Activision: True Crime was "not good enough"

Eurogamer: Open world actioner True Crime: Hong Kong was cancelled because it just wasn't up to scratch, according to publisher Activision.

Following on from the announcement earlier today that the United Front-developed title had been scrapped, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg explained that the publisher didn't believe it could compete in a crowded marketplace.

[GSpartan777]

O_O WTF! OMG I was really looking forward to it.

[Agent Smith]

"True Crime was 'not good enough'"

Lol, because Tony Hawk: Ride was SO great.

[Yi-Long]

... I'm a HUGE fan of sandbox games like GTA, plus I've been to Hong Kong a lot of times and absolutely LOVE that city...

... but there's been nothing that I've read, seen or heard about this game, that actually had me excited. It looked mediocre at best, plus I felt it didn't do Hong Kong justice AT ALL.

... still sad to see it cancelled, cause I was curious to see how it would eventually turn out, but the way it was looking, it didn't look like an AAA game to me.

I hope they can still somehow publish it, and I hope Activision or at least Bobby will rot in hell.

[blitz0623]

Activision is just like Microsoft. It's all about making money. Since CoD sold so much they're just gonna milk it now.

[SuperLupe]

Yep and Sony are all about handing out money alright.

[norman29]

Fuck off dickheads, you only dropped it so you can devote your attention to COD, how about you go milk a fucking cow instead? you pricks make me sick and ashamed to be a gamer!

[Baka-akaB]

@SuperLupe

Of course they are there to make money , but do they try once everywhile something risky and bordeline indie ?

Short answer yes along with nintendo and a few others .

When has Microsoft or Activision ever tried that in games ?

[Baka-akaB]

People can disagree all they want .. sony as a publisher got a few stuff rather original and hardly that mainstream (at least not expected to sell millions when released) , some even considered art , such as Jumping Flash , Kurushi(Intelligent Cube) , Parappa the rapper , Kula World , Siren , Ico , Shadows of the Colossus , Folklore , Ape escape , and probably a few more .

Same goes for Nintendo imo .

Look at the list of games from Microsoft and especially Activision , and you'll be hard pressed to find similarly low key stuff .

[badz149]

"Yep and Sony are all about handing out money alright."

that's kinda TRUE if you really think about it. they were selling every single PS3 at a loss since launch and just recently making profit on console sales. that counts as handing out money too, right?

[DaTruth]

This is one of those titles I remember as "$hit my friend(who knows nothing about games) suggested was the next GTA and I stupidly listened!" Like that crappy riot game!

I absolutely hated Streets of L.A. It seemed cheaply made, just had bad gameplay and story!

Unless some developer with skill or isn't being run by slActivision takes a crack, I won't look at these games again!

[captain-obvious]

United Front don't deserve this
maybe they should have stuck with Sony

and that Pic is perfect
he got a gun to his head

[labaronx]

GREATEST POST EVER

[visualb]

coming from the people that publish broken POS games and crap like Tony Hawk Ride and SHred...

this is bullshit

[-Alpha]

It is bullshit. What they mean to say is "True Crime had too much competition from Saints Row and GTA, we didn't care to compete and elevate the product, so instead of staying competitive we will back this product out because it isn't as profitable as we like"

They don't want to put the effort in to make it successful and only care about minimal work resulting in maximum profits.

[badz149]

if "for Kotick", this game is "not good enough", the game must be on TRASH level because he thinks CoD and Tony Hawk is "good enough" but for many, it's far from "good enough"!

[Eddie20101]

Like Activision hasn't released a half baked game before, and when its a buggy game they take forever to fix it, if they fix it at all.

[joydestroy]

i was as well. hopefully someone will pick it up. it had to have been close to being done, right?

[Dart89]

God i just wanna punch his face.

[lepolohuevo]

Rejoice, it's being taken care of.Look, he's standing perfectly in the way of the gunbarrel.

[HolyOrangeCows]

LOL, exactly what I was thinking.

