Starcraft Ghost "indefinitely postponed"

[CptStern]

bye bye ghost
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=63596

"Blizzard has decided to "indefinitely postpone production" on StarCraft: Ghost, its action-oriented StarCraft spin-off for consoles, "while evaluating opportunities for utilising the additional power of the new and upcoming console systems".

In a press release sent out late on Friday, Blizzard said it was announcing plans "to focus the company's console-development efforts on the next generation", but for a game as maligned as Ghost the news is more likely to be met as acknowledgement of the game's long-running problems.

President and co-founder Mike Morhaime said the developer has "been impressed with the potential" of stuff like Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and, "In addition to allowing us to determine the best course for StarCraft: Ghost, this review period will help us lay the groundwork for our future console games."

Any further plans for Ghost "as well as platform and release information" will follow at some point in the future. Judging by the release, Blizzard is still keen to do something StarCraft-related on consoles; it just won't be Ghost in its current state."

 

[destrukt]

guess i'm happy, at least it will suck, but it will suck gracifully on the new gen of consoles.

 

[CptStern]

it will probably never be released

 

[VictimOfScience]

Good. Didn't like the direction it was going anyway. Shame they couldn't have spent that time on a good sequel though....

 

[$kelet0r]

poor nova

the game sounded like Metroid Prime - just better and in the starcraft universe
i was looking forward to it ;(

 

[Eg.]

You could tell this is where it was going once Blizzard bought the dev team, they dont want anything associated with Blizzard or BLANKCraft to suck. Hopefully they'll help the Ghost dev team by ploping in som actual blizzard guys as guides.

 

[Asknoone]

Knew it was coming.

 

[Cole]

This is the FIRST time it has ever been postponed since the people who worked at Swigin Apes took it over(who then eventually got bought by Blizzard).

In the end you have to decide: If we release it for this generation when everyones going to the next will our sales suck compared to if you started on the next generation.

This wasn't the first time Blizzard look to the future. Anyone ever remember Lord of the Clans? Never released. Was a 2d adventure game by Blizzard and was cancled due to the engine just wasn't advanced enough to be able to compete.
Almost happened with Starcraft, but a programmer volunteered to work on the engine and was givin 2 months and eventually got it to do everything they wanted.

 

[^Ben]

No.

They had a turkey on their hands and they took it out back before it lost them even more money.

 

[CyberPitz]

Sadface! I really wanted to play this game. Oh well, I guess here's to hoping something else StarCraft will get released....

 

[Asknoone]

It could have been great. But I think Blizzard simply didn't see it hitting the right notes, and it simply wasn't shaping up to be the game they wanted it to be.

 

[DeusExMachina]

I think the game would've been a lot of fun. Oh well. StarCraft 2 will come one day...

 

[JFry]

^^^

I feel like hitting the exclamation button so it says:

"The following post may or may not be true"

 

[0mar]

Good.

StarCraft Ghost was a slap in the face of all StarCraft fans.

Just give us StarCraft II please.

 

[Iced_Eagle]

They most likely will just remake everything for the next-gen consoles...

So most likely all current-gen Ghost is dead, but next-gen (hopefully with new engine to take advantage of all the opportunities that the new hardware gives you) may be in the works.

Now if they license a next-gen engine (Project Offset or Unreal Engine 3 for example) then we could probably see this game in around 2-3 years if they start everything from scratch. If they reuse a lot of stuff, then it could possibly be 2 or less years.

This is assuming they are still actively going to continue planning Ghost, but just not announce anything for a while.

 

[Cole]

I doubt they would license an engine Iced_Eagle, Blizzard has NEVER licensed an engine. All of there engines(Minus Wc1), have used the MoPaQ and Storm.dll ways.
Storm.dll is like a super .dll that wraps all the calls into Os specific calls(Allows easy mac and pc portability) also manages its own memory, tons of built-in security, tons went into this file and it is always in use by every game they've made since Wc1.
The MPQ format has also been there, allows for tons of files with security. Using a hash table that allows them to quickly find any file there looking for with massive compression.
Blizzard are going to stick to this format, hell they'll probably create a version of storm.dll for all of the consoles for super easily portability between consoles.

They are going to be working on ghost, or at least a console game. They didn't acquire a company with it's 40 programmers for no reason.

 

[DarkStar]

It's a testament to Blizzard's dedication to releasing ONLY quality stuff that instead of release this stinker and cut their losses (as a lesser company might) they just scrap it entirely.

 

[DeusExMachina]

You people never even played the game. You'd have no idea if it would suck or not. I thought the Godfather game would be horrible, but I've been loving the game ever since I bought the damn thing.

 

[dream431ca]

GOD! Why not just Cancel the damn thing!? I like blizzard, but this is rediculos! I think everyone in the whole world would agree with me that: START ON STARCRAFT 2 INSTEAD OF A 3RD PERSON, WASTE OF MONEY CRAPTACULAR GAME!!!!!!!!! BLARRRGGGGG!!!!

