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Bala brothers leaving Activision to pursue new projects
fairyland Emerald Sparx Gems: 3800
#1 Posted: 14:24:42 05/04/2016 | Topic Creator
http://article.wn.com/view/201...e_new_projects/

Quote:
Karthik and Guha Bala, the two brothers who founded the highly successful video game company Vicarious Visions, have left the firm to pursue other projects, 11 years after selling it to Activision in a multimillion dollar deal.


Just to add more fuel to the flames about the death of Skylanders and how horrible SC truely was. I'll be the first to call it that they were fired over SC.

Actually this is probably leading up to the death of VV, as I've read before that the contract for their building was up soon and anybody who could read between the lines could tell something was up. I wouldn't doubt to see some article in the near future about VV suffering closure or downsizing over a bad SC.

Just my speculation, I know nothing about the biz and I'm being rather evil here as I'm enjoying the news. I'm celebrating because I won't ever have to watch another craptacular interview with Guha where he talks and says absolutely nothing. Remember, we are not here to discuss (insert any question asked), let us discuss again how wonderful it is for us to let kids bring toys to life! He was the most annoying person I've ever listened to in all of Skylands.
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ZapNorris Ripto Gems: 5109
#2 Posted: 14:27:57 05/04/2016
Oh my god
Drek95 Emerald Sparx Gems: 4761
#3 Posted: 14:29:57 05/04/2016
Is it wrong I'm kinda happy for this...?

I'm mean, if they were truly fired (but I doubt it) then I'm sorry but... I kinda feel like they, especially Guha, were holding back V.V. as a whole.
In fact I think this is a good thing for the company!

Here's hoping we'll see less robots, vehicles and over-the-topness in Skylanders 7.

Best luck to both of course (though who needs luck after a multimillion dollar deal with Activision? smilie).
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Spyro Lover122 Gold Sparx Gems: 2159
#4 Posted: 14:31:14 05/04/2016
I didn't see that coming, for some reason. Most likely the impact of the sales.
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Bifrost Prismatic Sparx Gems: 10386
#5 Posted: 14:42:08 05/04/2016
I think the impact was more on VV than Skylanders(maybe Beenox for 7?), though I'm sure GM78 and CMB will come here to lecture us over how Buzz Wing's never coming out. Oh yeah, and how the series is dead and anyone that doesn't agree with them is denying known troofs.

Not gonna lie, happy Guha isn't going to bog PR down anymore. But dunno, his brother wasn't that bad when he showed up once in a blue moon. Here's hoping the rest won't jump ship though, there are so many genuinely amazing devs there like David and Dave(redundant I know) and Nice Suit Guy.
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SO I'LL GIVE YOU WHAT YOU WANT
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Edited 2 times - Last edited at 14:43:25 05/04/2016 by Bifrost
Deja Vu Platinum Sparx Gems: 5480
#6 Posted: 14:57:02 05/04/2016
Welp, this franchise is practically dead.
BlueFox Emerald Sparx Gems: 3096
#7 Posted: 15:05:55 05/04/2016
Got scared for a moment, didn't read and thought it meant that the whole company was dropped. Could be beneficial? For the artists, at least? Maybe. Hope Guha can live out his vehicle-fantasies in other games. Good luck to them both.
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fairyland Emerald Sparx Gems: 3800
#8 Posted: 15:22:45 05/04/2016 | Topic Creator
Quote: Drek95
Is it wrong I'm kinda happy for this...?

I'm mean, if they were truly fired (but I doubt it) then I'm sorry but... I kinda feel like they, especially Guha, were holding back V.V. as a whole.
In fact I think this is a good thing for the company!

Here's hoping we'll see less robots, vehicles and over-the-topness in Skylanders 7.

Best luck to both of course (though who needs luck after a multimillion dollar deal with Activision? smilie).


Nope not wrong at all. LOL Actually I was thinking this over and they probably were not "fired" but rather given the option to leave. You've seen this in business and political films to know how it goes. Leave now or get buried. I'd wager if SC was a hit this would never had happened. But we'll never know the truth.

I'm not too worried about them though. Also in another article, Gala was quoted that they wanted to focus on VR and related tech. That made no sense for Skylanders and I thought it very suspicious for them to discuss that. So I'd wager we'll be hearing from them again in the future on some VR project of theirs.
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GameMaster78 Emerald Sparx Gems: 3321
#9 Posted: 15:23:39 05/04/2016
*cue Price is Right fail horn*

Karthik: Guha, you thinking what I'm thinking?
Guha: Every man for themself?
*bro fists*
Karthik: Let's go, bro.
Guha and Karthik: Abandon ship.