If that doesn't work, maybe Hitman can help out.

[joydestroy]

HAHA!

[Visari]

The CoD games aren't good enough either but it doesn't stop them from selling it.

[AKA]

lol

[SuperLupe]

Yeah COD bashing is trendy on N4G. From the "outside" it just looks and sounds so...stupid. Acting all elistist and stuff...oh well whatever makes the "N4G community" feel good.

I'm no COD fan nor hater but COD local multiplayer with a group of pals and a couple of beers is just straight out pure raw fun. Feel sorry for the people here who probably agree but just act like they hate it anyway just to be "cool" or who are missing out on great gaming experiences for the sake of their fake a$$ elitism.

edit: was meant to be a reply to 3.2

[NoobSessions]

Playing COD is just mindless fun. But hey, fun is fun right?

[FailOverHero]

CoD games are just a punching bag for you people aren't they? Its cool to hate what is popular I suppose

[Jio]

CoD is nothing, people didnt always hate it. We dont hate it because its popular, we hate it because it is trash.

[PirateThom]

When Call of Duty stops being a broken, derivative and overall generic franchise, lauded beyond its standing, then it will stop being a target.

[ShinMaster]

Is it also cool to assume people hate something cause it's popular?

I'm sorry the COD games are the only games spinning in your 360. I really wish you had more games to play on that.
No need to get touchy.

[Active Reload]

I could never sit on the internet spewing hatred towards...a video game? People need to get a life! If you dislike something, state your opinion once and move on. I seem the same people saying the same shit 24/7. Did the game take your spouse out for a one night-stand? I don't know how someone over the age of...24(lol) can even consider such behavior, let alone taking the time out to log in to bitch and complain. Go look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself to take a time-out.

[SuperLupe]

Yes because 360 owners didnt buy Reach nor Fable nor Assassins Creed right ? What was spinning in your PS3 before GT5 came out ? I mean GOW 3 came out in March...theres only that many times u can play through GOW 3 while waiting for GT5 (the "perfect" videogame) to come out.

"I could never sit on the internet spewing hatred towards...a video game? People need to get a life!" Couldnt say it any better

[house]

you remind me of one of my friends, cod can be the biggest piece of crap and he will still like it because all his other friends buy it so he can hang with them and drink a beer and play the local m.p.

don't get me wrong i love playing with friends hanging out playing a great game but i will stop bashing on it when they at the least make the s.p longer a better story and not a broken m.p if they can at the least fix one!! i will layoff a bit because im tired of the same rehash game every year.
cheers

[DaTruth]

"I seem the same people saying the same shit 24/7."

It amazes me that people manage to keep track of which of the 500,000 people who frequent N4G, says what!

But I also try to save storage in my brain(even with my vast amount) for much more important things... like just about any other thing!

[ShinMaster]

360 fans need to stop bringing multiplatform games into these type of conversations.

It only proves my point even more.

[metsgaming]

you beat me to it ! lol

[ceedubya9]

Fail, you may be on to something. Despite how much the majority of N4G hates the series now, you can't deny how big of a seller it is. They will keep making it until people stop buying it.

[JoeReno]

Amen brother.. My thoughts exactly.

Got to love that picture with that gun pointed at kotex head

[edwineverready]

It was alreday really far in production. Why stop now?

[LarVanian]

Nick Kang seems to be pointing his gun at the right target lol.

[nevin1]

I remember playing through it( didnt finsih) despite its billion flaws.

[Sigh]

wtf?! What an idiot. True Crime was like one of the last hopes of Activision having some sort of originality, different from just COD all the time. Yes I know True Crime has shooting also, but still.

[Baka-akaB]

They should pull a Brutal legends , and come with it at EA if they can (and if EA wants it obviously)

[Shaymin]

What the hell is wrong with Bobby Kotick

[Black102WingS]

Simple, it doesn't sell.

