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Doesn't really surprise me, they should of partnered with CAD, or Adobe or another really good editing software company to collaborate in order to make this even remotely viable.
honestly, they shouldn't have brought it to the wii, especially now that its basically irrelevant with the wii u coming out. it was an interesting concept, but no one's buying them at this point. it could have sold on the ps3 and xbox, but they failed to bridge the gap soon enough.
"We were looking at uDraw as a bridge to this core and digital future, and that bridge turned out to be a plank that we walked off of," said Farrell to Gamasutra.
That's probably the coolest thing I've ever heard a CEO say. It's a sad day for all those people that lost their jobs. I guess this sort of proves that certain games only sell well on Wii. The same thing happened with de Blob 2, they tried to expand outside of the Wii, and unfortunately sales were bad and Blue Tongue Studios got closed down.
That's probably the coolest thing I've ever heard a CEO say. It's a sad day for all those people that lost their jobs. I guess this sort of proves that certain games only sell well on Wii. The same thing happened with de Blob 2, they tried to expand outside of the Wii, and unfortunately sales were bad and Blue Tongue Studios got closed down.
I do feel sorry for THQ but they played the uDraw pretty badly. I can't remember any marketing that wasn't just lifestyle shots, they failed to get any major software support for the thing and launched it in the middle of the Move/Kinect battle.
Hindsight makes it easy to spot, sure, but it must have been known as a big risk at the time.
Big respect for the way they are handling it though. "Turned out to be a plank that we walked off of" is some rare poetic honesty. Although really it's all the people that got fired who walked off it. Well, good luck anyway, THQ, old friend.
Hindsight makes it easy to spot, sure, but it must have been known as a big risk at the time.
Big respect for the way they are handling it though. "Turned out to be a plank that we walked off of" is some rare poetic honesty. Although really it's all the people that got fired who walked off it. Well, good luck anyway, THQ, old friend.
THQ just blames everything on things outside of their control. Maybe they should focus on making better games instead of trying to pass the buck.
And...this is why you should focus on software. Not hardware. You don't see Activision or EA peddling hardware to their gaming consumers and there's a reason why, it's risky, it's unnecessary and it isn't what they DO.
THQ, you're smaller than they are. You're a software company. Make software. Make really good software. Once you master that (because you haven't) then considering branching out.
THQ, you're smaller than they are. You're a software company. Make software. Make really good software. Once you master that (because you haven't) then considering branching out.
@Drakengard
Agreed. THQ got a little ahead of itself releasing something that probably cost them a "fair" amount of money in both the actual development and advertisement. I personally do not want THQ to fail, but uDraw was not their best decision.
Agreed. THQ got a little ahead of itself releasing something that probably cost them a "fair" amount of money in both the actual development and advertisement. I personally do not want THQ to fail, but uDraw was not their best decision.
They blame it on the what, now? U-what? Oh, some shit that no one cared about? Yeah, I'm sure your company falling apart had everything to do with that, and that alone. >_>
Silly THQ, only platform holders, music game makers, and those sleazy companies that made stuff like golf club controller shells for Wiimotes make money on stupid peripherals, not you.
Oh THQ you make some truly great PC centric games but this was a daft risk.
I just hope to god EA doesnt buy them out. As a primary PC gamer ild cry.
BTW wheres Homeworld 3!
I just hope to god EA doesnt buy them out. As a primary PC gamer ild cry.
BTW wheres Homeworld 3!
Over a MILLION in inventory!! That's the funniest fucking thing I've read this year! Wow! Who gave that the green light.
Like some other people have already mentioned though, it wasn't just the uDraw that ruined them. They seem to have forgotten about the half a dozen other turds they released this year. Like MX vs ATV, and You Don't Know Jack, which along with the uDraw received more advertising than any of the few decent games they delivered this year.
Like some other people have already mentioned though, it wasn't just the uDraw that ruined them. They seem to have forgotten about the half a dozen other turds they released this year. Like MX vs ATV, and You Don't Know Jack, which along with the uDraw received more advertising than any of the few decent games they delivered this year.
@D Sane
Thats not the impression im getting from this article
"We were looking at uDraw as a bridge to this core and digital future, and that bridge turned out to be a plank that we walked off of,"
Thats not the impression im getting from this article
"We were looking at uDraw as a bridge to this core and digital future, and that bridge turned out to be a plank that we walked off of,"
@Drakengard: You are perfect evidence of the short term memory that plagues the internet populous. Clearly you forget the years of plastic guitars and band kits and Tony Hawk skateboards that Activision peddled right into the ground in a steaming pile of shit.
If they had concentrated on the core gamer (by doing things like not f'ing up a good game like Homefront), they might have had more success than going after the casual gaming market with a hardware peripheral not backed up with good games.
@Drakengard
"You don't see Activision or EA peddling hardware to their gaming consumers"
Skylanders, DJ Hero, Tony Hawk Ride.
Yeah.
"You don't see Activision or EA peddling hardware to their gaming consumers"
Skylanders, DJ Hero, Tony Hawk Ride.
Yeah.
@littlebigd
you don't know Jack was awesome. Do you mean "turd" from a sales or quality perspecitive? Because unfortunately I wouldn't be surprised to hear that game didn't sell.
you don't know Jack was awesome. Do you mean "turd" from a sales or quality perspecitive? Because unfortunately I wouldn't be surprised to hear that game didn't sell.
