Scarface joins next-gen cancellation list
by Joystiq Staff 
{ Jul 28th 2006 at 7:28PM }
It's hard out there for a gangsta. After the Sopranos just got the next-gen axe, Scarface follows suit and blows up plans for an Xbox 360 release. According to GameSpot, Vivendi has just announced that any chance for a 360 release is dunzo, but to make up for it, a PSP iteration of the game will come out this fall.
While it's true the developers have been very mum on the next-gen version (in fact when we played the game not too long ago, they had told us there wouldn't be one), it was announced back in 2005 that it was considered. Well now it's official, no next-gen version.
What's going on here people? Are we really starting to see the effects of large budgets for next-gen games exploding in developer's faces? Somewhere, a Nintendo exec is laughing.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
ymmv @ Jul 28th 2006 7:38PM
I hope this means that publishers have come to their senses and realized there's no public interest in them releasing last gen ports to next gen consoles that don't look or play any different than the Xbox or PS2 version. From what I've seen of the 360 versio of The Godfather so far, I hope that EA stops that game from being released, too... Looks really horrible...
Nintendo Exec @ Jul 28th 2006 7:38PM
Ha ha ha ha, ha ha ha ha....
Anta @ Jul 28th 2006 7:43PM
Xbox 360 is dead, developers know that if they are going to spend a lot of money on making a next-gen game they might as well do it for the PS3 while the Wii gets the love from smaller and independent developers.
Kel @ Jul 28th 2006 7:44PM
Good riddance.
cringer8 @ Jul 28th 2006 7:57PM
Licensed games should all just go away.
kilodelta @ Jul 28th 2006 8:00PM
meh. we've all played this game already.
but we called it Vice City.
Nathan @ Jul 28th 2006 8:10PM
Licensed games are NOT all bad. Star Wars Battlefront, DBZ Budokai, both good games. I look foward to Scarface.
C_Rod_27 @ Jul 28th 2006 8:10PM
What do you mean 360 is dead. If I am not mistaken, quite a few PS3 games have been cancelled. A game called Endless Saga was cancelled for the PS3. Another game called Thesis was cancelled for the PS3 specifically because the costs of development were too high (however, that game will still be going to the 360). I don't mean to take sides, I am just saying that both the 360 and PS3 have had games cancelled.
C_Rod_27 @ Jul 28th 2006 8:13PM
I don't think it is fair to say the 360 is dead when game have been cancelled on both sides of the aisle. Endless Saga and Thesis have been cancelled for the PS3. Thesis was specifically cancelled because the development costs were too high (although apparently not too hight the 360 because it will be arriving for the 360). Nobody is dead yet.
Will @ Jul 28th 2006 8:18PM
Like I said...
HOLY SHEET' !! XBOX360 is teh' DEAD! DOOM AND GLOOOOMSZOR! HOLY CRAP!!! DEVELOPERS TEH' JUMPING SHIP!!@221@21!!
ZZZZZOOOOMMMMGGGGG!!!!!
Intellectualdiot @ Jul 28th 2006 8:23PM
I have to say that I find the idea presented by ymmv to be a more accurate depiction than the relative doom and gloom of developers already succumbing to the development costs of the Xbox 360 and PS3.
In a marketplace that is becoming increadsingly propagated by Xbox 360 created specifically for the console - and therefore taking advantage of its considerable muscle - it will continue to become more difficult for these development teams to simultaneously develop a last and current gen SKU. People simply aren't interested in buying games bearing the graphical fidelity of the last generation when more impressive aesthetic experiences can be had on the same console.
The costs of continuing development on titles of this nature outweigh the rewards to be reaped, and therefore the cease to exist. A positive to this predictament is that ideally this will force developers to create software that is more contemporarily attuned to the console's library. (Unless of course, we WANT to relive the X360 launch for another generation of software or so.)
I do wonder how many Nintendo backers will come into this article to forecast doom and gloom though. I love Nintendo themselves, but their supporters tend to disgust me with their unmittigated teat suckling. It's almost enough to ruin the Wii for me... ALMOST :)
Raynre @ Jul 28th 2006 8:31PM
Im sure a Nintendo exec got a laugh out of this, but only because The Godfather is now technically exclusive to the Nintendo Wii as a next-gen platform. (Ok, some people dont consider it "next-gen", but the point is still valid.)
