Microsoft explains why Ruffian is the right choice for Crackdown 2

by Ben Gilbert { Sep 7th 2009 at 1:00PM }

Before Microsoft revealed that Ruffian Games would be developing the upcoming Crackdown sequel, the original game's developer, Realtime Worlds, expressed some skepticism towards the idea. "I very much doubt that Microsoft would harm an otherwise fruitful existing development relationship by gambling on funding Crackdown 2 with a startup on RTW's doorstep, for obvious reasons," RTW's Colin MacDonald said last year. Things weren't so cut and dry for self-accused Crackdown fanboy (and Microsoft exec) Phil Spencer, who recently told Develop, "When Billy Thomson, the lead designer of the game [Crackdown 1], left Realtime Worlds, there was an opportunity."

Apparently, it would seem Mr. Spencer believes Realtime Worlds is simply too busy developing APB to give a Crackdown sequel the attention it deserves. "I wanted to make sure that anything we work on is correctly nurtured ... we had to find the right team who really understood what game it is – and that was Billy [Thompson] and the team at Ruffian." Crackdown 2 will be the first game developed by Ruffian Games since the studio's inception late last year.

Tags: apb, billy-thompson, colin-macdonald, crackdown, crackdown-2, develop, microsoft, phil-spencer, realtime-worlds, ruffian, ruffian-games

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Thief @ Sep 7th 2009 1:03PM

Aslong as they got someone watching over the production and keeping it within reasonable bounds... i'm all for a bunch of fanboys making the game! :)

PR0F3TA (PSN - PROPHETA) @ Sep 7th 2009 1:03PM

because Microsoft doesn't own any good 1st Party devs?

SpyderTaco (PSN: Ar4chNova89) @ Sep 7th 2009 1:30PM

I don't even own an Xbox360 and I think you're an asshole for saying that.
Seriously, people still have console wars? Didn't realize this was 2004.

sony boy (6 years til sony man child!) @ Sep 7th 2009 1:35PM

naw that's nintendo

DBuck_Eye @ Sep 7th 2009 1:38PM

Spyder, you're a regular at Joystiq! How do you not know that the console wars are still going on? It's been the subject of close to every comment section of every article on this and every gaming site!
PS I don't agree with PR0F3TA, I just think Spyder is an idiot.

SpyderTaco (PSN: Ar4chNova89) @ Sep 7th 2009 1:42PM

I'm just saying that I don't really see much debate over which console is better. It's more about which GAME is better (which is how it should be). The idea of arguing about a machine seems pretty messed up seeing as you use it for it's actual intentions until you get a game for it. *My pez dispenser is moar awesomer den urs*
Call me names all you want, it isn't going to help your case.

Oh by the way, you're a stupid-head.

SpyderTaco (PSN: Ar4chNova89) @ Sep 7th 2009 1:43PM

***you CAN'T use it for it's actual intentions until you get a game for it.

edhe @ Sep 7th 2009 2:48PM

Why have 1st party devs when using 2nd party is so much more profitable?

freaparn @ Sep 7th 2009 5:10PM

I find that being a gamer with a decent flow of disposable income effectively ends the console wars.

Joanna D @ Sep 7th 2009 1:11PM

Rockstar North called, they want their idea back.

Special Agent Steve @ Sep 7th 2009 1:27PM

Rockstar south called. They want you to pick up some milk on the way home. And maybe some of those biscuits for the dog.

Yuccadude @ Sep 7th 2009 2:16PM

Yeah, well I had sex with your wife!

edhe @ Sep 7th 2009 2:48PM

Err.. crackdown was designed by the person that designed gta. Rockstar ain't got anything on it.

NB gta is/was not the only sandbox game ever.

ChomskyKnows @ Sep 7th 2009 3:28PM

the jerk store called and....

AJ Ryan @ Sep 7th 2009 1:16PM

Between the people who made the original (Ruffian) and the company that made the original (RTW), I am glad they are choosing the former.

