The point that we are trying to make is that they didn't even "make" this one bad game. Read the article and the links within in. This isn't a game design creativity issue, this is a business integrity issue.
Have you even read the article that this message board is linked to? Or are you just jumping into a conversation? Read the article. Within the article, there are links to articles and forum postings from people inside some of the companies involved.
I appreciate your clarification, but I wouldn't say that it means nothing. Mega-publisher like EA will generally put out very polished, slickly produced games, but like major movie studios, they will rarely deviate from proven formulas and known licenses. Truly innovative creativity and "outside the box" the design will mostly come from the indie shops.
I wanted to like Gearbox, and I root for the small shops. But as an Aliens fan, I can honestly say that I had never anticipated a game release more than this one. I can't tell you how disappointed I was. Disregard and sabotage of the Alien game franchise is a cardinal sin.
Well, they may be a good studio in that they have some talented people. But they can't be trusted to put out quality work when they have agreed to do so. And a for a game developer, your ability to put out consistently good work is the coin of the realm. And BTW, I don't get angry with people putting out bad games, I get mad about defrauding the gaming community.
Look, if the point you are trying to make is that Sega should have been more hardline with Gearbox and taken the project away, then fine. But that point is just inconsequential. Ineptitude doesn't come close to fraud.
No one is boycotting Gearbox because of "one bad game." No one is saying that all games are good. Bad games can be made despite people's best efforts. Its a creative process. Everyone understands that. If they had put in their best efforts, but somehow fell short, no one (or at least I) wouldn't be harping on them. The problem is that they didn't even try. They took Sega's money and actively mislead the gaming community into thinking that they were honoring the franchise and trying their best. This is not a case of falling short of expectations. This is a case of fraud and deception.
If you are such a simpleton that the only reason you are backing them up is so that the "world isn't just EA and Activision," then you are the one that needs to grow up. People hate EA and Activision because of their corporate attitudes, but the bottom line is, they put out good games. If anything, the Gearbox fiasco will just make it harder for the independent shops that we all root for to get contracts in the future.
Understandable from their selfish point of view, but not defensible. They can't pull a move like that and not expect to face the consequences when things go bad. I have no sympathy for Gearbox. None.
Nonsense. This is not politics, where some Secretary of State is "ultimately responsible." This is business. I see SEGA deciding to cut Gearbox some slack and give them extra time a sign of generosity. Going back and later accusing Sega of mismanagement is nonsense.
They hired Gearbox to make the game, and they hired them on the presumption of hiring their top A-team guys. I don't know the exact wording of the contract that they signed, but agreeing to make a game, then handing it off to someone else, has got to be some kind of contractual fraud.
The problem is not that it was poorly made, it is that it was poorly made by SOMEONE ELSE! Look, sometimes the end result of games, like movies, can be poor. Sometimes its technical reasons. Sometimes a vision in a director's head just doesn't translate well when actually realized. That's the creative process. I think that most people are intelligent enough to understand that.
The problem is that they didn't even try. They just handed the project off to someone else; and a second rate house no less. That they could treat such a widely-loved and landmark franchise with such disrespect is insulting. Moreover, it means that the ideal Aliens game that we are all hoping for will probably never be made.
Let them be cast out I say! Let their name Gearbox nevermore be spoken in these lands.
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