Junction Point Studios closes down

[Leplaya]

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2013/0...point-closing/

I am disappointed and saddened.

[Jennifer]

If Disney closed it only based on less than expected sales of Epic Mickey 2, I fear for the future of LucasArts considering their last published game, Kinect Star Wars, didn't exactly sell like hotcakes.

[DAISHI]

The article says it sold only 270,000 across three platforms. That's terrible. And I'll say it. I love Epic Mickey, but it's a chore to go through Epic Mickey 2. It's just really badly designed.

[RAnthonyMahan]

While I wasn't a big fan of Epic Mickey, that sucks to hear.

I hope things turn out well for Warren Spector. The man who created Deus Ex deserves only the best.

[puzzlebox]

Between Junction Point and Vigil (though some of those folks found a home at Crytek), it sounds like there will be a fair few game devs on the market in Austin. Best wishes to all of them.

[GuruGuru214]

Originally Posted by DAISHI

The article says it sold only 270,000 across three platforms. That's terrible.

This was from an unconfirmed source. The actual number is closer to twice that.

I really enjoyed what I got to play of Epic Mickey 2 at PAX. Granted, I haven't gotten around to playing the first one yet, but from what little I experienced, I don't get where all the hate for the sequel comes from.

[Rather Dashing]

So, can we be reasonably certain that the PC release of Epic Mickey 2 has been shelved? It was "delayed" to "January" and I've heard nothing since.

[DAISHI]

Originally Posted by GuruGuru214

This was from an unconfirmed source. The actual number is closer to twice that.

I really enjoyed what I got to play of Epic Mickey 2 at PAX. Granted, I haven't gotten around to playing the first one yet, but from what little I experienced, I don't get where all the hate for the sequel comes from.

The problem is if you don't have a second player, Oswald can be really, really unresponsive to your commands, especially as you're trying to do more complicated things later into the game. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy it, but the feature is really buggy.

[GuruGuru214]

Well, that would explain it. I got to play it twice, once as Oswald to Icedhope's Mickey, then later as Mickey with Fawful as my Oswald.

[DAISHI]

Originally Posted by GuruGuru214

Well, that would explain it. I got to play it twice, once as Oswald to Icedhope's Mickey, then later as Mickey with Fawful as my Oswald.

Yeah, don't get me wrong, I still like it, but that feature needed more polishing.

[Darth Marsden]

Originally Posted by DAISHI

The problem is if you don't have a second player, Oswald can be really, really unresponsive to your commands, especially as you're trying to do more complicated things later into the game. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy it, but the feature is really buggy.

VERY much this. I'd go so far as to say it was borderline broken at times.

When you release a sequel to a single-player game that practically forces you to play co-op, then I can see why it didn't sell all that well, whatever the actual figures were.

Doesn't mean I wanted the studio to close though, and I think it's something of a shame that it did. Hopefully Warren Spector & co. will go on to bigger (and better) things.

[DAISHI]

lol yeah I didn't want to say that but... it's broken. Hah. REALLY broken, at times.

I mean, put aside the fact that since it's CPU controlled, you don't always have a context for knowing whether you can do certain things. Certain times it's marked clearly in-game that you and Oswald can cooperate, and even then you end up tossing him into the air instead of having him electrocute the panel in front of you that you need to beat the boss, and BOOM! You're dead. Other times he disappears completely, or can't follow you where you're going because the CPU doesn't know how to guide him, when all you want is for him to come to the dang roof so you can copter across a gap.

[Secret Fawful]

This means....no Warren Spector Ducktales game.

[Darth Marsden]

The bit that made me completely give up on the game (after several frustrating sections) was where you have to get a power generator across a couple of gaps. Oswald just. Kept. Getting. In. The. WAY.

You'd move the generator over a platform, only for Oswald to knock it off. You'd get the generator floating over to the next section, only for him to stop it in its tracks. You;'d get it almost perfectly lined up ready to land in the target area, and then he'd push you off the platform.

And your reward for all this? A F**KING PIN.

Game went RIGHT back to the rental service after that. *sigh*

[Jennifer]

Oswald's AI in Epic Mickey 2 sounds worse than the AI for Minnie Mouse in Mickey Mousecapade. I actually really like this game, despite the fact that Minnie's AI is awful, and you have to make really wide jumps just so that Minnie doesn't die, since if she dies you both die (to be honest, I probably only like this game so much because emulators have made this game much more enjoyable with their savestate ability).

I really liked Epic Mickey 2. I'll probably rent the second one, even with the awful Oswald AI. Should I rent the Wii version or the Xbox 360 version?

[Darth Marsden]

Wii version. The other console versions may look prettier, but the controls aren't as refined. It was quite clearly made with a motion controller in mind, and moving the aiming reticule with a control stick just feels WRONG, especially if you've played the first game.

If you can, get the PS3 version with the Move. Best of both worlds! But otherwise, yeah, stick with the Wii one.

[Leplaya]

One of the things that was annoying to me about Epic Mickey 2 was that Oswald at times would shock you without warning. And when he wasn't behind you he'd go say "wait for me!" and you are baffled that he's just standing there. I know Warren was trying to get Oswald to be a playable character. But why not just go with making it as a choice? You remember how some video games let you choose your own character, and a different outcome would happen once you choose that character? They could have gone with that route rather than a co-op route. Just saying though.

It doesn't help that Power of two ends up with a sequel hook which had Big Bad Pete saying how happy the toons are, but is holding gremlin Prescott while making a devious look on his face. And comments "They aint never gonna know what hit em." With him are Small world Pete and Pete Pan. If you ignore helping Petetronic, he'd join the group. So it hinted that Epic mickey 3 would have been focused on Pete being the bad guy. Since junction point is now closed, Epic Mickey 3: Revenge of pete(which is what I am calling it since it would have gone with pete being the bad guy) wont become a reality. Neither would Warren Spector’s Ducktales game. I cant help but feel that Disney had been planning on betraying on Warren Spector. The guy is a huge Disney fan, he’s respected the company’s work, and he even brought back Oswald the lucky rabbit from obscurity. And this is the thanks he gets? His own studio being closed down? What a way to say thanks Disney, you guys made another dumb choice that goes onto my list of "dumb moves from Disney" -_-.

[Leplaya]

Originally Posted by puzzlebox

Between Junction Point and Vigil (though some of those folks found a home at Crytek), it sounds like there will be a fair few game devs on the market in Austin. Best wishes to all of them.

On the bright side, its good that some of the people who work with JP and Vigil are not completely out of work. Does anyone know what Warren plans to do now?