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THQ whacks 360 Sopranos

Next-gen version of HBO-inspired, Mafia-based game canned; title now exclusive to the PlayStation 2.

For a while, it looked as though Electronic Arts' adaptation of The Godfather would be the sole mob-themed game to hit next-gen consoles this fall. That changed around the time of E3 in May, when THQ announced it would release an Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2 game based on the hit HBO crime drama The Sopranos in the fourth quarter of 2006.

Today, THQ revealed that it has told the developer of the Xbox 360 Sopranos to fuggedaboutit. During a conference call with analysts following its most recent earnings report, THQ chief financial officer Edward K. Zinser discussed the company's amortization for its first financial quarter, which ended on June 30.

"Amortization of 18 percent was up three points versus the prior year quarter," Zinser told analysts. "This is primarily due to our decision to discontinue development of the Sopranos for Xbox 360. There is no change to our plans to replace it, [but] we will release it on PS2 [during] the holiday [season]." THQ reps later confirmed to GameSpot that the game was "on track" for a fourth-quarter release.

The Sopranos game is being developed by 7 Studios, which also made the game adaptation of the Fantastic 4 movie and the just-released Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow, another film tie-in.

173 Comments

  • pomminator

    Posted Jul 27, 2007 1:44 pm GMT

    HXCDEW, pi** off, you don't even understand half the crap you are talking, you are just trying to belittle people,

    Sopranos could have been a success on the 360, as there is currently more market interest in them, the Wii could have made good use of it as well with its unique controller, I would have got this game if it came out on the 360, but someone at THQ made a sorry mistake, crap happens, at least we got GTA IV and halo 3 coming up, should be entertaining considering the previews it has had.

    HXCDEW, stop trying to fit in, no one likes a poser, especially an uneducated one

  • Vinnie222

    Posted Jun 11, 2007 7:26 pm GMT

    Story of an Xbox 360 fanboy-

    Before this: OHH YEAH LOOK AT 360 WE GOT SOPRANOS SCARFACE GODFATHER!!!11 360 WILL PWN THE PS3 AND PSP TEH SUCKZOR!!1

    After: No big deal, it's a crappy game. It's bad, bad, BAD.. we really didn't want those. Look I don't care, really... I don't *sniff* *goes to system war to bash playstation*
    ______________________________________________________

    First off Scarface was never coming to the 360 in the first place second the god father is on the 360 and third the SOPRANOS was a terrible game as for beating the PSP its a whole different kind of system and what does the PS3 have Fall of man, and... wait thats it. Ps. never use PWN again I own every system My favoirte handheld is PSP favorite Next gen is 360 fav current tie between xbox and ps2. and last last gen N64 so dont go calling me a fan boy.

  • acurban

    Posted Oct 28, 2006 7:57 pm GMT

    I cant wait for it to be released on PC!! I'll be buying it for sure, Until then, i guess I'll have to keep playing "The Godfather"

  • JoePiervincenti

    Posted Oct 22, 2006 10:52 pm GMT

    Too bad. But I'm still thrilled they are making a game based on this show!

  • VegetaMaelstrom

    Posted Aug 6, 2006 10:22 pm GMT

    No big deal.

  • GamesAnytime

    Posted Aug 3, 2006 10:19 am GMT

    No freaking Loss, Sopranos + Video games = Bad idea

  • mikethemonkey

    Posted Jul 31, 2006 3:37 pm GMT

    7 Studios (developer) has a list of crap games. Just as well it's been cancelled! Saved some kid 59.99 of his hard earned allowance.

  • SnuffDaddyNZ

    Posted Jul 30, 2006 3:20 am GMT

    There are too many games to care about just one not making a system, but I find this interesting because we can already see Sony's strategy for the next gen being put into play.

    For the previous generations Sony's campaign has been heavily focused on marketing, but it looks like this time they are pushing heavily for exclusive titles. This makes sense when they have already lost Smackdown and to a certain extent GTA. Also you want to give 360 owners an incentive to go ahead and buy the PS3, which would probably come down to what games were on what system.

  • DanC1989

    Posted Jul 29, 2006 10:04 am GMT

    Does anyone give a damn? Nope.

  • rokkuman09

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 5:36 pm GMT

    licensed games = almost always bad

  • Disinfo

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 3:40 pm GMT

    mmmm, the delicious irony,

    I just LOVE how the Sony-Haters screamed and yelled at the top of their lungs that the PS3 was dead because Smackdown is not debuting on the PS3 until next year. They posted on every board how this was the sign of things to come for the PS3 and they laughed and laughed.

