Thu, Jun 23, 2011 | 12:01 BST
Hirshberg: Shrinking racing genre killed Bizarre Creations
Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg has said that a decrease in interest in the racing genre market was what eventually caused Blur and Project Gotham Racing developer Bizarre Creations to close.
Hirshberg, in an interview with Joystiq, said that the genre “had shrunk, pretty precipitously.”
“The thing that Bizarre is best at and what they’re known for and what their signature is is in the racing world,” he told the site.
“And the decision had as much to do with our assessment of what was happening to the racing genre as it had to do with anything specific to Bizarre. We just didn’t think that was the best place for us to put our competitive energies.”
After releasing racing game Blur last May – which didn’t respond well in terms of sales – Bizarre’s final title would be James Bond title Blood Stone in November.
The studio closed down in February.
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Posted in: Activision Blizzard, Racing
Tags: bizarre creations, Eric Hirshberg
13 comments
#1
DiodeX
23/06/11, 12:17 pm
Now if ever a game need the HD treatment its PGR2, head and shoulders above any other arcade racer.
It wasn’t quite sim or arcade actually. Simcade!!!
#2
Maximum Payne
23/06/11, 12:27 pm
But they also work on James Bond Blood Stone….
#3
Harry
23/06/11, 12:28 pm
I think the real problem was that Bizarre made a racing game no-one actually wanted. It was too unlike PGR for race fans, and too like a racing game for shooter fans. The game looked like a fail from the moment it was announced.
Everyone knows what BC should have developed – another MSR/PGR – though obviously the company would have needed yet another new name for the game.
#4
Erthazus
23/06/11, 12:31 pm
Tell that to EA, Sony and Microsoft Mr CEO.
#5
The_Red
23/06/11, 12:36 pm
I think it had more to do with releasing 3 FREAKING big arcade racers in one month (Blur, Split-Second and ModNation).
#6
Heinekeno
23/06/11, 1:12 pm
Hirshberg, in an interview with Joystiq, said that the genre “had shrunk, pretty precipitously.” Just idiots say that.
#7
galaxy366
23/06/11, 1:12 pm
Uhm… Activision killed it. End of line!
#8
Lewis247
23/06/11, 1:23 pm
It’s not that the genre was shrinking it’s that there is too fucking much of it. @5 too true.
I can’t even count the amount of need for speeds that have popped up this generation, it’s crazy.
#9
Maximum Payne
23/06/11, 1:32 pm
@5 Agree with that why on earth no one delay game od release earlier?
Same thing with Fable 3 releasing on same day with Witcher 2 and Alan Wake on RDR…
#10
IL DUCE
23/06/11, 2:36 pm
@4 Lol yeah I know…
The racing genre is over saturated though…especially the Need for Speed games, I enjoyed Shift 1 but Shift 2 had too high of a difficulty spike for me since I’m more of as casual racing game guy…so mostly I stick with Forza, and I’ve played GT5 before…both are good games
Its not that the racing genre has shrunk its that you need to make a good and interesting racing game to be successful, and for the most part racing sims do much better these days than arcade racers…not including something like Modnation Racers
#11
YoungZer0
23/06/11, 3:03 pm
“It wasn’t our fault!”
#12
elisio
23/06/11, 3:50 pm
Well, you can blame anyone you want i still think the studio would have been fine if left alone by Activision, or if Acti had been more supportive after the Blur debacle.
IMO Blur was a blast in multiplayer. Hadn’t had that kind of mischievous fun since the heydays of Mario Kart.
#13
Bloodyghost
23/06/11, 4:25 pm
MS should of bought Bizzare as they were dying. PGR is too big to die.