UPDATE - Check out comment from High Voltage here.
I've had this info come across my virtual desk from a 100% trustworthy source. I believe my source completely. The only reasons I mark this rumor is because I haven't corroborated with High Voltage yet, and my source could have been fed some skewed details.
- The company has laid off many people in the past couple years.
- Many of the employees have been demoted to jobs well below their skill level.
- After employees were laid off, one of the studios producers purchased a new sports car.
- The company has some very good, talented people, but their work suffers under lackluster management.
-Animales de la Muerte is actually completed, but the studio has no interest in releasing it
- even the employees don't know why this is happening
- HVS showed off footage of Animales de la Muerte that didn't show any blood or gore, all in the hopes of getting cash for the project
- HVS is very upset that Sega shipped a very low amount of Conduit 2 copies to retailers.
- Conduit 2 features MotionPlus support, but there's no actual programming in the game's engine for it. In other words, it doesn't actually support the device.
- The studio is likely going to focus purely on licensed kids games with short development cycles of 4-5 months.
- it's also likely that the company is going to work on iOS games in the near future
I've reached out to High Voltage to try and get comment on these accusations. If/when they get back, I'll be sure to update.
I've had this info come across my virtual desk from a 100% trustworthy source. I believe my source completely. The only reasons I mark this rumor is because I haven't corroborated with High Voltage yet, and my source could have been fed some skewed details.
- The company has laid off many people in the past couple years.
- Many of the employees have been demoted to jobs well below their skill level.
- After employees were laid off, one of the studios producers purchased a new sports car.
- The company has some very good, talented people, but their work suffers under lackluster management.
-Animales de la Muerte is actually completed, but the studio has no interest in releasing it
- even the employees don't know why this is happening
- HVS showed off footage of Animales de la Muerte that didn't show any blood or gore, all in the hopes of getting cash for the project
- HVS is very upset that Sega shipped a very low amount of Conduit 2 copies to retailers.
- Conduit 2 features MotionPlus support, but there's no actual programming in the game's engine for it. In other words, it doesn't actually support the device.
- The studio is likely going to focus purely on licensed kids games with short development cycles of 4-5 months.
- it's also likely that the company is going to work on iOS games in the near future
I've reached out to High Voltage to try and get comment on these accusations. If/when they get back, I'll be sure to update.
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Agreed. I feel bad for the laid-off employees, but High Voltage Software was a terrible developer. They always talked up a storm, but never delivered. Both Conduit games were mediocre at best.
"Conduit 2 features MotionPlus support, but there's no actual programming in the game's engine for it"
*spit-take*
"Conduit 2 features MotionPlus support, but there's no actual programming in the game's engine for it. In other words, it doesn't actually support the device."
If this is true, isn't that false advertising?
I was actually thinking about HVS just last week. I was wondering what are they up too now, because we haven't heard from them is such a long time. Last time we heard anything from them was right after the 3DS came out last year, when they showed off the Conduit demo running on the system. Since then though, its been nothing. So all of this sounds totally plausible. Its sad really, because they had tons of potential, but it really does sound like mismanagement.
No, because the package clearly states that the game is compatible with MotionPlus, but so is every other Wii game. Aren't they assholes?
Wouldn't be surprised if all of this is true. The company went dark after Conduit 2 and I can imagine they were quite broken down after their first attempt at a real IP failed miserably.
Their studio is actually about 25 minutes away from my house. Should I go Michael Moore them about this?
"HVS is very upset that Sega shipped a very low amount of Conduit 2 copies to retailers."
If you have to be upset in something HVS, try the "we had a lot of advertising for conduit 1, yet EU prices fell to around 10 Euros in only a few months after release BECAUSE THE GAME COULD NOT SELL" So what SEGA did with the sequel was understandable.
While the game is average, (short game, linear levels respawning enemies, nonsense plot etc) it is still fairly comparable to another game sharing all the above but apparently the latter is far better because it also has vehicles (yes I am talking about HALO again)
If this is true about no real motion plus coding, then why did I find the game borderline unplayable until I used it? I started playing it without M+ and found it incredibly frustrating any time the pointer left the screen, and melee was flat out broken. This wasn't even an issue when I switched to M+
...surely they wouldn't gimp the game on purpose to fake support right? Right?
