Rumor: Sega pulls funding on Aliens: Colonial Marines, Aliens RPG
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Feb 12th 2009 at 4:00PM }
As for Gearbox, Sega allegedly stopped paying the developer for its work on Colonial Marines for "a while" -- production has since ceased. At this point, it's unclear whether Colonial Marines has been "halted" or "canceled," which Gearbox president Randy Pitchford – in response to a previous rumor – called an "inaccurate characterization."
This rumor comes less than 24 hours after Sega announced Aliens vs. Predator and refused to answer questions about the previously announced Aliens titles. Sega turning off the money tap wouldn't exactly be shocking, given the company plans to lay off 560 people and already lost $119 million in the first three quarters of its fiscal year. Requests for clarification from Sega and Gearbox on the status of the titles have not yet been returned as of press time. An Obsidian representative responded with "no comment" to our inquiry. If you're one of those let go, or have any further information, please feel free to contact us.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
rov947 @ Feb 12th 2009 4:05PM
If that's true, it's a shame. Obsidian did a good job on KOTOR II I thought. While it wasn't up to what bioware did with the first one I thought it lived up nicely considering the expectations. I a solid dev scoops them up if they are swirling down the drain. Free Radical got bailed out, and IMHO didn't deserve it after HAZE.
blakeownsu @ Jul 5th 2009 3:20PM
yep
t_m @ Feb 13th 2009 8:04AM
KOTOR2 was horrendous. It didn't even have an ending!
Granted, they may have been victims of the publisher rushing it out the door, but almost all their games have been unfinished bug-ridden messes.
Maybe they need to be more realistic in their ideas, or maybe they just keep getting screwed by publishers... but i can't say they've ever done anything great...
rov947 @ Feb 12th 2009 4:06PM
(I hope a solid) not (I a solid)
jasonspaz @ Feb 12th 2009 4:13PM
I was just at Gamestop. And I overheard an employee telling a customer he should put $$ down on Aliens Colonial Marines, Since it was just announced as being back on schedule for release. I think I am going to call the fool on his typical Gamestop employee sleazy sales practice.
Alex @ Feb 12th 2009 4:23PM
They also have the Halo 3 expansion listed for 60 bucks imo.
Haggard @ Feb 12th 2009 4:15PM
Come on EA/ActiBlizzard, pick these up!
john paul @ Feb 12th 2009 6:24PM
Activision only takes "annualizable" titles
baby sea tuna @ Feb 12th 2009 4:20PM
Who cares about a couple of Aliens games that were going to be half-assed if they even saw the light of day in the first place...what about Alpha Protocol?! That game had promise.
Jimmyjimjim @ Feb 12th 2009 4:24PM
Truthfully, I do. I like the movies, have liked about every game. I don't care if it's not the best game ever, it's a new Aliens game.
baby sea tuna @ Feb 12th 2009 4:30PM
Don't get me wrong, I like Aliens too, but I never did have a ton of hope for either of those particular games.
Cellien @ Feb 12th 2009 4:32PM
I do too. Screw this 'Alpha Protocol', I wanted freakin' Aliens.
Haggard @ Feb 12th 2009 4:44PM
Gearbox making a shooter and Obsidian making an RPG?
These may not be at the top of their field but they certainly know what they're doing.
Jimmyjimjim @ Feb 12th 2009 4:22PM
FUCK. FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK. Goddamnitsonuvabitch!!!!!!! I wanted Aliens. Just fucking Marines fighting Aliens. I don't give a shit about throwing in the Predator. Only reason I can think of this happening was if the game wasn't good or if Fox is pulling some license bullshit. If it's the latter, FUCK THEM.
Alex @ Feb 12th 2009 4:21PM
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Oh well, I'm probably the biggest Alien fan there is, I've read all of the comics, as well as all of the novels, that's how addicited I am. I even liked the crossovers in the comics with Batman, Terminator, Superman, and the Green lantern.
This is terrible news, but it makes sense from a money perspective, my bet, is another AvP movie is in the works and they hope to tie the newly announced AvP game with the new movie.
I'm dissapointed about Colonial Marines, as that has always been my dream game, but I guess L4D will have to fufill my co-op desires against hordes of enemies for now. Which isn't a bad thing.
But man, what I would give for the intensity of that motion scanner.
beep...beep.......
