Activision Teases the Return of Sierra Entertainment - Update

[MovieBob]

Activision Teases the Return of Sierra Entertainment - Update

Mysterious site teases return of PC Gaming legend, possible reveal coming at GamesCom 2014

Update 8/10: Shortly after midnight on the West Coast, a new "Don't call it a comeback." [https://twitter.com/sierra_games]

Original Story: From the 80s into the mid-90s, Sierra Entertainment was one of the titans of the PC Gaming scene, developing classic games that remain benchmarks for a generation of gamers. But a subsequent slow decline through series of corporate mergers, restructures and eventual absorption by Activision Blizzard led to the company being shut down and the once-ubiquitous Sierra label ceasing to exist. Until now.

GamesCom 2014 [http://www.sierra.com/] in Cologne, which many are taking as an indication that Activision plans to announce the revival of the Sierra Entertainment label in some new form at the event.

Another hoped-for possibility is the re-release or revival of various dormant game franchises. In its heyday, Sierra was responsible for now-classic series like Kings Quest, Police Quest, Quest For Glory, Space Quest, Gabriel Knight and the infamous Leisure Suit Larry; most of which have not been continued into the 21st Century and many of which have only been available through GOG or other outlets for some time.

At this time, Activision has made no official statement on the matter.

Source: Sierra.com [http://www.sierra.com/]

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[Schadrach]

In its heyday, Sierra was responsible for now-classic series like Kings Quest, Police Quest, Quest For Glory, Space Quest, Gabriel Knight and the infamous Leisure Suit Larry; most of which have not been continued into the 21st Century and many of which have not been legally available the gamers for many years.

Every series you mentioned here is available on GOG, QFG in one pack and most of the others in three game collections. Some of the more obscure Sierra titles aren't though (like Colonel's Bequest or Jones in the Fast Lane).

 

[Nuxxy]

Sierra? Back? Squeeeeeeee!

 

[Micah Weil]

Everyone remembers Sierra for the Quest games. Admittedly, yes, that was some of their best work. Nobody seems to remember that they were responsible - either via development or via publishing - of some of the best games on the PC for their era. Outpost 2, Masters of Olympus - Zeus, SWAT 4 (which led to Spoony's Let's Plays of it)...

They published Half-Life before Steam was a thing, fer cryin' out loud!

...oh dear, it seems like I've gone on a ramble.
Point I'm trying to make is simple: if they're returning in either of those contexts, then we are a better gaming community for it. The only thing that bothers me about this whole thing is the specter of Activision hanging over it all.

 

[Kahani]

Sierra isn't coming back. I'm sorry but it isn't. Much like Atari or Activision it's self the NAME of a formerly popular and productive company is being brought back as a way to sell you things.

Indeed. "A name some people used in the past is going to be reused by some completely different people" really isn't particularly interesting news. If Activision make good games, I don't care what label they happen to have on them. If they don't make good games, slapping a random name on them and pretending they have nostalgia value won't change that.

 

[GiantRaven]

My Arcanum boner hasn't tingled this much since Tim Cain joined Obsidian.

Sadly I'm sure it will all be for nothing.

 

[Frostbyte666]

Interesting, what I'd really like is a re-release of Shivers 1 to work on windows 7 pc's instead of all the current hoop jumping I have to do to play it.

 

[Littaly]

What's the point of this? Everyone that made Sierra what it was has moved on to greener pastures. All this would be is Activision doing a Sierra puppet show. Just release those games or the gritty-action reboots of those games that they're convinced are the only way to make them profitable. Don't bother with the dog-and-pony show.

This was my thought too. It will be Rareware, alive on the outside, dead on the inside :-/

 

[Don Incognito]

In its heyday, Sierra was responsible for now-classic series like Kings Quest, Police Quest, Quest For Glory, Space Quest, Gabriel Knight and the infamous Leisure Suit Larry; most of which have not been continued into the 21st Century and many of which have not been legally available the gamers for many years.

Every series you mentioned here is available on GOG, QFG in one pack and most of the others in three game collections. Some of the more obscure Sierra titles aren't though (like Colonel's Bequest or Jones in the Fast Lane).

LOVED Colonel's Bequest, and the sequel.

Maybe there will be some HD remakes, or re-envisionings in a Telltale-type mode. Not just adventure games, either. I'd kill someone in front of their own momma for another No One Lives Forever. Or the aforementioned Zeus: Master of Olympus. My God, what a phenomenal game.

 

[gigastar]

What is there to be excited about here?

If its about the games they made back before they went to shit, then most of them are available on GoG.

Or if its about the prospect of new games, or remastered versions, then why doesnt Activision just have one of thier slave studios do it instead of wasting time resurrecting a dead label?

Its just a load of marketing. The PC crowd of all people should know better than to get swept up by any hype originating from Activision.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Sierra isn't coming back. I'm sorry but it isn't. Much like Atari or Activision it's self the NAME of a formerly popular and productive company is being brought back as a way to sell you things. Companies like Sierra were made up of the people in them, not the name. We saw this when staff left studios like Bullfrog or Westwood or countless other PC studios gobbled up and ruined by big publishers in the 90s and 2000s. Once the creatives are gone and the corporate culture is dead you can't bring that back simply with a name.

