Minter: Microsoft 'sitting on' next Llamasoft title

by Dustin Burg { Dec 16th 2008 at 10:15AM }

In an interview with Eurogamer, Llamasoft head and Space Giraffe developer Jeff Minter explained that he is ready to release the next iteration of Gridrunner to the Xbox Live Arcade, but that Microsoft is "sitting on" the game.

"We sent it off to [Microsoft] months ago, but they've just not said anything" admitted Minter, adding "they're just sitting on the demo we sent them three or four months ago." And it sounds like Minter's patience is wearing thin, because he also makes it clear that if he doesn't hear from Microsoft soon that he'll just carry on with the PC version of Gridrunner+++. Sounds to us like a bad case of communication and a touch of hesitation to release the title, possibly because of Space Giraffes' less than stellar sales success. Hopefully Minter can get things straightened out and hopefully Gridrunner+++ can end up selling more than Frogger.

[Via GamesIndustry.biz]

Tags: gridrunner, jeff-minter, llamasoft, space-giraffe

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

offday @ Dec 16th 2008 10:29AM

I say keep sitting on it. It'll probably suck just like space giraffe did, and we no one buys it he'll get mad and call us all idiots.

Tony @ Dec 16th 2008 10:47AM

It might not have sold phenominally well, but there were people who liked it a lot. I was one of them.

XBLA was supposedly a place for games like that. Ones that maybe wouldn't do well at retail but could get some attention as a downloadable title. Guess not.

I really don't see what the big deal is for them. There are dozens of supposedly horrible games on XBLA. If you think Gridrunner+++ is another one, it's not like it's alone.

Regardless of what you thought of Space Giraffe or what you think of Minter, I think this just comes off badly. It makes me wonder what else they hold up or deny entirely.

D dogg @ Dec 16th 2008 10:59AM

I agree with Tony's comments. The purpose of the XBLA was to provide developers and alternative outlet to retail, helping out the little guys more like indie developers.

I think it's great that big established developers like Capcom can release great titles like Street Fighter HD but it's also about the smaller developers life Jeff Minter.

There may be more to the story we're not aware of though because I remember Minter shooting off at the mouth life a Jaffe clone shortly after the release of Space Giraffe... who knows whats transpired between Minter and Microsoft since that time.

As Tony said, "Regardless of what you thought of Space Giraffe or what you think of Minter, I think this just comes off badly."

offday @ Dec 16th 2008 11:04AM

"There may be more to the story we're not aware of though because I remember Minter shooting off at the mouth life a Jaffe clone shortly after the release of Space Giraffe... who knows whats transpired between Minter and Microsoft since that time."

That's what I was thinking too. And I agree that XBLA is a place for small developers to get their games out and that's great, but Minter is a jerk off. I don't care about him or his games. He creates half ass games, and then gets pissed when people buy classics like Frogger over his game. Get real dude.

Tony @ Dec 16th 2008 11:26AM

Yeah, I don't know about any of that. I guess none of us do. Although it's worth noting that he's doing visualizations for other upcoming games, like that Space Invaders XBLA title.

I try to not let the personality of people get in the way of my actual enjoyment of a product. I'd not be able to play a lot of games, watch a lot of movies or enjoy a lot of music if I worried about who was or wasn't an asshole. Even I have a line there, though lol.

What can you do. I imagine a lot of people who put good time into making an original game are upset when a retro arcade port blows their sales away... but for better or worse, Frogger is a popular license and I'd imagine it's expected.

Arnie @ Dec 16th 2008 10:50AM

Microsoft should really rethink about their stupid certification process. It is really frustrating and painful for small time developers whose budgets are stretched as is and delays of 2-3 months can really drive small guys into deep debts.
If they are not careful people will go to PSN store even if its harder to code for.

Edge @ Dec 16th 2008 10:54AM

Or XNA. It's easy to get a game published there, especially if you have industry experience. If you are worried about running up debt, XNA is where you should be.

Arnie @ Dec 16th 2008 11:49AM

XNA is even less of a alternative than just publishing on XBLA. The problem is that when someone is publishing on XBLA they believe they have a good game already but do not necessarily have the resources to get it published.
Just think Microsoft should get their act together when it comes to certification and try and please both big and small publishers if they are in it for the long haul.

Edge @ Dec 16th 2008 10:53AM

I'll gladly give this guy another shot. Space Giraffe was pretty, but it failed as a game.

Rick @ Dec 16th 2008 11:10AM

Hey Jeff, ever heard of a phone? Try calling Microsoft to find out what's up instead of sitting around waiting for them to get back to you and then complaining about it. Take a little ownership in the success of your own games instead of blaming everybody else for delays and failures.

Tony @ Dec 16th 2008 11:19AM

I'd be really surprised if he hadn't. My understanding was that they had to be in communication with MS's teams for this to begin with.

Sometimes getting attention for things like this online gets a lot more traction. I don't blame him for posting about it. It's probably a smart thing to do and I imagine many would eventually do the same. It's not like he did this the next day.

Rick @ Dec 16th 2008 11:35AM

Well, I can see it being a last resort to post something online, but the answer he gave in the interview suggested that he sent it off to them and hadn't heard anything in months. No mention that they were blowing off his many attempts at contact, just that he had sent it off and heard nothing in months. Could just be semantics or an incomplete answer on his part, but it certainly looks like he's taking the wait and pout approach.

meatee @ Dec 16th 2008 11:21AM

I don't see why Microsoft would just sit on the game. There's absolutely zero ways for Microsoft to lose money on a download. Just release the demo, if people like it they'll buy it. If they don't, what has Microsoft lost? A little download bandwidth?

HazyCloud @ Dec 16th 2008 11:34AM

I'm honestly surprised he's pissed with MS even though they got his neon in 25 million houses. I'm sure that was a big check from the get go.

On the contrary, if I was dev and knew my title could be released, I'd be a little unhappy. Problem being that you've probably already agreed by contract to let MS release it when they feel it's right. Can't be pissed if you weren't given an exact date.

Sucks either way.

Shogan @ Dec 16th 2008 12:29PM

How long is Microsoft going to sit on Lode Runner or any of the other 'ready to release' games out there? I don't think Jeff should be taking this personally, they have a weird way of releasing titles.

racingfreak92 @ Dec 16th 2008 1:18PM

MS is treating this like its expensive to publish a XBLA game. Sure they have to "certify" it which costs some but they dont have to box it, print copies and sell it to stores then by left with the extras that didnt sell. All they have to do is upload something to a fing FTP. Plus they can sell some bullcrap themes and gamerpics with it as well and make money off some low quality pictures available freely everywhere else

HaVoC @ Dec 16th 2008 12:32PM

Maybe MS is just setting on it because they know that Minter has no idea about how to keep his mouth shut. Minter has angered a lot of people in the industry with his delusions of grandeur and temper tantrums. If I were calling the shots at MS, I would be hesitant to do business with the llama lover myself. Why anger people of importance by catering to this guy that wants to publicly insult the clientele (the gamers) and take jabs at other developers that are making money for the company.

dmb360 @ Dec 16th 2008 1:50PM

I guess the good news is Microsoft just found another source of revenue; they have been so tight with Xbox content recently, with a couple of strategically placed lumps of coal they'll be in the diamond business..

stinger503 @ Dec 16th 2008 5:14PM

I find it funny how people constantly complain about bad games on arcade. I'm assuming that Microsoft hasn't released it because they have a schedule. They usually don't release more than two games per week. If they released, say, 10 games at once, the games wouldn't get played as much as if they were released in pairs.