Aliens: Colonial Marines developer, Gearbox says if it went ahead with early plans to develop a Blade Runner video game it "would have been the end" of the studio.
"Blade Runner was on [the list]," he told OPM. "We had it too and we were like, 'No, we can't.' That game would've cost like $40m to make and sold about 600,000 units - and that would have been the end of us.
"There's no rational business model that would have allowed that to make sense," he added. "If we'd made it with a business model that did work, it would not have been the Blade Runner game we all would have wanted."
Pitchford revealed Gearbox co-founder Brian Martell even met with Alien and Blade Runner director Ridley Scott in Hollywood to discuss his plans.
Colonial Marines was 're-announced' ahead of E3 last month. Speaking in the re-reveal, Sega Europe's senior VP of marketing Gary Knight promised the shooter will be "THE definitive Aliens gaming experience."
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Comments
15 comments so far...
Drusus on 30 Jun '11 said:
Yes but it would have made 600,000 people very, very happy.
I'd have called it Dangerous Days and made it entirely about Gaff, then it would have made at least six people from the Blade Runner forums collapse from joy overload.
BOYD1981 on 30 Jun '11 said:
As a massive fan of Blade Runner I'm really glad to hear this, a new Blade Runner game would just end up being a first/third person shooter mess. I wouldn't even be in favour of something along the lines of the adventure Blade Runner game because people simply can not make good adventure games anymore, and any money spent on a remake of the old one (which would really just need the character art updated) would be wasted because people don't buy adventure games anymore.
No, Blade Runner's legacy is for it's visual style to be copied by the likes of Deus Ex and other sci-fi games, and the occassional mod.
KesMonkey on 30 Jun '11 said:
Blade Runner is possibly my favourite movie. Not the original with Deckard's voice-over though. The 'final cut' in 1080P is the definitive version. Westwood's Blade Runner adventure game is a fantastic game too. It's a pity that we'll (probably) never see what Gearbox could've done with the license.
@Drusus: I read your comment in KITT's voice.
Ali_ on 30 Jun '11 said:
The best Blade Runner game, in all but name, is Shadowrun on the SNES.
Imaduck on 30 Jun '11 said:
Blade Runner is brilliant, but I don't see it working as a game really. Maybe they could nail the atmosphere but I doubt they'd ever get the rest right.
BOYD1981 on 30 Jun '11 said:
As a massive fan of Blade Runner I'm really glad to hear this, a new Blade Runner game would just end up being a first/third person shooter mess. I wouldn't even be in favour of something along the lines of the adventure Blade Runner game because people simply can not make good adventure games anymore, and any money spent on a remake of the old one (which would really just need the character art updated) would be wasted because people don't buy adventure games anymore.
No, Blade Runner's legacy is for it's visual style to be copied by the likes of Deus Ex and other sci-fi games, and the occassional mod.
KesMonkey on 30 Jun '11 said:
What a strange thing to say. The best Blade Runner game is.......Blade Runner (1997). (Not that Shadow Run isn't a great game)
@Imaduck: The '97 Blade Runner game worked very well indeed. It was a point and click graphic adventure that had you playing the part of a Blade Runner investigating a crime. You'd hunt for clues, interview people, and you could subject them to the Voight-Kampff test to determine if they were a replicant or not. It oozed atmosphere, had great graphics, and was completely engrossing. One of the best things about it was that it had multiple endings (13!), and if you played the game more than once, the characters that were replicants the first time around, weren't necessarily replicants the second time, or the third time etc.
Also, interestingly, it all took place in real time and events didn't wait for your presence to happen. If a suspect was going to be at a certain location at a certain time, they'd come and go whether you were there to intercept them or not (in other words, the exact opposite of L.A. Noire's hand-holding).
Of course, adventure games aren't to everyone's taste, but the game still sold more than 1 million copies.
"Still, beyond a few nitpicking faults, Blade Runner ultimately delivers a fantastic, atmospheric gaming experience that compliments the film experience perfectly. The 13 different endings also offer immense replay value to counteract the relatively short completion time, and the game is sure to stay in many players' minds long after it has been shelved upon completion, beckoning to be revisited again later. It is a shame that other film based video games are not given as much respect by their developers as is on display here in this game—a rare gem"
- adventureclassicgaming.com
steve w on 30 Jun '11 said:
Blade runner awful film saw it last year the only part I did like was the music.
STE MO on 30 Jun '11 said:
Blade Runner game would've been awesome. If they use the LA noir technology you could have a total side story in which you find out Deckard is an android! Or his he?
rtv053 on 30 Jun '11 said:
I'd just be happy with a re-release of the Blade Runner adventure game on XBLA or PSN... the original game is almost impossible to play on modern machines.
kimoak on 30 Jun '11 said:
Yeah. It's an excellent game. Lots of atmosphere and a point and click adventure game that you can play more than one. I remember being shocked at its size. About 1.2gig on my hard drive. At the time, that was huuuuge! I used to have a copy of the game but we had cable modem installed years ago and I suspect the guy who set up our modem nicked it because I could never find it after he visited. (It was always on our shelf) Bastard!
martinawatson on 30 Jun '11 said:
Try "the Island" starring Ewan Mcgreger , it was f**king s**t and as deep as a puddle, so you might like it.
I agree Blade runner its best left alone , however that point and click version was very interesting and a pretty huge undertaking by all accounts.
steve w on 30 Jun '11 said:
Try "the Island" starring Ewan Mcgreger , it was f**king s**t and as deep as a puddle, so you might like it.
I agree Blade runner its best left alone , however that point and click version was very interesting and a pretty huge undertaking by all accounts.
I liked the island great film.
rocapocalyptic on 30 Jun '11 said:
Read a retrospective on the Blade Runner game in a recent issue of Edge a short while back, basically the reason the game has never seen a re-release nor is ever likely to is because the Blade Runner Partnership wants a huge chunk out of any potential deals concerning the IP.
Headsrinker on 2 Jul '11 said:
Yeah i also really enjoyed the 1997 Blade Runner game. It was really atmospheric and had about 7/8 different endings to the game if i remember correctly.