To be fair, the studios that died off or were gobbled up died off because they weren't going to survive anyway, thats how business works and blaming the big corporate machine for the little guy's failure to adapt isn't a fair way to go. I'm not saying you have to like the large bloated entities that are some corporations, but stop giving them credit for the yesteryear nostalgic darling developer failing. Give you a hint, most companies not in financial troubles won't sell out to the bigger company... The usually do that when the owners want out of a bad investment with at least some cash recovered. Dev's tend to leave companies when they feel its going under too.
Some of those companies that were closed post-buyout still got a few extra months or years they most likely wouldn't have had otherwise. Maybe if anything you should be either thankful for that or even more mad because your favorite developer didn't die a "dignified" death but rather survived past its time.
BTW, I'm not necessarily taking up for big business, I've got issues with them but blaming them for a studio's collapse is just petty. Fry them for something they actually did.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

So an old corpse with Activision's hand shoved up its ass?

Yaaaaay.

Wake me when they start bringing in some of the developers who used to work for Sierra, until then this sounds like a cynical corporate rebranding exercise.

 

[Worgen]

I don't get the point of this, you can't remake Sierra and make it Sierra still. Does this mean they are just going to be ressurecting a bunch of old Sierra IP's or something?

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Sierra isn't coming back. I'm sorry but it isn't. Much like Atari or Activision it's self the NAME of a formerly popular and productive company is being brought back as a way to sell you things. Companies like Sierra were made up of the people in them, not the name. We saw this when staff left studios like Bullfrog or Westwood or countless other PC studios gobbled up and ruined by big publishers in the 90s and 2000s. Once the creatives are gone and the corporate culture is dead you can't bring that back simply with a name.

To be fair, the studios that died off or were gobbled up died off because they weren't going to survive anyway, thats how business works and blaming the big corporate machine for the little guy's failure to adapt isn't a fair way to go. I'm not saying you have to like the large bloated entities that are some corporations, but stop giving them credit for the yesteryear nostalgic darling developer failing. Give you a hint, most companies not in financial troubles won't sell out to the bigger company... The usually do that when the owners want out of a bad investment with at least some cash recovered. Dev's tend to leave companies when they feel its going under too.
Some of those companies that were closed post-buyout still got a few extra months or years they most likely wouldn't have had otherwise. Maybe if anything you should be either thankful for that or even more mad because your favorite developer didn't die a "dignified" death but rather survived past its time.
BTW, I'm not necessarily taking up for big business, I've got issues with them but blaming them for a studio's collapse is just petty. Fry them for something they actually did.

You couldn't be more wrong. Please do some homework. These studios were sold at the height of their power with the promise of more support and bigger scope. Westwood, Bullfrog etc weren't dying when they were sold to EA. Neither were countless other studios Activision, EA etc has mismanaged and shuttered over the years. PUBLISHERS BUY SUCCESSFUL STUDIOS. Yes they also pick up cheap failing IP but the companies I'm talking about were still in the midst of making their hits.

You obviously never heard anything from the former employees of EA studios. Incompetent top management decisions killed many of these studios. I was just posting in the thread about CnC with direct quotes from people about how mismanaged by the publisher they were and how meddling stopped them being able to make great games. There is lots and lots of evidence of this.

Bullfrog survived six years post-EA acquisition. And they did very little in that time beyond Dungeon Keeper. Molyneux left and the studio floundered after that so blame him if anyone.

Westwood - Almost died post EA buyout due to the walkout of some of its devs prior to the buyout, which may have also been a cause of the rushed games. Red Alert 2 was developed only by people who worked there post-EA, considered one of the better C&C games and RTS's of its time. Later the studio was merged with another, but the IPs that made it live on. EA imposed guidelines on Westwood which did cause some games to be rushed, but without accurate info on what went on, we only have the word of people who were either fired or quit. Still EA got 4 decent years out of Westwood and the IPs had a few post-death releases.

Oh and by countless publishers, don't you mean a handful? Origin? Acuired in 1992, died in 2000, had tons of massive hits and was responsible for the birth of the MMO with Ultima Online post-EA. Died because of Ultima IX and Richard Garriott leaving.

Mythic Entertainment? Acuired in 2006, closed in 2014, but was merged with Bioware prior to that in 2009. Blame the economy crash for that one.
In fact any studio closed in 2008-2011 or so should really be the fault of the economy crash and not an evil publisher. (Pandemic is on that list).
Maxis? Still alive just under a different name.

Ok thats the list for EA. If they smashed studios flat, how is it that said studios were alive for at least a few years (sometimes a decade) post-buyout?
Activision? Sierra was already dying when Activision bought the parent company, Neversoft lived a good long life... what other studio did they "run into the ground"?
Overblown history my friend. You let hate for EA's stupid present policies color your view of the past.

 

[Rituro]

Hm. Beloved company teased. Most of said company's back-catalogue are available on GOG, but not all. Odds of new Quest for Glory slim. Soooooo... Mixed-Up Mother Goose HD confirmed?