Activision shuts down fan-made King's Quest sequel

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After successfully fighting a cease and desist order by Vivendi Universal five years ago, the unofficial continuation to the King's Quest series has been shut down for good. In 2005, fans successfully convinced Vivendi to allow the indie team behind The Silver Lining to continue development, thanks in part to a letter writing campaign. The original deal would see the game's authorized release as part of a non-commercial fan license; however, current King's Quest IP holder Activision has decided (after "talks and negotiations") it is not interested in entering a similar agreement with the indie team. In 2008, Activision said it didn't have any immediate plans to utilize the classic licenses (includingKing's Quest) it received in the infamous $18 billion merger with Vivendi.

What concludes is eight long years of development by a dedicated fan base. On the fan project'sofficial site, a letter from the development team thanks fans for their continued support and shares its disappointment in the decision. It's always difficult when hard work goes unnoticed and we wish everyone involved the best of luck.

Source: http://www.joystiq.c...s-quest-sequel/

Some more positive Activision news!

[Elessar]

They should just leak the game. Those things happen all the time.

[c3ntury]

Wow this sucks :\

Activition recently have honestly been one of the more idiotic game companys -.-

[Michael1406]

Activi$ion have definitely taken the torch this past year.

[shakey]

Even though we aren't going to do anything with it ever, how dare you make money off it!

[Treemonkeys]

This is just part of the repercussions for having intellectual property laws. Rather than get upset with Activision or call them greedy, etc. we should work towards a revamp on IP laws or towards completely abolish them.

[SugarCain]

I don't see how the original agreement doesn't stand.

[Arkaic]

This is just part of the repercussions for having intellectual property laws. Rather than get upset with Activision or call them greedy, etc. we should work towards a revamp on IP laws or towards completely abolish them.

But they are being greedy. :rofl: There manipulation of the poorly implemented IP laws and Patent laws is truthful in showing there true corporatism colors.

[Treemonkeys]

But they are being greedy. :rofl: There manipulation of the poorly implemented IP laws and Patent laws is truthful in showing there true corporatism colors.

If murder was legal a company like Activision would probably do that too, that's my only point. Too big and too profit driven, they will consume all they can get away with.

[Osiris]

Where do these douche bags get off, the project was 8 years in the making they had done it all by the book, securing a non-commerical agreement with the original IP holders, seemed true to the kings quest universe and story. They had planned to release it as episode content over 4-5 releases as it became such a massive project (and was looking good) why not let them do a monkey island style thing. Monkey island remakes episodic were quite a lil hit I feel.

I just dont understand this but I admire the project manager for it, the first part is done, he probably could have just leaked it but seems to be complying with everything. If I had spent my spare time working on something for 8 years I know I would be tempted to leak it and to hell with the greedy *******

[MR_Candyman]

That's really sad. I feel horrible for the developers.

[Tech Star]

I <3 EA. :wub:

[carmatic]

+1 to leaking the game... that'll show Activision up some

[MR_Candyman]

+1 to leaking the game... that'll show Activision up some

and incur a hefty lawsuit, because you KNOW Activision will sue

[Tech Star]

and incur a hefty lawsuit, because you KNOW Activision will sue

Hell, how would they really know which one really leaked it? They can all deny.

[MR_Candyman]

Hell, how would they really know which one really leaked it? They can all deny.

They can sue the group, it doesn't have to be individual people

[Raa]

And another one bites the dust.

I thought this would've been the case. It's also why AGDI can't remake any more of the Sierra classics - it was posted on their board just before QFG2VGA was released. Apparently Activision doesn't want any more done... No idea why really, it would've only benefitted them!

SQ2 remake will probably be the last one done, sigh.

[C_Guy]

There is a strong movement from fans of the game to have Activision reconsider their decision. Anyone interested can

-Sign the petition here

-Join the Facebook page here

-Go here to obtain a form letter that you can e-mail, snail mail, or fax to Activision

Any and all support from the fans is deeply appreciated by the team. Thanks!

[Growled Member]

I'm not really surprised by this either, especially with it being Activision.

[Smigit]

Could they just rework the game to use original IP by removing references? In any event I think less of these games should strive to make remakes and instead create their own game. It'll avoid these issues entirely since it seems that one in two come up against this problem, even if they approach it from the right direction.

[SyntaxError]

It was original Sierra titles that got me hooked on PC games, so I felt betrayed I guess when they sold out to Vivendi.

There were a handful of good titles from Vivendi/Sierra afterward, but the games turned to crap eventually and Sierra vanished. I still can't believe Ken and Roberta Williams sold out after starting a gaming revolution and building an empire.

Then Activision buys Vivendi, which I didn't know about until now. Activision went to crap years ago and continues to make stupid moves. It doesn't make any sense to buy out a competitor, then not use their existing IP for your own purposes.

Wonder who will buy them out when they file bankruptcy in the next 10 years?

At any rate, I suppose it doesn't matter. I've still got most of the original Sierra titles, and they work just fine in DosBox. I even have some of the vga remakes, so Activision can kiss my @ss.

They haven't gotten any money from me in ages, and won't be getting any in the future.

[Osiris]

It was original Sierra titles that got me hooked on PC games...<snipity snip>

Same!!! Remember KQ and SQ where you'd type stuff in!! type that is oldschool as but they were still fantastic games.

[C_Guy]

It was original Sierra titles that got me hooked on PC games, so I felt betrayed I guess when they sold out to Vivendi.

A lot of fans feel that way but that's not what actually happened. What most people don't realize is that Sierra was a publicly traded comapny run by a board of directors, not just the Williams'. CUC offered to buy Sierra in 1996 and although Ken did not have 100% control over the decision he did maintain that he would not have sold the company if he didn't feel it was in the comapny's best interest. The Board approved the proposal. The next year, CUC merged with HFS to form Cendant. The following year (1998) it was discovered that Cendant management had been generating false financials. The company sold its software division (including Sierra) to Havas. A few short months later Havas announced major layoffs on a day known as Chainsaw Monday (February 22, 1999). This was the day the original Sierra studios in Oakhurst were shut down and legendary game designers were laid off. This included Al Lowe who was working on Leisure Suit Larry 8 and Mark Crowe who was working on Space Quest 7. Later in 1999 Havas was acquired by Vivendi Unviersal. Vivendi's game unit merged with Activision to form ActivisionBlizzard in 2008 with Vivendi holding a controlling (52%) stake in the new company. Sierra now sits idle in the hands of ActivisionBlizzard.

A lot of fans are frustrated and disappointed but none more so than Ken and Roberta who built the company from the ground up. They both stayed on after the initial sale to CUC; Roberta to work on King's Quest: Mask of Eternity and Ken to provide his guidance and managerial excellence. However, after one year they both left and it all went downhill, fast.

Interestingly, Ken recently commented on the ordeal on his website forum. Among the threads, He mentions that he was offered the opportunity to buy back the Sierra intellectual property (IP) at one point but declined. He has been out of computer games and out of the business world for a good 10 years and didn't feel it was the best decision.

As one fan so accurately put it, Sierra didn't die. It was murdered.