Rumor: Capcom Studio 8 (Maximo) shut down
If the word of a former Capcom
employee can be believed, it looks as if the publisher's shut down Capcom Studio 8, its U.S. development house, leaving
20 people out of a job.Studio 8 was best known for its Maximo remakes for the PS2--Maximo: Ghosts to Glory and Maximo vs. Army of Zin. Unfortunately, a poor performance with its latest retro retread, Final Fight: Streetwise, has apparently done the studio in with the higher-ups.
According to GameSpot, this means the end of the Maximo series (and obviously the end of the Streetwise one). A Capcom rep only had this to say in response: "Capcom does not comment on day-to-day operations." If this story's true, we hope those kids can find a new employer, possibly at the Game Developers Conference that's currently taking place in CA.
See also:
- Final Fight Streetwise interview
- Final Fight: Streetwise looking for a little respect
- FF:S loses respect with metascores in the 40s (for the PS2 and Xbox)
- BioWare opens Austin studio for new MMO [so bring resumes to GDC]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jago @ Mar 23rd 2006 7:15PM
I dunno if ALL the guys will be out of work (if this is true) but they might absorb or rearrange some of them into other teams tho.
Shame that one game would cause this though b/c the Maximo games were pretty good.
Sloopydrew @ Mar 23rd 2006 7:52PM
"A Capcom rep only had this to say in response: 'Capcom does not comment on day-to-day operations.'"
So they're doing this daily, then?
That answer is clearly a "yes, even though the Maximo series was a modest hit, we're firing these guys so we don't have to pay U.S. wages."
Sloopydrew @ Mar 23rd 2006 7:55PM
Jago,
I thought the Maximo games were pretty good, also, despite sorta funky (the bad kind of funky) camera controls. Do you have a MINUS 6 stars, or is that a dash before the 6 stars you've earned? Don't feel bad (if it's minus 6), I can't get a star no matter what I post. I think I'm star-proof. I didn't know they were handing out negative stars, though.
Jago @ Mar 23rd 2006 8:11PM
I get negative stars basically no matter what I post. :-(
Where was the Studio 8 team based at anyways?
bv @ Mar 23rd 2006 8:29PM
Jago,
It's located in Sunnyvale California (close to San Jose where the GDC is being held). My uncle actually used to work there as an Arcade unit salesman. I was really young at the time, but I do remember visiting the office where I ended up wasting 4 hours trying to beat Street Fighter 2 on Freeplay in the break room (believe it or not I ended up beating it with Zangief and I have no idea how). I also remember them tweaking Street Fighter Championship edition in another room. Seems pretty surreal now that i think about it.
Kerian @ Mar 23rd 2006 9:57PM
Dang, Maximo was tough but it was a nice game series and really presented the series well. Shame to see the studio go but I hope this is not the last we've heard of the creative-minds involved.
Reeve @ Mar 24th 2006 8:01AM
Err... shouldn't that be "Ghosts n' Goblins" remakes (or sequels, which is probably more accurate), not "Maximo" remakes?