    And now those very same fanboys are in here trying their very hardest to defend the loss of not one, but TWO very high profile games in two days for the 360.

    Oh, the sweet, sweet fanboy hypocrisy.

    yummy

  • relset

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 1:37 pm GMT

    that`s another brand new gama for me...i`ve never heard about this before!

  • thekey

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 1:35 pm GMT

    I guess its only fare being that the 360 is getting SmackDown vs Raw 07 this year as the PS3 won't be.

  • DrKill09

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 1:34 pm GMT

    Oh well, it probably would've sucked anyway

  • thekey

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 1:30 pm GMT

    I hadn't planed to play or buy this game anyways so who cares most tv to videogames don't far well anyways. 5 Million + people have a 360 already 360's dead as can be,
    godovivel.

  • Game-o_O

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 1:14 pm GMT

    They only cancel'd it for the 360 .

  • Maui00

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 12:28 pm GMT

    I agree with you derek

  • hi_im_derek

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 12:12 pm GMT

    They cancel Scarface and The Sopranos. If they cancel The Godfather I'm gonna go on a rampage.

  • Tampa1018

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 11:19 am GMT

    I would have bought this game just for the name on 360. I only wish this game could have lived long enough to be "made." It was revenge for killing Billy Batts. It was among the Italians. "Real greeseball ****."

  • thepeter

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 11:19 am GMT

    tee-hee

  • Anima79x

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 11:17 am GMT

    omg they canned a game licensed from a tv show? 360 is going to die now!!!. that sucks for us microsoft fans that are already playing great games on a system selling really well without having the sopranos game. the ignorence on this board is funny at times. sorry, 360 is already established and doing extremely well this game cancellation isnt going to do anything to impact it. also how many games based on tv shows (besides animated) actually are of high quality? yeah maybe it would be a good game but chances are slim anyway. and if it is? so what. there is already too many great games coming for 360 to keep up with, gets expensive. oh and as far as the fanboys go for some odd reason i dont even see it stated anywhere that its going to or was even planned to be on wii or ps3. i'm a MS fanboy and proud of it but i dont go trash talking every system, hell i cant wait till wii comes out. grow up and just enjoy gaming and have some fun, no matter what system

  • bringon22

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 10:54 am GMT

    this is why i have a ps2

  • BIGDeVriendt

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 10:53 am GMT

    omg what idiots. im not plaing this now if they arent going to take it seriously and release it for a current platform. same with the godfather game LOL

  • thorsen-ink

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 10:46 am GMT

    No next-gen Johnny Cakes? NOOOOOOOOOOO!

  • _sean_05

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 10:38 am GMT

    lol i dont think anyone commenting on here even owns a PS2. oh well, 360 will die this fall, and i'll be playing games on my WiiS3. American games suck, and so do American consoles. I'll stick to japanese developers who actually know how to make good RPGs, fighters, and puzzlers, not just rehashed sports titles and FPSs. Any console needs to be successful WORLDWIDE to truly dominate. even if PS3 and 360 have similar numbers stateside, as horribly as 360 has failed in Japan, it will NEVER get the 3rd party support sony and nintendo fans enjoy.

  • ShockerD19

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 10:19 am GMT

    nix6six6.... theres probably 10 times the people that play the ps2 as opposed to the 360, and judging by the amount of ps2 exclusives still coming out over the next year, they'll do just fine.

  • R_and_V

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 10:09 am GMT

    Sopranos rocks, cant wait for this game.

  • nix6six6

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 10:08 am GMT

    Do people still use the PS2? at this point a PS2 exclusive seems kinda silly.

  • godovivel

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 9:52 am GMT

    oh it seems that 360 is dead already

  • Primenova

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 9:50 am GMT

    Well, the PS2 has the bigger installed base and therefore the biggest chance to sell lots of copies, even if the game sucks, which it probably will. It is a liscensed property, based on a TV show, from a developer that has one very mediocre, at best, game under its belt. There are already too many games like this on the market, and what other gameplay style could they have except sandbox (GTA)? I'll keep an eye out for it, but I expect the 360 version of The Godfather to wipe its ass with The Sopranos (any version).

  • pepechidoone

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 9:17 am GMT

    well I really don't care

  • Pfilosophy

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 8:50 am GMT

    I'm looking forward to the Pimp My Ride game more. That's sad.

  • Chinbobbabobot

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 8:44 am GMT

    Yeah, a Sopranos game sounds like a terrible idea.

