Sonic 293 Posted February 22, 2011 Rock, Paper, Shotgun has got the latest report on the future of Command & Conquer in their Reddest Alert: C&C To Return news article. You can read the full story below but I'll summarise it here. It would appear that a new studio called "Victory Games" will be making the next game. The next game could simply be called "Command & Conquer", no other subtitle. It probably going to be on PC only, so console fans miss out. Plus it would seem that there is some sort of new official C&C site located at www.cncstage.com, however at the time of posting this new update it wasn't working. Read the full story below. Reddest Alert: C&C To Return This happened all of sudden, and quietly. EA stealth-rebooted its Command & Conquer website, announcing in quick succession a new community manager, a whole new studio and a brand new, mystery C&C game. We thought it was all over. (C’mon, we didn’t think it was all over for even a second). It isn’t now. Sounds like they’re really going for it this time. Commandingly, they sound like they want to conquer strategy again. Very, very few details to go on as yet, but the new studio is based in three locations (LA, Texas, Shanghai), is called Victory Games and will head up EA’s entire strategy portfolio (somewhat hobbled by the closure of EA LA last year). Was there really not a Victory Games before? It is a fine name. They should be proud of it. The telltale line, so far, comes from the aforementioned new studio’s boss Jon Van Caneghem, who says in an interview with his own site that “Our current focus is making a AAA Command & Conquer game, which I am very excited to be working on…” Thankfully, AAA for once doesn’t mean ‘console.’ He continues, “I can tell you it’s a Command & Conquer game for the PC, but we’re not yet at a stage where I can go into any details— we’ll be prepared to make a more formal announcement later in the year. We’re not just working on a game, though. Our general focus is on the future of Command & Conquer. That means updating a lot of the core technology to create a stable base for future development, and leveraging that work on this first game.” I’m guessing that’s going to mean something more persistently online, to be the CoD of RTS, or perhaps even the WoW of RTS. That is a complete guess, but as it’s an avenue more people are exploring and that StarCraft II perhaps didn’t go quite as far with as it could have done (preferring instead to stick to very swish ultra-competitive play) there remains a gap for it.. There’s also this line, hidden in the About page: “With over 30 million sold, Command & Conquer now looks to the future, with plans to combine classic RTS gameplay with bold new technology, innovative new concepts and, as always, tanks by the dozen.” I’m quite excited, to be honest. C&C4, despite trying very hard to be different and a bold break with the past, also seemed to me to hint that EA as a business had lost no small amount of interest in PC strategy. All this rather sounds like they’ve changed their mind. I’m going to wildly guess they’ll call the new game simply “Command & Conquer”. COLONS AND SUBTITLES ARE THE PAST. We have had no official statement from EA about all this, and a lot Rock, Paper, Shotgun's article seems to be based on speculation and guess work to me. As things develop we will keep you informed here at CNCNZ.com. Click here for the original article. Share this post Link to post
Silverthorn 0 Posted February 22, 2011 (edited) Victory Games and will head up EA’s entire strategy portfolio (somewhat hobbled by the closure of EA LA last year) EALA closed? I don't think so. Or am I confused about it? *dizzy head* “With over 30 million sold, Command & Conquer now looks to the future, with plans to combine classic RTS gameplay with bold new technology, innovative new concepts and, as always, tanks by the dozen.” I hope the word "classic" is really true, and not some experimentation like C&C4, the execs thought they could just experiment it with no regrets, but we already know that it turned out disastrous. Anyway, let's hope he keeps his promise on this one, it's going to be challenging to bring this great franchise to its former glory. Edited February 22, 2011 by Silverthorn Share this post Link to post
neogrant 4 Posted February 22, 2011 Dam I wondered what CNCStage.com was, came across that earlier when cnctube was up! Share this post Link to post
Plok 320 Posted February 22, 2011 neogrant, can you tell us what was it about and what did the thing look like? *waits impatiently* Share this post Link to post