 

[Dr. Freeman]

so.
does this mean they are moving onto Starcraft2?
or Diablo3?
and please, lets lay off the MMORPG's

 

[^Ben]

You people never even played the game. You'd have no idea if it would suck or not. I thought the Godfather game would be horrible, but I've been loving the game ever since I bought the damn thing.

A company cancelling the game speaks volumes for the quality of it, especially with a company like Blizzard/Vivendi that can bankroll it's remaining development costs easily.

 

[Dalamari]

Thank God, this game looked horrible

 

[Murray]

I think Blizzard is a bit scared to make another StarCraft-based game, as the first game was so perfect in it's atmosphere, that another game, even a spinoff, would be kind of a taboo, if you will.

 

[Asknoone]

My Starcraft campaign will be hella cooler anyway.

 

[kupocake]

The last movies they released weren't very exciting, even by last generation game standards. No big loss really, I think the anticipation for it has slowly declined over the years and its eventual appearance would have just been merely "nice enough". They should take it back to the drawing board and remake it, or better - give the Starcraft fans what they really want.

Zergling plush dolls.

 

[CptStern]

so.
does this mean they are moving onto Starcraft2?
or Diablo3?
and please, lets lay off the MMORPG's

wow is hugely successful ..I predict by the end of the decade there'll be a diablo MMO and a starcraft MMO ..actually I predict eventually blizzard will drop singleplayer games all together and concentrate on mmo's ..it's just too profitable for them to do otherwise ..plus it's not as big a gamble as a traditional game that can be bogged down for years in development only to have a lackluster release ..far more profitable to create a mmo game and have revenues coming in over a longer period of time

 

[Quixoticism]

I knew it was bound to happen eventually. Can't say that I care either.

I want STARCRAFT 2 Blizzard!!!

 

[Dr. Freeman]

wow is hugely successful ..I predict by the end of the decade there'll be a diablo MMO and a starcraft MMO ..actually I predict eventually blizzard will drop singleplayer games all together and concentrate on mmo's ..it's just too profitable for them to do otherwise ..plus it's not as big a gamble as a traditional game that can be bogged down for years in development only to have a lackluster release ..far more profitable to create a mmo game and have revenues coming in over a longer period of time

oh...i realize how profitable MMORPG's are and yeah that genre/type of game won't stop now that its in full force but it almost seems like the days of single player games are pretty much over except for perhaps fps games.

remember, single player games is where it all started and alot of gamers still love the single player aspect of gaming...i just hope developers keep that in mind.

 

[Cole]

so.
does this mean they are moving onto Starcraft2?
or Diablo3?
and please, lets lay off the MMORPG's

Blizzard is a 3 part company with 3 different buildings.
Blizzard North
Blizzard HQ
Blizzard Console Division

North Makes RPG's such as Diablo 1\2 and World of Warcraft
HQ makes RTS's such as Warcraft 1,2,3 and Starcraft any any expansions\re-releases that go with them.
Console Division is the new recently acquired Swingin Apes that uhh makes console games.....

Blizzard HQ has not announced what they've been working on...so I personally believe since Wc3TFT Starcraft 2 has been in production.

 

[CptStern]

oh...i realize how profitable MMORPG's are and yeah that genre/type of game won't stop now that its in full force but it almost seems like the days of single player games are pretty much over except for perhaps fps games.

remember, single player games is where it all started and alot of gamers still love the single player aspect of gaming...i just hope developers keep that in mind.

ya I completely agree ..I really hope blizzard takes what they did in wow and translate that to diablo3 but keep it a sp game ..like oblivion ..it's diablo's natural progression (or should be ...I just hope they put some rpg/depth into it)

 

[MuToiD_MaN]

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/06/23

Seemed appropriate.

 

[Angry Lawyer]

Postponed? Postpwnt.

-Angry Lawyer

 

[Jintor]

God damn.

 

[Cole]

ya I completely agree ..I really hope blizzard takes what they did in wow and translate that to diablo3 but keep it a sp game ..like oblivion ..it's diablo's natural progression (or should be ...I just hope they put some rpg/depth into it)

When they do release a D3\and if a WOD I hope they keep it closer to the oringal diablo and possibly a shoulder view.
The oringal Diablo was much much more spooky, it tried to spook you. Take the labrynth from the oringal Diablo. Make that 1st person. Like taking Oblivion, making bigger dungeon areas, bigger dungeons themselves, a lot less light, only denomic creatures, dead bodies on walls, blood everwyhere, tons of enemies, quicker paced fighting, and boom you'd have a spooky diablo-style hack n slash denomic game.

Hell i'd play it. Then you'd get to experince Hell and Caves\Lava and a spook Labrynth....someone should make a big mod where Oblivion is more Diablo oriented. Of course don't follow the story from D1 and don't have Diablo in it's name and ur good.