Problems as far as the eye can see.

Kind of sad, as this was a brand I highly respected. Now you got bad game decisions, lack of release of figures, fire sales, no sky 6 announcement, and now Karthik and Guha are bouncing. Naturally the Skylanders defense force will come and say "maybe they just saw a better opportunity." Is Skylanders no longer a brand one would be honored to work on?
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HeyitsHotDog Diamond Sparx Gems: 8526
#10 Posted: 15:27:08 05/04/2016
I'm thinking VV will still be part of the Skylanders game development, but Guha and Karthik won't be part of it. What did they even do anyway? I assume they directed the games.
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Bifrost Prismatic Sparx Gems: 10386
#11 Posted: 15:30:39 05/04/2016
It's a big possibility they were straight up fired or left for "creative differences". The PR talk is all over the articles and statements, it could be anything, but if they thought the problem was with the franchise, they wouldn't have left the gaming industry entirely for the time being - just moved to another company.

The VR thing points towards "creative differences", I don't think Acti has any plans for those. Better than seeing Skylanders: Immersion Squad be a future game.
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SO I'LL GIVE YOU WHAT YOU WANT
(What I need is never what I want)
Edited 2 times - Last edited at 15:31:40 05/04/2016 by Bifrost
HeyitsHotDog Diamond Sparx Gems: 8526
#12 Posted: 15:34:30 05/04/2016
My guess, Acti wanted them to solely to work on Skylanders games but The Bula Bros wanted to work on other projects and left as a result. Reminds me of Sakurai with the Kirby games.


Like I said, I fully expect VV to still be part of the Skylanders development, just the Bros won't be part of it.
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Hey is there anything you want me to bring for the rest of the week and if so it’s so cool that you can do something and just do it like that
fairyland Emerald Sparx Gems: 3800
#13 Posted: 15:36:38 05/04/2016 | Topic Creator
http://www.bizjournals.com/alb...ew+of+Albany%29

Quote:
Guha and Karthik Bala, the founders of the video game studio that supported "Guitar Hero" and "Skylanders," are leaving Vicarious Visions.
The brothers — who created Vicarious Visions in 1991 while they were in high school in Rochester — plan to return to their entrepreneurial roots.
Vicarious Visions co-founder and president Guha Bala is leaving the company.

The Balas will continue to be based in Albany and remain as consultants on current projects for Vicarious, which was bought by video gaming giant Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) in 2005.

“It’s been amazing to see the growth, especially during the past 11 years as part of Activision," said Guha Bala, who was the company's president, in a statement. "We look forward to the success which lies ahead for Vicarious Visions under new leadership and thank Activision for celebrating and supporting all that we have accomplished together. Now it’s time for the two of us to begin a new adventure."

Both Balas have changed their LinkedIn profiles to CEO and president of Velan Ventures, with a company description of "In Stealth Mode" — a term used to describe a company's temporary state of secretiveness, usually to avoid letting competitors know about a pending product launch or business plan.

Vicarious Visions employs 150 developers, artists and producers in Menands near Albany, New York. The studio has produced popular video games, including "Guitar Hero" and "Skylanders."

The brothers grew the company at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where Karthik Bala graduated from. Guha Bala graduated from Harvard University, and both Balas earned MBAs from Sloan School of Management at MIT.

The company has been heralded as an example of the Capital Region's potential to be a techie and creative hub.

"Vicarious Visions started in 1991 as a high school kid’s dream to make video games,” Karthik Bala, who was CEO of Vicarious Visions and CTO of Activision Mobile, said in a statement. “This year is VV’s 25th anniversary, and what a wonderful journey it has been! We’ve made some great games that have had critical and commercial success, and what we’re most proud of is the people, culture and values of the company.”

David Nathanielsz and Jen Oneal, both senior executive producers at Vicarious, will be interim studio heads.


A little more news and details about what went down.