Conduit 1 was advertised and sold 600,000 copies. Conduit 2 was never advertised and sold 50,000 copies. I blame SEGA. Entirely SEGA. Worst attempt at marketing I have ever seen.
Also to clarify, as one of the forefront experts on C2, C2 didn't employ any SPECIAL M+ functionality. HVS explicitly stated this in interviews before the games release. What it did do however, was allow the wii to better pick up the wiimote's cursor movements even while off screen.
Hope that clarification helps.
Let me sum up Conduit 2, HVS, and SEGA this way. HVS went all out on Conduit 2, and they generated a legitimate and pleasureful wii fps experience, especially if you're into the whole, high health multiplayer sort of thing. SEGA, despite Conduit 1 selling 600,000 copies, which was well and above what most people expected, decided to screw HVS over because when SEGA signed for C1, they were also forced to sign for C2. So what did they do? They had the balls to destroy any hope for the game to sell or become popular by 1) refusing to ship more than 100,000 copies worldwide, and 2) refusing to advertise the game --- at all. Many Conduit fans did not even know a Conduit 2 existed until months after the release. SEGA was the big scumbag in this story, and I feel really bad for HVS having to put up with that...
So much wasted potential...
Regardless of what people want to say about some of their games, if these rumors are true, it's very sad to me.
They should be commended as a company that, at ONE point in time, really showed some dedication to the Wii, trying to fill the "third party hardcore game" gap they perceived. They created their own propriety engine, and they did a pretty good job with it to boot. Their WiiWare games were all pretty solid, and while The Conduit wasn't AMAZING, it was a very valiant effort at trying to create new, original, Wii only content. I actually really dug the storyline. The controls were great, the sound was good, the graphics were very good (could have been better, but still good), it had the makings of a great franchise. My only complaint about the first game, was that some of the level missions, such as finding and destroying those little orbs and little "fetch quest" things like that, made playing them tedious sometimes.
The sequel could have been, and should have been, very very good. Instead, it was gutted, either by themselves or by Sega. They took what had been a fairly original plot and setting, very "X-Files" in feel, with a decent lead character, and a serious, somber tone, and made it a loud, ridiculous, Duke Nukem ripoff with the sequel. They even GOT the voice actor from DN, and had him making stupid one-liners. The villain became absurdly cheesy, the whole tone of the game and it's story became a joke, unlike the serious approach of the first. And to top it all off, the game featured the most generic, "Hey look it's like Halo!" cover art I've ever seen. I was very, very disappointed in the final product. AND to top it off, Sega gave it zero support.
If any of this is true, I feel bad for the employees of HVS. They were a promising company, with some ambitious projects (such as The Grinder). Now it seems none of that is coming out. And finishing a game but not bothering to release it, even as a downloadable title, on ANYHTING? Pretty stupid. IF true, sounds to me like their management is just plain retarded, and doesn't care about the company making good games. I'm surprised to find out they made "Kinect Star Wars", by all accounts a terrible game, mainly because it's Kinect. I'm sure that, and many of their other licensed properties, will make them money. But it's too bad their attempt at becoming a serious, original IP developer seems to have been undermined from within. Too bad, really.
Another 3rd party company that kind of "made their name" on Wii, that I still have a lot of hope for, is Red Fly Studios.
Between Mushroom Men (VERY solid and underrated action/platformer), Ghostbusters (best version of the game), The Force Unleashed II, and Thor, all on Wii, it seems they've put together a very solid body of work.
Looking at their website, apparently they've been focusing on App Store type games lately, but I have hope that they'll develop for Wii U, and that hopefully we might even get to see a Mushroom Men sequel someday.
That was one thing I didn't get with this article. If it never supported it, SOMEONE would have known that after the year it was out. If it worked for you, then the entire testimony of this source is in question. Though with them being silent and Wii development in the sunset, I wouldn't be surprised if they're on their way out (they weren't the best developer out there).
