Activision won't publish Sierra legacy titles

by Justin McElroy { Aug 22nd 2008 at 10:00AM }

When we heard that Sierra was divesting itself of much of Vivendi/Sierra's portfolio post-merger, most of us on staff were worried about what it meant for interesting upcoming titles like Brutal Legend or Ghostbusters. But a few of us (and a few of you, we'd imagine) hear the word "Sierra" and still think Quest for Glory, King's Quest and all the other great Sierra legacy franchises, despite most of them being dormant for more than a decade.

Here's the word, straight from Activision: "We are retaining only those franchises that are a strong fit with our long-term strategy including Crash Bandicoot, Ice Age and Spyro, as well as Prototype and a second game that has not yet been announced. We will not publish any other titles that previously were part of the Vivendi Games portfolio and we are currently reviewing our options regarding those titles."

According to the PR-Decode-A-Tron 3000, that means you shouldn't expect to see a next-gen Space Quest any time soon, but we'd bet if we all put the money in our couch cushions together we could buy the whole lot. What do you say?

Tags: kings-quest, police-quest, quest-for-glory, sierra

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jonafun @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:08AM

I'll cash in the savings bonds my grandma gave my for my 9th birthday.

Markez @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:09AM

NOoooooooooooooooooooooOOOooOOooooOoooooo! Please, no! And this news just a day after I suggested an XBLA Jones in the Fast Lane!!! This is not splendiferous, esteemed effendi.

Vohaul79 @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:11AM

The death of space, king, hero's and police quest breaks my heart. Should revive them as iPhone touch adventures. Too much soul to let them die.

Zertoss @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:11AM

I searched my couch for some money, and all I found was the TV remote.

WiNG [Life in a Game] @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:13AM

Okay the S&M naked Peach thing is just crossing the line.

pssst.... where did you get the image?

Zertoss @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:50AM

Rule 34, my friend.

Batzarro @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:14AM

Hey, if we're putting couch money together, it's to buy the Valis series back from the debris of Telenet!

But that's offtopic. I'm sure it's best that Activision not be the one to bring those back.

Eleniel @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:15AM

SELL IT BACK TO THE COLES

wildcardd @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:29AM

Coles? Do you mean Ken and Roberta Williams?

Draco Basileus @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:41AM

The Coles developed the Quest for Glory Series. Ken and Roberta Williams founded Sierra On-Line and handled King's Quest primary. Al Lowe was the LSL Series.

Check out this site, if your interested: http://www.vintage-sierra.com/index.php

Sierra? Sierra?! SIIEEEEEERRRRRRRAAAAAAA!!! @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:18AM

Quest for Glory for the win!! I'm only 20, and I'm proud to say that I recognize this screenshot as QFG4. I must have been like 7 when this game came out, but my favorites are 1 and 3. My friends would start describing games like diablo and how it was essentially picking a class with skillsets and adventuring, and I'd say "like quest for glory" and they'd be like "what?" Good times. Sad that they won't continue

Markez @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:59AM

I think 2 was my fave, then 1. I did have a good time with 4, seemed darked than the others. 3 was definitely my least fave, but to each his own.

I did enjoy the dervish in the desert, and the funny lil noise itd make when you watered that tree in desert or gave it some dirt.

Kael @ Aug 22nd 2008 12:36PM

Ah, Quest for Glory. Those games hold a special place in my heart. My favorite of them is Quest for Glory 4, because how can it not be the best when John Rhys-Davies does all the narration? You can't get better than that!

People, and unfortunately even the people at Sierra, think you can't successfully bring back the ol' point-and-click adventures in today's market, but they're wrong. Change "point-and-click" to WASD or an analog stick, and you're golden. It's not like Quest for Glory didn't have real-time combat like any action adventure game today does. *sigh* If only I had the means to make games; I'd know just what to do.

Daniel @ Aug 22nd 2008 12:41PM

Don't be so proud, it's from the remake of QFG1, in Erana's Peace.

Kael @ Aug 22nd 2008 1:34PM

Daniel, it's 4. It's definitely 4.

Paviel @ Aug 22nd 2008 1:34PM

Nope. Erana's Peace doesn't have a stream running through it, and it's got that stone that says "Erana's Peace" on it.

That screenshot is from QFG4.

Boffo the Sock @ Aug 22nd 2008 2:34PM

http://www.mobygames.com/images/shots/original/1104180959-07.gif

Erana's Peace from Quest for Glory :So You Want to Be a Hero VGA.

PrimitiveWallflower @ Aug 22nd 2008 4:35PM

I liked II and IV the best. II was charming and just generally a joy, IV was intense (I had a palpable sense of dread whenever I explored that castle). The
VGA remake of I was fun, too.

I remember III having an awful combat system, and I only played it to level my character for IV. And V was just a joyless affair.

Daniel @ Aug 23rd 2008 3:00AM

DAMN I'VE BEEN SHAMED.

Rob @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:20AM

"We are retaining only Sierra titles that ensure we will maintain our position as a bad game publisher, with no good games except guitar hero"

Hohlraum @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:21AM

All of these games can still be purchased used pretty much and play perfectly through various forms of emulation.

XDragon @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:26AM

Good old Sierra! How about the Larry games and then Stellar 7, Willy Beamish and Rise of the Dragon by Dynamix(Sierra owned Dynamix).
Those were some fun times when PC gaming was sweet.
With Capcom, Konami, Square-Enix and Namco-Bandai releasing PC game, there's hope some small hope in the back of my mind for PC gaming to be more then just Blizzard games.