  • hittin

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 8:41 am GMT

    Bad decision.

  • Maquis_UK

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 8:36 am GMT

    cancelled games = never good news. developers turning away from new hardware = similarly bad news for any console. especially as its THQ. theyre not great but they do have a lot of output.

  • Sweendrix

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 8:34 am GMT

    There is one thing that is as certain as Death and Taxes and that thing is the fact that violence and sex sell incredibly well in the United States. THQ would have been smart to keep the franchise on the Xbox 360 as games on the 360 have been selling quite well. I'm quite sure that the market would easily support the Soprano’s franchise for the Xbox 360 and give good timing, the game would easily prosper. It is a possibility that the strong portfolio of games in the soon to be release bracket could have had an impact on this decision. Microsoft and its 3rd party support have whipped up quite a strong list of games to be released for holiday 06 and there is going to be quite a bit of competition among the top tier titles for that Number # 1 spot. I am certainly a little upset that such a brand is not going to the Xbox 360 but it will not effect me too badly. After all, I have Saint's Row, Call of Duty 3, Half Life 2, Madden 07, Gears of War, Lost Planet, Dead Rising, Splinter Cell, Blue Dragon, Ninety Nine Nights, F.E.A.R., and Brothers and Arms to look forward to with Halo 3 right around the corner. It’s a good time to be a gamer. See you on Xbox Live Sweendrix008.

  • Romanticide

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 8:26 am GMT

    This game is now doomed.

  • typester

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 8:07 am GMT

    DAMN!!! i was looking forward to playing with the gay soprano

  • Sydwynder

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 8:06 am GMT

    One more crap title in the PS2 library, surprise, surprise. That's exactly why I traded in Sony's RPG player for my 360. Trust me, we don't need garbage like this on the 360.

  • skyvader

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 8:05 am GMT

    360 doesn't need games based off tv shows. It just proves developers will make a game out of anything. How about someone make a game about sqeezing the charmin (old school commercial) or maybe sex in the city. Oh I forgot, they tried that with GTA hot coffee.

    Developers need fresh ideas. Please no more made for tv to consoe games. Just because it sounds like a good idea doesn't mean it is. Oh and the dreamcast was a better system than the PS2 because developers (especially Sega) took pride when making games for it. PS2 can't always be about graphics. Gameplay (fun, control, etc) matters most to me and the DC had (correction: HAS) some of the best first and third party titles. Amazingly it was their entire 2k sports series that made EA crap themselves and actually do something different with the way they develop sports games. Make them FUN!

  • martoon96

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 7:56 am GMT

    keep it ps2, the 360 doesn't need another crappy port. with saints row and gta vi comming, sopranos, much like like the godfather game will be sleeping with the fishes.

  • cnpikes

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 7:48 am GMT

    Adultgmr77 are you a complete fool, a comment can be about anything in the article last time i checked the "ps2" was part of the article. I dislike the ps2 because it's a long list of exclusive games for it instead of the xbox. So next time don't get your panties in a bunch....Sally.

  • tyler2010

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 7:42 am GMT

    lol

  • Kwzy

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 7:40 am GMT

    I don't undertand why xbox fan boy speaks too much!!
    XBOX is already DEAD!!! it is like a late dreamcast... xbox survived 4 years, almost falling every single year... now is DEAD!!! DEAD...
    now, go and get a 360.... in 2009 it will be DEAD too!!
    then, get an Xbox 720 or whatever it is... how you are inteligent... so, keep buying, microsoft thanks you

  • BulletCraftUK

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 7:34 am GMT

    Wow sounds like fun!!!

  • feryl06

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 7:29 am GMT

    let's face it, a Sopranos video game? Who are we kidding? Who thinks this game will actually be great, or even good? With Saints Row and all the GTAs still out there for Sony and PSP, who's gonna want Sopranos game? And which brainiac at THQ actually thought of making a game out of it? This is what upsets me as a gamer---stop releasing crappy games!!! I'd rather wait a year for a great game then to be flooded with games that aren't good and then these developing companies cry that they had a bad year or quarter earnings. Just because something is a hit tv or movie, sometimes it doesn't transfer to a good game, and this, is looking like one of them.

  • jaredgood1

    Posted Jul 28, 2006 7:12 am GMT

    ... those Psychiatrist couch sessions sound fun... How about a game where you are a real mobster trying to get on the Sopranos?
    It could be goofy like the last Leasure Suit Larry but with the torture sequences from the Punisher. Now that would be somthing I'd be interested in playing.

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