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.

65 Comments

  • Pickleking23

    Posted Jan 26, 2007 1:33 pm PT

    maybe if they made it for xbox 360 or ps3 that would be sweeet have movies in really good graphics,
    now that's a idea to think about.

  • __kreator__

    Posted Dec 2, 2006 1:18 am PT

    sucks

  • Kbs64

    Posted Jun 15, 2006 12:39 am PT

    NOO you ...how can you... I mean... bite me

  • XlpranksterlX

    Posted Feb 9, 2006 1:02 pm PT

    Wasnt really much of a console game anyway.

  • K1LLSWITCH

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 11:13 pm PT

    It's understandable. Dont want to put anymore money into a game that won't sell.

  • runstalker

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 1:35 pm PT

    Would've been a mess on current gen consoles. The RAM needed....I mean they'd have to reduce the quality of the assets (textures and such) to repugnant levels to achieve the flexibility of the PC version.

  • ff7cloudking

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 12:14 pm PT

    Wait... the movies WAS going to come out on consoles.....aw....this stinks. Oh well. It woulda been hard to pull off on consoles anyway.

  • stlab

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 11:54 am PT

    According to www.worthplaying.com lionhead have said they havnt canned movies for consoles. (dont know how reliable worthplaying is though)

    A few days ago Activision's financial results made no mention of the console iterations for Lionhead's movie studio sim, leading us to believe the projects were cancelled. Today Lionhead issued a brief statement that this is not true, they are still in the works, and even an expansion pack for the PC edition is in development.

    "Activision will not be publishing the console version of The Movies but that does not mean the project is dead.

    I'd like to add that PC sales for 2005 have been dissapointing (especially during Christmas) for everyone in this industry.

    Rest assured that the team at Lionhead Studios are as dedicated to The Movies as they've ever been; an expansion pack is currently in development (which will be announced very shortly) and we are continuing to support The Movies Online!"


  • Jandek

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 10:47 am PT

    damn they cancelled BC that is gay

  • greatatlantic

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 10:13 am PT

    Wow, I'm surprised that it didn't sell better. This game had a lot of Sims like qualities written all over it, with enough added twists to make it a unique alternative to that juggernaut. Don't think this game could ever have been ported to consoles without a significant loss of performance and gameplay. You know though, if you can afford an Xbox360 premium, chances are you can afford a computer capable of running this game at decent levels of performance.

  • Themage

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 10:09 am PT

    I was really looking forward to playing the game - there loss.

  • sgtsaville

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 10:02 am PT

    Is this a good game? I was looking into buying it but didn't know if I would like it.

  • komdosina

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 9:38 am PT

    Oh well now I'm curious what new games Lionhead will show E3 or maybe GDC 2006. Fable 2 maybe BC for the Xbox 360 or a console version of Black and White for the Nintendo Revolutions, or maybe that project Dimitri for most likely the PC.

  • robert032

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 9:19 am PT

    Its Lionhead announced that its NOT cancelled! they just need to find a new publisher at this point because Activision wont do it because of its low sales.

  • SHADOWSTRYK3R

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 9:14 am PT

    It would never have worked out with games consoles anyway, The Movies really requires a mouse and keyboard.

  • azizrulez

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 8:30 am PT

    i dont think it would have been that good for the consoles any way

  • brightboy

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 8:11 am PT

    This suck I was really looking forward to playing this game on my Xbox. I don't have a computer so I probably will never get a chance to play the movies.

  • blackIceJoe

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 7:53 am PT

    thats to bad I was holding off on getting it for the PC I really wanted it for my Xbox.I guess I will just have to get the one for the PC.

  • ufopuller

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 7:53 am PT

    I really hope they do more with PC games then

  • Seraphim_24

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 7:27 am PT

    Sims 2 didn't work well on a console so it may be better not to port this one over, at least not to the Xbox, PS2 and GCN. Maybe it could work with the 360, but it may be better to just keep these kinds of games on the PC since simulations just work out better on the PC.

  • 4X6X9

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 7:22 am PT

    darn that sucks....whell good thing i got a new computer for this game. now i got it for PC.

  • LordAndrew

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 6:56 am PT

    But part of the problems that I see with The Movies is you need a high end top of the line computer that can move satlelites. It's quite the resource hog.
    It's one of the reasons I wasn't sure that a console port would be any good.

    I still hope for an expansion pack though. The game could really use more scenes and sets.

