Great idea for a game and would make a wonderful addition to the open world types that are out now. Sad to see it get the ax... if we are lucky maybe it will be picked back up.
This Is Vegas 'totally canned'?
By
Tom Magrino
WBIE's Sin City tribute said to have been shut down following closure of Surreal Software in June; $50 million spent for naught.
Source: UK gaming Web site CVG.
What we heard: In January, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment trimmed staff at Surreal Software. The move appeared to signal the end for This Is Vegas, a property that was acquired by the media company when it purchased the remnants of Midway in July 2009. However, by May 2010, that initial presumption of doom and gloom for the game was again reversed, when WBIE registered a variety of Web domains, including one for This Is Vegas.
Now, it appears as if This Is Vegas has gone bust. Citing a source close to the project, CVG reports today that WBIE closed down Surreal Software in June, canceling This Is Vegas in the process. "Apparently, the entire This Is Vegas project has been totally canned," CVG's source claimed.
The game's cancellation is all the more shocking, claimed the source, considering the amount of money Midway and WBIE spent on it.
"Midway spent in the region of $43 million up to the point when it was being sold to WB," the source reported. "Alan Patmore, who was [Surreal] studio boss, either left or was let go--but considering the resources and art created this is a lot of work down the drain. It was moving along to a point where the title was on the schedule for release late last year--but still needed another eight months to a year to finish with a studio burn rate of $250,000 per month."
First announced for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC in 2008, This Is Vegas was initially penciled in for later that year. The game was billed as a tongue-in-cheek approach to the notorious Nevada city, depicting its many vices through open-world gameplay. In addition to the expected casino action, the game also let players indulge in some spirited partying, which could segue naturally into another of the game's focal points, brawling.
The official story: WBIE had not responded to requests for comment as of press time.
Bogus or not bogus?: Too close to call. On the one hand, the amount of money that has reportedly been poured into This Is Vegas typically isn't a figure most would simply walk away from. However, it is possible that WBIE simply saw no future for the project--even if it made positive impressions when it was last shown in 2008.
By
Tom Magrino
Tom Magrino has covered the games industry since 2006. He's been compared to Steve Martin by Ozzy Osbourne and Daniel Craig by Tim Schafer. His voice, heard largely on GameSpot's podcast, recalls that of Kermit the Frog. It ain't easy bein' Magreen.
133 comments
i have been following this game since forever and im still very disappointed... after 2 years still no comment if its done or not... i still believe it will come out for several reasons. 1. WB still didnt comment that it is canned. 2. websites like gamespot and wikipedia dont say its acually cancelled like all other websites who jumped to that stupid conclusion 3. the official website WAS taken down but now its BACK UP 4. we all know how true crime hong kong was cancelled but then picked up again which can show hope that somebody can pick up this is vegas too... what im saying is dont jump to conclusions especially if it looks bad and if it will never come out... if they do cancel it, WB doesnt know how to make games. they should at least realse it for some profit
@StuartBraule here ill sum up the article that you commented on, this game is canceled and will never come out.
play.com says this game is out (uk) 29th october! its very possible they have it wrong, but i hoping they dont, as ive just preordered it...... been looking forward to this game since they anounced it!!
Whoever paid on most $50 mil for this game, was paying way to much. $250,000 a month for staff developers is way to much. The game was suppose to me like a weekend in Vegas. You get to check into a hotel, walk the strip and visit several casino to gamble and night clubs to party in. You can intereact with lots of people. It wasn't just a gamble game, like many of those type of games you get on the PC. I was actually looking forward to this game. If WB was smart, they would get it completed and released. Taking another 8 months to finish is to long those. They would need to get it finished in a couple of months.
@issiah Of course I think my opinion is important. I'm sorry I don't live in the fantasy world where everyone's opinion has the same value. Thats not how it works. I know people who argue like that on political issues, and it is sickening to have someone claim that their racist/facist "opinion" has the same weight to it as something based on logic or reason.
half of that stuff has been done before in other games, club running = GTA EFLC, gambling = FALLOUT NV. would be stupid to release it now. lot of money though that is
Ah well, leave it to age for a few hundred years and it will be an approximation of Fallout: New Vegas.
wow this game must really be a total mess if they didn't just whip together a crappy game and sell a few copies in an effort to get SOME money out of it.
