SG-1 PC Game Kaput! (Now not so much)

[TLAM Strike]

JoWood scraps Stargate SG-1 video game
FRIDAY - AUGUST 5, 2005


In a surprise move, Austrian video game publisher JoWooD Productions Software AG announced today that they have put the brakes on Stargate SG-1: The Alliance and terminated the company's relationship with developer Perception PTY Ltd. The company believes that the game as it is being developed will not meet the quality expectations of fans.

"The title in its current form, initially scheduled for an October 2005 release, does satisfy neither our quality requirements nor the fans expectations," JoWood CEO Albert Seidl said in a press release. "We will not release anything that does not do justice to this well known license. In recent months we have invested a lot of time and resources in helping Perception finish the development, but we now simply have lost confidence in their ability to finish this project in time and sufficient quality."

Following the termination JoWooD has asked for repayment of their investment in development and further expenses.

Stargate SG-1: The Alliance was to be released this fall for the PlayStation 2, XBox, and PC, and co-published in North America by Namco with a whopping $2 million marketing budget (story). JoWood hopes that the game may yet have life with a different developer.

The company claims that, according to its contract, it retains the rights to the title, and the company will seek a transfer of the game's source code and assets from Perception. "After delivery of the code and assets JoWooD will review the possibility of seeking out developers if it is economically viable to finish the title," said Michael Paeck, Executive Producer for JoWooD.

A legal battle may be on the horizon, leaving the future of the game's development -- if there is one -- uncertain. But the title certainly won't be hitting the shelves this year.

"We are not prepared to release anything but a top quality title," Paeck said. "Fans of the show as well as gamers would not accept anything less. There are several options to consider, among them potentially moving to next-gen consoles for the title."

The current generation of gaming consoles is nearing the end of its life-cycle, with the next generation XBox 360 due out before Christmas. The PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Revolution will follow next spring.

GateWorld is attempting to reach Perception for comment. More on the story as it develops.

From:
http://gateworld.net/news/2005/08/jo...atesg-1i.shtml

From what I heard of the game devloper I'm not suprised.

[Torpedo Fodder]

From what I heard of the game devloper I'm not suprised.

What have you heard? I know virtually nothing of them.

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by Torpedo Fodder

What have you heard? I know virtually nothing of them.

There work was of fairly low quality, and didn't really give a damn about the fans.

[Oberon]

DAMN!!!



The trailer for it was looking pretty good.

[Torpedo Fodder]

Originally Posted by Oberon

DAMN!!!



The trailer for it was looking pretty good.

There still is hope: The game's publisher (JoWood) still hold the rights to the title, and thus is planning to transfer the game's assets and code from Perception to another developer. Hopefully they'll make a wise choice this time.

[Oberon]

I've got my fingers crossed!

[TLAM Strike]

Well the devs say they arn't finished and are seeking legal action.

Perception, JoWooD draw battle lines
THURSDAY - AUGUST 11, 2005


by Darren Sumner

Stargate SG-1: The Alliance is not dead, Sydney-based developer Perception PTY Ltd. said in a statement today.

The developer is continuing work on the game and is pursuing legal action against publisher JoWooD Productions Software AG, which last week terminated the contract between the two companies (story).

"To be clear, Perception is the official licensee of MGM on Stargate SG-1: The Alliance," the company said. "Any suggestion that JoWooD has rights to Stargate SG-1: The Alliance upon termination of the contract is incorrect and not based on commercial or legal fact.

"Development on the game will continue uninterrupted at Perception's Sydney studio. Perception is committed to giving fans the best gaming experience possible."

JoWooD claimed that, in its judgment, the game in its current form did not meet the quality requirements of either the publisher or Stargate fans. The Alliance was scheduled for an October release on Playstation 2, XBox, and the PC.

"We view it as unfortunate that JoWooD would elect to make such misleading and libelous comments to the media and the marketplace," Perception CEO Ben Lenzo said. "Over the last nine months, JoWooD has openly acknowledged being in breach of contract in a number of areas including many legal and confidentiality breaches as well as several financial defaults for work performed by Perception and accepted by JoWooD."

According to the developer the company attempted to resolve these issues over several months, finally giving JoWooD an August 8 deadline to remedy them, or Perception would terminate the contract.

JoWooD announced to the media on August 5 that it was terminating the contract between the two companies.

"It's disappointing to hear of this so called termination via the press on the basis of a 'get in first' tactic," Lenzo said.

