No PGR5 by Bizarre! Activision acquires Bizarre Creations

[DuckRacer]

Nooooooo.

http://www.bizarrecreations.com/article.php?article_id=5277

Hello from Bizarre Creations! You may remember us as one of the largest independent developers left in the UK, well-known for both the Project Gotham Racing and Geometry Wars series. We've just finished up on PGR4, and we're putting the final touches onto The Club as we speak. We've got a couple of announcements to make, so pull up a chair and listen closely...

It's not easy being independent. Signing new games is tough, and bringing new IPs to market as an indie (like we're doing with The Club) is one of the most challenging things our company has ever faced. As I'm sure you can imagine, the most dangerous time for any independent is the period in between projects (or more precisely in between publishers).

Our management team have been preparing for the future for some time now. We've finally found a solution which allows us to not only stay as secure and profitable as we already are as a company, but also to continue to create kickass games in exactly the same way as we're doing now.

The perfect solution for us is to join the ranks of Activision, alongside their other talented studios. It's a pretty incredible chance for Bizarre to improve ourselves and make the most of all the fantastic new opportunities this opens up. Also, given the excellent support Activision offer this can mean only one thing: better games.

This is fundamentally a different deal than some you've seen around the industry recently. Bizarre isn't a developer in financial trouble, and we're certainly not looking to be "saved" by a bigger corporation. We're a dev looking to take our games to the next level, and make the absolute best products we can possibly make. Likewise, Activision is not in the business of "buying out" struggling developers either.

As you can imagine then, Bizarre are very happy with this move. Here's the lowdown:

Bizarre Creations continues to exist as is. We won't become Activision Liverpool or anything like that.
We will have absolutely no redundancies.
All of our teams continue to exist exactly how they are at the moment. Amax team (PGR4) and ****storm team (The Club) will move onto new games, whilst our Shared Technology team will use this opportunity to take our experience and tech to new levels and new formats.
The Activision way of running things is "hands off". Bizarre continue to have creative control over what we do, we still run the studio how we see fit, and we still get to run our own web site and do all sorts of fun community things!
Let's talk games then... that's why we're all here after all. Well, we're no longer tied to just one platform for starters. Our future titles can be on whatever we please - we are a truly multiplatform studio now. Of course that doesn't mean that we'll be forced to make a port of every game to every console in existence... we simply have that option available to us.

Both of our two main game teams are about to start work on two new AAA titles for Activision. One will be a racing game, and the other a character game. Of course we'll make some more detailed announcements in the future, but be prepared for something big and exciting!

What about the now? Firstly, Geometry Wars will remain unaffected; we'll continue to expand and advance the series just as we were going to do before. The Club will still be released with SEGA, Geometry Wars Galaxies will still be released with Sierra, and PGR4 will continue to be supported after its launch in October. No massive changes here then...


So that's pretty much the idea behind it. Bizarre are happy because it means we're completely safe as a company, we all get to stay exactly the same, and we now have the opportunity to stretch our legs with some brand new game concepts. This is going to be fun...

Granted, Activision might just want BC to make PGR under a different name (kinda like what happened originally with MSR on Dreamcast and Microsoft), and MS could always let someone else handle the PGR IP... but still.

Guess there won't be a PGR5 by Bizarre (unless MS pulls a Ninja Gaiden 2 on them).

 

[TopHat]

Damn....thats weak! Activision better not mess with PGR.

 

[DuckRacer]

Damn....thats weak! Activision better not mess with PGR.

The PGR IP is owned by Microsoft.

EDIT: For clarification:

Activision could (probably will) have Bizarre make Tony Hawk Racing and release it on every platform under the sun (360, PS3, PSP, Wii, DS, PC, cell phone, etc). Microsoft owns the Project Gotham Racing IP. They could offhand PGR5 to another developer, whether a third party (like with Realtime Worlds and Crackdown) or a first party like Turn 10. Or they could enter a co-publishing agreement with Activision and have Bizarre make PGR5 (like what Microsoft did recently with Tecmo and Team Ninja).

PGR4 is still going to be supported with patches, DLC, and the like. The Club will still be published by Sega and supported as well. Same with Geometry Wars: Galaxies and Sierra.

 

[YSSMAN]

Odd, I always thought Bizarre was owned completely by Microsoft, but I guess it would have helped to actually have done some research a while back. A loss, certainly, but not the end of the world. My guess is that with more of Activision's money to play with, their games can be that much better...

...If Activision lets them...

 

[V1P3R]

Some how this doesn't bother me all that much.

 

[DuckRacer]

They could offhand PGR5 to another developer, whether a third party (like with Realtime Worlds and Crackdown) or a first party like Turn 10.

Looks like that will happen.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3163228

As of today, Bizarre Creations is no longer part of the Project Gotham Racing series. PGR is a Microsoft-owned IP, so the European studio's decision to be acquired by Activision means the franchise will fall into the hands of another when Microsoft decides to move forward with the inevitable Project Gotham Racing 5. What happens in the immediate future, however, isn't so clear.

"Project Gotham Racing is a signature racing franchise for Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE and we plan to continue the series but we have nothing further to announce," said Microsoft in a statement.

