According to John Carmack, id’s Xbox Live Arcade rendition of Quake Arena has been put to bed. The information was relayed to an audience at this year’s QuakeCon, and thunderous applause was not the response. Carmack outlined that all is not lost for another utilization of Quake if their browser based Quake Live catches on and performs well with users. Carmack cited the reason for the cancellation was publisher unresponsiveness.
…right now the publishers aren’t all that interested in a multiplayer-focused game on [XBLA], and they’re probably right. Quake for this coming year is Quake Live.
I haven’t got into the beta for the browser-based Quake Live, but I have a feeling that the game will be just as populated with excessively skilled players as older Quake games, thus making a good experience for me impossible. It’s interesting that Carmack cites unwillingness on the publisher side for a “multiplayer-focused” XBLA game. I guess Uno and Texas Hold’em got pushed out of the door at just the right time.
[via Eurogamer]