Doctor Destiny 41 Posted February 22, 2011 it's going to be challenging to bring this great franchise to its former glory. And you know who makes that difficult? It's not EA. It's the idiot fans who cling to Westwood like a child clinging to a blanket. Share this post Link to post
neogrant 4 Posted February 22, 2011 (edited) neogrant, can you tell us what was it about and what did the thing look like? *waits impatiently* Well, my memory isn't the greatest, but on the frontpage was news I hadn't seen on CNCNz or even from the official CNC boards/facebook. At the time I thought it was just a fake site, then i visited the whoisdomain and found ea registered it. Baring in mind i registered on the forums and got an email saying my EA MASTER ACCOUNT is activated. Whatever that was. The forums were vB. There was news regarding CNCTube and someone must have clicked the link hence why i visited the place. There was news regarding the new cnc community manager, who he was, and there was an interview there with it , had a picture of his face etc Probably would have taken a snapshot of it if i wasn't so wasted coming in at 3 in the morning, thought nothing of it the next afternoon, and it was gone Can only find a bit of the blog in cache http://cnctube.com/cncstage.html But as a whole the site looked great. Much better than the current C&C one. Could be in for a treat. Edited February 22, 2011 by neogrant Share this post Link to post
Chronojam 3 Posted February 22, 2011 And you know who makes that difficult? It's not EA. It's the idiot fans who cling to Westwood like a child clinging to a blanket. The fans didn't make C&C 4. How does a company even backpedal from that? They need to do a reboot or somehow sidestep it all. Share this post Link to post
Doctor Destiny 41 Posted February 22, 2011 I think you missed my meaning. I was originally trying to point out that some fans will complain, bitch, whine and moan about everything in every game made by EA because it's not Westwood making the game and it doesn't live up to what they 'think' it should be. Share this post Link to post
Plok 320 Posted February 22, 2011 Can only find a bit of the blog in cache http://cnctube.com/cncstage.html But as a whole the site looked great. Much better than the current C&C one. Could be in for a treat. Judging by the remnants of the content, it might have been a sort of mini-CNCNZ. It was surely definitely worthy to see. I think you missed my meaning. I was originally trying to point out that some fans will complain, bitch, whine and moan about everything in every game made by EA because it's not Westwood making the game and it doesn't live up to what they 'think' it should be. Ooooooh, we're talking of surely 90% of the community (if the number of such comments on Youtube videos is to be trusted) Share this post Link to post
AlexB 8 Posted February 23, 2011 I was originally trying to point out that some fans will complain, bitch, whine and moan about everything in every game made by EA because it's not Westwood making the game and it doesn't live up to what they 'think' it should be. This does depend on why they think EA games are crap. I'm one of these old-school people, too, because I'd like to have the Westwood style back - but not the company itself. Not (only) because EA is a corporate juggernaut and they will backstab the fans the moment the money is on the counter. Today's games are larger, way more complex to design and code. From TD to RA they added skirmish, higher resolutions and all in all minor stuff to the same engine. Still took them a year. Without losing quality (and WWs games weren't perfect at all) this can't be done any more today, yet you get the beta key for the next installment along with the current release. After the major engine overhaul, TS was delayed, delayed, and delayed. EA doesn't do that even if the product still needs some love; it hurts quaterly figures. For me, this is about corporate policy. EA won't change because they "know better" than the fans. They always say they'll change this time (how often have you heard this?) but in retrospective they kept the same over all the years. EA just isn't the company to add dinosaur or ant missions to a game just for fun, and I think they never will be. They rationalize fun; they don't understand, they just do stuff by the numbers. Anyone remember ? I hope the new community manager will actually be more a part of a feedback loop to tell the narrow-minded managers and bean counters what the fans would like to have instead of being just a redundant crap evangelist next to their marketing machinery. If managers start to hate the CM while the fans like him, he'd doing his job well. I certainly don't have to like EA just because WW won't come back and there's no way to get back to old virtues. If EA's games don't deliver what I like, odds are they won't get my money. I'm expendable. Looking at the facebook comments I wonder where the threshold is beyond which it hurts EA more than me. Sorry for this wall of text. Share this post Link to post
