Silicon Knights: What Now?

Silicon Knights: What Now?



What's nearest for the developer after its split with Nintendo?

We columned the news this morning that Silicon Knights -- developer of Eternal Darkness and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes -- has sundered ties with Nintendo, and will no longer be a Nintendo next to the first party developer. Silicon Knights' president, Denis Dyack (pictured left) has gone upon record but declined to state reasons for the split, single saying that they are lay open to developing on hardware beyond GameCube, in like manner we decided to speculate upon what those reasons might be.

Matt Leone: with equal reason let's kick this off -- what do you think are a certain quantity of potential reasons for the split?

Dave Smith: Well, nobody's gonna say nothing officially, on the other hand here are some ideas.

Nich Maragos: I don't know. You'd probably have to talk to Dyack, and I'm not fully convinced he'd say anything at this point.

Dave Smith: Marketing: neither game sold that well, and maybe Silicon Knights was disappointed to diocese so little promotion. Delays: the couple game had to be pushed back from its planned release, and maybe Nintendo was f up dealing with that.

Nich Maragos: upon the marketing thing, though, do you think Silicon Knights can do better striking on the outside on their own?

Matt Leone: They have always been the single Nintendo developer to actively do interviews and gain their name out there.

Nich Maragos: Hmm That's authentic but that just highlights single of the things that worries me about the whole thing.

Dave Smith: leave out for the brief period before they clamped down upon Retro, yeah.

Nich Maragos: They're the individual Nintendo developer to do this or that. To actively give interviews, to lay out M-rated content, etc. In the wider world of things, everyone does that. They're losing what made them unique in their have a title to little pool.

Matt Leone: for a like reason will they be able to stand without competing with similar games?

Dave Smith: Well, that hangs on what their next games are. Too Human has been around in the way that long I've forgotten what it's suppos to be.

Nich Maragos: Well, similar to their have games, probably. I mean, I'd probably still purchase Eternal Darkness over Call of Cthulu

Dave Smith: What's similar to a Silicon Knights game, though? It's hard to make blanket statements about similar a small library. I mean, they've made 2 1/2 games in the last decade.

Nich Maragos: Yeah, that's veritable And even Blood auspice was co-developed with Crystal Dynamics, which I'm not positive many people realize.

Dave Smith: Seriously, granting does anyone remember what Too Human is? Am I gonna have to direct the eye up PSX news updates from 1997?

Nich Maragos: Cyberpunk... in the subsequent time um...

Dave Smith: Okay, cyberpunk, I can dig that. Cyberpunk has actually become an underused genre lately. It's ripe for a comeback, don'tcha think?

Nich Maragos: Sort of Deus Ex has sort of staked it on the outside so thoroughly that anything other is going to look a little weak in comparison.

Dave Smith: Deus Ex doesn't have feeling cyberpunkety enough, though. It has all the cyber and none of the whore But we're getting off track.

Nich Maragos: That's what Too Human will be greatest in quantity directly competing with, I think. on the other hand you're right in that Too Human's not a WWII shooter though

Dave Smith: Dear Mr Dyack: Please do not at any time make a WWII shooter. regard with affection Dr. Smith.

Nich Maragos: for a like reason the other side of the question, is whether or not Silicon Knights can effectively take what branding they've managed to accumulate with their GC games and use it to launch non-GC titles. It present the appearances like they have a fair discharge because I'm willing to bet greatest in quantity people who have a GC and have played SD's games in specific be in possession of one of the other sum of two units platforms.

Dave Smith: on the other hand that's still not a actual big market they've reached.

Silicon Knights: What Now?

(Continued)

Dave Smith: ed moved what, 200,000 units?

Nich Maragos: That's not really abundant to be ashamed of, I don't think. Especially upon GC. What did Wind Waker sell?

Dave Smith: More than that. My point is, while you can blame the GC userbase for part of it, they haven't reached a real wide market.

Matt Leone: Nich makes a beneficial point -- Silicon Knihgts fans appear to be the more hardcore. Maybe they'll come [i]or[/i] go after [i]or[/i] behind them over to other platforms.

Nich Maragos: Are they hardcore SK fans, allowing or hardcore GC fans?

Dave Smith: Silicon Knights may loom large in the minds of hardcore gamers, on the other hand how significant are they in a big picture?

Matt Leone: The reminds me admitting When we were interviewing Dyack for Twin Snakes, we asked him what games he was playing in his unrestrained time, and apart from GC games, all he mentioned were PC titles. Think there's any chance of them upon PC?

Dave Smith: PC is of the like kind a dog-eat-dog market these days, allowing It's not as hard to come by a game published, but the profit potential isn't thus great either.

Nich Maragos: Yeah... plus, they have the appearance like the kind of developer who urgencys a stable system architecture to work with.

Dave Smith: life-current Omen came out for PC admitting didn't it?

Nich Maragos: Did it?

Matt Leone: Yeah I'm almost certain.