Lair developer Factor 5 closes down News
News by Oli Welsh
Factor 5, the California studio responsible for the Star Wars: Rogue Squadron games and Sony's ill-fated Lair, has closed down.
The studio signed with publisher Brash Entertainment last year. Brash's closure due to bankruptcy at the end of last year, leaving unpaid developer bills, was too much for Factor 5 to survive.
That's according to a statement by Achim Moller, boss of the studio's German parent company, on the developer's website.
"We are sorry to announce the closure of the San Rafael-based Factor 5, Inc. studio, but the obstacles created by the sudden bankruptcy of Brash Entertainment for the continuation of operations have turned out to be too great to overcome in the current economic climate," he said.
Factor 5's last game was 2007's disappointing PS3 dragon combat game Lair, but the studio is more fondly remembered for the Star Wars: Rogue Squadron space shooters it made for the Nintendo64 and GameCube.
Variety suggested that Factor 5 was working on a Superman game for Brash.
The German company, Factor 5 GmbH, remains unaffected by the closure.
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Comments: 1-22 of 22 in total
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farticusmaximus
15/05/09 @ 07:52
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So just like Free Radical they learn the lesson: In these financially unstable times you can't make a living by taking a crap on a disc and pretending it's a game, unless you develop for the Wii in which case you need to go out and buy a giant sack for the incoming money..
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@farticusmaximus
You're joking about the Wii right? No-one apart from Nintendo is making jack from that console. You certainly couldn't run a studio on the profits from a Wii game. That's why you don't see many good titles coming out on Wii. As for the studio closures. It's down to poor management and sub standard releases. There was no reason for Haze to be as bad as it was and Lair should have been Rogue Squadron with dragons. Making Haze in the time splitters mold would have pretty much guaranteed sales. I don't believe for a moment that free radical could have believed Haze was a good game but, they released it anyway! It's sad to mourn the loss of two studios who's past works were enjoyable but, let's not pretend that they didn't cause their own demise. They back the wrong horse, where other wiser studios were making cross platform games. |
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Ashen-Shugar
15/05/09 @ 09:04
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"They made some good games... Lair was a big fuckup but it shouldn't have let to their downfall"
Unfortunately the budgets and timescales of current-gen games can mean that absolutely everything rides on the success of the last title to be developed. When that title is as bad as Lair.. well, the results speak for themselves. /joins in mourning for Turrican and Rogue squadron |
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Triggerhappytel
15/05/09 @ 09:44
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It's a real shame they've closed down, but like others have said; budgets are such that independant studios' fates often lie with the success of one title.
Lair was such a waste, too, because it had so much potential. It wasn't even the controls which were particularly bad; it was just bland on almost every level. They tried to design an X-Wing game but using dragons, and it really didn't work. |
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@Solvalou From what I remember they didn't actually own the rights to the series' because they didn't develop all the Turrican games. I believe Rainbow Arts the publisher at the time had the rights and they were since brought by THQ giving them the rights to the series.
Infact when Rainbow Arts were brought in the 90's they were developing a 3D Turrican but shortly after they were brought THQ cancelled the project. Alas the Turrican series has never been seen again... http://www.unseen64.net/2009/03/23/turri... Factor 5 themselves were making Thornado on the Nintendo 64/Gamecube which was a spiritual spin-off to Turrican because they weren't allowed to use the name. Unfortunaly that was cancelled to. http://www.unseen64.net/2008/04/08/thorn... |
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farticusmaximus
15/05/09 @ 15:22
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"There is always one."
Eh, the guy is entitled to his opinion. It's just not a particularly popular opinion.. ;) |
Comments: 1-22 of 22 in total
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