Crackdown 2 situation one of those 'awkward moments' for Realtime creative director
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Jun 17th 2009 at 9:45AM } 
Speaking with GI.biz, Jones explains that Realtime Worlds was all set to do a sequel before Crackdown's release. When the company didn't receive the go-ahead from Microsoft, it moved on to create APB. Jones wishes that Microsoft had chosen one of its shuttered internal studios to make the game instead of going with Ruffian Games, a company that's in the same town and takes from the same talent pool. He notes it's "challenging to get enough developers in one region as it is." Maybe Realtime can get the third title in the series? Trade off like Infinity Ward and Treyarch did with Call of Duty.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Warlord @ Jun 17th 2009 9:53AM
theyr gonna be treyarch
Cody @ Jun 17th 2009 10:14AM
Typical Microsoft move right there.
Nieker @ Jun 17th 2009 10:36AM
Yeah microsoft does this all the time!
No.
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC) @ Jun 17th 2009 10:42AM
Yeah remember that time they gave Halo to Epic? Oh wait that never happened
X( ...it would be awesome if they did that though.
Cody @ Jun 17th 2009 11:08AM
I meant in the more generalistic terms of just screwing people over.
Storm Eagle @ Jun 17th 2009 9:55AM
No No No. Don't start talking trade offs. The last thing we need is to be stuck in WWII with all those super-soldier powers......or is it?
dark_inchworm (on Steam!) dark inchworm (on XBL!) @ Jun 17th 2009 10:05AM
Crackdown powers in WWII? Fuck, I might actually play a WWII game then.
Old Professor Zertoss @ Jun 17th 2009 11:04AM
Only if I get a red, white and blue shield with a star in the center.
Storm Eagle @ Jun 17th 2009 11:06AM
See: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2
The Dark Wayne @ Jun 17th 2009 11:38AM
Shit, I wish Cpt America had a solo game
Storm Eagle @ Jun 17th 2009 11:40AM
I'm sure he will and I'm sure it'll suck come 2011 (?) when the Avengers movie comes out.
AwesomeTown @ Jun 17th 2009 12:06PM
Isn't the Captain America movie coming before Avengers? I'd imagine they would have to have him get frozen for the Avengers.
Storm Eagle @ Jun 17th 2009 1:01PM
I think the Avengers movie will be about them rescuing him. They are doing Thor next.
Nicholas Muldoon @ Jun 17th 2009 10:00AM
That's pretty dickish of Microsoft
baby sea tuna @ Jun 17th 2009 10:12AM
Seriously. They've been fucking up left and right since 2007.
Ben @ Jun 17th 2009 10:11AM
Microsoft has a long, long, long history of doing things like that. No one trusts them in the computer business. Game developers should take note.
Brian @ Jun 17th 2009 10:20AM
Ooo... that burns. Sounds like business to me.
Orion @ Jun 17th 2009 10:22AM
Wow, this ranks up there with buying out Rare.
BoomWav @ Jun 17th 2009 10:24AM
Wait.. are people blaming Microsoft for helping new companies? I mean... a post about a developer whining that there's competitors popping up is just lame!
CannabisPrime @ Jun 17th 2009 10:31AM
It has more to do with them creating Crackdown, and not getting the OK to create a sequel to "their" game, then MS giving a different company (that is a regional competitor) the Crackdown 2 project.
Realtime has a right to be pissed, and it's not because MS is helping out a competitor.
MarioSpitza @ Jun 17th 2009 10:42AM
Well, that was pretty ignorant of you, Boom.
The issue at hand is that the developers created a game which was a hit. In other words, *they* were the ones who made the game into a success to begin with. Then Microsoft turns around and give the sequel to their hard work to someone else. Furthermore, it was someone who they're a competitor too.
Generally, I agree with Cannabis (and will be upvoting him), but I just felt the need to make my own post
Ignatius @ Jun 17th 2009 10:54AM
You know, it sounds kind of mean, but I prefer the hurt feelings to the alternative.
If Realtime Worlds was working on Crackdown 2... there would be no APB.
Access Granted @ Jun 17th 2009 11:17AM
It's like child protective services giving your baby to your neighbor even though you did everything right as a parent.
Mr Khan @ Jun 17th 2009 12:08PM
If its not their IP, what do they care?
Franchise passing is the nature of the business.
Vcize @ Jun 17th 2009 12:47PM
@Access Granted
Actually, it's more like child services asking you to take your baby and you saying "sorry I'm busy with this new baby right now, I don't have time for it" and then child services passing the baby on to someone else rather than letting it live in an orphanage for 5 years while you free up time in your schedule.
DrFreeman @ Jun 17th 2009 6:33PM
@Vcize:
What? Do you even understand the situation? Realtime were willing to start on the sequel, it says so here: 'Jones explains that Realtime Worlds was all set to do a sequel before Crackdown's release'. It was Microsoft who wasn't giving the go-ahead. Rather than staying idle, Realtime decided to start on a new project. Then Microsoft decided to give the sequel to someone else.
LaughingTarget @ Jun 17th 2009 10:38AM
I don't see the problem here. Either be in the derivitive sequel business (Crackdown 2), or make an original IP (APB). RTW sounds like they don't want to be bothered with something new and would rather crank out the same crap year after year.
Duke @ Jun 17th 2009 10:43AM
Or maybe they were proud of the first game and were excited by the idea of doing a second one only to have that taken away from them.
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC) @ Jun 17th 2009 10:49AM
Is only a problem if the sequel ends up being crap but I doubt Cracldown was good but far,far from being perfect and there so many improves they can add like a story mode,challenging boss fights,a better enemy A.I and of course particle and explosion effects until your eyes bleed.