I agree with what others have said, rockstar should just buy it, they can make any open world concept good.
lol...how did i get 8 thumbs down for saying this game looked bad? Did all the devs that just got laid off come to this forum? Did anyone that gave me a thumbs down actually look at the any of the gameplay video? I don't go out of my way to criticize game genres I don't like. This game looked really, really bad. From the dumb title to the moronic dance routines, to the horrible voice acting, to the "wet t-shirt" contest. This game makes Leisure Suit Larry look like high art. So go ahead and bring the thumbs down.
sell it to rockstar or ask rockstar to buy em...they'll make another original series out of it...beside...no one can do better of gta equivalent then them...
How can something that takes a shallow tourists view of a once truly fun and enjoyable city (it's now overrun with the biggest douches of the planet, as opposed to a higher class clientele it used to attract) a tribute? For the record I have lived in Las Vegas the whole of my life which comes to 30 years in Dec.
Oh, I completely forgot about this project. I was tentatively curious about the game. Guess I'll just forget about it again.
@de_graph Saints Row 2 sucked. Sorry. As far as GTA, I'll pray more come out. As far as GTA clones, I'll pray more come out. It's not even fair calling them all clones, and degrading their gameplay value based on lack of innovation. If that held true for anything, first person shooters would be dead. Besides the cover system, realistic bullet flight paths/penetration(Rarley implemented.) and a few other improvements, everything is the same since Medal of Honour. But new stories are told. So why can't open world "GTA clones" like Mafia 2 use the same formula, to tell a different story? Quit crying for open world innovation when COD 2 net'd as much as it did.
250 grand a month? Must be taking trips to Las Vegas every weekend for "research" if they're blowing that kind of dough. Didn't look that promising anyway, not sure what the hell the idea behind it was supposed to be, but it looked pretty shallow.
I'm feeling like this game survived a shipwreck just to die when it reached the beach.
The concept sounded really fun, but on closer inspection, it looked pretty weak. I think dancing drunk would be fun about twice before the novelty wears off. And I will have to agree with dynomitemasta in saying that the open world games coming out are a dime a dozen and offer nothing new. Recycled over and over. Saints Row 2 is one of the only full campaign coop open world games to hit the market and still remain fun. GTA's and clones alike can flood the market and make their money, but innovation is after thought.
First Test Drive U2 moved back several months, now this is gone for good. How's a guy supposed to virtually drive pimped out cars and gamble for loads of money? Hopefully Fallout : New Vegas has a gambling option!
No offense, but if I don't see another open world game for a long while, it'll be way too soon... not many are as unique as RDR, (just becasue we don't have many or any westerns).... but the whole GTA, Mafia, Godfather, Saboteur, (and the list goes on) thing is waay over played... at least the GTA, Godfather, Mafia types are all very similar... with me my eyes start glazing over after a few hours of play... Ill bet my last dollar most of these games from now on won't sell very well... we need a break from them, desperately. I know some people love them, to each his own, but there were people that loved Vampire Rain as well, which is hard to believe but true. It's time for these devs to reach inside their brains and pull out a NEW type of game, anything... it seems like whenever there is a popular game all the other devs scramble to come up with something similar. that's just some stale ****.... creatively devs should be going out of their way to come up with new and different ideas that will start pushing the rest of this gen into the future, not the past. I played the Mafia 2 demo as it was like every other open world demo.... This is Vegas looks like more of the same.
I had a feeling this game would disappear. Haven't heard anything about it in months.
This looked like a GTA Las Vegas but without guns i guess would have been really cool to depict living in Vegas
Welcome to the gaming industry! Get your hopes up for a game and than cancel the project or drag the project on for 10 years (like Too Human) and than the game sucks!
If its true I feel sorry for the Developers/Designers that no doubt have put there hearts into this project, amidst a load of corporate bs, just to have it chucked in the trash, shame. I would of bought it just to see what it was about :(
@sleepnsurf - might see you there, it's my 1st wedding anniversary on 17th Sept, and if we've got enough, we're heading to Vegas. Just look for a fat british bloke in a Transformers T-Shirt with a hot wife.... ;) ha ha
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