Criminal Upper
Banned
I really hope they took it away from SK, and gave it to Retro instead.
*drool*
*drool*
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Rumour: Nintendo cancels Eternal Darkness 2; Fact: Silicon Knights hit by layoffs
- Thread starter Shiggy
- Start date
ThankeeSai
Member
I really hope this isn't dead in the water :'(
One of my favourite games of last gen.
One of my favourite games of last gen.
echoshifting
Banned
If this pops up on Kickstarter...
...I would not know what to do
...I would not know what to do
IAmtheFMan
Member
Basically: Rumored sequel never actually CONFIRMED to be in existence, but thought to be based on Dyack's cryptic comment and Nintendo-fanboy dreams is now cancelled because of legal woes, and known layoffs?
I'm not saying it doesn't make sense, but there's a lot of conjecture and inference in the OP. If I'm wrong about ED2 actually being a confirmed title then please link me and I'll gladly eat crow.
I'm not saying it doesn't make sense, but there's a lot of conjecture and inference in the OP. If I'm wrong about ED2 actually being a confirmed title then please link me and I'll gladly eat crow.
There certainly is an overabundance of conjecture in the OP that people are glossing over. For all we know they teased a new Legacy of Kain.
It won't. Nintendo doesn't do Kickstarter.
You can usually trust Shiggy's information, that's why people accept it as correct.
IAmtheFMan
Member
Unless he's changed his sources from a google search bar and (sometimes) logical jumps in conclusions, then no I can't.
The last time I entered a Shiggy thread was a few years ago, and it was the same baseless speculation passed off as fact with an inability to cite sources aside from, "it's amazing what you can find on a google search!"
ProfessorMoran
Member
I wonder what Dyack is working on to keep SK afloat, other than trying to con the Ontario government into extending their loan.
It's actually damn amazing what you can find there. But please watch your private messages.
Damn. ED was one of my favorite games... So now we can only wait for SK to go down, selling their rights on their IP, hoping Nintendo will buy the parts they don't control and hoping Dyak won't sue them for using patent he partially own with them?
Arg, this looks like one big ugly can of worms... T_T
Arg, this looks like one big ugly can of worms... T_T
Eternal Darkness was the definition of mediocre.
James Woods
Banned
It's sad to see any company that does something as harmless as game development shutter. I get that Dyack is a twat and that lawsuit was stupid but that still doesn't mean.celebration is in order.
Even if Eternal Darkness wasn't good
Forsaken82
Member
was going to say the same exact thing. ED2 was never officially dropped, and as far as we all know, they never even had a Wii U game in development. They may have simply had Wii U Dev kits as a means of researching the potential.
cooljeanius
Member
If only they let their fans do Kickstarters for them...
For some reason I doubt SE would be willing to work with them. I'd sooner expect Crystal Dynamics making a new one after this new Tomb Raider just to have a change of pace.
Mama Robotnik
Member
Unfortunate news.
Silicon Knights made Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and Eternal Darkness, two of my favourite games. In each, they were supported in achieving their vision by a more experienced house - Crystal Dynamics with the former and Nintendo with the latter. They have good ideas, and with the right support, guidance and supervision, they can produce magnificent games.
There's talent there too: The Twin Snakes, though a port with very little original content, was well done, looked nice, and thoroughly enjoyable. They also provided a supporting role in the development of Darksiders, a game I keep hearing good things about.
But there's no getting around it - Too Human has been a disaster, with Dyack's posturing and "social experiment" pitiably centered around unwavering confidence in what critics judged to be a shoddy product. X-Men has been another disaster. The decision to take on Epic has been a final, fatal disaster, and one that appears to be the nail in the coffin. Such a waste.
What would have been good: After Too Human failed, Dyack approaches Nintendo and humbly admits to making the wrong decision. Nintendo helps fund and guide Eternal Darkness II as an outstanding Wii U Launch Title. They help reorganise the studio, partner them with Retro for peer support, and help them reach their potential.
What is going to happen: Silicon Knights will lose the appeal, will default on its debts and enter insolvency. Due to the economy and massive layoffs and closures throughout the industry, no one will jump to their rescue. Once again, such a waste.