Chances are Microsoft has been aware of Bizarre's situation for some time, so the notion that PGR5 -- or an all-new racing IP with something more flattering than a giant "5" attached -- is already being worked on elsewhere. It's a little strange, however, that Bizarre has been actively discussing aspects of PGR4 that could see improvement in a follow-up. Talking to CVG, lead designer Ged Talbert said they've already ripped the game apart internally.

"Obviously Gotham 4's about to come out and we're really happy with it, but behind the scenes we've already started ripping our game to pieces. We know where we failed in certain areas; for instance we wanted more trackside damage, more particles and smoke effects, a bigger damage system - and all of these things are being stripped out in a post-mortem. Next time it's more on the detail. That's what we think; we think the devil's in the detail. Anyone can make a good looking game but the top games blow you away by being super-realistic, adding things that you didn't expect and surprising you.
I personally believe there's a lot we can do by taking our vehicles we've already got and putting them into different, more interesting environments. It doesn't always mean outside of the city, it just means getting lets say more elevation - somewhere we can finally do big jumps. That's what we're looking for in the next game; going to deserts - that kind of stuff. Seeing how they affect the gameplay, see if we can get Kudos working there as well. We could bring cruisers in, we could bring ATV-type bikes in. None of these are definite, but there's are whole world of things for us to do."

Ripping the game to pieces and having a "whole world of things" to do may have been more literal than we thought, however, as Bizarre will be creating a new racing IP for Activision. It's unknown whether they'll continue down the arcade-style path of the PGR series or something new entirely. N'Gai Croal at Newsweek has a promising theory: Activision wants a slice of the Need for Speed/Midnight Club pie and Bizarre's their ticket into the kitchen.

Whatever happens, Bizarre's Activision games won't be here for a while -- the announcement press release said the games are coming after Activision's fiscal year 2009 is over -- so we have plenty of time to speculate.

Looks like there will be a PGR5 eventually.

 

[amar212]

So great talent of Bizzare will certanly go multiplatform - so this is a good move by them.

And since they've alredy underway wtih new racing game, all I can say is: read the following lines very carefully.

The Greatest Speculation of All (from second to the very last paragraph respectfuly ):

Sony had the exclusive F1 licence from 2003-2007 (this is the only accurate information and starting point of this theory).

Bernie Ecclestone was unhappy with the revenues and market-shrinkage due to not-so-well sales of PS3 and huge limitations of profit from sales due to "exclusivity". His guys at FIA also advised him not to sell the licence for next seasons to Microsoft, since it would again be "platform-exclusive".

And notice that this F1 season is the most intresting in last 10 years, while next one could even surpase this one. Not having a official F1 game for this and next season is just burning-your-own-house.

FIA made a secret approach to major multi-platform publishers with enough cash to pay licence fee. At the end Activision got the preliminary rights to F1 games-licence, but with obligation to find succesful developer with great recognition that can push the F1 game sales to old-times fame. From 1996 to 2001 F1 games were pretty much AAA-sales titles. Bizzare own "Formula 1" (1996) was the best-selling game in Europe and 2nd best-seling game WORLDWIDE for that year. It was surpased ONLY by Final Fantasy VII.

Activision then approached Bizzare (developers of legendary F1 games in times of PSone - Formula 1, Formula 1 '97) to make a F1 game for multiplatform next-gen. Bizzare just said: Hell, yes!

Also to back up my theory - this is an excerpt from Bizzare official web regarding the moment they handed the F1 development to another team (which was decision made by publisher Psygnosys) after finishing the Formula 1 '97 game:

"And then we handed the Formula 1 series back to Psygnosis, where they have taken it forward with F1 98 (Visual Sciences) and F1 99 and F1 2000 (Studio 33). But it was with a touch of sadness that we move away from Formula 1 games, at least for the near future. Perhaps we'll return to them one day..."

Maybe that day is closer then we think.

Official press-release from Bizzare regarding move to Activison could also be a move to my point:

"Let's talk games then... that's why we're all here after all. Well, we're no longer tied to just one platform for starters. Our future titles can be on whatever we please - we are a truly multiplatform studio now. Of course that doesn't mean that we'll be forced to make a port of every game to every console in existence... we simply have that option available to us.

Both of our two main game teams are about to start work on two new AAA titles for Activision. One will be a racing game, and the other a character game. Of course we'll make some more detailed announcements in the future, but be prepared for something big and exciting!"

Links:
"Formula 1" game
http://www.bizarrecreations.com/games/formula_1/

"Formula '97" game
http://www.bizarrecreations.com/games/formula_1_97/

I rest my case here (looking at his Tarot cards).

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

Those are some impressive Tarot cards you have there, mind if I borrow them before I update my stock portfolio?


Seriously, you make some very astute observations and well thought out assumptions. 👍


This along with Take 2 & Rock Star's "secret new game franchise project" are likely going to be the most talked about developments next year.

 

[harrytuttle]

Looks like that will happen.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3163228


Looks like there will be a PGR5 eventually.

Yeah, it'd be idiotic not to. One of the few franchises that can at least partially survive against GT (and makes money), and people think it would just disappear?

 

[JB-BMW1989]

It would likely to happen, and Bizarre might bring back MSR or with a new name. A horrible racing game published by Activision was Supercar Street Challenge. Man, that customizable feature was much horrible. We can still have the kudos, but what about tuning? That could be the new addition for Bizarre's next game.