[HeavenlySnipes]

True Crime WASN"T any good. IDK why you guys are so bent over it being canceled. How many of you were in anticipation for another True Crime game lol.

[pr0digyZA]

To be honest I thought it looked really promising, To me it seemed like the saboteur, by that I mean it might not have scored well, but still end up being a fun and addictive game. Remember scores don't mean everything.

[ShinFuYux]

They should of at least made this a Digital form. :(

[BornToKill]

i wish that gun to his head was real.

the finger too.

[Der_Kommandant]

I will never purchase an activision game again ever on any platform

I Swear to Fuck!ng God

[MarioWarfare]

What I say to the call of duty fanboys is the same thing I say to hiphopgamer fans, We don't hate cod/hhg because he is famous, we hate it because it's trash.

[DEADEND]

Look the way he sees it is if it's not COD then they are not going to make a billion dollars off of it so they won't waste their time on the game. It will come back to bite them in the ass in the long run, you can not put all your hopes into one game and think your company can survive.

[Cajun Chicken]

Oh. Maybe it's best for Sony to buy United Front for Modnation franchise. Activision pulling out of that deal must of had some impact within the company.

[GhettoGeneral]

HAHAHA HE GOT GUN TO HIS HEAD

[jcgamer]

lol, i noticed that too

[Silly gameAr]

I like the article pic.

[Kon]

Oh man, i was looking forward to that game. Death to Kotick!

[NYC_Gamer]

i'll be honest,the true crime series=garbage in my opinion.

[Double_Oh_Snap]

Now this is ridiculous im officially boycotting ACTIVISION! Im truly devastated this game looked amazing United Front really were working hard the jump from E3 build last year to there latest build was astounding I have lost all hope and I truly hope bobby punch me in the face dies

[Zachmo182]

Fuck you activision!! I wanted this game from the looks of E3 videos it looked like it was nearly completed. Such bull oh it won't sell enough. What do they want it to sell as much as COD. Give that a couple years that game will be the next guitar hero. lol they have five studios working on COD now. I can see they'll start releasing a couple a year now.

[silvacrest]

AKA it did not bring COD numbers so we binned it, although the tony hawk franchise still exists for some reason

the only game i was going to get from acti this year was true crime, oh well......saints row better be good

[TABSF]

Basically

Kotick: "We're not going to sell 8 Million units so don't make it."

Developer: "We would make a profit on 1 Million units come on its going to kick ass."

Kotick: "We only want make Call of Duty anyway."

Developer: "So new original content is side lined for recycled GARBAGE!!!."

Kotick: "That's it, phoning the FBI, this is terrorism, well done you've lost your life and your family for not agreeing with me, also we just bankrolled you company and we will close them next week. enjoy prison."

[CaptainPunch]

"True Crime, was not good enough" Yeah and rehashing the same game is? Let's hope another publisher picks this game up.

[Raider69]

Activion owns the IP rights!

[Raider69]

Lets hope some actual gameplay leaks from some unhappy dev for gamers been able to see the bad decision made by Activision!

[sickbird]

Is the IP owned by activision? Maybe someone will publish it.

[a_bro]

yea, its owned by activision.

[bronxsta]

WTF, Activision?
"Wasn't good enough?" Granted it wasn't going to outdo GTA, but it looked awesome. I was excited about this game and it's cancelled because it wasn't "good enough?"

WTF

[outwar6010]

true crime would have been the first non generic title that activison has seen in a while. For that my boycott from all call of duty has been extended to ANY title affiliated with activision

[Baka-akaB]

I wouldnt recommand wishing for the death of COD anyway ...

As long as the crap sells , they arent ruining something else to turn it into a cod level selling machine .

You know well that with the amount of money they get , they'd acquire some popular studios and its ips to milk dry , before going the way of the dodo .

Basically as long as cod is safe , at least many other ips remains safe .

[OhMyGandhi]

although I never liked the earlier True Crime titles, this one had me interested. all the features done in game informer, psm and egm with interviews the developers, they sounded inspired, and excited. They were going for something fresh and unique and they had a great vision for this game.