Joanna D @ Sep 7th 2009 1:34PM

You're happy a studio with no record whatsoever is picking up a great franchise and can do with it as they please?

hesit8 @ Sep 7th 2009 1:41PM

When the former director is leading the project (along with a very talented group of people) I'd say the game is in good hands. Even if it comes out differently, what's the problem? Nothing wrong with change. If it's a good change that is...

aristokrat @ Sep 7th 2009 2:30PM

Yeah, if Gabe Newell left Valve today and started a new company (Sprocket?), and someone contracted Sprocket to make Half-Life 3 (assuming that was possible), would you rather have Sprocket/Gabe Newell or GB-less Valve? I mean, Sprocket would be an unproven company tackling a huge game as their first title and all...

The Dark Wayne @ Sep 7th 2009 2:34PM

yeah id rather have valve, because Gabe doesnt do as much as the 200 other people that work there

OwningXylophone @ Sep 7th 2009 2:41PM

@ Joanna
It's the age old problem of reputation vs. talent, and in my mind the talent always wins.

Rock Band > Guitar Hero
Football Manager > Championship Manager

So therefore

Ruffian Crackdown 2 > RTW Crackdown 2

THE WICKER MAN (BWF) (GT: Dalek Prime) @ Sep 7th 2009 2:52PM

@ Dark Wayne

GABE IS THE 200 PEOPLE THAT WORK AT VALVE! (he is a combine overseer.)

The Dark Wayne @ Sep 7th 2009 3:35PM

*high five*

Traceur_Ryuk (PSN: Ryuk_shinigami) @ Sep 7th 2009 1:13PM

That's cool, I guess... I never played the first one so i'm not exactly excited for this one.

Neuromancer @ Sep 7th 2009 2:36PM

I'm wondering why you took the time to say that

Rhamsey @ Sep 7th 2009 1:41PM

Realtime Worlds is only to busy with APB because Microsoft wouldnt let them know if they wanted a sequel, and MS only thought it was selling well because of the halo beta, and didnt think of it as a good game until after Realtime Worlds started their new project.
Anyway, I'll be happy with a Ruffian games sequel, as it seems to have a pretty good development team.

BananaBoat @ Sep 7th 2009 1:46PM

As long as skills still = kills, I'm good

ThaGator2112 @ Sep 8th 2009 1:33AM

Your commenting skills are improving in-line with our projections agent.

XBL: xGeneral DEATHx PSN: Deeth82 @ Sep 8th 2009 2:51PM

...at a geometric rate.

*Watches you shoot teammate*

THAT WAS AN AGENT, AGENT!

Duoae @ Sep 7th 2009 1:49PM

I guess his this was an opportunity to change the art style and plot line to become more in line with industry standards.... i.e. not what you might expect from a sequel to Crackdown....

Not saying the game will be bad.... i was just disappointed with the direction the trailer has shown.
:/

kevin @ Sep 7th 2009 1:54PM

i have no problem with the former lead designer of RTW ,who happens to be the lead designer at RUFFIAN GAMES ,who happens to be the same guy that was in charge of the first crackdown.am all for it .besides we need RTW to make sure APB is a great looking game & one we want at release .for our PC & soon after our 360's .plus we all know what happens when a house has to much work on its plate , something suffers or gets lost in translation .

bvs @ Sep 7th 2009 2:37PM

my boy thinks that any follow up developed by a different developer then the first is automatically CRAP! lol. like call of duty: modern warfare and call of duty: world at war. to me the only difference is the time period the action takes place in and the dogs instead of the heli-copter. otherwise same damn game. enjoyment wise at least. we'll argue over how i think bioshock2 is gonna be insane, w/ multiplayer and all.. he'll say 'i don't know.... it's a new developer.'LOL i'm like "look at the vids. you can see how dope it is." crackdown was def one of his favorites. tried to talk me into getting it a few times but i just didn't like it like that. it was like a cheap imitation of the GTA stuff. i had saints row for that. he's prolly pissed about crackdown 2