TLsmilieR, they will be around as advisors, VV will live on. They are forming a new mysterious company called Velan Ventures.
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Bifrost Prismatic Sparx Gems: 10386
#14 Posted: 15:36:59 05/04/2016
That's pretty obvious, but restructuring to have new leaders might take precious development time. Here's hoping this was planned in advance and not simply showing up today to say "hey guys,we're leaving, good luck with Sky 7". Which is a dumb thing to do, but I know games where it happened.
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SO I'LL GIVE YOU WHAT YOU WANT
(What I need is never what I want)
HeyitsHotDog Diamond Sparx Gems: 8526
#15 Posted: 15:45:34 05/04/2016
Quote: Bifrost
That's pretty obvious, but restructuring to have new leaders might take precious development time. Here's hoping this was planned in advance and not simply showing up today to say "hey guys,we're leaving, good luck with Sky 7". Which is a dumb thing to do, but I know games where it happened.



It had to have been known ahead of time. No good logical minded person working on a big budget video game with 2 years of development would leave randomly with out a heads up.
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Hey is there anything you want me to bring for the rest of the week and if so it’s so cool that you can do something and just do it like that
defpally Emerald Sparx Gems: 4158
#16 Posted: 15:46:44 05/04/2016
Well, the impact on Skylanders isn't that severe, I doubt it makes much difference long term. After all, this is TfB's turn at the wheel, any next VV version is at least 1.5 years out anyways. I'd bet as developers they want to pursue new opportunities rather than churning out bi-yearly iterations of Activision's franchise wringing machine. And it is as good a time as any for shakeups on the dev side of VV. If I were the project manager, this is about as an ideal way of dealing with this as you can get - there likely won't be any further patches or improvements in SC. I'd bet they have known about this for a while and negotiated this as a good exit ramp.

People need to consider VV's impact on the franchise. Sure SC isn't loved, and some people are mixed on Swap Force - but without them pushing the technology forward, we would still be playing a game on Wii level technology instead of the beautiful hi-def versions we have today with online capabilities. Skylanders would also be land-locked. And I still think swappers were ingenious, both in idea and implementation - the satisfying snap of the magnets is great. TfB has shown no interest in the technology side, each of their games after the first added some great characters, but have never pushed the envelope technically.
Edited 1 time - Last edited at 15:48:29 05/04/2016 by defpally
fairyland Emerald Sparx Gems: 3800
#17 Posted: 15:52:01 05/04/2016 | Topic Creator
http://blog.timesunion.com/bus...-visions/73761/

Some other news bits:

Quote:
Activision signed the Balas to long term employment contracts back in 2005 when it acquired their company cash and $5 million in stock. Those agreements appear to have ended last month, although they continue to work with Activision on various projects under a consulting arrangement.


Quote:
David Nathanielsz and Jennifer O’Neal, executive producers at Vicarious Visions, have been named interim co-studio leaders, overseeing 150 employees in 40,000 square feet of space at the Riverview Center in Menands.

The lease for that space expired last month, although Activision is currently in the process of renewing the lease and intends to keep the team in place there.


I still feel it's touch or go, that the company could go poof on a whim by Activision. The lease thing they reported upon over a year ago and it's suspicious to me that they never done anything about it to this day. I would not be surprised at all to read about a restructure and downsizing article in the upcoming weeks.
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Bifrost Prismatic Sparx Gems: 10386
#18 Posted: 15:52:03 05/04/2016
They have pushed the technology outside with the speaker responding to the game and Lightcores, just not inside. But maybe with this happening they might try to seize the opportunity to impress and become the favorite team again? There's plenty to do in post beta(where they probably are at now) that enough time to polish could wow the audience.
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SO I'LL GIVE YOU WHAT YOU WANT
(What I need is never what I want)
TrapShadowFan Emerald Sparx Gems: 3511
#19 Posted: 16:02:35 05/04/2016
I've made fun of their many "vehicle fantasy" comments time and time again, yet now I feel oddly sad that they're gone from VV. It's just... not the same without those over-the-top vehicle fantasies, ya know? Seriously though, I really hope VV doesn't die. They are part of what balances the Skylanders franchise between TfB's style and their's. They still need to do a Skylanders game together; that would be the ultimate game.
GhostRoaster617 Emerald Sparx Gems: 3963
#20 Posted: 19:05:27 05/04/2016
Just what I need more bad news. I'm having a pretty bad day and now this happens? Man I hope the franchise will be alright as this is literally the only thing left keeping me happy these days.
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Drek95 Emerald Sparx Gems: 4761
#21 Posted: 20:01:29 05/04/2016
V.V. indeed gave a lot to the series and truly made it advance; I would be really sad if they went away.

