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[Nirolak]

It seems that Headstrong Games, probably best known for House of the Dead: Overkill, has been hit with layoffs.

In light of a shortage of publisher requests for Wii games, the studio has also been broadened to work on more platforms including the PS3 and 3DS, allowing them to more easily secure new projects and avoid future layoffs.

Hopefully things go well for them, since they have done quite a good job with their games lately.

Crooks exits Headstrong as team moves to PS3, 3DS work

Bradley Crooks, studio boss of Headstrong Games, has left the developer, as parent company Kuju looks to rebuild the previously Wii-focused business with new PlayStation 3 and 3DS projects.

The team consisted of around 70 members of staff at the start of the year, and has since shrunk by around 50 per cent, with Crooks being made reundant at the end of June.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Kuju CEO Nigel Robbins confirmed the changes, and that the studio is currently in the process of rebuilding off the back of new contracts.

"Headstrong was a bigger studio at the beginning of the year, but it was in a more fragile state than at present as a result of being pretty much solely reliant on Wii work, which as we all know has thinned a little," he said.

"A decision was made to realign the studio and focus at the same time on broadening Headstrong's capabilities. Bradley Crooks did an excellent job leading the studio during its first growth phase following the Kuju rebranding exercise."

He added: "It is now the turn of Steve Pritchard and Tancred Dyke-Wells to step up to the plate focusing on production and creative excellence, in the Headstrong tradition, and they are working on three significant bits of business for PlayStation 3 and DS/3DS, and will remain Wii-friendly, given their strong track record for that SKU."

Headstrong had previously worked on Battalion Wars 2 for Nintendo, Sega's House of the Dead: Overkill, and The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn's Quest for Warner Bros.

Crooks joined Headstrong from Electronic Arts, and as well as rebranding the Kuju studio helped focus the team on the Wii market.

Over the past few years Kuju has moved London staff at casual studio Zoe Mode to Brighton and closed Chemistry, its hardcore games developer. Czech outfit Vatra is working on a new Silent Hill game for Konami.

Downloads studio Doublesix is its strongest asset, striking a hit with Burn Zombie Burn on Sony's PSN service, and it's this success that Robbins hopes to emulate with a rebooted Headstrong.

"With newly appointed DDM representation, the team, which will comprise just over forty, will focus on doing what they do best, making great games and delivering high quality results," he said. "Headstrong is stock full of great talent and is now more focused and driven than it's ever been under Steve and Tanc's leadership."

Source: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/crooks-exits-headstrong-as-team-moves-to-ps3-3ds-projects

 

[Paracelsus]

So they'll finally bring House of the Dead 4 on PlayStation 3 with Move and Guncon support? Took them long enough.

 

[spats]

So they'll finally bring House of the Dead 4 on PlayStation 3 with Move and Guncon support? Took them long enough.

Yes please.

 

[cw_sasuke]

So they'll finally bring House of the Dead 4 on PlayStation 3 with Move and Guncon support? Took them long enough.

That would be Sega decision, not theirs.

 

[Shiggy]

That's pretty sad, Nintendo shouldn't have cancelled Knight Wars :/
Still, they still seem to have strong ties as they've only recently released Art Academy.

This doesn't bode well for future Wii 3rd party support.

 

[Sipowicz]

knight wars?

 

[Dascu]

That's pretty sad, Nintendo shouldn't have cancelled Knight Wars :/
Still, they still seem to have strong ties as they've only recently released Art Academy.

Medieval take on Battalion Wars? Damn, that could've been cool.

 

[V_Ben]

That's pretty sad, Nintendo shouldn't have cancelled Knight Wars :/
Still, they still seem to have strong ties as they've only recently released Art Academy.

This doesn't bode well for future Wii 3rd party support.

Knight Wars?

this news sucks, I love headstrong games

 

[Shiggy]

Medieval take on Battalion Wars? Damn, that could've been cool.

Our spies at Kuju's HQ also tell us that another game based around the WARS series is also in development for the Wii called Knight Wars. Based in middle-aged England, players control tens of thousands of troops including units such as horses, magicians and Knights! 'Its like Battalion Wars but with some great sword-swinging Wii action and riding around doing tasks for King Arthur!' we were told!'

That's all I could found. This early pitch probably evolved into Aragorn's Quest.


So what are they working on right now besides The Sorcerer's Apprentice? :/

 

[industrian]

Looks like they won't take you on afterall.

 

[Kilrogg]

That's sad. Usually when Wii developers are hit with layoffs it's because they weren't successful enough (and thus I rarely sympathize with them much). In this case it's simply because there's no work to do. I see hoping that Wii 3rd party support would at least stagnate was naive. Damn.

