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Author Topic: How LucasArts Fell Apart  (Read 15122 times)

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Goatmeal

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How LucasArts Fell Apart
« on: September 28, 2013, 04:49:38 PM »

     How LucasArts fell apart
     http://kotaku.com/how-lucasarts-fell-apart-1401731043
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Bad2DaBone

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Re: How LucasArts Fell Apart
« Reply #1 on: September 28, 2013, 07:25:49 PM »
Remind me again but how did Sierra apart?  How did they go from making classics like the King's Quest series to just plain crappy games?
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Lambonius

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Re: How LucasArts Fell Apart
« Reply #2 on: September 28, 2013, 07:55:09 PM »
Quote from: Bad2DaBone on September 28, 2013, 07:25:49 PM
Remind me again but how did Sierra apart?  How did they go from making classics like the King's Quest series to just plain crappy games?

Now THERE'S a topic that has never been discussed on Sierra message boards before.  Ever.  ;)
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Lambonius...Rarely has our moderating team encountered a forumite as consistently unpleasant as you, and you've burned through far more chances than you deserved. A person really has to try hard to be so obnoxious that they're banned from AG, but you've managed it and then some.

Goatmeal

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Re: How LucasArts Fell Apart
« Reply #3 on: September 29, 2013, 02:36:00 PM »
Quote from: Bad2DaBone on September 28, 2013, 07:25:49 PM
Remind me again but how did Sierra apart?  How did they go from making classics like the King's Quest series to just plain crappy games?

Based on what little I've read (especially from the now-defunct IA forums) and interviews I've listened to, here's the short version:

As Sierra began purchasing other software companies in the early-to-mid 1990s, there was a somewhat 'hostile' takeover that forced the Williamses to sell their company; unfortunately, the companies/people who took over didn't have Sierra's best interests in mind -- it was seen as a profit center, not a game company.  Couple this with the fact that the graphical adventure genre was already a falling out of favor against the emerging First Person Shooter market and other games that relied more on graphics and sound than story and puzzles, and you have a company destined for demise...

If I'm wrong, please correct any of my recollections...
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Lambonius

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Re: How LucasArts Fell Apart
« Reply #4 on: September 29, 2013, 03:45:52 PM »
If by "hostile," you mean funding the yacht on which the Williams currently live and sail endlessly around the world in luxury, then yes.  They seem happy enough with the end result of the situation.  ;)
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Goatmeal

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Re: How LucasArts Fell Apart
« Reply #5 on: September 29, 2013, 03:59:34 PM »
Quote from: Lambonius on September 29, 2013, 03:45:52 PM
If by "hostile," you mean funding the yacht on which the Williams currently live and sail endlessly around the world in luxury, then yes.  They seem happy enough with the end result of the situation.  ;)

True enough -- they personally made boatloads of $$$ out of the deal (as well they should, it was their company, after all), but in the interview that Chris Pope did with Al Lowe in 2010(?), Al made it sound like Ken didn't have much of a choice at the time: either (1) sell or (2) be forced out, so it sounded like the lesser of two evils was chosen...
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Lambonius

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Re: How LucasArts Fell Apart
« Reply #6 on: September 29, 2013, 04:03:48 PM »
Fair enough.  I just remain skeptical about how much of a lamented choice it really was for Ken & Co.
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Goatmeal

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Re: How LucasArts Fell Apart
« Reply #7 on: September 29, 2013, 04:06:34 PM »
Quote from: Lambonius on September 29, 2013, 04:03:48 PM
Fair enough.  I just remain skeptical about how much of a lamented choice it really was for Ken & Co.

True enough -- I think they probably saw the handwriting on the wall, both game-wise and business-wise.

My first boss always said people work for two reasons: to make money, and they like it.  When you have money and/or no longer enjoy it, people usually leave/do something else...
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Goatmeal

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Re: How LucasArts Fell Apart
« Reply #8 on: September 29, 2013, 04:13:03 PM »
The moral of the story for both companies appears to try and stay small yet profitable for as long as you can without attracting the attention of the big guys — even if you are part of some huge conglomeration like LucasFilms...
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Blackthorne

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Re: How LucasArts Fell Apart
« Reply #9 on: September 29, 2013, 04:33:25 PM »
The Company went public, and the shareholders wanted the buy out because it was a good deal financially for them.  So, yeah, they all made out like bandits but the people who worked for Sierra and created the games we love didn't fare as well.


Bt
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Goatmeal

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Re: How LucasArts Fell Apart
« Reply #10 on: September 29, 2013, 04:41:38 PM »
When trillionaires Blackthorne and Klytos are floating around Mars orbit in their own individual space cruisers, I better not be hearing this question 20 years from now, "Why did Infamous Quests lose their magic touch and start making crappy games?"

 >:(
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Blackthorne

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Re: How LucasArts Fell Apart
« Reply #11 on: September 29, 2013, 04:49:53 PM »
Yeah, well, if I ever make trillions from this, you bet your ass every penny of that gets sunk into Kidney, Dialysis and Transplantation research and care. I've got too many people to help to go galavanting off around the world with my
(potential.... hah!) wealth.


Bt
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Collector

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Re: How LucasArts Fell Apart
« Reply #12 on: September 29, 2013, 06:28:30 PM »
CUC buy was essentially a scam. The Williams' lost money in the deal and there were suits brought against them. But yeah, it was not by choice of the Williams. As noted, Sierra was a publicly traded entity. The database for Ken's forum got hosed so it is impossible to search for anything, but if you want to go through it post by post, you can find some inside information from Ken's posts.

This has been discussed endlessly on a myriad of Sierra based boards.
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Bad2DaBone

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Re: How LucasArts Fell Apart
« Reply #13 on: October 01, 2013, 12:10:58 AM »
The Coles said in an interview that the Williamses transferred their business to another state to avoid paying as much tax... did that have anything to do with it?
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Goatmeal

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Re: How LucasArts Fell Apart
« Reply #14 on: October 01, 2013, 10:05:34 AM »
Quote from: Bad2DaBone on October 01, 2013, 12:10:58 AM
The Coles said in an interview that the Williamses transferred their business to another state to avoid paying as much tax... did that have anything to do with it?

Doubtful.  Not too many shareholders would be up-in-arms when the company in which they invest is able to pay less in taxes -- that's just more $$$ saved for the company and the shareholders...
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