Developer : Ion Storm Closes doors

[Kaizen]

As of last week it is official that Ion Storm Studios has closed its doors.
ion storm developed such games as Deus Ex,Thief Deadly Shadows these games where high on innovation but the sales just did not go well especially for there xbox release Deus Ex:Invisible War, Eidos's final desicion to close its doors. stating that they want to put more effort into the other developers since ion storm wasnt makin it. R.I.P
hmm first troika now ion storm whose next?

[TriniXaeno]

this is sad news indeed.

Deus Ex was one of my fav games of all time.

It was a sleeper hit like the original HL.

A mix of fps, tactical fps, stealth and rpg in a futuristic setting. Definitely not ho hum stuff. Real genre busting diversity.

That greatness was also it's weakness. Not everyone would be able to handle such an unusual title.

* [X]-Baego breaks a pengo cd in honor of Ion Storm.

[Kaizen]

yeah ion storm was cool company i dont understand why people are like this,the masses always say they want innovation and when it comes no one there to buy beside the hardcores
even Daikatana which they made wasnt that bad just had some mofo bugs

[suzieboy]

Soo....wait nah they not makin any more hitman?

[Venom]

the masses like crappy microsoft games like halo

[Kaizen]

but with the same formula will the do good??
well have to wait and see

[TrinireturnofGamez]

halo was very well done, venom, don't insult your intelligence by hating.

 i beg to differ.... halo is better done than many games, but still not half as polished as Doom III or Half life II , all it had was good gameplay and a fairly original storyline . Come on, you can count the polygons on anything in halo ! They re- used the same maps/textures over and over  in halo 1 , just re arrange your starting position and the position of the AI  and presto! a new map .
   Ion storm came on hard times , the last incarnation of Deus Ex wasn't half as successful as the first, also they spent something like 50 million on diakatana , which was all wasted due to the bugs  .

[Kaizen]

this is just a clear up Deus Ex - Invisible war isnt the latest incarnation
Project Snowblind is

[W1nTry]

My only take on this is its another blow to the PC gaming industry. Its bad enough Baego posting msnbc article about PCgaming being the dodo, now we losing game developers.... not good not good at all. This would not be the case if all dem blasted developers would port games on time (IF AT ALL). Geez yuh know how long I waiting on Halo2 for the PC? geezus... I won't give up meh PC gaming... at least we still have UT2006 coming out soon... ah well UNREAL 3 engine... wooo.....

[TriniXaeno]

yeah, it sux!

we need to do what we can to keep the fraternity alive.

PC Gaming must never die!!

Project Snowblind, while the latest incarnation, isn't an heir apparent to the deus ex throne. The game has decidely more in common with SoF 2 than it's RPG/FPS hybrid brethren. Needless to say, that is why they didn't call it Deus Ex 3.

Obviously, the old formula, though a great one, didn't have mass appeal.

Mass appeal drives sales and that is the bottom line for these companies.

Profit.

Doing unorthodox things in the PC gaming world is a recipe for poor sales unfortunately and that stifles innovation.

Too little too late.

[Kaizen]

Beago u need to read the books...
yes deus ex has 2 novels

[TriniXaeno]

I would love too!

my only problem is time.

develop a pill to abolish the need for sleep, thanks.

[Kaizen]

lol i have the warcraft books and all shizit
could bring up one or 2 for u to take aread but like u say
we need to make a pill
"goes to get a degree in medicine"

[Crixx_Creww]

Halo is ballz, even though this go make me sound like trini (eww). Halo was not AS impressive it is hyped to be. THe only that raised an eyebrow or two for me was the enemy AI now and then but still, it is not what its hyped to be.

Golden eye is a much better game than halo.... and that is like wat almost a decade old???
Hmm, i dont know exactly what started the hype amongst the americans who seem to absolutely adore this game but its really not worth the kudos it recieves, and halo 2 is even worse.

[suzieboy]

Halo is ballz, even though this go make me sound like trini (eww). Halo was not AS impressive it is hyped to be. THe only that raised an eyebrow or two for me was the enemy AI now and then but still, it is not what its hyped to be.

Golden eye is a much better game than halo.... and that is like wat almost a decade old???

Are you for real.....only the AI? What about the A-class storyline, the graphics for wat it was back then, the mutiplayer effect which was and still becoming a major factor of gaming,the presentation of the game on the whole gave it the upper edge.....i maybe sounding like a fanny but to be honest i used to think like Crixx("Halo is Ballz") about this game....i eventually when out to bought this and now .....well.....My thumds hurt!!
but i want more pain immc(ie Halo 2 )!!

[Crixx_Creww]

O.o *yawn*

as i said, golden eye is a better game than halo, in every aspect so it gets no slack from me.

 a class story line pfffffffftt

[suzieboy]

Suit yourself buddy....thats your opinion an i respect that......I on the other hand would give Jack his jacket....

[Kaizen]

hey i really didnt like halo i bought a xbox for doa...lol but when i got halo free for pc i played it and it was tons of fun for me i really liked sure its not up there with the other games and doom 3 has no storyline really it wasnt enough to keep me going to ressurection of evil as for halo i went on to halo 2 on the box so yeah done deal dont be hatin on it sure were not xbox fanny boys and so on but look at it this way it made alot of sales and did some stuff that wasnt near some of the console shooters i respect bungie ever since MARATHON lol

[TriniXaeno]

I was a big halo fan because it  would be the first title to bring a kick ass "Multiplayer Science Fiction First Person Shooter with Vehicles" to the PC. MSCIFIFPSV for short (that acronym will never catch on)

That was the big thing. Only catch, it didn't...microsoft bought Bungie out and released it as an xbox exclusive, only reaching to the PC years later. Arguably the first major blow to the PC platform as a result of the console markets burgeoning success.

By the time Halo arrived on the PC, Unreal hit the scene and did the "MSCIFIFPSV" dance even better. Halo still had a better storyline for what that's worth.

As it stands, the PC crowd was hardly wtfpwned by it, but to the console crowd, Halo is the second coming.

No console multiplayer game has ever seen such rabid success and proliferation.

It is without a doubt, de most played multiplayer console game across America.

On the PC, it is thoroughly pwned by bigger better titles.

Don't believe me?

Some stats iymc:

Taken from our game center brethren across the USA.

May 2005
1 Half-Life 2
2 World of WarCraft
3 Battlefield 1942
4 Call of Duty
5 Guild Wars
6 Halo 2 (Xbox)
7 Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth
8 Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
9 Counter-Strike
10 Counter-Strike: Condition Zero
11 Unreal Tournament 2004
12 Battlefield 2
13 Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising
14 Command & Conquer Generals
15 Star Wars Battlefront
16 Battlefield Vietnam
17 Everquest 2
18 SWAT 3
19 Act of War
20 Halo for Windows

[TriniXaeno]

lol

I guess this also high-lights the fears of being pwned by a big company like Eidos or EA. There always is this risk.

So long as your development cycle isn't churning out big money hits, there is a good chance they will target you for "recycling"

IF you were out on your own, you would keep the shop running so long as it paid the bills.

These heavy hitters aren't in it to pay bills, they want to ensure "shareholder" value. In lay man terms, that means make BIG PROFITS.

If your game isn't going to make them serious moola, close down operation iymc.

Sad, considering the rate at which the little developers are getting bought up by the big wigs.

A trend that shows no sign of stopping.