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

Nintendo should've gotten them to work on additional projects. They've basically got no 3rd Party support at all on the Wii (with the sole exceptions of Epic Mickey and Dragon Quest X), why not get these guys working on something for you?!

 

[Ushojax]

That's sad. Usually when Wii developers are hit with layoffs it's because they weren't successful enough (and thus I rarely sympathize with them much). In this case it's simply because there's no work to do. I see hoping that Wii 3rd party support would at least stagnate was naive. Damn.

That's what is most depressing. There's just hardly any money going towards funding decent Wii games.

 

[faridmon]

The Wii 3rd party situation takes another low. A succeful studio on the platform ishaving lay offs just because publishers don't want to make an exclusive game for the Wii.

Is Nintendo even bothering?

 

[Kintaro]

<looks at my PC> There's been plenty of time to pound out something original on another platform inbetween console jobs you know. =P

The Wii 3rd party situation takes another low. A succeful studio on the platform ishaving lay offs just because publishers don't want to make an exclusive game for the Wii.

Is Nintendo even bothering?

Bothering with what? Destroying both Microsoft and Sony in hardware on the strength of their own games because 3rd party publishers wouldn't man the fuck up and produce high quality Wii titles?

Nah, Nintendo isn't bothering. On what basis should they actively reach out? The 3rd parties are at fault here. Not Nintendo anymore. The Wii was a proven console years ago when it pimp slapped the HD twins.

 

[EatChildren]

Is Nintendo even bothering?

With? Nintendo only published one of their games. I do wish they invested more in Headstrong though. I'm surprised SEGA didn't comission them for the Virtua Cop satire remake, similar to Overkill, that they wanted to make. I was under the impression Overkill did quite well.

 

[Dascu]

Nintendo should've gotten them to work on additional projects. They've basically got no 3rd Party support at all on the Wii (with the sole exceptions of Epic Mickey and Dragon Quest X), why not get these guys working on something for you?!

NoJ is funding smaller projects, well aware that they're not going to sell a lot. NoE and NoA aren't, though NoE is at least localizing a lot more Japanese titles than NoA.

 

[[Nintex]]

The Wii 3rd party situation takes another low. A succeful studio on the platform ishaving lay offs just because publishers don't want to make an exclusive game for the Wii.

Is Nintendo even bothering?

Why do you think some people expect Wii2 by 2011?

 

[Silver_DNA]

But.. I love House of the Dead Overkill...

 

[Ushojax]

NoJ is funding smaller projects, well aware that they're not going to sell a lot. NoE and NoA aren't, though NoE is at least localizing a lot more Japanese titles than NoA.

This isn't really true. Yeah, Another Code R, Disaster, Jam with the Band, Tingle, Last Window, came to the EU but Mario Super Sluggers, Fossil Fighters, Glory of Heracles, and Legendary Starfy came to the US. Both the subsidiaries have passed on a lot of good games.

 

[Dascu]

The Wii's a sinking ship. At least Nintendo has provided sturdy lifeboats to pick up the passengers and bring them aboard the 3DS.

This isn't really true. Yeah, Another Code R, Disaster, Jam with the Band, Tingle, Last Window, came to the EU but Mario Super Sluggers, Fossil Fighters, Glory of Heracles, and Legendary Starfy came to the US. Both the subsidiaries have passed on a lot of good games.

I guess we need Stumpo to provide comparison lists.

 

[BritBloke916]

One of the things that appeals me to me about Move is it's possible use for lightgun games (love the retro-look "raygun" casing that they're offering for it!). Hopefully Time Crisis and the version of Dead Space Extraction on the PS3 Collectors Edition of Dead Space 2 are just the beginning. Would love to see HotD (I realise that it's up to Sega... but why not?).

 

[Ushojax]

The Wii's a sinking ship. At least Nintendo has provided sturdy lifeboats to pick up the passengers and bring them aboard the 3DS.

Yeah. However shitty the third part situation is on the Wii and DS right now (at least in the West), we can see from the 3DS that they will be ready to go next time. I expect Nintendo will get the lions share of dev support next gen providing they put out a decent strength machine. You can't ignore an audience as big as Nintendo's again.

 

[duckroll]

I don't really see this as a problem unique to the Wii. Any independent developer without a strong established franchise would be really foolish to stick solely to any one platform. This generation is way too fragmented across 3 consoles and 2 portables for any developer to afford to say "no not interested" to other systems and to stick to a single platform.