Im suprised the Wii version wasnt canceled as well... Who knows, it was only announced this month, maybe they still have time to pull the plug before launch...
elle @ Jul 28th 2006 9:02PM
Another game developed from the start for the PS2/Xbox generation is cancelled because the next-gen version didn't look significantly different? Oh noes!
It must be because the 360 sucks/nex-gen dev costs are high/this little piggy went Wii Wii Wii all the way home/creamed corn is horrible! It can't possibly be because they saw _how badly everyone bitches about how the next-gen ports of current-generation games don't look or play significantly different from the current gen ones_! And it's certainly not because they realized that their next-gen audience also happens to own older hardware, and they only people who'd go for a more-expensive version of the same game would be the small crowd of early adopters!
That's too obvious. IT CAN'T POSSIBLY MAKE THAT MUCH SENSE!
cheese @ Jul 28th 2006 9:10PM
It's not the next gen costs, it's just that they overwhelmed themselves with trying to do 3 other versions of the game, PS2, xbox and PSP and it would have just cost more to do a 360 version, of which there are relatively fewer systems out. The 360 can wait for now.
Colonel @ Jul 28th 2006 9:19PM
3) Anta,
that had to be the MOST fanboy-ish comment i've ever read in my 17 years of life (even when I was part of the usenet scene of the late 90's...and I was only 10!). The Xbox 360 is NOT dying, i've had a total of 17 friends who've bought a 360 since march, one who got one 4 days ago without have ever owning a console in his life! (PC gamer). It's a much bigger deal then your deluted mind would make it to be.
(No one's saying you CAN'T have an opinion, Anta...you should just have more of a valid input if you're going to care to make one)
One of the biggest reasons i've heard of that convinced some of my friends to get one was simply Madden and NBA Live. They saw how phenomenal each 06 version looked on the 360 and were completely stoked. Anyone who thinks next-gen starts this november is sadly mistaken and missing out on a lot of amazing looking, QUALITY titles (oblivion, fight night 3, GRAW, call of duty 2, XBLA games). The 360 has the support of almost every major game publisher (even Square Enix, to an extent) because they see the same potential in it that I do, at least here in the U.S.
Every time I go to the mall there are packs of people standing around the 360 kiosks that Ebgames and Gamestops put outside. Fight Night 3 is the game that's often showed off, and you can tell they are just amazaed at what they see (the kids love it, lol). When I go inside those stores, there always seems to be a cleark ringing up a 360 purchase (I remember how thrilled I was to get the phone call in December over mine)
the PS3's on hold for me until they get their priorities straight with what a NEXT-GEN (emphasis on NEXT-GEN...im looking at you, Nintendo) video-game console needs and doesn't need. Sony's put too much of what it doesn't need, and the Wii's put too little of what it does.
Just in case anyone's wondering, i'm only 17 but I speak as a consumer with a paying job, not as a fanboy. I'm careful about all my purchases, and I can't justify the PS3's price, not with what i've seen lately, and I can't justify spending over 150 dollars on the Wii, that's technically little different then my Xbox.
Sam @ Jul 28th 2006 9:22PM
And why would the Nintendo exec be laughing?
If higher development costs force half-hearted developers to move elsewhere, taking their half-finished, unoriginal garbage with them, surely that would improve the overall libraries of the 360/PS3?
I honestly believe it is Nintendo who must be weary of tacky, gimmicky ports this-gen...
blouses @ Jul 28th 2006 9:45PM
who cares, this got owned just like the ps3 version of smackdown vs raw 07 got owned. This game wasn't going to be anything great, just another way to cash off the movie. Its funny doh how all the fanboys jumped in on this doh. All childish
Lone Starr @ Jul 28th 2006 9:55PM
"Im sure a Nintendo exec got a laugh out of this, but only because The Godfather is now technically exclusive to the Nintendo Wii as a next-gen platform. (Ok, some people dont consider it "next-gen", but the point is still valid.)"