But I personally feel Guha was what didn't worked with them, he was just too full of himself and acted like his team was the one always making the best first.
Definitely someone who doesn't know the meaning of modesty.

So yeah I'm happy he said goodbye and see it as a good sign for the company.

Cannot say much about his brother but he indeed seemed nicier and less robotic.
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Edited 1 time - Last edited at 20:02:37 05/04/2016 by Drek95
HeyitsHotDog Diamond Sparx Gems: 8526
#22 Posted: 20:05:37 05/04/2016
Quote: Drek95
V.V. indeed gave a lot to the series and truly made it advance; I would be really sad if they went away.

But I personally feel Guha was what didn't worked with them, he was just too full of himself and acted like his team was the one always making the best first.
Definitely someone who doesn't know the meaning of modesty.

So yeah I'm happy he said goodbye and see it as a good sign for the company.

Cannot say much about his brother but he indeed seemed nicier and less robotic.


I agree with you on that. I feel like the Bros had an excellent idea for Skylanders but wanted it to be a bit too typical. Dave Phillips comes up with SO MANY DAMN GREAT IDEAS for Skylanders, but they always just go with the most heroic looking one. While they did change that up in SSC, it's going to be interesting to see what we get in Sky 7.
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Hey is there anything you want me to bring for the rest of the week and if so it’s so cool that you can do something and just do it like that
newkill Emerald Sparx Gems: 3988
#23 Posted: 20:27:13 05/04/2016
The guy who founded Beenox left the studio in 2012, 11 years after it's creation. The studio keeps growing and working on more important projects since then, so... you might want to actually think before jumping on every single occasion to say the whole Skylanders franchise is dead. I am confident that the two people replacing the Gula brothers will do a great job.
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bye
Drek95 Emerald Sparx Gems: 4761
#24 Posted: 20:48:48 05/04/2016
Quote: HeyitsHotDog
Quote: Drek95
V.V. indeed gave a lot to the series and truly made it advance; I would be really sad if they went away.

But I personally feel Guha was what didn't worked with them, he was just too full of himself and acted like his team was the one always making the best first.
Definitely someone who doesn't know the meaning of modesty.

So yeah I'm happy he said goodbye and see it as a good sign for the company.

Cannot say much about his brother but he indeed seemed nicier and less robotic.


I agree with you on that. I feel like the Bros had an excellent idea for Skylanders but wanted it to be a bit too typical. Dave Phillips comes up with SO MANY DAMN GREAT IDEAS for Skylanders, but they always just go with the most heroic looking one. While they did change that up in SSC, it's going to be interesting to see what we get in Sky 7.


Indeed.

I'm actually excited to see how things will change now that the Bros are gone.
There is the possibility everything will stay exactly the same but, who knows, they might finally start picking up less predictable and stereotypical designs from their concepts. smilie
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HeyitsHotDog Diamond Sparx Gems: 8526
#25 Posted: 20:57:05 05/04/2016
Quote: CountMoneyBone
they got fired and good riddance. putting mario kart in a skylander game was the worst idea ever. i will be celebrating tonite with some popcorn and cola smilie



You're terrible. Seriously man. You are such a word I can't say on this forum.
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Hey is there anything you want me to bring for the rest of the week and if so it’s so cool that you can do something and just do it like that
angelg Gold Sparx Gems: 2791
#26 Posted: 21:28:28 05/04/2016
Their agreement with Activision expired and they profited to be free as birds again. Nothing strange, nothing to be worry about. Sounds like a personal decision to me. It would have happened even if SC had been the best selling game in the franchise. Wouldn't you want to embrace new projects if you hace been legally tied to a project for more than 10 years?

There's much much more to a company than it's CEOs. I feel that these persons are a bit overrated many times. There are hundreds of talented persons who made possible a game and is not like the whole team has been dismantled.
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Bifrost Prismatic Sparx Gems: 10386
#27 Posted: 21:50:43 05/04/2016
Quote: HeyitsHotDog
Quote: CountMoneyBone
they got fired and good riddance. putting mario kart in a skylander game was the worst idea ever. i will be celebrating tonite with some popcorn and cola smilie


You're terrible. Seriously man. You are such a word I can't say on this forum.


