Post by: Jonnyboy117 on February 09, 2004, 03:04:23 AM
Reported by Ryan Jones
Source: EA Press Release
Link: "Electronic Arts Announces Publishing Agreement with Criterion Games for Burnout"
Today Electronic Arts officially confirmed their publishing contract with Criterion for the upcoming Burnout 3. The first two games in the series were released on GameCube and sold well on the system, but EA's newest press release mentions versions for PlayStation 2 and Xbox only. This is certainly disappointing news for the game's many fans in the GameCube camp, though it's important to note that a GameCube version could be announced at a later date. The Burnout series is developed on Criterion's own RenderWare middleware platform, which aids in porting games from one console platform to another.
We'll continue following this story and will update it if any new information surfaces.
Post by: Jonnyboy117 on February 09, 2004, 03:06:54 AM
Post by: chlupe on February 09, 2004, 03:13:00 AM
-a
Post by: RyanGassxx on February 09, 2004, 05:18:32 AM
Post by: Jonnyboy117 on February 09, 2004, 05:20:11 AM
Post by: theasylumofthedamned on February 09, 2004, 06:09:56 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: RyanGassxx
I do not understand why.. The gamecube is now selling 5x more than ever and growing.. also having recently surpassed xbox in total sales... PS2 is also on the decline and its only a matter of time before gamecube overtakes PS2 in sales rate, and maybe even someday total sales.. Maybe the whole theory about developers wanting to release games to a console that alot of people own is false, otherwise why wouldnt ea want to put this game on gamecube?? In fact, gamecube being such a "car racing game genre" starved platform, a good racer would sell very well.... I dont know how well 2 sold but that should not be taken as a huge indication of how well 3 will sell concidering the recent comeback gamecube has made in recent months... Gamecube software in general is selling better than ever before.. Is this game being planned for xbox? if so then im very confused... Xbox has the lowest worldwide userbase overall of the 3 consoles... why is gamecube STILL being left out?
Because people, esp. 3rd parties, still have the notion that Gamecube is, to quote, "t3h k1dd13!11," and that all "adult" Cubers ever buy is Mario and Zelda. Why it isn't being released on GCN for a valid reason is beyond me.
Post by: Ian Sane on February 09, 2004, 06:17:33 AM
I think that pretty much sums up my feelings on this. Have I mentioned lately that EA sucks and the very fact that they're so successful is exactly what's wrong with the gaming industry today? Oh and just to REALLY piss me off these clowns are also publishing Timesplitters 3 thus putting the Cube release of that title in doubt. I guess they realized I might actually have bought Burnout 3 and thus decided to keep the "Ian doesn't buy any of our sh!t" streak alive.
Post by: cubedcinder128 on February 09, 2004, 08:53:04 AM
Post by: Rancid Planet on February 09, 2004, 09:27:35 AM
So if EA is taking an immature approach to their GCN projects then I shall take an immature attitude towards THEM.
EA = Enourmous ASSESS
EA IS TEH suxors!!!!!111oneoneoneone
Post by: oohhboy on February 09, 2004, 11:05:33 AM
Never the less, I am somewhat ho-hum about this. Do i really want another sequel? I mean 3 games of the same series? What are they going to put into it besides more options which I should have been included in BO2 like lap, more weather conditions which do affect driving conditions, traffic density, random traffic, A.I. difficulty and car selction. Besides having those thing which should have been included short of the weather effects I don't see a reason for a sequel this generation.
And all those assclowns say that Nintendo are just rehashing thier franchies, for shame.
Post by: The Caucasian Cubist on February 09, 2004, 11:32:27 AM
Reads "Burnout 3..."
Thinks "Yay! News about Burnout 3!"
Reads "EA chooses not to announce a version of the game for Nintendo's console."
Goes "NO! NO NO NO! NO NO NO NO NO! NO! NO! NO!" [seriously]
Come on, guys!
I want Burnout!!
Post by: kovu_br on February 09, 2004, 11:50:59 AM
But let's face it - Every time a multiplataform game hits all 3 consoles at the same time the NGC version sells the worst (Sure, Soul Calibur 2 and possibly Sonic Heroes are exceptions but still you gotta admit that in 99% of the cases the NGC version is outsold by the other two) - So I can't really blame Criterion on that even though that means I won't be able to play the game.
Post by: mouse_clicker on February 09, 2004, 12:34:55 PM
Post by: kovu_br on February 09, 2004, 12:49:09 PM
A simultaneous NGC version, optimized for it, would probably require more programers than Criterion is willing to spare.