"JoWooD had to face the fact that the present technical status of the development makes a completion of the project by Perception within the contractually agreed time limit (end of August 2005) definitely impossible," JoWood said in a second statement on Friday. "This assessment is supported by an external expertise which confirms the severe defects in the areas of visualisation, animations, audio and light effects of the development project already brought up by JoWooD months ago. Three weeks ahead of the contractually planned target date the versions for the major platforms Playstation 2 as well as Xbox are extremely unstable and face severe performance issues."

Per JoWooD's reading of the contract, the publisher is pursuing financial compensation for its investment -- more than $6 million -- plus the unfinished game's code and assets. Perception will counter the demands by bringing legal action against its former partner and its CEO, Albert Seidl, for libel and the return of monies it claims it is owed.

As for The Alliance -- a game that now bears an ironic title -- Perception still looks forward to the game's eventual release. It is not known when the game might hit store shelves, should either JoWooD or Perception prevail in the legal dispute over ownership and complete it.

Visit Perception's official Web site to read the company's full statement.

http://gateworld.net/news/2005/08/pe...awbattle.shtml

[Torpedo Fodder]

Interesting: I shall be following this closely...

[TLAM Strike]

Alliance developer answers questions
THURSDAY - AUGUST 18, 2005
by Darren Sumner

On August 5 the gaming world was stunned to learn that JoWooD Productions was cancelling the long-awaited video game Stargate SG-1: The Alliance, citing poor quality from the game's developer (story). The game might continue with a new developer, they said.

Perception PTY Ltd. fired back a week later, stating that it -- and not JoWooD -- was the official MGM licensee, and the game would continue development (story). It only needed a new publisher.

Following Perception's announcement that it is continuing development on the game and pursuing legal action against its former publisher, CEO Ben Lenzo shared his thoughts on the situation with GateWorld.

Tell us about the early days -- how you (and Perception) won the license to "Stargate" video games and got started.

We originally approached MGM several years ago now, but ended up closing a deal with them towards the end of '03. Atlantis was only just a twinkle in the eye, as they say. We showed them the previous titles we had worked on and a prototype of a (then) current game. They could see we were passionate about Stargate and had the skills and experience to develop a great game.

The company was founded in 1995 and began doing outsourcing work for games in about 1997.

When did JoWooD come into the picture? Was it your decision to begin a professional relationship with them as a publisher?

We signed a deal with JoWooD in December of '03. We had originally spoken about Perception taking an equity investment in them. For a number of reasons, that fell over but we ended up signing Stargate with them. We approached a number of publishers for Stargate but thought, at the time, that JoWooD would be able to provide the game with the focus we felt it deserved.


What were the terms of that contract regarding each company's responsibilities during the game's development?

In many respects it was a standard publishing deal, except that it just so happened it was the developer who had the license rights, not the publisher. There were some other differences, too.

Did the contract provide for a transfer or sharing of MGM's license to play in the Stargate universe? As you know, JoWooD is claiming that they alone now have the rights to this title.

As you know we've issued a press release on this issue.

What has been the extent of MGM's involvement over the last year and a half? Have they done any mediating between Perception and JoWooD during the last few tumultuous months?

MGM have been completely involved with us in developing the game. We have had complete access to the set, producers / writers, Peter DeLuise (legend, by the way) who was our story editor and also did the voice direction on the game, the actors, the audio. Pretty much everything.

Tell us a little about the current status of Stargate SG-1: The Alliance. How does the game look and feel?

The game is progressing very well. The feedback from the fans has been incredible. It's at the stage where we are really tuning, tweaking, and optimizing elements of the game. There are still a few extra features we're getting in there, but it's shaping up very nicely.

Do you think the game will meet fan expectations? What, specifically, do you think those expectations are?

Absolutely, I think it's going to meet fan expectations. We've developed a huge game here, used all the actors from the show for the voiceovers and had the face of the cast of SG-1 scanned, created a brand new enemy (which a little birdie has told me will get a mention in an upcoming episode ...), and a storyline that really taps into the mythos of Stargate.

If you go to the game fan forums you see literally hundreds of ideas of "it'd be cool if ..." for which we obviously can't incorporate all of them, but all-in-all fans are going to love it. But to be honest, most of us here are Stargate nuts anyway, so we've also done what we think would be cool.


From what the fans are telling us, they don't want a Stargate game that is all about guns blazing because that's not true to Stargate. In the show, SG-1 doesn't actually use their weapons that much in each episode -- and sometimes not at all. While there is more focus on combat elements in the game due to the type of genre we're developing, if you go in guns blazing, you're not going to get far.