Um, when did this happen? It's still coming to 360.
AlphaCrush @ Jul 28th 2006 10:02PM
I gotta point something out here.
PC game makers (valve, ID for example) find ways to make games for beyond nextgen hardware all the time, and succeed brilliantly. How do they do it?
If you ask me ( and I know that you did not), I suspect that their pipelines are more efficient and that they have not been perverted by the console explosion over the past decade that lead to rock star producers and game designers. They don't believe in "trim" an "experimental projects". They do everything very specifically knowing that it must succeed or the company will fail. Just my 2 cents.
I work in VFX, and from I have been learning about game design at the big console studios is that there is gross inefficiency, different teams do not share assets, there is alot of "redo". That means burning cash.
Raynre @ Jul 28th 2006 10:04PM
@ Lone Starr
... Are you serious? Please read the article youre posting in before typing again, it would really help you keep up with current events...
Also, if your comment was poorly written gibberish instead of just stupid, heres the list from EA: http://www.joystiq.com/2006/07/13/ea-confirms-6-games-for-wii/
Raynre @ Jul 28th 2006 10:07PM
Wait, I apologize, I need to find the correct post, that was just the last URL I had saved as a ctrl+c. XD
/slap me
georgedakota @ Jul 28th 2006 10:10PM
i swear people that post in forums regularly are legally retarded. people saying 360 is dead is the most ignorant statement i have heard in years. if 360 is dead than gaming in general is dead because wii sure isnt going to ignite any revolutions and ps3 is expensive and not better graphically. scareface being cancelled is probably a good thing because many of these games arent great games. some of you are acting like games are being cancelled daily on 360 and it isnt selling. but honeslty after seeing so many childish stupid comments in these forums i doubt i will ever read these opinions ever again since most people do not have anything intelligent to say. To poster #8 in here Will, you are a great argument for birth control.
"8. Like I said...
HOLY SHEET' !! XBOX360 is teh' DEAD! DOOM AND GLOOOOMSZOR! HOLY CRAP!!! DEVELOPERS TEH' JUMPING SHIP!!@221@21!!
ZZZZZOOOOMMMMGGGGG!!!!!"
Raynre @ Jul 28th 2006 10:12PM
@#$%, I admit it, I got both games switched in my mind. I personally aplogize to Lone Starr and anyone else that was offended by my stupidity.
Go ahead Joystiq crowd, give me my lashings, I can take it. XD
Diskoboy @ Jul 28th 2006 10:12PM
The 360 is dead because Scarface is cancelled? That is without a doubt the most laughable statement I have ever laid my internet roaming eyes on. Anouther brain dead 12-year-old running his idiotic mouth.
And I have -1 stars? Please!!!
Good riddance they cancelled it - The movie is a classic.
So what normally happens to movie-based games? They end up sucking. Plus no Al Pacino? Oh well... Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out, Mr. Montana!
Same with The Soprano's - did anyone really care?
Amos @ Jul 28th 2006 10:15PM
Thank God. No one wanted that shit in the first place.
georgedakota @ Jul 28th 2006 10:17PM
Colonel i stand corrected, you made some intelligent comments and so did a few others in here but the posters i am referring to without intelligent comments are 2, 3, and 8. 8 is on another level of all together. kids dont do drugs or youll end up like poster 8 too
Ice @ Jul 28th 2006 10:26PM
Another poorly executed GTA clone that people won't waste their $60 bucks on. I'm all for fewer, better games.
Ice @ Jul 28th 2006 10:48PM
Really why not just make these title backwards compatible when there released and if the game play is fun people w/ 360s will pay them at the cheaper cost.
kevin @ Jul 28th 2006 11:00PM
Post number 8 was being sarcastic.
kevin @ Jul 28th 2006 11:53PM
joystiq beat me to the article, I posted this 5 minutes later.
check it out,
http://gamepads.blogspot.com/
kevin @ Jul 28th 2006 11:54PM
http://gamepads.blogspot.com/
baberg @ Jul 28th 2006 11:59PM
I hereby renew my suggestion that everybody, before being allowed to post on Joystiq, be enrolled in a class to train them to spot obvious trolls. The number of responses which were garnered from the two "Xbox 360 is dead" comments are ridiculous for a small userbase like this.