Saracen 16 Posted February 23, 2011 “With over 30 million sold, Command & Conquer now looks to the future, with plans to combine classic RTS gameplay with bold new technology, innovative new concepts and, as always, tanks by the dozen.” Is it me, or does the bold part I've highlighted still smell of MMO? I had a recent look at Petroglyph's End of Nations, have to say, it's looking miles better than it did when they first announced. MMO's put me off though. I prefer to buy a license to play the game and have done. To continue paying to play isn't justified in my eyes. I play Starcraft 2 (Best RTS in years!) a lot, but I still wouldn't pay monthly if it had MMO multiplayer... just saying. I will take a look at this though when is pops its head around the corner. I gave up on RTS entirely until I got Starcraft 2, and thanks to that game, I'm back into believing the genre still has plenty of potential, and my gameplay style has changed thanks to watching pros, and seeing the diversity of the Multiplayer Strategies. Some of which you have to put into the campaign on harder levels to succeed. OK, we can't expect EA to spend 12 years getting around to a new game, pay many millions of dollars in development, and create an RTS masterpiece like the true kings, Blizzard can. But with the history this Franchise has with its sheer highs, and depressing lows... They should be able to find a half decent equilibrium and make a solid title which can help towards rejuvenating a once dominant PC gaming genre. That to me is the most important thing right now... Good quality format exclusive titles that show that the PC still can bring it to the dominating console generation. Share this post Link to post
Silverthorn 0 Posted February 23, 2011 And luckily I already forgive EA a little bit, Doctor, sure, WW here and there, but like I said and listen properly & carefully, former glory like I said is NOT going back to the old Westwood times (We don't have a time machine! Duh!), is by going back to its time when C&C was really famous and it should be rather than just taking advantage of its fame and use it to earn cash and do whatever it wants. Anyone messes with a famous brand will surely get huge consequences. Share this post Link to post
Malevolence 6 Posted February 23, 2011 Whatever this is, I really hope to see some great C&C game with an impressive storyline and innovative gameplay and stuff that redefines RTS as a genre. That's all I can ask. P.S. And stop that EA-Westwood crap, I'm so sick of this endless BS from EA fanboys, Westwood fanboys, and haters. Let it go. Share this post Link to post
mirza044 4 Posted February 23, 2011 (edited) Is it me, or does the bold part I've highlighted still smell of MMO? I'm afraid that they heading in that direction. I'm not a fan of MMOs simply because I don't have time (job, etc...) and I dislike everything what requires persistent playing and all time internet connection (C&C4). I only wish is that the next C&C has some decent SP campaign and possibility to play offline (skirmish) against AI (with basebuilding) Edited February 23, 2011 by mirza044 Share this post Link to post
Sonic 293 Posted February 23, 2011 Is it me, or does the bold part I've highlighted still smell of MMO? Not really. Could mean anything. Like a brand new engine or something. Share this post Link to post
Silverthorn 0 Posted February 23, 2011 Well Mal, I guess it's time for me to just leave it as it is. It's no point keep on going around in circles. You get the idea. Share this post Link to post
recover 2 Posted February 23, 2011 I don't like it when they reboot a franchise and stop using subtitles. Ah, why do I even care? This new C&C is for the new generation. Share this post Link to post
TheBlackOut 6 Posted March 6, 2011 I don't like it when they reboot a franchise and stop using subtitles. Ah, why do I even care? This new C&C is for the new generation. It could possibly be a good, nice new franchise, with similarities to the old we love, so I think we should at least care and keep an open mind.. at least for this game. If this one were to stink after C&C4, that would be horrible haha Share this post Link to post