[TABSF]

"The day I arrived at the company I said that I believed the best way to achieve commercial success was to provide gamers with highest possible creative quality," he added. "The decision to stop production on True Crime is based solely on that belief."

Well I guess they should just shut down based on that belief, you know with the same dogsh!t rehashed every year.
Its not like they just re-release turds like Call of Duty every year even Guitar Hero is just the same with different menus.

"These are tough decisions but we believe they are the right decision being made for the right reasons and they reflect our ongoing commitment to delivering the games that gamers want to play."

So because 8 or so Million retards purchase the same game every year (COD and Guitar Hero remakes) they think different and original content has no place.
Gamers don't want COD, idiot want it, every 1hr of every day they want a new cod because a new screen and reset ranking systems make it feel new for them.

WOW, I think I just opened a can of worms, every developer is going to clone COD and then recycle it all because we have 8 Million (and climbing) mentally ill people buying games.

[AnonUser5555]

I love how them saying, "This game isnt good enough" turns into an activision rip-fest. What the hell do you people want? They cancel a game so as to not release crap to the public and you are STILL giving them a hard time.absurd.

Send in the disagree boat...since saying anything that isnt overtly negative about acti or cod gets you destroyed here on n4g.

[ATiElite]

True Crime Hong Kong from the game play I saw was really not good at all. Activision did the right thing. The game had PS2 quality with PS1 gameplay, it really was NOT PS3 or 360 quality.

With Activision selling 20 million copies of COD every year why bother making anything but COD. Activision has found it's John Madden Football and they are gonna ride it till the wheels fall off, apply some fix a flat and ride it some more.

I'm glad Activision is trimming the "fat" although some developers will get laid off (but they can form their own company and make indie games) but this will slim Activision down leaving them more focus to MAYBE make a AAA new ip. They got plenty of cash to do it.

[dan_chan89]

ugh activision.

[MARKUS_MAX1MUS]

"These are tough decisions but we believe they are the right decision being made for the right reasons and they reflect our ongoing commitment to delivering the games that gamers want to play."

When have you EVER listened to your community?

So how the fuck do you know what games, gamers want? your basically telling us we want this? shutup you corprate puppet.

And the people you speak of that purchase your games are not gamers, they are masses of idiots who swarm to the latest craze like justin bieber fans. Id compare the CoD crowd to prepubesent girls because they have a sheep herd mentality aswell.

[Psycho_Mantis]

Bobby Kocock i will piss on your grave!!! >:(

[Thoreau]

i was actually going to buy true crime-hong hong

[PandaJenkins]

only bloody Activision game I cared anything for since I loved the first two. Freaking useless milking bastards. The kill GH after it ruining sales for the genre and for Rock Band (the far superior version) and now this? Fuck EA have grown so much while Activision have just gotten more stupid.

[TXIDarkAvenger]

"True Crime isn't good"

But then they continue to make COD games.

[Trroy]

If they didn't believe it could compete, they should have kept it, downsized the team to reduce costs, and lengthened the project by 3-6 month intervals until a market opening was ready. A project can improve hugely with a smaller team, and patience.

[EliteDave93]

Wow i cant beliave this :O

[REDHULKSMASH]

Shit. I wanted that game. The old ones were good last generation, this one looked up to standard this gen. I think they underestimated us, but it definately wouldn't beat cod #'s. I think they didn't want an additional distraction to cod. Cod seems to be getting smacked alot lately then u got crysis 2, killzone3, gears3, so on, cod is going to keep getting more insignificant, it's being seen right on this page. I still play cod but not nearly as much.

[vTuro24]

Activision: "True Crime sales wouldn't statisfy us since we got so spoiled by CoD, so we gonna just milk that instead"

[OhReginald]

and the call of duty series is "good enough"? please....

[NYC_Gamer]

well,in financial terms yes.even though we dislike call of duty the game does break sales records.