On-topic, it does seem slightly out of balance for two medium-profile games to be suddenly cancelled for the next-gen consoles, especially this close to their potential release. It seems to me that at this point in the development cycle the engine and a vast majority of the coding should be done, with only polish and storylines to be done. But it seems to me that it would be more beneficial to a publisher to put the game out on as many consoles as they could, unless there exists the potential to have games rotting in warehouses.
I'm sure we're not getting the full story.
dsub @ Jul 29th 2006 12:00AM
the reality here...and with the soprano's game is that the developer's and publishers have come to the conclusion that they won't be able to get by with a half-assed current gen port of these games to 360. Perhaps had they been ready at launch they would've gotten away with it, but not now. They know that these games are going to turn out to be moderate selling titles at best, and will most likely be bargain bin items within 6 months of release. I've seen gameplay footage of Scarface, it looks like a cheapass rip-off of GTA:VC the game ran crappy, was buggy, and the ideas coming from the developers sounded un-original and boring. This is no loss at all. All we are seeing here is developer's realizing that there game sucks, and they don't want to go the extra mile to make a 360 version that won't sell well at all.
I guarantee you that if a 360 version WERE made, it'd be the same old game available for PS2/XBOX but with barely improved visuals, all for a $60 price tag. No thanks. If you ask me, this trend will only force better games, as developers will have to actually put some fucking thought into a title to make it sell well, rather than buying up a movie franchise and pasting it's storyline onto a carbon copy of another game that was actually original and sold well, in this case, it's Vice City. Have you even heard the premise for this game? Apparently tony montana didn't die at the end of the original scarface, but he was revived and went on to keep at his crime empire. Give me a break. What's next? A Jaws game in which scientists figured out how to glue the shark back together and it returns to life to kill again? Lame. This title will not be missed.
dsub @ Jul 29th 2006 12:04AM
Anta:
Your logic makes no sense. This game is slated to release this September/October before the PS3 even launches, so obviously if a developer is interested in a larger target audience, the 360 would be a much wiser choice over the PS3. Even if the PS3 sells out every unit for the first 5 months it'll take that long just to be where the 360 will be at sales wise when the PS3 launches. When Scarface releases, the PS3 won't even be out, and the 360 will have an installed base of at least 7-8 Million units. Like I said, your logic makes no sense.
SUPERGHOST @ Jul 29th 2006 12:08AM
...somewhere, I am laughing!
I called this a pooch from the start.
baberg @ Jul 29th 2006 12:26AM
@dsub:
"If you ask me, this trend will only force better games, as developers will have to actually put some fucking thought into a title to make it sell well"
Strange, the exact behavior that you champion is the behavior that I abhor. To me, "making games that sell well" means "making games that are exactly like previous games in the genre". Madden sells extremely well and is one of EA's cash cows. So do the GTA games. The original GTA3 was an incredible game, but since then there's been no significant improvements to the base gameplay.
High barriers to entry means less risk taking and less "quirky" titles coming out as publishers and developers become more and more hesitant to spend millions on a concept which might be snubbed by the consumer.
When you have to spend $5 million in development costs, are you really willing to risk smaller niche games like ICO, Rez, or Guitar Hero? Of course not, you're going to bet on your sure-fire sellers like World War II Shooter #78, Madden '08-pre-and-post-season, and Final Fantasy MCMXVII?
KawF @ Jul 29th 2006 12:43AM
It's a shame, here's the second deathblow of the day to the Xbox 360. Ouch.
Zoë K. @ Jul 29th 2006 1:23AM
I love you, Robert.
Carlos @ Jul 29th 2006 1:29AM
I don't think it is fair to say that Xbox 360 is dead when games have also been cancelled for the PS3. Endless Saga and Thesis were cancelled. Thesis was cancelled because development costs were too high. Both consoles have had games cancelled. It doesn't mean either one is dead.
Ford Dent @ Jul 29th 2006 1:57AM
This is a blessing. Scarface was a crappy movie that would've become a crappier game.
It's just a pity that they didn't cancel all versions of it.