I still don't get why the uDraw tablet didn't do better than it did. When I saw it launch on the Wii I was mad-jelly that it wasn't on an HD console and when it finally came out on Xbox(and an Amazon.com price drop later) I jumped on that thing. I absolutely love it! I didn't even buy it for kids or anyone, I use it myself(I love to draw) and don't regret paying 40% of the regular price for it and the included software/"game."
If it's that much fun for me, a 28 year old bro, then I would highly recommend it to someone who has kids who are particularly young and whom you don't want playing utterly violent games or perhaps to help grow their creativity/artistic side.
My roommate(27) and I took turns looking at the IMDB Top 250 Movies of all time list and drawing the title in question and we had a blast. Hell, we didn't even need to buy the "Pictionary: Ultimate Edition" game that's out for it, though I do plan to buy that later on down the line when we get tired of drawing IMDB titles.
Again, I highly recommend getting in on this. Especially since you don't really see it at full price anywhere anymore(a byproduct of THQ's failed marketing, sadly). It's best if you think of the uDraw tablet as a (digital)board game instead of a videogame because you'll be using it in a more social environment(playing with others) than entertaining yourself for hours on end.
Lastly, I would advise checking out some of the things drawn with the tablet on the official website, as there are some real Picasso's out there that work unholy wonders with this little peripheral.
I mean, just look at my own amazing art. I call it; Battlefield: Shark Wars
If it's that much fun for me, a 28 year old bro, then I would highly recommend it to someone who has kids who are particularly young and whom you don't want playing utterly violent games or perhaps to help grow their creativity/artistic side.
My roommate(27) and I took turns looking at the IMDB Top 250 Movies of all time list and drawing the title in question and we had a blast. Hell, we didn't even need to buy the "Pictionary: Ultimate Edition" game that's out for it, though I do plan to buy that later on down the line when we get tired of drawing IMDB titles.
Again, I highly recommend getting in on this. Especially since you don't really see it at full price anywhere anymore(a byproduct of THQ's failed marketing, sadly). It's best if you think of the uDraw tablet as a (digital)board game instead of a videogame because you'll be using it in a more social environment(playing with others) than entertaining yourself for hours on end.
Lastly, I would advise checking out some of the things drawn with the tablet on the official website, as there are some real Picasso's out there that work unholy wonders with this little peripheral.
I mean, just look at my own amazing art. I call it; Battlefield: Shark Wars
@llort het
Well I thought You Don't Know Jack was a turd myself. It's pretty bland compared to other game show/trivia titles. Buzz Quiz is the King!
Well I thought You Don't Know Jack was a turd myself. It's pretty bland compared to other game show/trivia titles. Buzz Quiz is the King!
THQ's issues are so much more then the uDraw, and the fact that they've seemed to have put all their eggs into that one basket, and are now only using said basket as blame, sort of makes their issues overall somewhat not so hidden.
The fact that the uDraw hasn't done well, or hasn't gotten much support sucks, but it shouldn't have been their entire strategy like they're making it out to be. The device didn't seem to have a focus beyond the thing it tells you it does in its name: You Draw. They never sold it as much else, and it needed a lot more to gestate and grow -including marketing that show more of what it could do aside from drawing games. This is like saying Nintendo failed miserably because all it had for the SNES Mouse was Mario Paint.
The fact that the uDraw hasn't done well, or hasn't gotten much support sucks, but it shouldn't have been their entire strategy like they're making it out to be. The device didn't seem to have a focus beyond the thing it tells you it does in its name: You Draw. They never sold it as much else, and it needed a lot more to gestate and grow -including marketing that show more of what it could do aside from drawing games. This is like saying Nintendo failed miserably because all it had for the SNES Mouse was Mario Paint.
@kanten don't mention DJ Hero with Tony Hawk Ride lol. DJ Hero is the shit, but the milking of GH effected DJ Hero. Never played Skylander though.
I'm sure that if there were Disney characters plastered on the box along with a Disney logo and promises of tutorials on how to draw such characters inside, uDraw would have done bigger numbers.
Would Disney do as right by owning a company which has a game where characters can wield a giant dildo as a weapon as they did by the company that has a movie in their catalog which features a character called Cock-Knocker?
Would Disney do as right by owning a company which has a game where characters can wield a giant dildo as a weapon as they did by the company that has a movie in their catalog which features a character called Cock-Knocker?
A letter addressed to the THQ board last week was pretty shocking. It's definitely worth a read because if it's true (which it seems like it is) then the CEO is full of crap for blaming it entirely on uDraw.
http://www.strategyinformer.com/news/16286/thq-devs-call-for-execs-to-be-fired-udraw-failure-is-the-largest-and-most-recent
http://www.strategyinformer.com/news/16286/thq-devs-call-for-execs-to-be-fired-udraw-failure-is-the-largest-and-most-recent
If it came with ANYTHING more capable than MS paint I might have given it a second look. I'll stick to the wacom tablet for now.
It did well on the Wii, then some genius over at THQ decided it had to be ported to the HD twins but completely forgot the absurd levels of hate by 90% of the user base to anything that comes from the Wii to the HD twins that isn't H4rc0r3 enough, thus the results we see.
It's too bad. I thought it was a really novel idea that could have had some great opportunities for creativity-driven games, but it looks like there just isn't a market for that sort of thing. This could bode badly for Nintendo, since this does not speak well for the prospect of tablet gaming on consoles...
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