JonEthan @ Sep 7th 2009 2:44PM

That's not really a fair comparison. Treyarch and Infinity Ward are two totally different companies. Real Time Worlds made Crackdown 1, then a bunch of those people went and started Ruffian Games, who is now making Crackdown 2. It's like getting your name changed and how that doesn't suddenly alter your abilities. Tell your boy that it's more or less the SAME developer (at least, the people who matter most), just not under the same name.

edhe @ Sep 7th 2009 2:48PM

Different developer company, same developers. Tell him that. They all moved off APB when it hit testing stage [ie when all the major work was finished].

As for bioshock 2 - the lead for that game is the guy that designed the best* part of bioshock, the cohen bit, with all the photography and that amazingly stunningly beautfiul and creepy bathroom.

*opinion not fact!

Neuromancer @ Sep 7th 2009 2:38PM

I can see my house from here, Agent!

Neuromancer @ Sep 7th 2009 2:38PM

(meanwhile you're standing in an alleyway)

Shadowbender (Sweatshop Supporter In Hiding) @ Sep 7th 2009 3:58PM

+1.

Ryan @ Sep 7th 2009 2:48PM

Im glad they switched devs, crackdown was a bad game and hopefully the new dev will improve very much on the sequel

edhe @ Sep 7th 2009 2:51PM

Nope, no it wasn't.

But any improvement on the fantastic game will be uberness.

Vcize @ Sep 7th 2009 3:08PM

you're a bad game.

clanboru15 @ Sep 7th 2009 11:27PM

It wasnt a bad game, it just didnt feel like it had much of a story. The gameplay was fantastic actually. Its a really fun game, and I think thats what they were going for. They just needed to add 'more' in my opinion.

Rico @ Sep 7th 2009 2:54PM

If the Crackdown 1 narrator is not in this game, I'm not buying it.

Vcize @ Sep 7th 2009 3:08PM

WHAT THE HELL!??!?!

Azerael @ Sep 7th 2009 8:30PM

Totally agree.

Skills for kills, agent.

iTzDaKroniK @ Sep 7th 2009 8:30PM

i second that idea, bring back Mr West.

Boff @ Sep 8th 2009 6:58AM

Yep, thirded.

Shadowbender (Sweatshop Supporter In Hiding) @ Sep 7th 2009 3:57PM

I loved the first one. Still play it all the time. I really hope Ruffian provides the same "feel" that the first game had.

Blessed Ossoona @ Sep 7th 2009 4:12PM

Didn't RTW start making APB because Microsoft wouldn't let them start Crackdown 2 for over a year? Then when Microsoft finally wants the sequel RTW is chest deep in developing their new IP so they go with a new unproven dev? Seems to me this is Microsoft's fault, you can't expect RTW to just sit around for a year waiting for a project to be approved.

UK31337 @ Sep 7th 2009 6:27PM

All you people saying Ruffian are "unproven"... they're made up of staff who jumped ship from RTW and some of them worked on the original. How is that "unproven"? Crackdown was good but not *that* good; it has plenty of faults and niggles which can easily be fixed and polished in a sequel. RTW have another unannounced project on the go which I had thought was Crackdown 2, but then E3 brings the Ruffian announcement so I've got no idea what RTW could be working on.

Oh, and I have a PC magazine from 2005 which says APB is "coming very soon". They've been working on that game since forever in one way or another, and the original Crackdown was designed with the old Xbox in mind and it got pushed back to the 360 for some reason. Mind you, you can't blame RTW for that seeing as the original Xbox had a very short life and many games (Dead Space, Perfect Dark Zero and rumour has it Mass Effect) were all shifted in similar circumstances simply because the new console came along before the game was finished. I even heard a rumour that the very original code for Halo 3 was running on the old Xbox and was ported to the 360 at a later date.

BTW I live across directly across the river from Ruffian's office, I can see it from here :D