Vivendi-Activision-Blizzard merger/agreement

Discussion in 'Arcanum 2 Suggestion Forum' started by papa_dog_1999, Aug 24, 2008.

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  1. papa_dog_1999

    papa_dog_1999 Well-Known Member

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    Not sure if I should have added this to the topic Rights to Arcanum's Sequel? or not. I didn’t want to grave dig.

    With the whole Vivendi/Activision/Blizzard merger/agreement, does anyone think there’s a chance of Arcanum being resurrected?

    Off the top of my head, I would think not, but would pressure from the fan base make a difference? Maybe bring the profit potential to their attention? Maybe a snail-mail/e-mail campaign?

    Any thoughts?
     
  2. GarmGarf

    GarmGarf New Member

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    Well, one of the designers of Arcanum, Leonard Boyarsky, is the lead world designer of Diablo III.

    That would be so sweet if Blizzard made "Arcaunm: [insert cool name here]", with Leonard Boyarsky as the lead world designer, and more, of course.

    Dam; checking out what's happening to the 3 lead designers of Arcnaum, 2 of them are working on MMOGs. :/
     
  3. wayne-scales

    wayne-scales Well-Known Member

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    I don't think Arcanum had enough of a fanbase to meet the requirments for a sequel.
     
  4. GarmGarf

    GarmGarf New Member

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  5. Philes

    Philes Well-Known Member

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    Even if it did, the odds of someone going through the vault and dusting off a classic IP is pretty small.

    Especially with the wildly successful Blizzard brands already out there.

    But, here's to hoping....
     
  6. The O

    The O New Member

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    Arcanum came out same month Diablo LoD did if i recall right.
    That means lots of rpg fans getting sucked into the simpler pleasure.
    I've been telling people what they have missed since... :-(
     
  7. Wolfsbane

    Wolfsbane Well-Known Member

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    There will never be an Arcanum 2. It didn't get big enough to ensure a sequel, and now it's most certainly forgotten by game developers.
     
  8. Peter Quincy

    Peter Quincy Member

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    Besides, a goodly portion of my love for that game is the fact that it is a niche title that few people have heard of. If it were mainstream, I would still like it, but less. Besides there's is no way a sequel would satisfy the expectations of elitists like myself. I'd love to be proven wrong on that point, but there you are.
     
  9. papa_dog_1999

    papa_dog_1999 Well-Known Member

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    This is sadly true. However, I can dream and hope and wish for it to happen. I can also practice other exercises in futility.

    Well, in my little fantasy world of another Arcanum, the geniuses at Sierra et. al. gather resource from the fan base for input or even to work on the damn thing. For example, I'm sure folks like Drog Black Tooth and rroyo, etc. could be persuaded to participate for a nice little Sierra bonus package.
     
  10. Peter Quincy

    Peter Quincy Member

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  11. Dark Elf

    Dark Elf Administrator Staff Member

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    I've heard rumors about World of Starcraft, and despite my opinion on MMORPG's, they do churn in a whole lot more dough than other games do. Guess that's what makes them popular with the publishers and all, you know.
     
  12. GarmGarf

    GarmGarf New Member

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    I think "World of StarCraft" was just a joke by one of the designers at a convention.

    He said something like: "everyone ready for World of StarCraft?!", and the reaction was poor so he goes: "dam. Scrap that. Well that's 4 years down the drain" and everyone laughed.
     
  13. Vorak

    Vorak Administrator Staff Member

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    The only thing publishers are likely to remember about Arcanum is that it leaked prior to release so nobody bought an authentic copy.

    Piracy killed Arcanum.
     
  14. papa_dog_1999

    papa_dog_1999 Well-Known Member

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    That’s what I’d heard. I wonder how it got out. Intentional leak to drive up interest? Insider asshole trying to make a buck? Outsider hacking in?

    It really doesn’t matter, I suppose. Things like that can’t be undone. No cosmic reset button. :cry:

    Piracy. As much as I like Jack Sparrow, I’d have to kill him myself if I found out he was responsible for the murder of Arcanum. :x
     
  15. Vorak

    Vorak Administrator Staff Member

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    I remember reading somewhere it was a problem with something Sierra did with the files after Troika delivered the finished game. But beyond that I've got no idea.
     
  16. Dark Elf

    Dark Elf Administrator Staff Member

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    Troika was one of those developers that just couldn't sell enough, piracy or not. See, the magic number a publisher wants to see before considering a sequel is 500,000 units, and every game Troika made, including Fallout, had sales figures hovering about the 350,000 copies mark. Piracy certainly takes part of the blame, but I believe that their main problem was an inability to create the hype required to get those awesome sales (for example, I probably wouldn't even have heard of Arcanum if the demo hadn't been in one of those PC magazines I used to buy at the time). Troika was all about innovation and creating great games; sadly, they didn't have the marketing and business talent needed to keep a company afloat.
     
  17. Sinner

    Sinner New Member

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    I feel that way too. I wouldn't want to see an official sequel, or even worse, a MMORPG-Arcanum, (or even worse, created by Blizzard. *Shocked*).

    It's nice to see this little, mature elitè-community. It makes the game much more interesting for me. On the other hand, it would be nice to see a sequel from the community itself (I saw that few projects are ongoing even though I'm a bit sceptic).

    Then again, it's just me probably.


    -Sinner
     
  18. Archmage Orintil

    Archmage Orintil New Member

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    The chaps around here typically beat a necromancer with his own shovel for whatever reason. :teeth:
    :lol:
     
  19. Twizman

    Twizman New Member

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    Leonard Boyarsky is currently a lead designer on Diablo III. He was part of the founding triumvirate of Troika Games and worked a lot on Arcanum.

    Maybe he could turn the levers of power within Blizzard and help revive the Arcanum ip?

    Here is an interesting post I found -

    http://www.overclock.net/video-games-ge ... equel.html
     
  20. DarkFool

    DarkFool Nemesis of the Ancients

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    If they make a World of Arcanum, I'll personally see to the death of every Blizzard employee. :lol: I would love to see an Arcanum 2, but I would want it to take place either a) on a different continent, or b) do it FF style, and make it a whole world.
     
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