Activision Blocking Brütal Legend Deal?
It looks like Brütal Legend [http://www.activision.com].
Brütal Legend was one of many games slated to be published by Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust [http://www.sierra.com/] without a home. Most of those games have since found new publishers, but Brütal Legend is still without a deal.
According to Variety's Activision Blizzard [http://weblogs.variety.com/the_cut_scene/2008/10/brutal-legend-s.html] itself. Sources at Double Fine say other publishers are interested in the game, but that Activision has been "blocking the process" and is "an impediment" to potential new deals. Naturally, Activision declined to comment on the matter, but even though details are scant it's an accusation not made lightly: Activision is a big player, and even though it may not be interested in Brütal Legend, poisoning the well without a pretty good reason isn't a smart way to go about building future relationships.
The obvious question is why Activision would do something like this in the first place. It's not difficult to understand why it'd pass on Brütal Legend; while Schafer has received widespread critical acclaim for his work, with games like Psychonauts [http://www.grim-fandango.com/] to his credit, he has yet to come up with a major commercial hit. On the other hand, grass-roots interest in Schafer's games has been simmering, driven by the growing recognition of his creative talents, and perhaps Activision hasn't completely given up on the idea that the game could be a sleeper hit. Whatever the case, we'll no doubt be hearing more in the future.
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It looks like Brütal Legend [http://www.activision.com].
Brütal Legend was one of many games slated to be published by Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust [http://www.sierra.com/] without a home. Most of those games have since found new publishers, but Brütal Legend is still without a deal.
According to Variety's Activision Blizzard [http://weblogs.variety.com/the_cut_scene/2008/10/brutal-legend-s.html] itself. Sources at Double Fine say other publishers are interested in the game, but that Activision has been "blocking the process" and is "an impediment" to potential new deals. Naturally, Activision declined to comment on the matter, but even though details are scant it's an accusation not made lightly: Activision is a big player, and even though it may not be interested in Brütal Legend, poisoning the well without a pretty good reason isn't a smart way to go about building future relationships.
The obvious question is why Activision would do something like this in the first place. It's not difficult to understand why it'd pass on Brütal Legend; while Schafer has received widespread critical acclaim for his work, with games like Psychonauts [http://www.grim-fandango.com/] to his credit, he has yet to come up with a major commercial hit. On the other hand, grass-roots interest in Schafer's games has been simmering, driven by the growing recognition of his creative talents, and perhaps Activision hasn't completely given up on the idea that the game could be a sleeper hit. Whatever the case, we'll no doubt be hearing more in the future.
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