Silicon Knights made Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and Eternal Darkness, two of my favourite games. In each, they were supported in achieving their vision by a more experienced house - Crystal Dynamics with the former and Nintendo with the latter. They have good ideas, and with the right support, guidance and supervision, they can produce magnificent games.
There's talent there too: The Twin Snakes, though a port with very little original content, was well done, looked nice, and thoroughly enjoyable. They also provided a supporting role in the development of Darksiders, a game I keep hearing good things about.
But there's no getting around it - Too Human has been a disaster, with Dyack's posturing and "social experiment" pitiably centered around unwavering confidence in what critics judged to be a shoddy product. X-Men has been another disaster. The decision to take on Epic has been a final, fatal disaster, and one that appears to be the nail in the coffin. Such a waste.
What would have been good: After Too Human failed, Dyack approaches Nintendo and humbly admits to making the wrong decision. Nintendo helps fund and guide Eternal Darkness II as an outstanding Wii U Launch Title. They help reorganise the studio, partner them with Retro for peer support, and help them reach their potential.
What is going to happen: Silicon Knights will lose the appeal, will default on its debts and enter insolvency. Due to the economy and massive layoffs and closures throughout the industry, no one will jump to their rescue. Once again, such a waste.
Hey I want whatever you sent him!
yankeeforever2
Member
Nintendo is desperately trying to get back to a positive cash flow for this year, no way they will take a risk of giving money to a company in this much debt.
Plus Sk dug its own grave
Diddy Kong
Banned
Pretty much. I'd love to see Nintendo swipe Banjo, but we shall save that for another day
Retro doing ED2 would be fantastic
or Banjo.
Tell yer wife to say "Fuck Dyack" instead...
Iwata response: "Screw you lady, I don't run a charity around here! Oh and Wara Wara."
Perfect apertunity aint aint it?
For the 10 million nintendo could demand they get the rest of the avaibe shares. This would also mean nintendo could have tight control over what they hire and who they use.
Nintendo isn't going to go through all that trouble. No one at Nintendo is desperate to make Eternal Darkness 2. I think they just wanted to give Dyack one more chance because the end result would be a nice exclusive for them. It's surprising they greenlighted this in the first place, did they know about this lawsuit? ED2 died before we even learned it existed and I think it will stay dead for a very long time.
By very long time I mean forever.
If SK dies, Nintendo has the rights to ED?
DangerousDave
Member
Well, if SK stayed so many years is because of the great amount of founding from Canada goverment. Nearly all of their games have been a failure in sales, and in most cases, also in quality.
Maybe is simply that they didn't get the last money that Canada government assigned to them, because of the economics.
Maybe is simply that they didn't get the last money that Canada government assigned to them, because of the economics.
I do believe ED's rights are owned by Nintendo, are they not?
so i must be mediocre since i liked the game, but i dont fail at biology that's for sure...
They received money from the Ontario government not that long ago, but with the election/budget that was just recently passed, they weren't going to be getting any more.
Nintendo owns the ED property but I would image SK has some rights to it. If SK goes under it should be 100% under Nintendo's control.
gamergirly
Member
Agent Unknown
Member
As said many times before, Dyack and SK were insane going up against Epic. That aside,
Nintendo's current strategy for going after Core gamers so far:
1)Aside from NSMBU and Pikmin 3, host the jawdroppingly awful spectacle of poor marketing that was this year's E3 conference with heavy focus on a karaoke game, more Wii Fit and a minigame collection.
2)Allow Reggie to say things like 3rd parties can just jump on board when the install base is there and in the meantime keep one second party in a dark corner constantly (Retro) while letting another and its IPs twist in the wind (SK).
Nintendo's current strategy for going after Core gamers so far:
1)Aside from NSMBU and Pikmin 3, host the jawdroppingly awful spectacle of poor marketing that was this year's E3 conference with heavy focus on a karaoke game, more Wii Fit and a minigame collection.
2)Allow Reggie to say things like 3rd parties can just jump on board when the install base is there and in the meantime keep one second party in a dark corner constantly (Retro) while letting another and its IPs twist in the wind (SK).
GillianSeed79
Member
Rumor or not, all Nintendo would have to do is announce Eternal Darkness 2 as a Wii-U launch game and I'd be there day one in spite of this year's meh E3 showing. It's criminal we haven't got a sequel yet.
