10 replies to this topic

[Nighthawk]

Good evening everyone,
It seems that, as of today, EA have decided to halt production on the upcoming microtransaction-based Command & Conquer game (formerly "Generals 2").

The reason cited is due to feedback received during the alpha testing. EA have came to the conclusion that their decision to shift towards a more multiplayer-oriented microtransaction model was not as popular as they imagined it would be.

However, their statement says this is not the end, and they will be looking for ways to get back to production on another C&C game.

Official statement can be read here.

So that's that then. Thoughts?


Nighthawk.
C&C Guild Leader.

[Beowulf]

It's not just halting production. It's straight up canceled. This sucks. The game was fun and had potential but spoiled brats ruined it for the rest of us.

[Graion Dilach]

Nighthawk, you're alive?!

[OmegaBolt]

The game needed a lot of work, but I agree that by listening to fans they seemed not to make any headway. It would be far better if they had a plan and stuck to it, putting in a lot of good ideas and creativity whether it is deemed "C&C" or not.

[Radspakr Wolfbane]

The fan feedback thing sounds like a line to me, in the article that was linked in the Shoutbox yesterday it mentioned that all the staff were let go.

Maybe prospective sales weren't going to be that good, or EA might be trimming fat.

What games die in Alpha due to customer feedback?

[OmegaBolt]

Games that are only being made for money?

[Radspakr Wolfbane]

But to cancel a game at the alpha stage would be a loss.

At the alpha stage you could basically change whatever you want, if it's unpopular in focus groups or to the public you can retool it which already happened with this game.

If they wanted to they could have gone back to the original plan and it would have made money.

Having said that EA management is known for being completely brain dead so there's that.

[OmegaBolt]

Just because C&C F2P is cancelled it doesn't mean they won't use the work involved in a fully fledged release, perhaps Generals 2 (since that was a far more popular idea). I don't think they would keep pushing the F2P game if they genuinely thought there was no interest... a F2P game requires continued support in order to make money, it's not like C&C4 where they just pushed out the game because game sales, before anyone knows how bad it sucks, could be enough to limit the damage.

 

Essentially they just spent money on 3 years of development for a title that wouldn't make an instant return on release, it would still take months to start making money and only after spending even more on it's maintainence and support. Perhaps they figured it was just too much effort and cut their losses now.

 

But then also there have been other quotes from devs saying it was just 'corporate bullsh*t' in essence.

 

Hi everyone, I just wanted to say that it has been a pleasure working on this game and I hope you all have enjoyed the closed alpha!  

This isn't official or anything, but you probably saw that our whole team got the ax.  I hope you understand that we at VG all were dedicated to making a game for all of you to play, and that the press release line was total b.s. It was NOT any feedback from the alpha that shut this project down but just petty corporate politics and shenanigans.

We were all shocked and confused to find out that our studio is closed (and that we are all out of jobs!), but I am happy to see that the game is still up and running RIGHT NOW and that a lot of people are still having fun with it. Please enjoy the live game until they figure out how to turn off the servers (it might be a while)!

 

The entire studio was laid off, we had people still fixing bugs until minutes prior to the meeting that ended this game. The whole team was very passionate and dedicated to making a great title, it's sad to see it go out like this so close to the end.

Edited by OmegaBolt, 30 October 2013 - 04:17 PM.

[Radspakr Wolfbane]

It really sucks that they got the axe and at this point the future of CnC isn't looking good which also greatly affects the RTS genre without CnC there's only Starcraft and some minor titles (TW doesn't really count as a true RTS in my eyes).

 

I wouldn't be surprised if they did release an unfinished version of the game *cough* Conquest *cough* and got some dodgier and cheaper team to finish things off.

[Beowulf]

Further reading and research shows that alpha feedback had nothing to with canceling C&C 2013 and closing VG. Has everything to do with EA being a very terrible company.

[Bart]

EA recently got a new CEO so it's quite possible he decided not to go through with this game and/or company. Of course, there may also be other reasons. In any case, I'm very inclined to believe that this late into the development, you don't cancel a game for the reasons stated in the press release.