  • soulitier

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 6:39 am PT

    i think this sucks and blows because some people dont wanna buy a high end top of the line computer that can move satlelites

  • keppup

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 6:32 am PT

    thats jus silly

  • Reetesh

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 6:19 am PT

    The controls for Such Game in Consoles Is difficult to Transfer so It is better off without Making one.

  • DarthUltima

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 6:10 am PT

    I don't know how they would have pulled it off on consoles anyways

  • Maverick-1981

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 6:00 am PT

    What a shame! I wanted to get if for PS2!

  • skitzocyko

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 5:52 am PT

    It figures....but they would rather put out a sequel to a sequel than something kinda' fresh.

  • PS2Maniac2K4

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 5:50 am PT

    I'm really disappointed in pc gamers. This game is one of the most ambitious, creative, and addictive games I have ever played. I don't understand why more people haven't bought this game. From what I recall, there was a big amount of hype associated with it when it was in development. I guess gamers really don't care about originality anymore--it seems that all the casual gamer wants to do is blow crap up in rehash FPS's. I hope this trend changes, but I doubt it will. Congratulations, casual gamers, you have missed one of the best games of 2005. Way to go.

  • acu02151

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 5:47 am PT

    Well hey i love this game but i never really saw it working thta well on the consoles, it's like the sims in that respect. But hey maybe after my ape madness anthology is released...

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 5:28 am PT

    anyone surprised? has this game even sold 50k yet?

  • bioniccommando1

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 5:26 am PT

    I agree that it would have been a really hard one to pull off successfully on the consoles. Would've been cool though!

  • jec24

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 5:20 am PT

    the pc game wasn't that great, so its underperformance in sales was not surprising. it could be addictive, but that was mainly due to the repetitive style of gameplay, not that it was a lot of fun to play. it had a great concept, but didn't quite flesh it out. a console version would have been awkward.

  • jakeboudville

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 4:58 am PT

    i knew it wouldn't happen for the consoles

  • SalenStormwing

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 4:56 am PT

    It was fun on the console, but it had some issues as well. I know I could never connect to the online section without the whole game crashing. Bah. Oh well, I guess stuff happens... Now if they'd only make a new patch for my problem.

  • Smoke0

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 4:55 am PT

    cry cry cry....

  • supererman14

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 4:46 am PT

    I was going to buy the movies on consoles....that just sucks that they canned it.

  • Dave_petrucci

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 2:56 am PT

    Well that's totally lame.

  • Neon_Light102

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 2:07 am PT

    Not too dissapointed. It seems that simulation games don't turn out too well on consoles. *cough* The Sims *cough* lol

  • Angel_Belial

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 1:27 am PT

    I was always under the impression it was going to be PC-exclusive from the beginning anyway, so it means little to me personally. Most sim games should stay on the PC, anyway, but it's disappointing the only reason Activision have decided not to port it is because it under-performed.

  • Calkaimainer

    Posted Feb 8, 2006 12:13 am PT

    Meh...I expected it to happen.

  • GameonDerek

    Posted Feb 7, 2006 11:56 pm PT

    This really sucks. I got it for Christmas and have been hyping it up for a co-worker who doesn't have a PC, just a PS2. He's gonna be pissed. This truly is a great game.

  • nemes1s3000

    Posted Feb 7, 2006 11:40 pm PT

    It is an awesome game, yes, but it's best played on the PC.

  • andrewtyen

    Posted Feb 7, 2006 11:30 pm PT

    too bad

  • Gmex

    Posted Feb 7, 2006 10:35 pm PT

    this stinks but sim games hardly worked on console games

  • NeoJedi

    Posted Feb 7, 2006 9:10 pm PT

    Too bad, The Movies is an awesome game.

  • Snipes33

    Posted Feb 7, 2006 9:09 pm PT

    Now they can concentrate on Fable 2...

  • Kravyn81

    Posted Feb 7, 2006 9:04 pm PT

    Meh. While I'm surprised it didn't sell that well (every review I read was glowing about it), I'm sort of glad it won't go to consoles. This is one of those genres that best suits the PC. You have to admit, consoles have their share of fair suited titles and the PC has its own. I have it on PC anyway so I'm not really affected, but if you want to play it so bad play it on the platform it was meant to be played on.

  • darkheart73

    Posted Feb 7, 2006 8:52 pm PT

    NO!!!!!!!!!!! I was saving up some money for that! Oh well, I'll just buy Smackdown! VS RAW 2006

  • VixDiesel

    Posted Feb 7, 2006 8:40 pm PT

    Oh man, I'm so disappointed...I was so looking forward to this!

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