Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

[zenith16]

ok I been ignoring this long enough

38 Studios Failed To Make Payment, Needs Help

News

on May 16, 2012 at 04:58 PM
10,151 Views

46
More information has become available since reports surfaced earlier this week suggesting developer 38 Studios was in financial trouble.
... More

source: GI



hope this doesn't take the studio down.

 

[The Squirrel]

I've actually been thinking about finally getting this game.

 

[zenith16]

it's and awesome game if youere disappointed in the last dragon age game here's your cure for that problem . plus I found out the writer is a famous and prolific D&D writer and has been doing the round on other games unlike the former.

 

[Soapy]

I've been following this 38 Studios drama fairly closely and it really sucks for the people at the studio getting caught in the crossfire, but I would love to know why super republican Curt Schilling (who made 100+ million dollars playing baseball) took a loan from the government (i.e. the taxpayers) to fund a video game vanity project, proceeded to pay himself four million of that loan, not pay his employees, but somehow can't manage to pay back a measly one and a quarter million.

 

[zenith16]

who know's what he used it for. it may have been used to make the office building fun for his workers to encourage creativity (for a start up as his was)and now it's coming back to bit him. foot ball player have ahabit of going over board unless they have some one else to reign them in financially .

 

[KALEL114]

Damn. 38 Studios fires entire staff.

Curt Schilling's 38 Studios laid off all of their employees today, a source familiar with the company tells Polygon.
The studio's financial turmoil first came to light earlier this month when they first missed and then later made a $1.125 million check to the state of Rhode Island.
Earlier this week Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee told reporters that they state's Economic Development Corporation had met with the studio to discuss payroll issues and layoffs.

Developing...

http://www.theverge.com/gaming/2012/5/24/3041662/38-studios-lays-off-entire-staff

 

[Master Chief]

Oh s**t. That's a bummer.

 

[KALEL114]

Think that is bad, it gets even worse.

Update
Further reports indicate that it's not just Big Huge Games that's shutting down but all of 38 Studios. An anonymous source formerly employed at 38 sent Kotaku the following details:

38 Studios just laid off its entire staff, both Providence and BHG studios are being shuttered.
We have not received a paycheck since April 30th.
On May 15th, we found out we were not getting paid when our checks did not hit our accounts.
Our medical insurance runs out tonight at midnight.
We found this out when an employee's pregnant wife was told by her doctor, this was on Tuesday 22nd May this week.
The company has not communicated anything concrete to the team throughout this process, leaving team members to figure out insurance stop-gaps (where people could afford it), etc. on their own.
​

http://kotaku.com/5913102/rumor-38-studios-shutting-down-big-huge-games

 

[Soapy]

I don't have a lot of sympathy for Curt Schilling, but for everyone that was in the trenches, working on that stuff for years, that's a hell of a tough break. Even though it didn't interest me personally, Amalur seemed like an well put together game, and Copurnicus looked like it could have been half decent as well. Hopefully they all land on their feet and find jobs at more prosperous studios.

 

[KALEL114]

Agreed^

The one great thing about Social Media is stuff like this happens.

https://***********/#!/search/%2338jobs

So many companies offering them new job opportunities.

 

[Soapy]

This is reportedly the email that was sent to employees:

The Company is experiencing an economic downturn. To avoid further losses and possibility of retrenchment, the Company has decided that a companywide lay off is absolutely necessary.

These layoffs are non-voluntary and non-disciplinary.

This is your official notice of lay off, effective today, Thursday, May 24th, 2012.

Also, apparently Kingdoms of Amalur is what sunk the company. The Rhode Island governor said unceremoniously that the game was a failure.

Source

You know, I think something is terribly wrong with the video game industry when a game sells over a million copies and is considered a failure.

 

[KALEL114]

Unfortunately, it's just where the industry is right now. If a game doesn't sell millions in a week, it is a failure. Same thing when a game gets a 7 or 8 in a review.

 

[Wolfwood]

I've been watching this since the rumors started popping up that something was going down and it's absolutely devastating to see a company take a hit like this. I remember what a big deal it was when this whole thing was formed with Curt Schilling and Todd McFarlane and now to see everything turn to ****...It's nice to see the job offers being extended out there.

 

[The Squirrel]

What the heck!? I just bought this game.

 

[Wolvieboy17]

Now I feel dirty for even owning this game still....

 

[jacobed]

That is awful for the employees. I was really hoping they'd release a sequel to Kingdoms of Amaulur because I thought it was great

 

[craigdbfan]

Didn't this game get pretty darn good reviews? That's a shame.

There's actually been a good surge of great action RPG games. Skyrim, KoA, & Dragons Dogma.

Hope the genre keeps going strong.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Now I feel dirty for even owning this game still....

The only reason you should feel dirty about owning it is that most of your money went to EA. They didn't market this game at all because they didn't care.

 

[socool]

Also, apparently Kingdoms of Amalur is what sunk the company. The Rhode Island governor said unceremoniously that the game was a failure. You know, I think something is terribly wrong with the video game industry when a game sells over a million copies and is considered a failure.

Unfortunately, it's just where the industry is right now. If a game doesn't sell millions in a week, it is a failure. Same thing when a game gets a 7 or 8 in a review.

Apparently, the game needed to sell 3 times what it did (3 million) to be considered a success. I don't even know why they bothered releasing the game if that was the only number that could save them. That's an insane number. It took Red Dead Redemption months to reach that and that game is huge!!

 

[The Squirrel]

Yeah, the budget on these games is getting ridiculous if that is what it takes to even break a profit.

 

[Soapy]

The budgets are definitely out of control. So many studios have bit the dust this gen trying to make the next Call of Duty or God of War or World of Warcraft. They feel compelled to compete with these big budget games, even when they can't afford to. If you're a smaller or even medium sized developer or publisher, every "AAA" game is basically make or break gamble. This "AAA" style of game development is completely unsustainable.

Hopefully the experience everyone gained from this generation can be used to develop better tools and techniques that allow games of the same quality we have now to be made on smaller budgets.

 

[KALEL114]

Wow. Just, wow.

According to the report, when 38 Studios moved from Massachusetts to Rhode Island in 2010, it offered employees a relocation program that would see the company sell their old homes for them. However, "some" employees received notice from banks this week that they had missed mortgage payments on their old homes, at least one of which 38 Studios told the owner employee it had sold last year. An unspecified 38 Studios official told the site that it was trying to resolve the situation.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/collapse-of-38-studios-sticks-some-devs-with-second-mortgage-6378649

 

[The Squirrel]

Now I feel dirty for buying this game.

 

[Donut]

Now I feel dirty for buying this game.

Will you feel dirty buying future Activision games. Considering how much info is coming out on how they treated Infinity Ward ? I wonder what else we will hear when the trial happens this week

 

[BigSams50]

For those who have this game, is it worth about 30 euros?