And if you see the screenshots released it's clear that the game is already well in development, so even if they decided to start porting it to the Cube it'll probably not launch at the same date as the PS2 and X-Box versions (Or we'll get a rushed port, which is even worse).
Of course a NGC version has been rumoured, but I'm betting on a late release.
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on February 09, 2004, 02:59:55 PM
Otherwise, I'll completely drop interest in EA products altogether.
Post by: Procession on February 09, 2004, 03:23:30 PM
Post by: odifiend on February 09, 2004, 05:55:04 PM
Post by: Djunknown on February 09, 2004, 06:02:36 PM
If EA disses the 'Cube, one could say its over. Call them overated, over-hyped, over whatever, but if this attitudes holds up....well lets hope it was a PR fluke.
Post by: RyanGassxx on February 09, 2004, 06:40:32 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: kovu_br
I read in Cube-Europe that Criterion was the one who decided to develop Burnout 3 only for the PS2 and X-Box, not EA. And that's probably because the game was in dev. only for those two consoles prior to the EA aquisition and they decided to concentrate on them instead of spreading resources on another version.
But let's face it - Every time a multiplataform game hits all 3 consoles at the same time the NGC version sells the worst (Sure, Soul Calibur 2 and possibly Sonic Heroes are exceptions but still you gotta admit that in 99% of the cases the NGC version is outsold by the other two) - So I can't really blame Criterion on that even though that means I won't be able to play the game.
Your right, in the past alot of the times the GC version of a multiplat game sold the least... But that was the past... Alot has happened in the recent months... ever since Gamecube hit $99 sales have been absolutly fantastic, and that goes for software sales as well... As of now gamecube is in 2nd place world wide OFFICIALY.... The last 2 high profile multiplat games, Sonic Heros, and SC2 sold the MOST on gamecube... I think now multiplat games will sell more on gamecube than other systems...
Post by: joshnickerson on February 10, 2004, 02:47:54 AM
Post by: nolimit19 on February 10, 2004, 03:35:21 AM
Post by: Ian Sane on February 10, 2004, 06:48:21 AM
That would be pretty cool actually. First of all it would split the Playstation userbase up big time. Tf the EA machine bombed it would lessen their importance in the industry which can only be a good thing. And if it didn't bomb it's unlikely it would be popular enough to be a major threat to Nintendo. It would be the casual gamer's machine thus stealing away users from Sony and MS but not so much from Nintendo.
Post by: Kyosho on February 10, 2004, 09:35:31 AM
Hey, just because 2 games of like 50 3rd party titles sell well, doesn't mean the future 3rd party titles will sell well. To be honest, I don't think many would get Sonic Heroes for the PS2 considering the larger selection of 3rd party titles and the respective audience for the system. Aside from that, Burnout does not interest too much. I'm more into GT style games.
Post by: Rancid Planet on February 10, 2004, 09:44:29 AM
Post by: The Omen on February 10, 2004, 09:45:10 AM
Quote
Hey, just because 2 games of like 50 3rd party titles sell well, doesn't mean the future 3rd party titles will sell well.
Doesnt mean it wont either. Thats just stupid business. Why cut a third of your market out on what MIGHT happen? It could just as easily sell very well. And correct me if i'm wrong, but wasnt Burnout2 late arriving on GC?
Post by: Syl on February 10, 2004, 10:20:37 AM
burnout 2 wasn't announced for Xbox right off, and they got the "devolopers cut" edition of the game, which basicily just had some very pretty extras... (mainly more crash mode courses!)
Ive heard that burnout Has sold well on gamecube (hell, i own burnout 2, awesome game) so, we might end up with a "Directors Cut" edition of the game.
but, thats being optimistic.
I want the game though, its looking amazingly pretty.. i just wish the cars were "lighter"
Post by: Bloodworth on February 10, 2004, 04:05:29 PM
Post by: kovu_br on February 12, 2004, 07:41:09 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: RyanGassxx
Your right, in the past alot of the times the GC version of a multiplat game sold the least... But that was the past... Alot has happened in the recent months... ever since Gamecube hit $99 sales have been absolutly fantastic, and that goes for software sales as well... As of now gamecube is in 2nd place world wide OFFICIALY.... The last 2 high profile multiplat games, Sonic Heros, and SC2 sold the MOST on gamecube... I think now multiplat games will sell more on gamecube than other systems...
SC2 and SH are exceptions, and I think everybody expected them to sell well since most of the Sonic fanbase migrated to the Cube after Sonic Team started churning ports of past Sonics (Which started rumors that Sonic became exclusive to the Gamecube) and Link's presence in SC2 made a lot of Nintendo fanboys who wouldn't normally be interested in fighting games give it a try (Just look at the GameFAQs' board for SC2).
