NWR Interactive => TalkBack => Topic started by: StrikerObi on January 21, 2004, 08:32:40 AM
Title: EA Snags Timesplitters 3
Post by: StrikerObi on January 21, 2004, 08:32:40 AM
EA Snags Timesplitters 3
Free Radical jumps publishers.
Quote ELECTRONIC ARTS ANNOUNCES PUBLISHING AGREEMENT WITH FREE RADICAL DESIGN LTD, DEVELOPER OF TIMESPLITTERS GAME FRANCHISE
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., January 21, 2004 – Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), the world’s leading interactive entertainment software company and UK-based developer Free Radical Design Ltd. today announced a distribution and publishing agreement for the next game in the best selling TimeSplitters franchise. Developed by Free Radical, the new title in the celebrated series will be published by EA Partners and is slated for worldwide release in 2005. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
"Free Radical has proven itself as a world-class studio by delivering consistently beautiful, exciting and incredibly fun games," said Tom Frisina, Vice-president Electronic Arts Partners. "We are thrilled to be working with Free Radical and to be adding a new title to our growing catalogue of externally developed games."
"Choosing EA Partners as our publishing partner represents a big breakthrough for Free Radical," said Steve Ellis, Chairman of Free Radical Design. "We’re already working hard on the next game, and hope that, with the help of Electronic Arts, we can reach many new players all over the world."
Originally released in 2000, Free Radical’s TimeSplitters series revolutionized the first-person shooting genre by introducing players to a unique time-traveling gameplay mechanic. The innovative and compelling gameplay propelled the series to become a worldwide success. The original title was followed by the release of TimeSplitters 2 in 2002. Together, the two titles have sold over 2 million units worldwide. The next title will take the experience further with improved gameplay, unprecedented graphics, all new story and online play.
Mike S Says: Maybe this will mean a new Bond game from the makers of Goldeneye in the future.
Title: RE: EA Snags Timesplitters 3
Post by: Ian Sane on January 21, 2004, 08:39:51 AM
Seems weird for EA to publish this game since it competes with their own Bond titles. Maybe they're just hoping that people will buy both or this is just to test Free Radical to see if they want to give them the Bond franchise.
Anyway it's now official that no one cares that Edios and Acclaim are not making Cube games.
Title: RE: EA Snags Timesplitters 3
Post by: Bill Aurion on January 21, 2004, 08:41:34 AM
I really hope they expand the Map-making mode...I just couldn't make maps as big as I wanted them...
Title: RE:EA Snags Timesplitters 3
Post by: couchmonkey on January 21, 2004, 08:41:38 AM
New Timesplitters? Awesome. EA publishing it? Hmmm.... Why is EA suddenly buying everyone's best games? I suppose all's fair in war and capitalism, but it seems like kind of a sleazy move. Then again maybe the other publishers had lost interest in the games and it's just coincidence that EA picked them up. I somehow doubt it though... On the bright side, EA will probably publish a GameCube version, which might not have been the case for Eidos.
Title: RE:EA Snags Timesplitters 3
Post by: CaseyRyback on January 21, 2004, 11:15:42 AM
they better put some online play in it or I am buying it for the Xbox or PS2
Title: RE:EA Snags Timesplitters 3
Post by: mouse_clicker on January 21, 2004, 11:32:27 AM
You know very well that isn't going to happen- it is an EA game on a Nintendo console, after all. You also won't get online play on the XBox, since EA has publically stated they will not support XBox Live.
Title: RE:EA Snags Timesplitters 3
Post by: the_zombie_luke on January 21, 2004, 11:36:11 AM
If Free Radical got the Bond games again, that would be nice. Though Eurocom isn't a bad developer, TimeSplitters 2 felt a lot like Goldeneye. Now if Ea will let them make the Bond games and not rush them.