Knight Marquise @ Jun 17th 2009 11:33AM
Exactly.
Besides, from what I've read on other sites, MS didn't green lite it asap due to other projects, when they did contact RTW, they weren't interested at the time MS was due to APB. So MS goes elsewhere. Big deal.
Frankly it makes no difference to me, as I'm one of the few who couldn't stand crackdown, but RTW crying "foul" now is pathetic.
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC) @ Jun 17th 2009 12:41PM
Especially because it seems everyone forgot they charge us for a DLC that was already in the disc.
RTW develops APB and these new guys Crackdown 2 so is all good in the world.
Noshino @ Jun 17th 2009 12:52PM
But Mr. LaughingTarget, I could have sworn that they have only worked on APB and Crackdown, why would you say that they don't want to be bothered doing "new" things? I mean, the fact that a game is a sequel it doesn't mean that it can't be "fresh" or great for that matter.
Neuromancer @ Jun 17th 2009 12:52PM
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC) you are dead wrong about the DLC being already on the disc. The thing was 89 MB, not 108K.
LaughingTarget @ Jun 17th 2009 3:06PM
Crackdown was pretty much their only game, so here they are bitching about it being what they want to do next, another Crackdown game. Instead, they had to just deal with making APB because Microsoft didn't give it to them fast enough. Boo hoo, they're making a much more interesting game right now. They should go Team Ico and not do anything but original titles, that'll get them major points.
Steve @ Jun 17th 2009 10:43AM
The Realtime CEO is upset that the sequel is being done by a company started up by former Realtime World's employees that worked on the original? Yeah, let's blame this on Microsoft.
Aska @ Jun 17th 2009 10:51AM
All of you saying it's a dick move by Microsoft and so on... I'm sorry but you're horribly wrong.
The start up studio: Ruffian that gets to do Crackdown 2 is the same team that did Crackdown 1, they seperated with Realtime and made their own studio. Crackdown is Microsoft's IP and they chose to stick with the original development team instead of the studio. A pretty logical decision.
It can be compared to how Guitar Hero/ Rock Band came to be and how everyone seems to hate on Activision for switching out development studios. This time around though Microsoft went for the continuity in development team.
Neuromancer @ Jun 17th 2009 12:56PM
It's some of the same people, not all of them.
Jack Tretton @ Jun 17th 2009 10:53AM
Ruffian's creative director was the lead designer on Crackdown, so who better to head up the crew developing the sequel? And that bit about taking from the same talent pool is silly. Lots of RTW staffers jumped ship back in January -- who knows why? RTW's CEO doth protest too much.
Dirty @ Jun 17th 2009 11:00AM
I think they have the right to be a bit miffed. But they and we need to look on the bright side.
APB probably wouldn't have happened if they green lighted the sequel right away. And the relatively small down of Dundee is now an area of game development growth, which will attract future talent to the area.
Vcize @ Jun 17th 2009 11:16AM
Seriously? I thought this had passed us by by now.
Vcize @ Jun 17th 2009 11:19AM
I think this is pretty simple. MS didn't think Crackdown was going to sell enough to warrant a sequel. Then it steadily gained popularity and actually sold well, and beyond that got kind of a cult following from everyone that played it because it was such a good game.
At this point, they realized it needed a sequel. Realtime Worlds said "sorry we're busy", so they gave it to Ruffian who, realistically, is the majority of the people that created it in the first place.
This would have been akin to people getting upset if Harmonix had gotten to keep the Guitar Hero name when switching over rather than having to make a new game called Rock Band. If Realtime Worlds had gotten to make Crackdown 2 it wouldn't have been the "real" Crackdown 2, much like Guitar Hero 3 wasn't the same team as GH2.
Jason Statham (Aka Vegeta) @ Jun 17th 2009 11:46AM
Agreed.
hoos30 @ Jun 17th 2009 12:42PM
Winner, winner chicken dinner!
Neuromancer @ Jun 17th 2009 1:01PM
Are you sure it's the majority? I was under the impression it was a handful of people from RTW but I could be wrong.
MaliceMajorE15 @ Jun 17th 2009 11:23AM
That must hurt because their game and ideas were such a hit. now some unfortunatly named studio has the chance to reap the fruit of their success with a highly anticipated sequal that could potentially ruin the titles good name if it turns out a bit duff
Knight Marquise @ Jun 17th 2009 11:37AM
Did you even read the article?
The studio handling crackdown 2 it is made up of former RTW employees...the same ones who did Crackdown.
Jason Statham (Aka Vegeta) @ Jun 17th 2009 11:25AM
While I can see why people think this is a dick move, to be honest I really don't care. The fact that Ruffian Games is made up of people who not only were members of Realtime but actually worked on the original game as well so I'm fine with it.
Besides I'd rather get a Crackdown sequel sooner rather than wait for RTW to finish APB(a game I really don't care about) in order to start working on it.
Burns11 @ Jun 17th 2009 1:29PM
It might not matter to you, but it might matter to those game developers who are creating a game and looking for a publisher.
Snowblind @ Jun 17th 2009 2:23PM
Yeah, I'm not sure what the complaining here is about.. A bunch of guys from Realtime Worlds left because they wanted to do Crackdown 2 while they were busy working on APB.
At least MS gave the Ruffian guys the sequel to do, rather than some completely different studio.
BoomWav @ Jun 17th 2009 11:34AM
While sad, I think Microsoft is not to blame.
If Real Worlds offered the same advantage as that new company, they would have win the contract.