Well I have two words, huge jerk.
I mean,god, I'm happy with someone leaving because they wouldn't change with the team but someone losing their job and possibly(probably not) going through finicial troubles is not something to celebrate, report me for being a meanie all I care for using such a mild word.

Quote: angelg
Their agreement with Activision expired and they profited to be free as birds again. Nothing strange, nothing to be worry about. Sounds like a personal decision to me. It would have happened even if SC had been the best selling game in the franchise. Wouldn't you want to embrace new projects if you hace been legally tied to a project for more than 10 years?

There's much much more to a company than it's CEOs. I feel that these persons are a bit overrated many times. There are hundreds of talented persons who made possible a game and is not like the whole team has been dismantled.


Well,it's hard to point fingers to specific people,which is why people straight up call Acti Bobby, even if there are probably tons of higher ups other than him being the kings of bad decisions.
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SO I'LL GIVE YOU WHAT YOU WANT
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newkill Emerald Sparx Gems: 3988
#28 Posted: 23:46:39 05/04/2016
Constant negativity without actually bringing something valuable to a topic/discussion... I just report all of their posts now.

Also, I think people shouldn't force their positive or negative opinions in the first post of a topic when posting informative opinions, but that's just me.
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ZapNorris Ripto Gems: 5109
#29 Posted: 00:10:55 06/04/2016
Quote: CountMoneyBone
they got fired and good riddance. putting mario kart in a skylander game was the worst idea ever. i will be celebrating tonite with some popcorn smilie



dip****.
GaiaMemories Emerald Sparx Gems: 3824
#30 Posted: 00:22:37 06/04/2016
Quote: CountMoneyBone
they got fired and good riddance. putting mario kart in a skylander game was the worst idea ever. i will be celebrating tonite with some popcorn smilie



Do you realize how rude, cruel and just disrespectful this is? Because that really is sinking way to low.
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Snap Shot Gold Sparx Gems: 2672
#31 Posted: 01:27:55 06/04/2016
I feel sorry for them but if it means Skylanders 7 is better I am for it. It's funny to see all the doomsayers come out when there is news like this.
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ninja9351 Emerald Sparx Gems: 4924
#32 Posted: 01:43:26 06/04/2016
You guys do understand that the brothers were basically just a face right? The only decisions they made were business decisions, not actual game design decisions.
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TakeYourLemons Gold Sparx Gems: 2350
#33 Posted: 02:39:52 06/04/2016
You do underestimate the impact of these gentlemen had on the game, and these guys are more than just the business front. That's like saying Steve Jobs was just a face to Apple. Don't underestimate motivation and direction.

Quote: HeyitsHotDog
My guess, Acti wanted them to solely to work on Skylanders games but The Bula Bros wanted to work on other projects and left as a result. Reminds me of Sakurai with the Kirby games.


Like I said, I fully expect VV to still be part of the Skylanders development, just the Bros won't be part of it.


You've seen their portfolio, right? Working on a Shrek 4 game? There's no hard proof that SC's lackluster reception is the reason for this, but I also believe that coincidences are rarely just random occurrences. I personally think VV's team is technically superior to TfB, but TfB has more heart and soul in their efforts. I'm basically mixed on what this means for us in general, but I'm not particularly happy about it. I will say if anything more "breaking news" hits, then it more than likely was an Activision "forcing" a parting of the ways and may speak to Activision's desire to shake up the franchise. As to the direction this shake has on us is yet to be seen.

For the record, Swap Force has hit 6 million in sales surpassing any effort, so I'm having a hard time with a miss in this game causing immediate castration of the VV management team.
Edited 5 times - Last edited at 02:47:14 06/04/2016 by TakeYourLemons
HeyitsHotDog Diamond Sparx Gems: 8526
#34 Posted: 02:57:48 06/04/2016
Quote: TakeYourLemons
You do underestimate the impact of these gentlemen had on the game, and these guys are more than just the business front. That's like saying Steve Jobs was just a face to Apple. Don't underestimate motivation and direction.

Quote: HeyitsHotDog
My guess, Acti wanted them to solely to work on Skylanders games but The Bula Bros wanted to work on other projects and left as a result. Reminds me of Sakurai with the Kirby games.


Like I said, I fully expect VV to still be part of the Skylanders development, just the Bros won't be part of it.