Title: RE: EA Snags Timesplitters 3
Post by: Termin8Anakin on January 21, 2004, 11:54:34 AM
I think that's the plan at EA. Burnout 3 and TS3 are both competing games for their own NFS and Bond games, but does it matter anymore that EA has all 4 series now? They get all the money! Bastards! It now looks like Free Radical will be stuck making TS games and Criterion Burnout games every single year now to uphold EA's yearly game updates ;______; Then there's the spinoffs: Burnout: Need for Speed Underground and TimeSplitters: Goldeneye is Not Enough
Title: RE: EA Snags Timesplitters 3
Post by: Mario on January 21, 2004, 01:05:01 PM
Yes! Great news! I'm starting to really like EA lately, maybe now TS3 and Burnout 3 will be released here (aus) at a reasonable price in reasonable quantities.
EA + Free Radical = excellent.
Eidos who? Acclaim what? Tee hee.
Title: RE:EA Snags Timesplitters 3
Post by: Perfect Cell on January 21, 2004, 01:32:07 PM
Supposidly some guy in New Zealand said that Xbox and EA will make a deal to get their games on Live.
Im disapointed cause i would have loved to see Nintendo buy out Free Radical but Zoonami is still there i guess. an online Timesplitters sounds nifty. Wish it would be on the GCN
Title: RE:EA Snags Timesplitters 3
Post by: CaseyRyback on January 21, 2004, 02:42:45 PM
Quote Originally posted by: Perfect Cell Supposidly some guy in New Zealand said that Xbox and EA will make a deal to get their games on Live.
Im disapointed cause i would have loved to see Nintendo buy out Free Radical but Zoonami is still there i guess. an online Timesplitters sounds nifty. Wish it would be on the GCN
thats what I heard. I am starting to believe it
Title: RE:EA Snags Timesplitters 3
Post by: Djunknown on January 21, 2004, 03:17:45 PM
Seems like EA is not resting on its laurels and is assembling a variety of developers.
As stated earlier, since Eidos and Acclaim aren't very Nintendo friendly right now, having EA picking these franchises enusures that A)Nintendo fans aren't left in the dark B) Mo' money for a company with 2 vowels....
Title: RE: EA Snags Timesplitters 3
Post by: DrZoidberg on January 21, 2004, 10:21:09 PM
Nintendo have a friendly word of buisness advice in their ear maybe? seems odd that they would get both Time Splitters and Burnout so close togeather, not that long after previous Producers ditched support, even though they both wern't going to be the TS3 and BO3's publisher interesting that EA would pick up both, a company with pretty good Nintendo relations...
Title: RE:EA Snags Timesplitters 3
Post by: Madman Adam on January 22, 2004, 04:42:11 PM
It's interesting to note how a couple of companies had announced that they will not be publishing games on the GameCube anymore, and how now two companies that used to have their games published by the ones leaving the Cube have switched to publishers that still make games for the Cube. Seems like the GC has gained enough market power to be important enough for those game developers to snuff the old publishers for the new one (which in this situation is EA).
Again I got freaked out that Time Splitters had moved to EA, but again I realised that EA will just be publishing the games and not making them (as I don't like what they did to the Bond franchise after Rare sold it to EA). But this is really good news because I LOVE the TS franchise, and would have been very disappointed if TS3 was not published on the Cube. And let's all hope for that good new Bond game that Free Radical might make! We'll just have see what happens.
Title: RE:EA Snags Timesplitters 3
Post by: Jonnyboy117 on January 23, 2004, 05:21:53 AM
Good for EA, seriously. They had a huge Christmas in sales, and it looks like they are using that money to plan for the future. Timesplitters is a great series that should be getting much better, if TS3 is as much better than 2 as 2 was than 1. Online play would obviously be nice, but even just LAN for the GameCube version would be worth the effort. (Plus we could tunnel it!)
Title: RE: EA Snags Timesplitters 3
Post by: KDR_11k on January 23, 2004, 07:46:37 AM
EA for world domination?
Title: RE:EA Snags Timesplitters 3
Post by: CYBERSTAR on January 25, 2004, 10:51:53 PM
timsplitters online will be awsome .i wiil kick so much a$ in this ! i just hope ea leave free radical do there own thing and not rush them !