But look at SSX 3, XIII, Prince of Persia, Beyond Good & Evil, Need for Speed Underground, T.H.U.G., Metal Arms and Splinter Cell for examples of great games that deserved better sales but sold zilch on the Cube (Beyond Good & Evil is particulary puzzling, since it's exactly the kind of game that the Zelda crowd wants to play).
It's pretty clear that most of the Cube user base bought it to play Nintendo games, and those who have another console usually end up buying multiplataform games for their other consoles.
Post by: mouse_clicker on February 12, 2004, 08:12:58 AM
I'd like to agree with Bloodworth, that the game will be ported to the Gamecube eventually, I think there are entirely different circumstances now as opposed to the first game. This time it isn't both the XBox and Gamecube being ignored, it's just the Gamecube, and to me that suggests Burnout 3 will not appear on it at all. It's still possible, though.
Post by: Ian Sane on February 12, 2004, 08:13:59 AM
It's pretty clear that most of the Cube user base bought it to play Nintendo games, and those who have another console usually end up buying multiplataform games for their other consoles."
Didn't most of the games you mentioned come out for the Cube at the very least a few weeks after the other versions were released? Plus I found that with most of those games the Cube versions was incredibly scarce. Stores would only get a few copies. And in the case of THUG the Cube version didn't have all of the features of the PS2 version. So basically you have SH and SC2 which were released either first for the Cube or at the very same time and they sold great. And then you have Cube versions that come out later, are missing features, and are impossible to find in stores. It seems pretty obvious to me why people are picking up the other versions. If I had another console there's no way I would have bought the Cube version of POP because I couldn't FIND it anywhere. The Xbox version came out sooner and was in every store I went into. I still, even now, can't find BG&E for the Cube.
It comes down to this: if a third party f*cks us over, we f*ck them over.
Post by: mouse_clicker on February 12, 2004, 08:24:58 AM
Quote
It comes down to this: if a third party f*cks us over, we f*ck them over.
You always say perfectly what I have trouble with, Ian.
I find myself agreeing with you more than anyone else here.
Post by: Ian Sane on February 12, 2004, 08:27:46 AM
How ironic since whenever I get into a big debate with someone here 90% of the time it's you.
Post by: mouse_clicker on February 12, 2004, 08:30:47 AM
Post by: kovu_br on February 12, 2004, 10:51:02 AM
Quote
It is true that 3rd party titles generally do worse on the Gamecube, and for very good reasons, but the titles you listed were very poor examples.
They were the only examples of games released last year that came to mind, they may be poor choices but I felt they still illustrated my point (Looks like I was wrong, though). Sure you could say that the reason why the NGC version of SSX 3 sold worst was because it didn't have one trick featured on the other versions (Which in turn removed a lot of trick combinations from the game), but the casual gamer doesn't know this and nowdays they're one of the most important factors to move inventory in retail.
And you said it yourself - 3rd party titles generally do worse on the Gamecube - you just answered why won't EA release Burnout 3 for the Gamecube (At least not at the same time as the other versions) and that's why it doesn't surprise me that more and more multiplataform titles skip it altogether.
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Didn't most of the games you mentioned come out for the Cube at the very least a few weeks after the other versions were released?
Some did, but Sonic Heroes came first for the Cube, so we could argue that the only reason it sold better on it was because of that single factor (And I doubt that was the only reason). Plus, SSX 3, T.H.U.G., LotR:RotK and NfS:U (Most EA games, humm...) were simultaneous releases and performed poorly on the NGC when compared to the other consoles.
Quote
Plus I found that with most of those games the Cube versions was incredibly scarce.
An example of sef-fullfilling prophecy - Nobody expects the Cube version to sell so nobody stocks it, which results in poor sales since the other versions are so readly available. I think that's the retailer's fault, not the publisher, but I could be wrong.
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It comes down to this: if a third party f*cks us over, we f*ck them over.
But then you'll fall in another s-f prophecy: We don't buy the games because the 3rd party doesn't put as much effort in the Cube as it does to the other consoles and the 3rd party either releases Cube versions late, or releases a half-assed port, or doesn't release the game at all because they don't sell. In the end the 3rd party complains that there's no money to be made in the Gamecube and we complain that the Gamecube has a poor 3rd party support and nobody wins.
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In any case, there's absolutely no reason for EA not to release Burnout 3 on the Gamecube. Firstly, Burnout sold very well on the Gamecube, and Burnout 2 sold as well as it could (Acclaim hardly shipped any titles- my EB still doesn't have any copies, and never will). Second, EA has very good relations with Nintendo. Third, Criterion has the game set up to be easily, quickly, and inexpensively ported to another console, and although you have a point that that doesn't eliminate the work altogether, it gives EA no excuse to ignore the Gamecube considering even Acclaim didn't for the previous 2 titles.