You would think after E3 Nintendo wouldn't mind paying $10 million more so they accuracy get some games happening.
Hopefully Nintendo rains in what already has been worked on and gets it finished in house for release if it in indeed true. Cancelling the game outright seems like a bad move for them at this stage.
Hopefully Nintendo rains in what already has been worked on and gets it finished in house for release if it in indeed true. Cancelling the game outright seems like a bad move for them at this stage.
No.
Pretty much. I'd love to see Nintendo swipe Banjo, but we shall save that for another day
Retro doing ED2 would be fantasticor Banjo.
Nah, half the appeal of Banjo was the sly British humour and innuendo. I don't think Retro could pull it off even if they wanted to.
A Black Falcon
Member
So Nintendo's repeating with Silicon Knights what they did with Factor 5? I know why they made both decisions, but really, they are mistakes -- yes, both had made some games for other platforms, but both had been close to Nintendo and wanted to work with Nintendo more. And it's not like Nintendo has been replacing them either, not with Western teams at least. Nintendo needs more Western developers on its side, and abandoning two of the top ones you had is not the way to do that...
And also, Eternal Darkness was one of my favorite games last gen. I really, really wanted to see a sequel.
And also, Eternal Darkness was one of my favorite games last gen. I really, really wanted to see a sequel.
Gamer @ Heart
Member
So Nintendo's repeating with Silicon Knights what they did with Factor 5? I know why they made both decisions, but really, they are mistakes -- yes, both had made some games for other platforms, but both had been close to Nintendo and wanted to work with Nintendo more. And it's not like Nintendo has been replacing them either, not with Western teams at least. Nintendo needs more Western developers on its side, and abandoning two of the top ones you had is not the way to do that...
And also, Eternal Darkness was one of my favorite games last gen. I really, really wanted to see a sequel.
Factor 5 died because of poor business relationships that bit them in the ass. Same here. They pitched a 'mature' kid icarus game when they already had one in the early stages of development. Would you help fund a company drowning in debt?
In my ideal world, Dyack would not run a company. He would be a co-creative director, conceptualizing the story while the other director worked with him to make it a good, modern game. ED's strengths are its story, dialogue, and atmosphere. It aims for something more than being a game, and that is what I love about it. But Dyack needs to be able to find and keep that counterpart if he ever wants to be successful.
Mama Robotnik
Member
There's something to this.
Consider Blood Omen - conceptually its amazing. A vampire raised by a Necromancer (who turns out to be possessed) sending you on a quest to kill the people who are meant to be saving the world, because they've all gone mad due to telepathically transmitted grief because of a murder among their cohort. The game constantly defies your expectations - the first boss is built up to be a powerful sorcerer who is eventually discovered to be a frail old man in a wheelchair unable to commit suicide due to his immortality. The second boss is an animated suit of armour that actually wins the battle, forcing the player to flee with their life. One enemy forces you to live out the Hitler paradox, and another fights you with a time-displaced version of your own most powerful weapon.
With all this intense imagination and stellar scripting, with all of its unpredictability and sheer imagination and atmosphere - it has the worst loading times of any video game I have ever played. You have to go through loading screens to pause the game, loading screens to equip weapons, loading screens to visit different rooms in the same house, loading screens to view the world map, loading screens to look at your inventory. Constant, agonising loading screens in an overhead 2D Zelda-style game on a 32-bit system!
Its an example of incredible worldbuilding alongside an absolutely fundamental failure in managing the mechanics of the game. How they could play and test the game, with those endless loading times, and not realise the problem, beggars belief.
Dyack and his studio have imagination and definitely bring unique concepts to the industry. They need someone at the top who can foster that creativity while making sure the fundementals of their game mechanics are sound.
LumpOfCole
Member
What if Nintendo passed off the Eternal Darkess IP off to Retro somehow? I wonder how that would turn out.
A Black Falcon
Member
One who'd made some of the best action games on your last three consoles, as Factor 5 did? It was worth serious consideration, at minimum!
Gamer @ Heart
Member
I bet it was. By lucasarts who actually published their games. But their games division went through such a downsizing this generation, I'm not surprised they canceled the Rogue trilogy for wii and chose to let them die.