Sam and Max 2 Cancelled! (Not Anymore)

[Esseb]

Nestlé you mean?

[Annoyed DragonRose]

HAHAHA, you're saying that you only copy bad games and buy good games. HAHAHA
I know you copy the good games and don't even bother to copy bad games.
Say that I'm wrong and that you dont copy games if they're good.
Come on, lie to me.

Dear Sir, (you know I'm getting ticked off when I call people "sir" or "madame")

I am actually offended by this remark.  I do not, nor have I ever, copied games except for shareware titles.  The most I have ever done is installed a single copy of a network game on two computers, both computers being owned by my family and in the same room. It is rather offensive to assume that everyone pirates software, and to call all people who deny this statement liars.

I know how much work goes into creating things, and I think it deserves to be paid for.  So I pay.  If I can't pay, I don't get it.

Which brings me in a nice segue back to Sam and Max.  There was a lot of effort put into the game.  I wonder what would have cost more- finishing it and at least recouping some of the loss, if not making a profit, or dropping it and having all the investment go to waste, as well as angering hundereds of people who have sworn never to buy LucasArts games again?

I honestly don't know the answer.  Maybe actually finishing the programming, creating the CD's and boxes and shipping the game out would have cost seventy gazillion dollars and to recoup the losses they would have had to make each license cost four hundered bucks and your left leg below the knee.  And maybe the cost of production would have been less than they already invested.

I just don't know at all.

[Erwin_Br]

You don't need to be a sales manager to see that this desicion is unfunded, to say the least.

I mean, LucasArts wasn't very generous with promoting this game (we've seen a only a few screenshots and a trailer, that's all.) and yet it still received a LOT of attention from gaming sources everywhere. And all positive, even the mainstream sources. This game was SELLING on it's OWN, I tell you. Sam and Max have a reputation! Even the most hardcore console player has at least heard about this duo.

So tell me, how the HELL did they evaluate the market?

Also, LucasArts is floating. No president, no steady management. And then there's Randy Breen, who left Electronic Arts not so long ago with a rather dubious reputation. This man's now pulling some strings at LucasArts.

Frankly I don't understand how anyone could ever trust any desicions currently made, while the company is in such a bad shape.

--Erwin

[remixor]

Exactly, Erwin.

[Kweepa]

Well, let's say there were 20 developers working on it:
6 programmers
3 animators
4 modellers
1 texture artist
3 designers
2 sound people
1 producer
and it had another six months to go. That's easily $1m. Add another $1m for beta testing, advertising, etc.
Then let's say LucasArts get $10 a copy.
-> They need to sell 200k to break even from here.
Possible, but by no means guaranteed.

All pretty much guesswork of course...
Steve

[Domino]

It seems the online petition for Sam and Max is gaining some real momentum.

I think it was Saturday or Sunday when there was only 5000 sigs, but now that number has reached over 10,000 in just a couple of days.

Plus, everytime i check it, and refresh my browser. New names are popping up left and right.

shawn

[Kinoko]

Another thing: I dont copy games, I buy the original. But most of you dont. You burn them on cd after Harry the hacker made a crack for it.
I think its hard to believe that everybody would BUY sam&max2.

That sounds really self righteousness. I'm sure plenty of people here pay for the games they really think deserve the support.

HAHAHA, you're saying that you only copy bad games and buy good games. HAHAHA
I know you copy the good games and don't even bother to copy bad games.
Say that I'm wrong and that you dont copy games if they're good.
Come on, lie to me.

I would lie to you, but I just can't. I'm not a PC gamer anymore, the last decade or so has turned me into a full on console gamer (and even there, we're only talking the good shit, which I send myself broke to pay for). PC games are just on the whole not worth buying or copying these days. I don't buy them, I don't copy them, UNLESS a really decent one comes out, in which case I'll buy it. This is so rare though, and a lot of the time I'm buying cheap old re-re-re-releases of games like MI, Lure of the Temptress etc. Grim Fandango was the last PC game I aquired but luckily for me, a wonderful friend of mine was nice enough to give it as a present. I would have paid anything for it though, once I discovered it. I'd even buy it again now if it would help the industry!

