View Full Version : Pandemic Studios...RIP
heybtbm
11-10-2009, 07:05 PM
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/1969/pandemicstudios225p.jpg
Sure they've had a few misfires recently...but damn. Another solid studio gets the axe...
http://kotaku.com/5401542/rumor-eas-cuts-include-cc-team-pandemic-maxis--more
Shadow Kisuragi
11-10-2009, 07:09 PM
Also said to be affected heavily are Spore and former-Sims studio EA Maxis, social network gaming acquisition Rupture Studios, and Mercenaries and The Saboteur creators Pandemic Studios LA. Those development studios are said to be hit with substantial layoffs, according to a source, with remaining employees relocated to EA headquarters in Los Angeles and Redwood Shores.
Their titles were not selling well, unfortunately. :(
Remember that this is a rumor currently and not confirmed.
j_factor
11-10-2009, 07:40 PM
Too bad, Saboteur looks good... You'd think EA would wait until after their major project comes out and see how it sells, before deciding to lay them off.
Shadow Kisuragi
11-10-2009, 08:11 PM
I'm sure it will be handled the same way that Halo Wars (Ensemble) and Skate 2 were handled - the team would be released once the project is finished. It's too far along now to be cancelled, I would think...
kupomogli
11-10-2009, 08:33 PM
the team working on Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight was warned of its fate today, with almost the entire team expected to be let go after the real-time strategy game ships some time in 2010.
EA: "Once the game's completed, GTFO. Thanks ^_^."
Cryomancer
11-10-2009, 09:15 PM
Mercs 2 was poorly recived because it was poorly tested and ultimately less fun than the first game. It COULD have been a very good game, it's close to good, but there are many glaring technical issues and it just somehow does not have the same soul of the original.
Too bad, because when they were allowed to actually a finish a game they were pretty good.
Half Japanese
11-10-2009, 10:28 PM
As someone who had the misfortune of trying their Lord of the Rings game after snagging it from a Target clearance rack: good riddance.
With Microsoft having so few internal studios, couldn't they snatch up this talent on the cheap?
s1lence
11-11-2009, 10:24 AM
If that is true fans of those games way want to get their gaming in because that will most likely mean EA will shut down the online servers for those titles as well.
BetaWolf47
11-11-2009, 10:45 AM
Maxis is getting the boot too?!
http://www.lovehkfilm.com/blog/roninonempty/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/no-darth_vader.jpg
Kitsune Sniper
11-11-2009, 01:12 PM
I don't get why Maxis would get cut, it's not like their Sims and Spore franchises aren't made out of money.
WTF, EA?
TonyTheTiger
11-11-2009, 01:18 PM
The studio might cost too much to maintain. The properties might make money but it's possible the studio itself costs too much.
Damaramu
11-11-2009, 01:42 PM
I talked to my buddy who works at Pandemic. He said the "bigwigs" held a meeting and stated that about half the production team will get laid off, the other half will merge with some other EA LA studio and the Pandemic offices will close.
Understandably he's a bit panicky atm...
Shadow Kisuragi
11-11-2009, 02:06 PM
Everyone's freaking out about this, but the real situation is this:
They closing the studio locations down.
This does not necessarily mean that the games will not be released (for some). This was done with Fight Night Round 4 (moved from EA Chicago to EA Canada) and Skate 2 (moved from Black Box to EARS, I believe).
EALA is a nice studio, as is EARS (now Visceral) - if he still has a job, he'll be well placed.
Ed Oscuro
11-11-2009, 03:51 PM
Part of the C&C 4 team is going too, apparently. (EALA)
Can't really say I'm shocked / feel this is world ending. Maxis really was one of the innovative brand and companies...once upon a time. Spore was an interesting idea but it was no Sims, and frankly I think their most interesting and engaging products were out many, many years ago (before The Sims).
Pandemic - well, they seem to have had more crap than I had realized. Full Spectrum Warrior, for one (I only could stand to play it for a few minutes - there's no reason it should have ran that badly on my 2006 build). They did put out Battlezone II, which my younger brother liked more than I did. It was okay, but not earth-shattering.
On the whole, I'd rather EA kept their better teams together and can fully understand why they'd disband some teams, as painful as that will be for those who worked there.
PapaStu
11-11-2009, 04:39 PM
I don't get why Maxis would get cut, it's not like their Sims and Spore franchises aren't made out of money.
WTF, EA?
Because they don't do the Sims anymore. Havn't in a while. Spore didn't do THAT amazingly, especially as something as over delayed and hyped as it was. I don't think they've really got their hands in the Spore offshoots that have happened either. From some postings I read on Kotaku, people were saying that they'd moved on to some mini-game type stuff for the PC, a far cry from SimXXX and Spore.
GuyinGA
11-11-2009, 07:08 PM
EA is pretty much the Borg. You lose all identity and uniqureness once you join.
First Orgin, now Maxis.
I hope Will Wright will say "Screw you EA" and go to Microsoft/Sony for another unique game or SimCity 5.
sebastiankirchoff
11-11-2009, 07:40 PM
That sucks, I really enjoyed the Destroy All Humans! games that they developed, though if I remember correctly, the last couple of games were developed by somebody else. R.I.P.
Push Upstairs
11-11-2009, 09:00 PM
They did do "Destroy All Humans!" didn't they?
Crypto is still my favorite Jack Nicholson sounding alien. LOL
The weapons (and UFO) were somewhat weak in the games, but damn were they hilarious.
Cosmonauts doing "The Robot". LOL
But the absolute funniest thing I ever heard in either game was from part 1. I was running away from some of the nuclear powered robots and when I landed behind a wall (where they couldn't get me) one of them said to me "I have candy, do you like candy?" LOLLOL
Cornelius
11-11-2009, 10:05 PM
SimXXX
teeheehee. /me blushes.
Is the team that did Dead Space safe? I know Dead Space didn't sell well, but I actually thought it was one of the best games released in all of 2008. That game was more polished than 99 percent of the games released nowadays. Just a super solid game.
Damaramu
11-12-2009, 01:01 PM
Visceral Games developed Dead Space.
The 1 2 P
11-12-2009, 07:06 PM
Pandemic was bought as part of a packaged deal with Bioware a year ago for quite a bit of money. But we all know that Bioware was the real reason for the sale. But I'm sure their studio is safe because of their very high pedigree.
heybtbm
11-12-2009, 07:20 PM
But I'm sure their studio is safe because of their very high pedigree.
They're probably two poorly selling games away from the same fate.
The 1 2 P
11-12-2009, 07:23 PM
They're probably two poorly selling games away from the same fate.
Although I agree with you, EA paid a reported $800 million for them. That would be quite a loss of money.
Graham Mitchell
11-14-2009, 07:34 PM
My ex is now fucking a guy who works for pandemic. I hope she doesn't start asking me for more money now.
Anyway, I'm actually shocked that ea dissolved maxis, for obvious reasons. But didn't I read somewhere that will wright was done with maxis and going his own way anyway? So it might not end up being very consequential if that's true.
SegaAges
11-14-2009, 07:45 PM
Well for me being a Spore player, that would suck asshole if they closed the servers seeing as you need to connect to the servers to even play the games.
I would be very pissed if that was the case as then I would be wrong and one of the big shit storms about Spore's DRM would come back to smack me in the face when I bought the game anyway.
heybtbm
11-17-2009, 07:54 PM
Confirmed today:
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6240463.html