NERV @ Feb 12th 2009 4:40PM
I feel ur pain bro except for L4D, that shit doesn't interest me in the least.... I hate any form of coop. I want ACM soooooo bad. This totally ruins my fuking day
Obie @ Feb 12th 2009 5:47PM
Yeah, who the hell would ever wanna play through their game with their friends? : /
Duke @ Feb 12th 2009 5:53PM
If you were the biggest fan you would have said the best line ever first - "That's it, man. Game over, man. Game over, what the f*ck are we supposed to now, huh, what are we gonna do?"
Skaz @ Feb 13th 2009 12:23AM
Or alternatively: WIERZBOWSKIIII!!
Alex @ Feb 12th 2009 4:22PM
They also have the Halo 3 expansion listed for 60 bucks imo.
XIII @ Feb 12th 2009 4:26PM
Why can't Sega stop publishing crappy ass games that have almost no financial return potential, like the multiple Sonic titles that bombed this year, and actually fund/publish games that people want to see, like a Chromehounds 2?
Jerry J @ Feb 12th 2009 4:33PM
Hey, sounds like a winning strategy to me. Totally and constantly screw up your main franchise while axing those that might actually make money. No wonder CEO's make the big bucks.
Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Feb 12th 2009 9:13PM
Sega published Condemned 2 last year which was a good game but get online and you probably see like 10 guys pretty much like the Darkness.
Sonic Unleashed was pretty good but reviewers were utterly cruel with this one,I mean yeah 2006 was to Sonic what Crystal Skull was to Indiana Jones but Unleashed was a good title.
Also they invested in a lot of games like Madworld and Overkill. Sega doesn’t stops producing games. The problem is that only a hand of people buys the good ones.
Sega should stick to Nintendo platforms almost no one buys their games for the X360 and in case of the PS3 the userbase is pretty small to depend on them.
Cellien @ Feb 12th 2009 4:40PM
It's official. Sega just sucks.
RiccochetJ @ Feb 12th 2009 4:44PM
I would actually say that it's the economy that sucks. And you jerks that didn't buy Valkyria Chronicles.
Cellien @ Feb 12th 2009 4:48PM
But I didn't want that game. I have been waiting 3 years for A:CM. I did buy Chromehounds and a second Xbox 360 bundled with Sega Sonic Tennis or whatever that garbage was.
Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Feb 12th 2009 9:15PM
Tennis games are always as fun as poking your eye with a fork,Sega Superstars Tennis at least made it fun.
Did you buy COndemned 2? no? well STFU.
Cellien @ Feb 12th 2009 11:39PM
Why? Why would I buy a game I don't want? Sega was broadening their audience to people like me and fell short by canceling everything I was interested in. They were going to get at least $120 from me, now I MAY buy AvP if it's not some movie based game to coincide with a new movie. They effectively lost threw away money.
Urza @ Feb 12th 2009 4:46PM
I never liked Obsidian but don't like they're losing their jobs.. but I can't say I'm surprised.. Interplay/Black Isle left overs.
However Gearbox makes good stuff so I don't like they're taking a hit and hope Colonial Marines comes.
Hyams @ Feb 12th 2009 5:00PM
An Alien RPG? This is the first I've heard of it, and now I'm sad I'll never get to play it. =(
I wonder how it'd have worked?
Negativecool @ Feb 12th 2009 5:11PM
Jesus...this is frickin terrible!
To think I keep seeing rumors that Sega will one day return to the hardware business. Well that's a frickin joke if they can't even make the software profitable.
God...Sega used to be the frickin bee's knees...Who the hell is at the helm of that ship, taking it right to the bottom?
Skaz @ Feb 13th 2009 12:28AM
I think they were the same people who were at the helm when Sega got one solid hit, (the mega/genesis), didn't know how to handle their success, and then scrambled to give it life support (32x and CD).
I also like to think that the people responsible for leading sega today also were responsible for keeping Segata Sanshiro commercials from playing in the US.
David @ Feb 12th 2009 5:13PM
This game is going to be picked up by somebody... how could it not? It sounds too awesome, and the early screenshots were the stuff of nerd-legend.
Wouldn't it be cool if game developers got bailed out by the government?
more bad asser @ Feb 12th 2009 5:16PM
i don't see the aliens game being canned this late in it's cycle. it would be extremely wasteful of the money put into the project EVEN if they used all of the tech gearbox made in the AvP game. with the way the games industry has been getting hammered by the economy lately, i think sega would be twisting the knife in their gut by canning a GEARBOX GAME.