 

[faridmon]

With? Nintendo only published one of their games. I do wish they invested more in Headstrong though. I'm surprised SEGA didn't comission them for the Virtua Cop satire remake, similar to Overkill, that they wanted to make. I was under the impression Overkill did quite well.

That is what bothers me. Overkill did well and Publishers are actully going against Devs doing more high profile Wii only games.

With what? isn't obvious, 3rd party games?

Why do you think some people expect Wii2 by 2011?

If that is the case, it all makes sense. Both from Nintendos and Publishers prespective.

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

Yeah. However shitty the third part situation is on the Wii and DS right now (at least in the West), we can see from the 3DS that they will be ready to go next time. I expect Nintendo will get the lions share of dev support next gen providing they put out a decent strength machine. You can't ignore an audience as big as Nintendo's again.

Oh I'm sure that the western devs and publishers will find another excuse to not support Nintendo :lol

Even when Nintendo have had the strongest console (N64, GCN) and even when they had the highest sales and strongest console (SNES) western devs/pubs still largely gave them the shaft (MD got a lot more western support than the SNES, especially with sports titles. Mind you though, their real love child was the PC back then anyway)

 

[faridmon]

I don't really see this as a problem unique to the Wii. Any independent developer without a strong established franchise would be really foolish to stick solely to any one platform. This generation is way too fragmented across 3 consoles and 2 portables for any developer to afford to say "no not interested" to other systems and to stick to a single platform.

Worked well for 5th Cell and Hideo Kojima.

 

[[Nintex]]

Yeah. However shitty the third part situation is on the Wii and DS right now (at least in the West)

Nintendo needs to step up their game everywhere, Square games are still being released on PSP instead of Wii and that Studio Ghibli/Level 5 game is going to PS3 instead of Wii. If Nintendo launched a somewhat capable HD Wii for $299 in 2006 to capture both the hardcore and the casual audiences we wouldn't be talking about shit like this right now.

 

[Silver_DNA]

That is what bothers me. Overkill did well and Publishers are actully going against Devs doing more high profile Wii only games.

It did? I was under the impression that this was lumped together with the "mature" failures.

 

[EatChildren]

With what? isn't obvious, 3rd party games?

Its not up to Nintendo to swoop in and save every third party in need of help or manage all third party releases for their systems. Microsoft and Sony certainly dont, but they have the benefit of getting the support to begin with.

Not to say that Nintendo shouldn't do this in Headstrong's case, because I think they should, but there's only so much they can (and are expected to) do.

It did? I was under the impression that this was lumped together with the "mature" failures.

People bitching about Wii sales lump every single non-casual game in the 'mature failure' catagory because in their eyes if the game doesn't sell 6 million on release its a bomba.

 

[duckroll]

Worked well for 5th Cell and Hideo Kojima.

This generation Kojima Productions has released 3 DS titles, 7 PSP titles, 1 PS3 title, and 1 iPod/iPhone title. They currently have 1 PS3/360/PC multiplatform title in development, 1 arcade game in development, and 1 3DS title in development. Not sure what you're talking about...

 

[[Nintex]]

Also, Wii developers moving over to 3DS supports my theory that the 3DS will not only nuke the PSP and DS but the Wii as well.

 

[Silver_DNA]

People bitching about Wii sales lump every single non-casual game in the 'mature failure' catagory because in their eyes if the game doesn't sell 6 million on release its a bomba.

From what I could tell the production values on Overkill weren't exactly stellar, but if they sold enough to turn a profit that's great.

 

[Night_Trekker]

Man, that is a damn shame about the layoffs. Overkill is a really great game and I hope, somehow, the remaining talent at Headstrong get another crack at the HotD IP.

Also, this is the first I've heard of Knight Wars. Sounds like it would make a great game :/

 

[Nuclear Muffin]

Also, Wii developers moving over to 3DS supports my theory that the 3DS will not only nuke the PSP and DS but the Wii as well.

You can't kill that which was already dead. The Wii basically had no support outside of throwaway shovelware and smaller devs anyway :lol

 

[EatChildren]

From what I could tell the production values on Overkill weren't exactly stellar, but if they sold enough to turn a profit that's great.

Just checked, and yeah, SEGA did refer to Overkill as "profitable".

Man, that is a damn shame about the layoffs. Overkill is a really great game and I hope, somehow, the remaining talent at Headstrong get another crack at the HotD IP.

Vitua Cop, Hot Fuzz / Bad Boys style. You know you want it.

 

[faridmon]

Its not up to Nintendo to swoop in and save every third party in need of help or manage all third party releases for their systems. Microsoft and Sony certainly dont, but they have the benefit of getting the support to begin with.