AngryMonkeyFight @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:27AM

NO! I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO ANOTHER LEISURE SUIT LARRY! NOW I AM GOING TO HAVE TO SPEND TIME WITH MY WIFE AGAIN. NOOOOOO!

Mighty Ponygirl @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:32AM

They have a lot of the old Sierra Quest titles on GameTap -- although the last time I checked the QFG series stopped at 3 instead of all the way to 5.

Which makes Toro sad.

t_m @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:38AM

Wouldn't all these games beperfect for Wiiware/XBLA versions?
cheap way to make cash if you ask me...

Erluti @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:40AM

I do dream of a new King's Quest game. Ah. How I long for the days of adventure gaming...

Robert @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:41AM

Count me in for chipping in! I want to be part of the team that works with the Gabriel Knight franchise :)

jrose @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:42AM

Throw dagger at Activision.
-You cannot do that, at least, not now.

doom saber @ Aug 22nd 2008 1:44PM

touch activision
-Don't touch it. You don't don't know where its been.

LaughingTarget @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:44AM

I mostly feel for the new gamers that missed these legends. However, King's Quest and Quest for Glory are completed. It'd be difficult to continue them and any game using new characters would be sequels in name only. Not that big a loss since those games had zero sequel potential anyway.

doom saber @ Aug 22nd 2008 1:05PM

True, though it has not stopped fans from making sequels like the upcomming Silver Lining game, which is a continuation of King's Quest with Graham and his kids as the lead and seems like your average fanfiction since it seems to take place back in the green isles with a bunch of characters, one may not remember, from the old games.

The site is www.tsl-game.com

Since it is a fangame and continues with the series that is finished, I wonder how well the story is, though I doubt it would be any good. That fanmade King's Quest two remake, which had a lot of new story content is awful.

Speakin of fangames, I wonder if Activision will continue to allow fans to make fangames?; Vivendi allowed fans to make fan sequels, though they asked to review the game before it comes out.

As for Quest for Glory, part 5 was going to have an official addon. However, that never occured since the fifth title was made at the end of Sierra. I think some fans tried to do a fangame of that too, but ended up changin the plot to make it not related. I think the game is now called Hero6.

LaughingTarget @ Aug 22nd 2008 8:46PM

As sad as it is, we're going to see Duke Nukem Forever released well before Hero6 shows up. I don't think any member of the original team is even around and it's gone through too many redesigns for it to be reasonably assumed it will ever show up.

Draco Basileus @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:45AM

How about we organize a bake sale?

I loved these games and still have many of the original boxes to some of them (5.25 and 3.5 floppy disks included!).

I wish someone out there with the funds would really put the time and effor to bring these classics back to a main stream platform (XLBA, PSN, DS, PSP). The last set of "collections" were good, but still could have used some improvement on the emulation side.

These games are too good to just let die.

arrakisman @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:46AM

Always love the humor...
"Comand: Pick Nose"

"You don't have the proper tool"

Gaddes @ Aug 22nd 2008 5:15PM

I can't remember the EGA one well enough, but in the VGA QFG1, I remember you could kill yourself lockpicking your nose if you lockpick skill was too low... something like "you gently insert your lockpick into your left nostril" and die of a brain hemorrhage, lol.

AwesomeTown @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:54AM

I'm sure Telltale could do some good with those franchises.

mr nimblewick @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:54AM

Man, I really want all the old Sierra and Broderbund games to come out on the VC. That'd be awesome.

princeofshapeir @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:56AM

Damn you Ad-Avis!

Moo Money @ Aug 22nd 2008 10:58AM

Leisure Suit Larry was my first boyfriend. This is so not fair. :(

Ryan @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:12AM

I would love it if we brought Quest for Glory and Space Quest back . . those games were great and certainly deserve another go . . .

princeofshapeir @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:14AM

I really hope the following happens

- Williams get rights to Kings Quest
- Coles get rights to Quest for Glory
- Jane Jensen gets rights to Gabriel Knight
- Telltale gets right to the rest

princeofshapeir @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:14AM

By the way, this is a good time to note that the freeware VGA remake of Quest for Glory II will be released over the weekend (QfG II was the only game in the series to not be VGA, QfG I did get an official remake VGA):

http://agdinteractive.com/

shawn @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:18AM

you got to love abandonware,seeing most of those titles mentioned are pretty much abandoned you can download them for nothing..

Xoviet chiK @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:28AM

Second Game? Can I take a guess?

This months OXM, in the footnote for the Project Origin preview, they mention the "Other F.E.A.R. Sequel", F.E.A.R. 2 being published by Sierra and developed by Starbreeze Studios...

That's the first I've heard of semi-official confirmation of an in-development sequel, and a name for the developer. And we all know how long lead times are for monthly periodicals, especially gaming magazines. I think they accidentally blew the cover on a pretty well kept secret.

Spooka @ Aug 22nd 2008 11:43AM

Look room.

"You are in a jail cell. There is a bed in the corner. Something shiny is on laying on it."

Look bed.

"You see a bed. There is something shiny laying on it."

Look shiny.

"There is something shiny on the bed."

Look shiny.

"There is something shiny on the bed."

Ugh.

"I don't know what 'ugh' means."

ecco6t9 @ Aug 22nd 2008 12:39PM

You people bad mouth EA but at least they put out half assed sequels before killing franchises and brands.

Joe @ Aug 22nd 2008 1:54PM

I wonder if Actiturd will sell Sierra if so I hope some one good buys the company. There is a lot of great history with that company and I would hate to see many IPs just sitting around waiting until the end of time. So I would love to see many of the old classic games get a second life with some one other then the evil turd.