You've seen their portfolio, right? Working on a Shrek 4 game? There's no hard proof that SC's lackluster reception is the reason for this, but I also believe that coincidences are rarely just random occurrences. I personally think VV's team is technically superior to TfB, but TfB has more heart and soul in their efforts. I'm basically mixed on what this means for us in general, but I'm not particularly happy about it. I will say if anything more "breaking news" hits, then it more than likely was an Activision "forcing" a parting of the ways and may speak to Activision's desire to shake up the franchise. As to the direction this shake has on us is yet to be seen.

For the record, Swap Force has hit 6 million in sales surpassing any effort, so I'm having a hard time with a miss in this game causing immediate castration of the VV management team.



You make a good point. Skylanders was likely the best thing they have worked on in a long time.

And your also right on what they did for the games. I'm sure they were a big part of it.

Now I'm more worried...or cautious about all of this. I'm sure it'll be fine, maybe even better, but I'll still be cautious.
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#35 Posted: 06:14:13 06/04/2016
Quote: Snap Shot
I feel sorry for them but if it means Skylanders 7 is better I am for it. It's funny to see all the doomsayers come out when there is news like this.



A big IF that goes into production. sky 6 will have the same looming watch like spyro's adventure did where they aren't going to make past the first two waves unless there's some good sales figures going on. I expect this might be the year they go on hiatus after pulling the plug. They aren't going to convince people to drop 75 + on a full game when the competitors are pushing out expansions without a need to buy a new base game next year. If all someone has to do is buy figures at their pace, they already beat them since it's not going to be enough to compete. People with big collections and small on space are going to be looking a that.

I have a big enough collection of figures and lego dimensions not only looks great, but also saves on space to have a near full collection from their sales and very little space used at all. That and with their sales, saved a ton too and only buying expansions for them is a great plus.

A lot of big changes from other years from no frito lay support since the free high fives well over a year ago, to the fact of the countless supercharger oversaturation sales.


On topic it's what happens when there's over confidence in a brand when you bring the same ol to the table. 5 years in and all they had was vehicles and basically made traps obsolete after so many purchased them, they deserved the backlash.

Quote: TakeYourLemons


For the record, Swap Force has hit 6 million in sales surpassing any effort, so I'm having a hard time with a miss in this game causing immediate castration of the VV management team.


Most likely the sales of superchargers hit either 30% of that or less which makes compelling enough evidence for some house cleaning. The reason why they dropped the price of the base game to 30 so soon is because their real money is those figures. It's the perfect dlc that they can mass produce for great profit. If no one's buying the game you get nothing but shelf warmers for months, therefore you make less figures, therefore you make a whole lot less money. Domino effect.
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Edited 1 time - Last edited at 06:18:55 06/04/2016 by tigerdr
TakeYourLemons Gold Sparx Gems: 2350
#36 Posted: 14:37:20 06/04/2016
Quote: [url=http://forum.darkspyro.net/spyro/viewposts.php?topic=127900&post=5919999
tigerdr
Quote: TakeYourLemons


For the record, Swap Force has hit 6 million in sales surpassing any effort, so I'm having a hard time with a miss in this game causing immediate castration of the VV management team.


Most likely the sales of superchargers hit either 30% of that or less which makes compelling enough evidence for some house cleaning. The reason why they dropped the price of the base game to 30 so soon is because their real money is those figures. It's the perfect dlc that they can mass produce for great profit. If no one's buying the game you get nothing but shelf warmers for months, therefore you make less figures, therefore you make a whole lot less money. Domino effect.


I'm surprised it hasn't hit the 19.95 territory. Or even 9.99. I can guarantee they have millions of figures in warehouses waiting to ship. Amazon is selling figures for $3 or so now. Reducing prices doesn't work if no one is buying the game. I wish they could've listened to my reasons over the years to make figure purchases compelling -- it has to do more than just be a figure.
Edited 5 times - Last edited at 14:39:50 06/04/2016 by TakeYourLemons
ZapNorris Ripto Gems: 5109
#37 Posted: 16:29:13 06/04/2016
Quote: TakeYourLemons
Quote: [url=http://forum.darkspyro.net/spyro/viewposts.php?topic=127900&post=5919999
tigerdr
Quote: TakeYourLemons


For the record, Swap Force has hit 6 million in sales surpassing any effort, so I'm having a hard time with a miss in this game causing immediate castration of the VV management team.