Not to say that Nintendo shouldn't do this in Headstrong's case, because I think they should, but there's only so much they can (and are expected to) do.

No, I am not talking about Nintendo saving those devs. Thats fairy tales and will never happen. What I am talkin about is this problem of devs. wanting to work on the Console while 3rd parties are shking thier head in refusal. That must be some messed up situation, especially if actaully had 2 hit that console.

It did? I was under the impression that this was lumped together with the "mature" failures.

You're think Madworld and the Conduit. I bellieve Overkill was the only one which did well enough for Sega to smile about its sales.

This generation Kojima Productions has released 3 DS titles, 7 PSP titles, 1 PS3 title, and 1 iPod/iPhone title. They currently have 1 PS3/360/PC multiplatform title in development, 1 arcade game in development, and 1 3DS title in development. Not sure what you're talking about...

Spoiler

But.... Hideo Kojima.... MGS..... Exclusive... one on..PS3 and another..... on PSP...

OK then, Never mind me...

 

[Night_Trekker]

Vitua Cop, Hot Fuzz / Bad Boys style. You know you want it.

I'd buy that at a very high price.

 

[MYE]

Thats a shame. I want HOTD:Overkill in VEGAS

Also, Wii developers moving over to 3DS supports my theory that the 3DS will not only nuke the PSP and DS but the Wii as well.

I must be the only nintendo fan who doesnt give two squirts of piss about the 3DS :/

 

[faridmon]

Thats a shame. I want HOTD:Overkill in VEGAS



I must be the only nintendo fan who doesnt give two squirts of piss about the 3DS :/

You and me bro. Just you and Me...

 

[Ignis Fatuus]

I must be the only nintendo fan who doesnt give two squirts of piss about the 3DS :/

3DS distills all the best qualities of Nintendo into possibly the most promising platform in history.

 

[AceBandage]

I'd love a Battalion Wars for the 3DS.

 

[EDarkness]

I must be the only nintendo fan who doesnt give two squirts of piss about the 3DS :/

Nah. The 3DS doesn't do anything for me. I'm just not a handheld gamer. I'll be on board with the next Wii, though.

 

[Sipowicz]

i wouldn't expect that much western support for the 3DS tbh. the games the support they've pledged so far has been very poor. They seem unwilling/incapable of shifting from their current strategy of pumping 20 million dollar HD projects


thankfully there's some great independent devs like wayforward, dreamrift and 5th cell who will no doubt do great things

 

[spats]

I must be the only nintendo fan who doesnt give two squirts of piss about the 3DS :/

I wasn't a NES kid, so no ties to Nintendo. The DS was a blind purchase for me without any real expectations. The Castlevania games were alright and had some fun with WarioWare: Touched but was ultimately left pretty disappointed.

Don't care one damn bit about the 3DS.

 

[Sadist]

Oh well...

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

Just checked, and yeah, SEGA did refer to Overkill as "profitable".



Vitua Cop, Hot Fuzz / Bad Boys style. You know you want it.

Why do you need to remind me an awesome game that will never be done.

 

[wazoo]

This isn't really true. Yeah, Another Code R, Disaster, Jam with the Band, Tingle, Last Window, came to the EU but Mario Super Sluggers, Fossil Fighters, Glory of Heracles, and Legendary Starfy came to the US. Both the subsidiaries have passed on a lot of good games.

and Excitebots !!

SM Sluggers may be the first Mario game not coming to EU since MARIO RPG.

 

[Krev]

This is what convinces me that Nintendo need a new console out by Summer 2012.

Yeah. However shitty the third part situation is on the Wii and DS right now (at least in the West), we can see from the 3DS that they will be ready to go next time. I expect Nintendo will get the lions share of dev support next gen providing they put out a decent strength machine. You can't ignore an audience as big as Nintendo's again.

I don't know... It should get a huge amount of support based on the size of the audience, but it really seems like publishers don't want to support Nintendo. The thinking seems to be that the Nintendo demographic won't buy any games that take effort to develop, so it's not worth investing in games for the platform. It's absolutely insane that no one is funding games from a developer that has proven it can create profitable titles on the console with the highest install base. How else do you explain it?
If this is how developers think, is that really going to change on Nintendo's next platform?

Nintendo need to fight REALLY REALLY HARD to get third parties on board in a big way on their next console. Part of that would be providing assistance to developers and making their console absurdly easy to develop for (in other words, go the fixed-spec PC route).

Vitua Cop, Hot Fuzz / Bad Boys style. You know you want it.

Yes. Yes, I do.

 

[Kifimbo]

SEGA would rather work with High Voltage instead of Headstrong ?