No more Factor 5 on GC

[OB1]

Oh geez. This is just wondeful news. First SK leaves us, and now F5 states that they're no longer making GC games.

link

April 14, 2004 - In a conversation with IGNcube today, Factor 5 president Julian Eggebrecht said the company would not develop any more titles for Nintendo's GameCube console. The studio is currently creating software for other platforms.
Eggebrecht would not say what titles were in development at Factor 5 nor would he talk specifically about what platform they might appear on. However, at the Game Developers Conference 2004 Eggebrecht was spotlighted as one of the studio heads very keen on Sony PSP development.
The Factor 5 president told IGNcube that no software from the San Rafael-based software house would be previewed at the forthcoming Electronics Entertainment Expo 2004, which kicks off this May in Los Angeles.

Does this also mean that they're no longer working on Pilotwings for the N5? Damnit.

[A Black Falcon]

I'm not exactly surprised. Nintendo seems to be doing its best to alienate every developer based in North America, you know. And if that's the goal it's succeeding very well at it. Rare, Left Field, Silicon Knights, Factor 5, Lucasarts, Midway, Acclaim, 'limited support' from EA, etc...

So does this mean that Rogue Squadron Collection for X-Box could be a reality?

[OB1]

I think so. I'm looking forward to it if it means two-player online co-op.

F5 won't be showing any games at this year's E3, however.

[A Black Falcon]

Too bad... I'd like to see what they're doing...

Oh, we should have definitely seen this coming (and it was a rumor for a long time, to be sure), for plenty of reasons... not just the sales of RS3 and potential profits but how Lucasarts has abandoned Nintendo and Factor 5 is very closely tied to Lucasarts...

[The Former DMiller]

I don't know whether I should cry or be pissed off. I think I'll be pissed off.

[Great Rumbler]

Well, shoot.

[A Black Falcon]

The rumors have been coming for so long now though, that it's almost a relief to have some kind of resolution...

[lazyfatbum]

Wow, they just dont want to create ANY software for the GC? Is it just me or do they owe their entire company to the success of the Rogue Squadron series?

[Great Rumbler]

Factor 5 president Julian Eggebrecht said the company would not develop any more titles for Nintendo's GameCube console.

They don't say anything about the N5, though.

The studio is currently creating software for other platforms.
Eggebrecht would not say what titles were in development at Factor 5

Super-Secret N5 games, no doubt.

[Darunia]

If the loss of Rare was the first sign of the appocalype, this is surely another one. The best software developers of the N64 era are fleeing us. No more GoldenEye, Perfect Dark, or original Rogue Squadron-making peoples.

[Sacred Jellybean]

However, Eggebrecht was quick to dispel any "doom" that might surround Factor 5's announcement. Echoing Silicon Knights founder Denis Dyack, he emphasized his enthusiasm for Nintendo's future console efforts. "We are extremely excited about both DS and GCNext, so any talk of us abandoning Nintendo platforms altogether is just not true," he told GameSpot.

Well, that's at least some relief.

[OB1]

Yay! Hopefully they're still working on Pilotwings.

[lazyfatbum]

Ah, well that changes everything. They see Nintendo getting ready to phase in to the next console and they want to be ready for it when it hits. News like this can so easily leave a bad taste in people's mouths but it's actually good news. N5 will have the support it needs to make its launch succesful.

[OB1]

Yeah, Nintendo better not screw up again like they did with the GC's launch.

[Great Rumbler]

They should have a Zelda game and a Mario game out at a launch...and a Metroid game, and a 3D Pokemon RPG, and a Kid Icarus game, and a Super Smash Brothers game, and...*continues rambling on from there*

[OB1]

And free tacos!

[A Black Falcon]

... so maybe that Pilotwings rumor will still happen...

[Great Rumbler]

... so maybe that Pilotwings rumor will still happen...

Maybe so.

And free tacos!

It can only help sales!

[A Black Falcon]

Hey SJ, you quoted that but forgot this part...

According to Eggebrecht, the only reason Factor 5 has stopped making GameCube games was that they've abandoned current-generation hardware altogether. "It is simply because we have moved into next-generation development," he said.

As for which future console Factor 5 was creating games for, Eggebrecht was unspecific, saying only, "There might be a surprise [announcement] coming from us."

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/04/14/...93544.html

[Sacred Jellybean]

Whoops. I found the quote from another message board, but I (obviously) didn't look at the full article. :)

[A Black Falcon]

That part makes it better... maybe. It's ambiguous, so I wouldn't exactly be surprised if they made their next title on non-Nintendo platforms, but it's general enough that we don't know what they'll do, really...