Factor 5 to forgo GameCube development

For the second time in as many days, a GameCube-exclusive studio has revealed it is developing games for other consoles. Yesterday, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes creator Silicon Knights announced the end of its second-party deal with Nintendo but stressed it was still on good terms with the publisher.

Today, similar noises could be heard emanating from the offices of San Rafael, California-based Factor 5. Word leaked today that the creator of the Rogue Squadron series--the GameCube's premier Star Wars franchise--had ceased development for the console. Even though Factor 5 was technically not a second-party developer, the studio was perceived as such. "We've never been a Nintendo shop," President Julian Eggebrecht told GameSpot. Its last non-Nintendo game was 1999's Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 3D for the PC.

However, Eggebrecht was quick to dispel any "doom" that might surround Factor 5's announcement. Echoing Silicon Knights Founder Denis Dyack, he emphasized his enthusiasm for Nintendo's future console efforts. "We are extremely excited about both DS and GCNext, so any talk of us abandoning Nintendo platforms altogether is just not true," he told GameSpot.

According to Eggebrecht, the only reason Factor 5 has stopped making GameCube games was that they've abandoned current-generation hardware altogether. "It is simply because we have moved into next-generation development," he said.

As for which future console Factor 5 was creating games for, Eggebrecht was unspecific, saying only, "There might be a surprise [announcement] coming from us."