Clint @ Jul 29th 2006 2:30AM
I think it's funny. The PSP is getting a game and it's cancelled for the Xbox 360! Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
n_revolution9 @ Jul 29th 2006 3:37AM
Canceled? Well it's always too bad that when development is moving along for a game that looks like it would do well for Sony or MS, it still doesn't get released for Nintendo....you know.....as an alternative.
Oh yeah before I forget....
22) And I have -1 stars? Please!!!
LMAO!!! I know what exactly what you mean. Hang in there bro!
Will @ Jul 29th 2006 6:26AM
I was actually making a joe when I said it means that the Xbox360 is doomed. xD I said it 'cause that's what Joystiq was saying about the PS3 everytime one of its games get cancelled...what's funny is that more games have been cancelled for the Xbox360 then the PS3! xD HAHAHA.
striderhayasa @ Jul 29th 2006 10:16AM
@ baberg
5 million is actually really cheap for a next gen game. Red steel is clocking in at 12 million and UBI soft is thrilled about that. The average cost for a next gen game is supposed to top 20 million.
Scarface as a film didn't age well. Watching it as a kid I liked it but watching it as an adult, it sucks.
Why should 360 owners care that the game got cancelled? If they want their share of Urban/gangster/Hip hop garbage then they still have Saints Row and GTA going. It's not a big deal really and good riddance I says. Scarface looked like it was going to continue the legacy of terrible movie to game ports. Something that no game needs.
J.Goodwin @ Jul 29th 2006 10:47AM
I think this is far more about the total lack of quality in these games, the poor performance of last gen ports to the 360, and the general backing away from licensed games that we've seen in the last year and a half.
Companies are now starting to view licensed games as a major risk. Too expensive, too little control over content and storylines, and no one wants to buy them.
Lone Starr @ Jul 29th 2006 2:48PM
@Raynre
lol, np
K1ller 1nst1nct @ Jul 29th 2006 4:05PM
They have to make games they know make money, meaning more sequels or rehashes/ripoffs of other good selling games
Sam @ Jul 30th 2006 1:04PM
Whats the big deal?
The game is still coming out on ps2, pc, psp etc.
Looking forward to it as well! Wicked movie should be a quality game
John @ Aug 1st 2006 6:45PM
Yeah so XBox 360 is doing fine, three of my friends who were about to wait for the PS3 and realized that the battle between Blu Ray and HDDVD can be Sony's undoing and wanted to play Smackdown Vs. Raw (A huge title even if you are one of the many moron anti-wrestling snobs)which they can't do now on PS3, went out and bought a 360
How do you still have that sad corporate loyalty to PS2 (mine is gathering dust in it's modified flip top at this very moment)
I have the original Xbox and PS2, and sadly even Gamecube. I collect these systems and have almost everything that has come out since Atari 2600 (anything worth having anyway, I think I have 16 systems)
Do you think Sony cares that you wave a sad loserish flag for them? They don't, trust me.
Xbox360 is a great system, it's a shame your dad and mom sling hamburgers and didn't love you enough to get one... know what you're talking about. It's the ONLY current next gen system... And I'm not a keyboard and mouse kind of nerdbag with an Alienware system... so right now Xbox360 is all you really KNOW about next gen... Unless your sorry a$$ dragged yourself to E3, and even there there wasn't anything playable for PS3...
Stop being a moron.... . BA BA BOOEY
Josh @ Aug 7th 2006 8:15PM
Scarface was a good movie when i was a kid and is still good today. GTA got most of there ideas from scarface and the actual game will be much better then the GTA cause its the real deal. There are alot of games out now and alot more on the way for the 360, the PS3 only has a handful of games being made so the average of cancellations is probably even between the 360 and PS3. Also the 360 has all the games you need, the releasing of gta 4 for the PS3 will be out at the same time for the 360 also its getting Resident Evil 5 at the same time, but PS3 will never get Halo 3 which is going to be the best game of all time. the 360 graphics keep getting better and game developers are just barely tapping into the 360s capability. the ps3 launch games look horrible. Im sure most will be cause the PS Sucks. YEAAAHHH BOY