Activision not to blame for Bizarre creations closure
Market conditions precipitated Project Gotham creator's demise
Former lead designer with recently defunct studio Bizarre Creations Gareth Wilson has been speaking about the demise of his former employer.
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Wilson explained that the closure of Bizarre Creations was not down to Activision but more to do with a "perfect storm" of market conditions.
He told Eurogamer: "It was a perfect storm of unfortunate circumstances. The landscape of the industry has changed massively even in the time from when Bizarre was acquired. In particular getting a new IP noticed at this stage of the console cycle combined with the global economic situation meaning gamers are less willing to 'take a risk' is really difficult."
He continued: "It's not just Blur that didn't sell in 2010, great new IPs like Enslaved, Alan Wake and Vanquish have struggled to make to make an impact while Halo and Call of Duty have broken sales records. The release date probably didn't help, but nowadays that 'middle ground' of two to three million sales is getting harder to find. Games either 'break out' and sell four million plus, or really struggle to break even. Also the quality bar has risen enormously. Did you know there were more 80 per cent plus rated games in 2010 than any other year?"
He added on the decision to close the studio: "When it was announced that Activision was looking to sell or close the studio the majority of people started looking around, obviously still hoping that a buyer could be found. This wasn't clandestine at all, while the situation with the studio was unclear Activision allowed us time off to go for interviews and training. Now I can feel more philosophical about it, it was upsetting when it was announced back in November. As there was a three month consultation where a buyer was sought it's been more of a slow realisation over the weeks that followed that the studio was likely to close."
