Next Generation mourns Black Isle

Mr. Teatime · Post by **Mr. Teatime** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 6:20 pm

[ Company -> Editorial ] - More info on <a href="#Black Isle Studios">Company: Black Isle Studios</a>

There's <a href="http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?optio ... mitstart=0" target="_self">an editorial over at Next Generation</a> that discusses five fine game companies that have collapsed: <a href="http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?optio ... mitstart=4" target="_self">one of them is Black Isle</a> (no mention of Troika, surprisingly).<blockquote>At the time the studio was disbanded, it was in the middle of
development on Fallout 3, due to have been its most ambitious project
in years. Interplay soon sold off the rights to the series; as chance
had it, Bethesda picked up the property and has begun work on its own
version of Fallout 3, using the engine from The Elder Scrolls IV:
Oblivion.

So it's not like Black Isle has vanished
completely. All the same – just, man. Talk about a smack in the face.
One of the most influential and intelligent design teams, riding high
on a cushion of critical acclaim and the knowledge that, in the void
left by Origin and Sierra, they – to some degree – helped make PC games
relevant again, just as the hammer seemed to be coming down. And then,
bang. Down it went. Everyone fired; years of hard work up to the
highest bidder. </blockquote>It's been discussed many times before, and the horse isn't just dead, but decomposed and reincarnated, but I feel that VB would have been disappointing, if only because of the rushed nature of it, Interplay's demands, lack of funding and so on. And, it wasn't really a 'smack in the face' to anyone reasonably perceptive, as it was clear to many of us BIS was going to collapse months before it did.
Spotted @ <a href="http://evilavatar.com/">Evil Avatar</a>

Koki · Post by **Koki** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 6:44 pm

Didn't The Trinity of Fallout left BI years before?

People just can't learn that people, not company names, make games.

S4ur0n27 · Post by **S4ur0n27** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 6:55 pm

Who actually cares anymore?

Mad Max RW · Post by **Mad Max RW** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 7:34 pm

Wow, this is familiar. Almost as if I posted it 2 days ago.

Nicolai · Post by **Nicolai** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 7:37 pm

Don't think anyone actually read these news posts.

VasikkA · Post by **VasikkA** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 7:47 pm

Black Isle? What, they made/published 2 or 3 good games? I'd have chosen SSI or MicroProse instead.

S4ur0n27 · Post by **S4ur0n27** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 9:10 pm

Nicolai wrote:Don't think anyone actually read these news posts.

Teatime does

Cimmerian Nights · Post by **Cimmerian Nights** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 4:37 pm

VasikkA wrote:Black Isle? What, they made/published 2 or 3 good games? I'd have chosen SSI or MicroProse instead.

SSI was pretty prolific, and made a ton of classic war games, I think technically they still exist though, but in name only. IIRC they were bought by a company that was bought by a company that was bought by a company.

VasikkA · Post by **VasikkA** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 4:47 pm

Cimmerian Nights wrote:SSI was pretty prolific, and made a ton of classic war games

They developed and published a bunch of noteworthy D&D RPGs, among other.

I think technically they still exist though, but in name only. IIRC they were bought by a company that was bought by a company that was bought by a company.

"SSI was acquired by Mindscape in 1994, spent time as part of Mattel, and finally became part of Ubisoft (in March 2001), who have since retired the brand name."

This from Wikipedia. I don't understand why they would retire such a brand name, which is probably more known than Ubisoft itself. As an alternative to publishing crappy games under the SSI brand, it's probably the better though.

jetbaby · Post by **jetbaby** » Sat Jul 08, 2006 8:28 pm

And yeah, really. They acquire a name with a hell of a lot more history behind it than their own name and they retire it? I guess there is a businessman out there somewhere with a heart. I would cry to see SSI turned to shit.

Brother None · Post by **Brother None** » Sun Jul 09, 2006 10:11 am

Koki wrote:Didn't The Trinity of Fallout left BI years before?

People just can't learn that people, not company names, make games.

It's not like the Trinity made Fallout alone, but pretty much anyone related to the original Fallout games had long since left before Van Buren, not including MCA and old promoted QA-staff like Puuk.

So yeh.

St. Toxic · Post by **St. Toxic** » Sun Jul 09, 2006 5:12 pm

Names are only good for nostalgia, so I'd say "Mission Accomplished".

Thor Kaufman · Post by **Thor Kaufman** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 11:39 am

BIS - always forget