That sucks for the honest, hard-working, and honorable folks at High Voltage Studios who have been laid off or brought down in position. Leadership really is how not just gaming companies, but any organization of people, whether a group, corporation, or country is held up.
If you have good leadership that puts the collective above itself (in the case of business, that means the customer and the employees) and the leaders know how to do their job, then everyone involved (in that company) will likely thrive.
It seems that much of the leadership of High Voltage Studios (and SEGA's people in charge of overseeing the studio) have failed them. The Conduit was definitely one of the best 3rd part Wii games ever, and really helped push the console forward. However, poor marketing and leadership seemed to doom any future success for these people at High Voltage Studios.
Hopefully SEGA realizes this failure, and fires, punishes, and/or demotes the people ruining the situation, and minimizes the loses... for SEGA and High Voltage Studios' sake. Hopefully the people who were unfortunately fired as a result of this fiasco get good jobs elsewhere in the gaming industry (Retro Studios, perhaps?).
I'm totally willing to believe portions of this this and I feel terrible for the company. It explains a lot of what has been going on with the company overall. That said, if it is true, then my strongest condolances to the employees and I hope something can be done to for them, such as new ownership and new management.
This is too bad. It's always sad when people lose their jobs, but HVS had a lot of potential and supported the Wii. I'd hoped they'd be a new Retro but that is how it goes. I really liked Conduit 1 and Conduit 2 was more polished but a little generic (plus no Kevin Sorbo!) Heck, I bought Tournament of Legends based on the HVS name and while it's not great a good afternoon with friends can be had with it. What a loss.
"Conduit 1 was advertised and sold 600,000 copies. Conduit 2 was never advertised and sold 50,000 copies. I blame SEGA. Entirely SEGA. Worst attempt at marketing I have ever seen."
C1 was expected to sell a lot more, definitely top 1M since there was no other HALO clone on the console and the game was deemed pretty decent. You can STILL find the collector's edition of C1 at around 10-12 Euros (I believe the standard edition is more difficult to find lol) that clearly shows that demand was far less than expected. SEGA lost money on C1 so it is perfectly understandable that they were cautious about C2 and while its devaluation rate was lower than C1, after 6 months that also dropped to the 10-15 Eu range. SEGA have a reputation of devaluating games but this clearly a sign of both games underperforming.
No surprises here, HVS mostly make sloppy games that have nothing new and offer nothing exciting.
Conduit 1 & 2 were ok enough games, they played like those PC games you see on bargain racks for £4.99...in fact that series is kinda akin to what Gameloft do with their games. The reviews pretty much state that and yet for some reason Nintendo fanboys who haven't played many FPS games cream over them. Stick these games onto 360/PS3/PC and they would have never been noticed at all. It's no wonder that Sega didn't ship that many copies...most of which didn't actually sell anyway! Conduit may have sold 600,000 or whatever (if that is actually true) but it's long gestured development cost Sega money that they didn't make back from that, they spent a lot on advertising and it didn't quite pay off. Face it Conduit 2 was deemed as a worser game so why would Sega spend money advertising it when people weren't that hyped for it?
They parade themselves as a AAA devleoper when they're C grade at best, don't get me wrong there are some talented people in there who can do some great coding and all that but actual game, character & level design is quite poor...hence why they never do that well. It would be nice if those folk can get jobs over at better studios who can design games well.
- Conduit 2 features MotionPlus support, but there's no actual programming in the game's engine for it. In other words, it doesn't actually support the device.
Wat.
:O
Unless every single person with M+ is suffering some sort of placebo effect, it has always been reported to make a difference when activated.
"- After employees were laid off, one of the studios producers purchased a new sports car."
Dreamwave Productions much?
The Grinder looks to be definitely dead then.
In regards to the rumor about motion plus not being coded into the game, I always thought it was somewhat weird that Conduit 2 was the only title I've used motion plus with that _didn't_ ask me to calibrate the thing. Switching it on and off in the options menu gives little assurance it's actually "on" or "off" also. Solid title nevertheless though. I thought Conduit 1 was too generic and took itself way too seriously. Oh, and it had way too many repeating walkways/areas throughout the copy/paste levels.
Oh man, I forgot all about that game.
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