In this roller coaster ride we call an economy, big fish will continue to gobble up all the little fish. Unfortunately, not all the little fish will be around at the end. Pandemic, the studio who started the Mercenaries series and brought us the legendary Star Wars Battlefront games is rumored to close down at the behest of its new owners, EA. SW: Battlefront II was my first venture onto XBL. Other than Halo 2, that is where I spent my first days of console online gaming. I loved Mercs 1; Mercs 2 was just okay. I think the death knell was the underwhelming LOTR: Conquest game. This could mean there will never be a Battlefront III, which really sucks. Good luck to all those who will lose their jobs over this. That is what sucks the most about all of this. Talented people out of work FTL.
It’s sad to see Ensemble Studios go. They’ve made some amazing games with the Age of Empires series and the upcoming Halo Wars. The studio started way back in 1995 and many of those original employees were there until the end, something that’s very rare in our industry.
In a final blog posting from Bruce Shelley, the man with the plan at Ensemble, he revealed that there are at least two new development studios being formed by those leaving Ensemble. No details yet, but we’ll be in touch to see what’s the haps.
It sucks to see anyone lose their jobs, which I’ve said a few times already, but it’s even worse to see an entire studio go. From everyone here at Loot Ninja, we want to thank Ensemble Studios for all the hard work and dedication they’ve put in over the years. You guys and gals have made some amazing games that have provided many memorable experiences for thousands of gamers around the world, plenty of us at Loot Ninja included. Best of luck with your future endeavors!
If you have any gift cards for Circuit City, I’d start spending pretty quickly. As of Friday, all of the company’s store will be up for liquidation.
We’d previously reported that Circuit City was looking for a buyer and that liquidation was an option, but we found out late this past week that all stores will be closing and liquidation firms are moving in.
While this definitely sucks for many many people who will be losing jobs (I know quite a few of them), you will be able to snag some store remnants for cheap. Right now, sales aren’t that great, but give it a few weeks and prices will fall rapidly. Everything has to go, so go in there next month and try to get a cheap HDTV.
In an unexpected move, WizKids has decided to close it’s doors. It seems that a lot of companies that support our recreational habits are giving into the idea that the poor economy just can’t support them any longer. Alliance Game Distributors, one of WizKids exclusive distributors had this to say,
“We are disappointed by this very unexpected news,” said Daniel Hirsch, President of Alliance Game Distributors. “We have enjoyed a great relationship with WizKids, and together have brought great products and promotions to thousands of retailers in the U.S. and Canada.”
The Topps company will fulfill the rest of the promised Buy it By the Brick promotions, so don’t worry if you just recently sent in your offer for a free figure.
If you are wondering what this has to do with video games, well I was afraid you would never ask. WizKids was the brainchild behind all of the “clix” brand of board games. They created HeroClix, one of their biggest sellers and from that idea we ended up with a Halo branded version, Halo ActionClix. I am a huge fan of this series so this news is extremely unsettling. If you have any interest in this board game I recommend that you go purchase them quickly as they are about to be extinct.
Recent Comments