You need to take advantage of the unique skill sets that the members of SG-1 have, depending on the situation. You can order your fellow team mates around as individuals or as a group. This gives you a much greater strategy element that can be used in the game than if it were just a "simple" run-and-gun.

Do you have any plans in the works for a Stargate title for XBox 360 or Playstation 3?

We have plans in place to work on a number of Stargate games and already have developed some initial work on one in particular. Obviously we discuss with MGM what their views are on what types of game and genres to look at.




For legal reasons, Perception could not answer more pointed questions on JoWooD's actions and claims against the developer, as well as specifics on the game's eventual release.

GateWorld also attempted to contact JoWooD for their take on these and other questions, but has not received a reply.

Whichever party prevails in the courts will have one final hurtle beyond just completing the game: a rapidly closing release window. With the next generation of gaming consoles set to debut in November (in the form of the XBox 360), The Alliance could find itself quickly resigned to the bargain bin if it is not released this year.

Go here to see the verson with screen shots (Including a cool one of Col. O'Neil with SPAS-12 ): http://gateworld.net/news/2005/08/ia...ranswers.shtml

[TLAM Strike]

More news from gateworld:

Namco has launched its teaser site for Stargate SG-1: The Alliance, despite the fact that the game remains in legal limbo. Since the site bears the marks of both developer Perception and publisher JoWooD -- and was likely in development before the public fall-out between the two earlier this month -- don't take this as confirmation that Namco is still publishing the title, despite numerous speculative reports to the contrary. We'll confirm when solid info is available.

[TLAM Strike]

Sorry Obie and everyone else whose been following this but this looks like the end...

Report: Alliance video game developer folds
SUNDAY - JANUARY 22, 2006


Stargate SG-1: The Alliance, the long-awaited video game based on the hit sci-fi franchise, may be breathing its final breaths. Australian developer Perception PTY Ltd. layed off its staff and closed its doors Friday due to the lack of an approved publisher for the game, according to a report at Online Gamer.

The decision came when the last of the company's money ran out, according to the report allegedly from a former employee, because licensor MGM would not approve a new publisher for the title. Neither Perception nor MGM have yet to make any official comment on the situation.

"For the last couple of months, we have had several good offers from interested publishers," the anonymous report reads. "They only needed one thing -- MGM's approval. Since MGM are the owners of the Stargate license, everything needs to be approved by them, even new publisher contracts. So, when we approached MGM about these contracts, MGM basically sat on their hands and did nothing. They didn't flat out say no, but they didn't say yes either."

"In the end it was pretty obvious MGM wanted the project canned for some reason that eludes everyone except them," the source continues, "but they didn't want to be the ones to do it. So, they just sat on their hands and did nothing for several months, to the point where Perception could not afford to keep working on the game knowing that they didn't have MGM's approval, and will probably never get it."

The news was confirmed by the administrator of the game's official discussion forum, also citing anonymous sources within Perception.

The title was expected to be released for the PS2, Xbox, and PC last fall, but its status was put in jeopardy in August when Perception and video game publisher JoWooD Productions Software AG severed ties with one another, with the publisher accusing the developer of not creating a game of sufficient quality to meet fan expectations (story). Perception pressed on, intent on winning the legal struggle over the rights to the game and securing a new publisher.

The Alliance featured the voices and likenesses of the SG-1 cast and key guest stars, with participation by the production studio and direction by Stargate's Peter DeLuise. The game reportedly reached an "Alpha" stage of completion late in 2005, and was sent on to MGM for approval.

Whether or not The Alliance will still find a publisher and see the light of day remains to be seen -- and, as the owner of the franchise, remains squarely on MGM's shoulders. An official statement from Perception and/or MGM is expected in the days ahead.

From:
http://gateworld.net/news/2006/01/re...deogamed.shtml

[bradclark1]

Originally Posted by TLAM Strike

There work was of fairly low quality, and didn't really give a damn about the fans.

As AL would say "Where is your reference?"

[Oberon]

Originally Posted by TLAM Strike

Sorry Obie and everyone else whose been following this but this looks like the end...

Damn Drat Blast Crap and ****!

Was looking pretty good as well.
Bugger

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by bradclark1

As AL would say "Where is your reference?"

People on this forum.

[Godalmighty83]

that company did have a poor reputation and iam not too saddened to see it go, but on the other hand its just another company out the way of EA on its way to market monopoly.