Factor 5's funding problems

http://kotaku.com/5110872/rumor-factor-5-sacks-half-its-staff

Damn, that's sad to hear

i apologize for repeating myself, but this is what happens when you lose focus from writing pure games (like turri) and re-focus on selling "mainstream" games instead. eggie knew that from the beginning (haha, he's a manager after all!!! not a coder!)

what happened to thornado? what happened to eggie's saying "we're interested in developing a next turri"? what happened to huelsbeck not composing music for lair?

f5's games lost a lot back to the days when rogue squadron was released. this type of games (where everything is "frustratingly" linear) discourages many players. gfx isn't everything. gameplay is (ask the MASTER). you're not developing a demo - you're developing a game

i feel sorry for people losing their job. it's unfair. after all, they are the ones affected by mis-management. i don't feel sorry for managers who have a hefty lot of bucks waiting for them in the bank.

BUT, most of all i feel sorry when the rights for a work don't belong to the designer anymore (you know what i'm talking about, don't you?), and managers quarrel over somebody else's designs (eggie is not included, since he was the producer and part of turri is his).

and let's not forget: these are the "good" things consoles have to offer. massive production of crap games. silly mainstream games. charging for hd remakes and emulated games in virtual console. well, thanx guys, i'm not buying. shove it up your.... i'm gonna play metroidican again. i'm a gamer and i demand games designed by gamers. not managers... may be this is the MASTER's rightful vengeance... because THE PRICE OF FREEDOM IS ETERNAL VIGILANCE

Doesn't have anything to do with that. F5 is in trouble, cause one of their publishers was closed down. Same thing happened to Neon after Tunnel B1.

@robert:
yes, you are correct. this is the main problem.
but i also read that lair flopped. if this is correct then f5 doesn't have many options right now.
do you know what the canned project was about?
do they have any other project in development?

According to some reports they worked on a Superman game. Don't know what else they are working on.

Guys....Factor 5 is finally shut down. The rumor appears to be true.

From Kotaku:

Earlier we posted rumors that Factor 5 laid off half its staff. Now comes word the whole studio just closed. I guess everyone's answer to the economy is just to give up.

This one still gets the rumor tag because there's no name on the source. But says IGN's Matt Casamassina over on their boards (subscription required):

(Casamassina) [I w]as hoping the rumors weren’t true. Contacted Julian over at F5 to shed some light, but he didn’t get back to me. Got an e-mail from an inside source tonight:

“Hi Matt,

How have you been? Haven’t seen you guys since E3. I hope that you’re doing well!

[Redacted] wanted me to contact you with some late breaking news. We just learned from inside sources that developer Factor 5 has officially closed their doors as of today. That’s some pretty big news considering that those guys have been around for quite a while. It’s definitely a real shame! I hope that this information is helpful to you. Take care, and please say hi to Bozon for me.”

And another one bites the dust. Since everyone's strategy is to fire their way back to full health, may I make a simple request? Please adjust the fiscal quarters ahead by one month. Like daylight savings time for Wall Street or something. That way, 500,000 people won't be getting fired right before Christmas, they can get pink slipped in January and not have their holidays ruined. At least give us that.

[quote]
and another one bites the dust
[/quote]

wow! fast as a shark! one day they have financial problems, the other they close down!
at least there won't be any charges against the animator that blogged about the problems!

to be honest, this is very sad for all those people that worked there. this holiday is gonna be a tough one for them and their families.


[off-topic]
[quote]
At least give us that.
[/quote]

you work for a corporation. when money is at stake, there are no human beings, it's just about profit (this is the purpose of a corp. human isn't the centre, profit is!)
so, i don't want to dissapoint you, but when a manager can get an extra buck he won't hesitate. for him, all of you are just numbers...
[/off-topic]


do you know if there's any rumour about "scavengers" waiting to get their hands on f5's ips?
what will happen to the portion of turri's rights f5 owned?
will eggie find a new job?

P.S: for me, corps and consoles aren't the future of hardcore gaming. fans and fanprojects are...
P.P.S: whoever ignores the MASTER will be banished from sanctuary

Couldn't say better myself, well said poutsoklis

@Poustokolis :
Manfred Trenz will never make games anymore. The Master is over, the master have no funds, the master have nothing.

Manfred Trenz have been fucked by Factor 5 and THQ, who will be next to fuck him ? Us.

Man, you're completly nuts.

Manfred is still in the games business and programming mobile games. Last one was the DS port of Ankh.
Please stop writing aggressive nonsense.

@elsmouneyr:
cool down man!

the MASTER will never be forgotten. this site is proof for that. f5, thq etc may close down and be forgotten (cast into oblivion) by their "fans" (who will pay for every year's new pipa soccer), but the MASTER and his legacy will always live on.

i don't care if MT makes games nowadays. modern games are crap (this is my personal opinion). for me, as i said before, the only interesting thing in gaming nowadays are fan projects (games by gamers for gamers). and believe me, there's much of the MASTER's legacy in them!

and yes, you're right. i'm completely nuts about turri and the MASTER's genius

Which modern games have you played?

many friends buy new games for their pcs/consoles.
recently, i played assasin's creed (utter crap), pes, fifa soccer, mass effect, quake4, warhammer 40k: dawn of war, oblivion. all of them failed to attract my interest. for the wii, the only thing i can say is that i don't like this "type" of gaming.

but as i said, this is my personal opinion. i have a pc capable of playing modern games (amd 64x2, nv 9600), but i don't buy modern games. i spend about 6 hours/week for gaming, but i play fangames mainly (turri clones, wing commander clones, larry games i bought when i was a kid (in dosbox) and emulated amiga games (i don't have my amiga - sold it years ago))

also, i detest mmos. tried to play some of them (on friends' pcs), but didn't like them... they were boring.

anyway, this already got off-topic, so no need for my burbling... this is for news about f5's closing down...

One of today's modern games is Mega Man 9