Here’s an interesting bit of information I missed to pass along with all the information on Slightly Mad Studios’ involvement with the Need for Speed series.
The studios’ new homepage includes a very interesting comment from a staff member about legal problems with their Ferrari Project simulation. Many people wondered if the Need for Speed deal would be the end to the project. It does not seem to be as the studio is currently working on resolving the issues which could possibly be related to SMS acquiring Blimey! Games – The initial holders of the license.
Officially licensed by the legendary Italian car maker, Ferrari Project is planned to include a wide range of Ferrari cars, from modern road cars to vintage racing cars that sported the prancing horse.
Zorlac
February 2nd, 2009 at 05:01
I will be very angry if this game is canceled, especially for any NFS project.
tarnakman
February 2nd, 2009 at 07:23
if they cancel this i… uhm!.. i will never buy a ferrari again!
six.degrees
February 2nd, 2009 at 10:41
As I remember it all licenses were actually acquired by 10tacle. Presumably they were then transferred to Blimey but who knows.. passing the Ferrari license through two companies who have failed doesn’t really look good so maybe there’s some resistance. Could be it’s still tangled up in litigation with 10tacle’s debtors and the insolvency of Blimey has made the whole process more complicated. Who knows. For Slightly Mad as a games studio the NFS deal is nothing but good news, though, as it safeguards them for years to come
Lockguard
February 2nd, 2009 at 16:14
I want this game so bad!! I really hope that they find a solution..
ral42
February 3rd, 2009 at 00:29
“safeguards them for years to come”? Hahaha! Oh.. That’s a good one.
six.degrees
February 3rd, 2009 at 11:04
Why? Working on a major title for a big publisher like EA is worth a lot to an independent developer like Blimey/Slighty Mad. You might not like it but it pays the bills… something which was obviously a problem for the previous incarnation of the company.
tarnakman
February 4th, 2009 at 00:42
six.degrees: if they’re “saved” for turning into a pseudo-sim developer i would have prefer bankruptcy. Blimey! was known to be one of the only remaining talented developer out there. EA tried to buy LFS a couple of years ago so they could avoid having the “arcade” label on them, the guys refused because they wanted to keep their freedom, i think Blimey! should have done the same but hey.. money talks (and sims goes down)
i just hope this mysterious ferrari game will be saved.
six.degrees
February 4th, 2009 at 02:02
Their employees wouldn’t've preferred bankruptcy. Even if the game isn’t a sim as such, it ultimately doesn’t matter – if the company didn’t exist there would be no sim either. I really don’t get what’s so hard to grasp about it.
the.cosmic.pope
February 4th, 2009 at 02:03
You’d rather no bankrupt and have to let your staff go? Tell me son, what age are you? Don’t have to hold down a job to feed the family eh?
Welcome to the real world. They are doing what they need to do to survive. Get used to it, because it is going to be a hell of a lot tougher than this with more and more companies feeling the squeeze of recession.
Sodapop
February 4th, 2009 at 03:04
I don’t know how old he is, but I’d like to make a wager on your maturity level which can’t be more than a ten year old’s.
Now if we’re through with this childishness, let’s get to the point. Nobody gets into the PC car sim business to make serious money. It’s an extremely niche genre of games that most hardcore gamers, even gamers in general, seem to have completely lost interest in. Basically it seems people get into this business because they want to do what they love to do and at least make a little money at it. So it’s sad when a dev hits the skids and realizes that they have to “sell out” just to stay afloat because pretty soon “selling out” becomes easier and easier. Scary stuff.
Sure people need to do what it takes to earn some dough. However when you deal with EA, the price for survival can end up being a little too high.
the.cosmic.pope
February 4th, 2009 at 22:43
Gotta love it. People would rather have the company die and the development team go unemployed than actually make a living for themselves. This is what the sim racing community has become eh. Pathetic. Down right pathetic.
tarnakman
February 5th, 2009 at 01:44
i though this was a “sim” racing blog.. so why everyone clap their hands with simbin and blimey making pseudo sims.. before questioning my age, ask yourself about your i.q.
the.cosmic.pope
February 5th, 2009 at 13:31
Yeah, lets talk about my opinion and IQ.
Your opinion – Everyone sticks to sim racing, Slightly Mad can’t afford to continue, close up shop and the staff are out of a job.
My opinion – Slightly Mad give sim racing a ago, but in this tough economic climate can’t make ends meet, so do what they can do keep the company alive, rather than making their staff unemployed.
But hey, I guess Slightly Mad agreed with me, rather than yourself. That is good enough for me. Still want to talk about IQs?
They are doing what they need to do to survive and keep the staff in a job. If they didn’t, we still wouldn’t have a sim, and you’dstill be bitching anyway. So wipe that sand out of your vagina and think about it from Slightly Mads point of view. Survive, or go unemployed? Easy decision. Well, for those of us who live in the real world.