Why Lionhhead does not invest money in TM2?

Please don't shout at me if this has been posted which i believe it has but there is no way i can find it!

I don't understand that such a game like TM has not even seen a third expansion pack or a even better sequel. Come on! Look at The Sims, that was (and is) big time money making machine, I cannot believe TM has not been a investment for Lionhead! I really can't. Although it seems that the investment has not returned that much, otherwise i am sure TM2 would be on she shelves!

Last December Lionhead closed TMO due to low visits and interest, well, it really does not surprise me, we have been using the same game for almost 4 years. I mean, the game is great but you get to this point where you need something better/newer.

Do we have any hope at all for a well worthed sequel?

Cheers guys!

 

 

 

It was a game, but unfortunately it was not a investment for Lionhead. Sales of The Movies and its expansion were not . A sequel may have been possible, were it not for Microsoft buying Lionhead.

Microsoft will be wanting Lionhead to be developing Xbox 360 exclusive titles (like Fable 2 and whatever they're working on next). Games like The Movies wouldn't work well on the consoles, so I doubt we'll be seeing anything like this from Peter Molyneux any time in the near future.

It's important to note, that The Sims money making was not because it was used for Machinima. It's because they tapped the casual market (Will Wright himself says they're not games, but computer toys).

So very little hope, to answer your question. Sorry!

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The only thing worse than beating a dead horse is betting on one.

You really cannot compare these two games at all, i agree with you. The Sims really tapped the casual market but... The idea of making movies in this game was really a "brand new idea" (besides of HM and blah blah blah) and we've got to admit that we all have sometime dreamt about making one so I doubt that the reception of the game was that bad.

I've got to say though that even my girldfriend and I have played together The Sims before and not The Movies since she found it too complex in the way that you've got to invest huge amount of time to make an acceptable movie and she aint have it! lol

I don't know, I have been checking Lionheads website from time to time hoping that there is news about it but as you say... the hope is really minimum!! LOL

Well, just so they know that if they ever do release TM2 they can count with one more purchase!

Thanks a lot for the answer I really appreciate your honesty

Cheers!

As much as we stalwarts who still really get our use out of The Movies would wish it to be so, there is more chance of us all being smashed to death by a falling asteroid in the next 10 seconds than a Movies 2 ever being released, unfortunately.

Whichever way you cut it, the game just didn't ship enough units to make a sequel financially viable for LH (which is a massive shame, as the game has evolved way past a simple "studio tycoon" type management sim, into a tool for creating some damned fine machinima (as a single glance at any of the movie sites will tell you)). 

Even 3 years on, The Movies is still being used in conjunction with outside editing and other programs to produce some electrifying full-length and short form movies, which is a tribute to the solidity of the game engine and the determination and love the community has for it; that said, the official support for it was massively lacking in all ways except for the single expansion pack (though, again, financially the game was a loss maker for LH, which pretty much nailed the lid on any further cash being poured down a drain, from a fiscal point of view, on a product that was only really taken to heart by a niche market).  As a management sim, it's no great shakes; as a machinima making tool, it was years ahead of it's time and it's potential still hasn't been exceeded by the newer programs (iClone and Moviestorm) which are out there now.

Sure, it was a little clunky and it's interfaces are horribly awkward, and sure there are only X number of pre-rendered animations available, but it's still a great piece of software and it'll be a long time (if ever) before it's ever beaten as a film-making tool.

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Machinima maker? Using The Movies? iClone? Moviestorm? Any other engine? Then check out TMUnderground at (http://www.tmunderground.com/)

Cassidius:

the game has evolved way past a simple "studio tycoon" type management sim, into a tool for creating some damned fine machinima

This is one of the problems with The Movies that I have brought up time and time again. The Movies suffered from a case of multiple personality syndrome, and couldn't seem to settle on what it really wanted to be. I suppose that's similar to what happened with Spore, except that was on a larger degree - we were left with an interesting sim, made up of mediocre mini-games. And it wasn't even particularly seamless, all of it seemed like a run up to the 'real game' the space sim at the end.
Anyway, Peter Molyneux has proven himself to be really at god games. From his Bullfrog years with Populous, Dungeon Keeper to his Lionhead years with Black and White. His management sims are also top notch. (Theme Park, Theme Hospital, Syndicate etc). But The Movies was definitely lacking. Why? Because they split focus too much and were working on two other games at the same time.

There should have been a very early development decision to go down either one of the paths available. Either make a great Hollywood tycoon simulator or accessible and groundbreaking movie making software. Choosing both only left us with two , yet obviously lacking products.
This also reveals itself in the marketing of the game. I don't think Activision knew how to approach it. Even the Wikipedia article on The Movies says it's a 'business simulation game' not movie making software.
I don't think people really knew what was possible with The Movies, I certainly didn't and wanted it out of curiosity more than anything else. (I figured it was Lionhead, let's give it a shot).

But then, Lionhead make games. They don't make utility software that would end up in the 'hobbyist' section of your local department store.

What I wouldn't mind is if they sold the rights to the game to another company who wanted to focus completely on the movie making aspect. I'm not sure if politically speaking in the world of Activision, Lionhead and Microsoft that would be something they'd consider, or even if there are developers who'd want to give it a shot, but it seems like the best route to me.

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The only thing worse than beating a dead horse is betting on one.