More and more EA games are skipping the Cube, like the incredible looking Fight Night, while pretty much all games it release don't sell very well on our purple cube (I wonder if Nintendo paid EA something to have Madden and Fifa on the Cube, because the versions released for it sell very poorly). Although I still think that was Criterion's decision, I can't really blame EA if it made the call.
Post by: Ian Sane on February 12, 2004, 11:35:46 AM
What are we to do? Buy games that are inferior just so that a third party will support us? They'll continue to do the same thing they're doing now. True it's a self-fulfilling prophecy but it should be noted that it was the third parties who started this, not us. Most of the third parties who have low sales for multiplatform games have ALWAYS given the Cube the short end of the stick including back at launch when there was no userbase and no sales data to base these decisions on. For the most part they decided ahead of time that the Cube wouldn't be worth the effort and sure enough they've screwed themselves and us because of their idiotic pre-launch bias.
I figure the only thing we can do is what we're doing now: supporting the third parties that treat us fairly and not supporting those that don't. Although it's not great it's really the best option. For their next console Nintendo should ensure from the get-go that not only are third parties not releasing N5 versions later but don't create inferior ports. I'm not sure how the quality of a port can be included in a licensing agreement but it should be.
Maybe Nintendo should bring back the requirements that all third party games have to be tested by Club Nintendo to ensure quality control. They removed that policy to attract third parties but all it's done is allow third parties to release crappy ports and then complain when the sales suck. Maybe they could alter the policy to only have required testing when porting from one platform to another. Anything built for the N5 from the ground up is then excluded from the testing process.
Post by: kovu_br on February 12, 2004, 03:30:20 PM
Thing is, there is nothing we can do. The simple truth is that in this generation it's unlikely things will get much better for the Gamecube.
And I don't think it was the 3rd parties fault either. If I were to point my finger at anyone it would be at Nintendo itself, since not only did it do nothing to counter the pre-concieved notions everybody had about it thanks to a lackluster performance by the N64 but it also played it's own game with little concern about the competition - Releasing a purple cube that looks like a child's toy isn't the best way to show you're gonna start cattering to the older demographic, nor is releasing a controller that's great for some games and awful for others (Plus it had fewer buttons than the others, which leads us to a version of SSX 3 with fewer tricks), not to mention that it's media has less storage space than the competition's (So some games have less extras or more compressed sound), it also encourages developers to use a feature that no other console has (I'm talking about connectivity - If you're guaranteed to make a proffit with a game you'll probably think about exploring something like that, but if you're not you'll come up with some half-assed implementation of it at best) and it released some accessories but didn't support it (Like the modem). If you make a developer jump too many hoops to release a game for you they probably won't bother unless you have the biggest user base. And it's not only the half-assed ports that don't sell on the Cube, sadly, but very competent versions also fail to make a profit.
And if memory serves, the Cube had pretty much the same treatment as the X-Box regarding 3rd party support in the beginning (Give or take a few games), but as time went on a lot of developers started to jump ship. Also, very few "adult" games sold well on the Cube, even a game like Eternal Darkness that had Nintendo's support behind it sold poorly, so it's not surprising to see games like Driver 3 and The Suffering getting the axe.
Sure as a gamer I hate that we are now getting rushed ports, late releases or seeing most games get cancelled, but viewing it from the 3rd party studio's standpoint I can't say I blame them.
And now Square-Enix released a Final Fantasy game for the Gamecube - Easily one of the strogest brands in the world of gaming - but instead of making it as accessible as possible to all Cube users both Nintendo an S-E came up with something that can only be truly enjoyed by a very narrow user base and that looks nothing like the direction the series is taking on the PS2. The casual will dismiss it as kiddy (Which is bad for the Cube's image) and most of the hardcore won't be able to fully enjoy it, so another chance to move units was lost. It's one thing to release a game like Tenki for the X-Box, since it doesn't exactly scream "system seller" anyway, but losing the opportunity to enjoy most of the retail advantages that come with the name Final Fantasy is lunacy.
In the end the Gamecube became the "other" console for most people, those who also have a X-Box will probably choose to buy multiplataform games for it, since they'll likely look better and those who have a PS2 will probably buy it's version, since it usually has additional features like online play or other extras (Plus most games are designed for it). That's where Nintendo stands now, but how it got there is mostly it's own fault.
...Not that Nintendo is complaining, since it's still laughing all the way to the bank.