Lord Negatron @ Feb 12th 2009 5:17PM
GAME OVER MAN!
Sol @ Feb 12th 2009 6:56PM
Maybe we could build a fire, sing a couple of songs, huh? Why don't we try that?
Seriously, it is a loss for all game-playing Aliens fans but on the bright side Rebellion are working on a new game in the series. Personally I would have loved to see an Aliens lightgun game for Wii, much like Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles.
Chase @ Feb 12th 2009 5:18PM
God damn it, I hope Alpha Protocol doesn't become vaporware. :''''''''''''[
jav @ Feb 12th 2009 5:40PM
it doesnt matter... im not surprised....they are just a terrible company, they make the worst decisions and whatever crap they publish (with some exceptions through their JAPANESE counter parts) sucks!!! they been really ticking me off!
well whatever, It doesnt matter, that game was going to suck anyway.....
WiNG [XBL&Steam: WiNGSPANTT] from lifeinagame.com @ Feb 12th 2009 5:44PM
GAME OVER, MAN! GAME OVER!!!!
Obie @ Feb 12th 2009 5:49PM
This is heart breaking, but maybe it will find a way to burrow into some other developer and BURST onto the scene later. ;)
In all seriousness, I wanted to play the hell outta Colonial Marines. :(
Avoli @ Feb 12th 2009 6:05PM
I love all the people here with flux capacitors readily available. I never knew much of these games, but thanks to them, I know they would have sucked. I really didn't want to waste my time waiting for games from franchises I enjoy. And never mind they would be coming from companies that are rather decent. They probably wouldn't bring anything new or bad ass, I mean....a sci-fi rpg? No thanks, we have tons of those.
(somewhere)
Lord Negatron @ Feb 12th 2009 6:14PM
Aherm!
Some of us a fully versed in using a Continuum Transfunctioner, th-ank you very much.
Andrew Thompson @ Feb 12th 2009 7:35PM
That's it man, game over man, game over! What the fuck are we gonna do now? What are we gonna do?
jackal @ Feb 12th 2009 8:08PM
If this happens to be true, I'll have even less incentive to buy a Sega PUBLISHED game on any platform outside of the Wii. I understand and appreciate the current economic recession's impact on Sega, but pulling funding away from projects people have actually demonstrated a genuine interest in playing and buying isn't exactly the best course of action. Instead of pulling the financial rug out from underneath the feet of developers with promising games in order to save money, they could just as easily fire their entire Sonic team and simply reallocate those resources so they go to the development of products that are actually worthwhile; IMHO, even if there wasn't an economic down turn, Team Sonic and its boxes of desk shit should be thrown out the door simply because it's consistently run every franchise it's been put in charge of for the last decade so far into the ground Satan's most likely billing them for property damage. I know...punishing rather than rewarding incompetence and funding products people actually want to buy instead of something they'd rather throw in a bonfire even if given out for free are both such new, untried ideologies they simply can't be implemented right now. Oh...wait...they're not and any company worth a damn follows them both to the letter. I digress. Outside of Japanese arcades, this is a prime example as to why Sega's bleeding money; hopefully the pull their heads from their asses before it's too late to turn the ship around.
Discotheque @ Feb 12th 2009 8:48PM
Noooooooooo! I don't care about another AVP3. I wanted Aliens RPG and Colonial Marines.
Damn it!
AngryJoeShow @ Feb 13th 2009 1:44AM
I cannot believe this crap, I just did a video the last time it was possibly Cancelled:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzQCW9KTsUY
Im going to flip a lid if this is true, make a second video even more angry!
t_m @ Feb 13th 2009 7:12AM
Cancel an almost complete game in order to fund a completely new one... in the middle of a financial crisis....
Wow, well they've either got balls, or no brains...
AvP rocked, but right now i'd rather have had Colonial Marines.
An Aliens RPG sounds cool, but Obsidian have never released a decent game, so...
Discotheque @ Feb 13th 2009 12:01PM
Yeah it makes no sense at all. All the money they probably dumped into Colonial Marines and NOW they are scrapping it to work on a new property!
Very smart move there....
gcountach @ Feb 15th 2009 1:51AM
That's a real shame about Marines one. I was really hoping for another good 4 player co-op game.... never heard about an RPG though...