Let me buy Sam and Max 2, damn you world!

[DGMacphee]

I think LucasArts is becoming the Disney of the computer gaming industry.

[D · Y · D · O]

Basically a comprehensive collection of all strategies suggested on the web to make LucasArts return to the Light Side:

http://www.savesamandmax.com

Apologies if this has been posted before...

[Trumgottist]

I think LucasArts is becoming the Disney of the computer gaming industry.

No. They was the Disney of the computer games industry. You could count on their games to be fun and to have excellent animation, acting, music etc.

[Esseb]

Are you saying Disney movies are fun and have excellent animation, acting, music etc.? Sure you're not mixing up Disney and Pixar?

[m0ds]

Road To Eldorado was hillarious...

But Brother Bear... I mean, WTF?

[Nacho]

I think El Dorado was made by Spielberg, Disney made a simillar one about an Emperor becoming a Llama...

[SSH]

You mean "The Emperor's New Groove", which I really liked. Disney are still able to come up with good movies sometimes:

Good:
Lilo & Stitch
Emperor's New Groove
Hercules
Lion King
Aladdin
Beauty and Beast
Little Mermaid

Bad:
Treasure Planet
Brother Bear
Pocahontas
Hunchback of Notre Dame
Atlantis thingy

Generally, I think the only non-Disney traditional animation (but in the Disney style) that met up with the Disney standard was Anastasia. But then I tend to notice characters, style and music more than animation quality...

[InCreator]

What is all this moaning about?
Fact that they cancelled absolutely unique adventure game speaks for itsself, doesn't it?

If people like this are behind development of Sam ad Max 2, was it really going to fulfill our hopes and fill hard disks with this game? With oldschool adventuregame makers crew (who made old LA games what they really were) outta company too, I doubt...

We have two options: To yell powerlessly further in desert or get ourselves all those idi0tic XBoxes, PS2's and whatever other console shit is flooding internet, and play Star Wars/WWII FPS's till our eyes bleed and thumbs break off.

PC? Noone wants a PC these days.
Adventure game? yeah, right...

It's pretty weird, too, because adventure games are fun, make you laugh. Now how in the hell should I laugh while playing Medal of Honor? Or anything else like that? Um... Maybe hysterical, near-tears panical laughter, but laugh like this is faaar away from fun.

Of course, we could make somewhat BIG step and unite to make superb Sam and Max game by ourselves. Not that "Case Gilbert" is bad, but I mean something bigger, to copy the original humor, fun and enjoyment at full scale. Well, this won't be happening....
...never.  

[Nacho]

Specially if they sue everybody attempting something similar...

I really think that they do that because they fear that adventure games are better than some of their "ULTRA-MEGA-ULTRA-HYPER-PROFISIONAL" games...

SSH: Yeah, I quite agree with all...

[Layabout]

Why don't we just kidnap the old lucasarts designers and whatnot and put them in the dungeon with cj and force them to make adventure games of teh future and make us all rich!!!!

[Deathlok]

Most Game reporters are at least 25 years old. They are in an age categorie that doesnt buy games. The age categorie that does buy a lot of games are teenagers.
25 year old gamers have grown up with adventure games and know sam and max was a great game, while a 15 year old has not.

Im 15 and im trying to resist the erge to send lec a letterbomb right now.

[DGMacphee]

I think people misunderstood my LucasArts-Disney comment.

I meant LucasArts hit their peak ages ago, much like Disney did, and now they've become more profit-motivated.

Once they were at their peak in terms of quality games (much like Disney was with animation).

Since most of LucasArt's major talent left (much like Disney with guys like Don Bluth, Jeff Kratzenberg, etc), they seem to be more profit-motivated (also like Disney today i.e. Michael Eisner's managment).

Thus, LucasArts isn't a great game developer anymore, much like Disney isn't a great animation studio anymore.

Yes, they were great once, but not anymore.

[Kinoko]

Well said, DG -_- Well said.