Most likely the sales of superchargers hit either 30% of that or less which makes compelling enough evidence for some house cleaning. The reason why they dropped the price of the base game to 30 so soon is because their real money is those figures. It's the perfect dlc that they can mass produce for great profit. If no one's buying the game you get nothing but shelf warmers for months, therefore you make less figures, therefore you make a whole lot less money. Domino effect.


I'm surprised it hasn't hit the 19.95 territory. Or even 9.99. I can guarantee they have millions of figures in warehouses waiting to ship. Amazon is selling figures for $3 or so now. Reducing prices doesn't work if no one is buying the game. I wish they could've listened to my reasons over the years to make figure purchases compelling -- it has to do more than just be a figure.



Yeahm amazon has stormblade and bbpf for $3 each. the PS4 starter is $19
Rom713 Yellow Sparx Gems: 1347
#38 Posted: 16:40:41 06/04/2016
It is still too early to calling it "Skylanders are doomed now". Two guys left the company, so what? It happens left and right all over the game development industry. Games made by VV from now on will be different in some way - may be or may be not depending on the influence both brother had in the game designing decision in the past.
We had multiple examples in other game development companies that things may get worse or better - the only next game from this company will tell us about it.
Look at Blizzard - when David Brevik, Erich Schaefer and Max Schaefer (all are creators of Diablo 1 & 2) left Blizzard North because of the same "creative differences" they had with the big bosses - so what? Diablo 3 was still released by Blizzard and is a good game (arguably not so good as Diablo 2 but - whom how). From the other side - famous Jay Wilson who made a lot of design decisions for Diablo 3 almost ruined this game and has alienated a lot of fan base. He was "fired" (assigned to different project) and then Josh Mosqueira took the leadership over the game design and development and he and his team did an amazing job - Diablo 3 after expansion RoS is day and night compared to what it was in Jay Wilson's time. So you never know what's going to happen - it might be a downfall or a wonderful rise.
Edited 1 time - Last edited at 16:42:52 06/04/2016 by Rom713
defpally Emerald Sparx Gems: 4158
#39 Posted: 20:52:03 06/04/2016
Quote: TakeYourLemons
I'm surprised it hasn't hit the 19.95 territory. Or even 9.99. I can guarantee they have millions of figures in warehouses waiting to ship. Amazon is selling figures for $3 or so now. Reducing prices doesn't work if no one is buying the game. I wish they could've listened to my reasons over the years to make figure purchases compelling -- it has to do more than just be a figure.


Yep, at this point their best bet to clear out inventory is to give away the "razor handles" and hope people want some "blades" to go along with it.

Even the diehards are losing interest. I mean, who else just checks in every day or so hoping for a post "Thrillipede/Buzzwing coming ___/found at TRU"? What's really weird is in past year we didn't even have wave 4 by now most times. But, they need to get those out there or people are going to not bother anymore.
ninja9351 Emerald Sparx Gems: 4924
#40 Posted: 00:38:26 07/04/2016
Quote: defpally
Quote: TakeYourLemons
I'm surprised it hasn't hit the 19.95 territory. Or even 9.99. I can guarantee they have millions of figures in warehouses waiting to ship. Amazon is selling figures for $3 or so now. Reducing prices doesn't work if no one is buying the game. I wish they could've listened to my reasons over the years to make figure purchases compelling -- it has to do more than just be a figure.


Yep, at this point their best bet to clear out inventory is to give away the "razor handles" and hope people want some "blades" to go along with it.

Even the diehards are losing interest. I mean, who else just checks in every day or so hoping for a post "Thrillipede/Buzzwing coming ___/found at TRU"? What's really weird is in past year we didn't even have wave 4 by now most times. But, they need to get those out there or people are going to not bother anymore.


Their problem is honestly that they do not evenly release the figures. The figures should be released in equal sized waves. I think it would bother people less if they weren't just waiting on those last stranglers to fill out their collection. Their biggest mistake with Trap Team, was not releasing enough figures to unlock the whole game at launch. They may have also done this with Swap Force, I honestly can't remember.
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I make Skylanders videos-Go Check em' out! youtube.com/portalmaster9351
defpally Emerald Sparx Gems: 4158
#41 Posted: 01:10:57 07/04/2016
They did for Swap Force, you were missing Stealth (Stink Bomb) and an Earth swapper (Rubble Rouser) until right before/after Christmas (some Targets put them out early).

