development'
Developer breaks silence, confirms all work has ceased on sci-fi film-inspired role-playing project; publisher says there are "no plans to move forward" with the game. Full Story
- Posted Jun 26, 2009 4:31 pm PT
- 151 Comments
-
THQ reveals controller-based game for 2010
UFC publisher reveals first peripheral-specific title, claiming it will have a "competitive advantage" by being "different from anything else." Full Story
- Posted Jun 26, 2009 2:17 pm PT
- 144 Comments
Related Game
Related Games
Recent News
Site Blogs
-
Battlestations: Pacific DLC deploying in July
Battlestations: Pacific won the battle against critics when it debuted on the Xbox 360 and PC in May. And while it has yet to be seen...





65 Comments