I don't necessarily agree, I don't think it is a big deal to hold back some small things like that to keep people interested until the holidays. But I do agree that their release "feast or famine" strategy is terrible. Previously I would have thought a drawn out schedule wasn't such a bad idea to keep the ball rolling, but I think they really need some time for the stink to wear off from SC before the next game is announced.
TakeYourLemons Gold Sparx Gems: 2350
#42 Posted: 02:18:20 07/04/2016
"By Design" on the wait. Not a bad thing. IMO I would deliver smaller numbers of figures but have full exposure by Christmas, then deliver in subsequent waves re-stock of figures over the next 4-5 months after Christmas. But that's the sick world according to me.
Kevin16 Emerald Sparx Gems: 4524
#43 Posted: 14:50:49 08/04/2016
I just want to ask one thing, everyone is like ''toys for bob puts more love in their games''

how?

Trap Team was so glitchy and unfinished.
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what even is this site anymore lmao
Bifrost Prismatic Sparx Gems: 10386
#44 Posted: 15:28:12 08/04/2016
Quote: Kevin16
I just want to ask one thing, everyone is like ''toys for bob puts more love in their games''

how?

Trap Team was so glitchy and unfinished.


Programmers and artists/designers are not the same people. And DEFINATELY not the same people as Quality Testing.

People keep talking about how they know the Bala brothers aren't VV but saying art style is in any way related to game quality is kinda naive. It can detract from it or put obstacles,but if it the bug testing is crap it probably would've been even with simpler art.
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SO I'LL GIVE YOU WHAT YOU WANT
(What I need is never what I want)
Drek95 Emerald Sparx Gems: 4761
#45 Posted: 18:08:04 08/04/2016
Not to mention the fact the PS4/XBOX ONE versions of Trap Team were actually programmed by Beenox which is clearly too unexperienced yet to handle such a big development.
So the PS3/XBOX 360 versions are the ones to consider.

As Bifrost said there is a big difference between designers and developers and while V.V. is most likely better at developing, TfB is indeed better in terms of designing.
I can personally forgive slightly lacking technical sides if the designs are great and creative but that's just me.
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”Gulp, lunch time!”
Current Number of Champions of the Skylands: 154
Edited 1 time - Last edited at 18:10:17 08/04/2016 by Drek95
Bifrost Prismatic Sparx Gems: 10386
#46 Posted: 18:10:40 08/04/2016
I think Beenox just handles QA everywhere. Could be wrong though,haven't checked the credits in a while since I just zone out in my replay marathon. Would definately explain the gross amounts of "we couldn't fix this,though luck" in the FAQ during TT which implies a lack of time to send those issues back.

EDIT: What a coinkydink,just finished replaying TT(finally I don't like advancing so little per week because of uni). Acti handles QA,it's under their credits and loong past Beenox's.
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SO I'LL GIVE YOU WHAT YOU WANT
(What I need is never what I want)
Edited 1 time - Last edited at 21:38:18 08/04/2016 by Bifrost
Drek95 Emerald Sparx Gems: 4761
#47 Posted: 23:57:29 08/04/2016
Don't know if it could be possible but I strongly think games would be better if the devs did the QA themselves.

Beta testers can't do miracles but if they couple lazy testers with rather unexperienced developers... Well the risults will hardly be satisfying.
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”Gulp, lunch time!”
Current Number of Champions of the Skylands: 154
newkill Emerald Sparx Gems: 3988
#48 Posted: 01:53:35 09/04/2016
Quote: Bifrost
Programmers and artists/designers are not the same people. And DEFINATELY not the same people as Quality Testing.

Quote: Drek95
Don't know if it could be possible but I strongly think games would be better if the devs did the QA themselves.
Beta testers can't do miracles but if they couple lazy testers with rather unexperienced developers... Well the risults will hardly be satisfying.

Alright, it's time I wrote a topic about the differences of roles between QA, developpers, designers, producers, etc. because some people on this forum don't exactly put the blame where it should go :/
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bye
TakeYourLemons Gold Sparx Gems: 2350
#49 Posted: 02:23:41 09/04/2016
Whatever, the bottom line is whomever does the best of all domains of expertise should technically have the best game.
newkill Emerald Sparx Gems: 3988
#50 Posted: 04:15:44 09/04/2016
If several domains do their best but one doesn't and the game suffers from it, then it is unfair to put the blame on the domains that did their best.
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bye
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