Kimona (former community manager for FASA) posted a note on the shadowrun.com forums today announcing that the forums are shutting down soon. Additionally she said that shadowrun.com will be handed over to the people working on the next Shadowrun product.
Did you hear that? The “next Shadowrun product”. Sweet!
We know the Shadowrun IP has been sold to a former FASA founder. We can’t wait to see what’s coming next.
Tags: kimona, shadowrun 2We’re going to be closing down the Shadowrun forums in about two weeks. As many of you know, the old FASA crew has mostly moved on to other roles within Microsoft, and that means we don’t have enough people to monitor and respond to posts here for the coming year. We’ll eventually close down www.shadowrun.com and transition it to the folks working on the next generation of Shadowrun products.
For those wanting to continue discussing the game, check the Shadowrun forums on Xbox.com, or feel free to suggest new meet-up places in the forums here before we wrap up the show. Thanks to everyone who’s made the Shadowrun community one of the best in which I’ve ever had the pleasure of participating.
Is there a consensus on why Shadowrun failed to become popular? Was it simply the initial reviews that killed it? It always seemed like a great game to me. Had I possessed an internet connection when it was released I would have purchased it.
Why Shadowrun failed to become popular? I could probably write an essay on this. I think there are many reasons why the game did not take off.
I really liked Shadowrun. I think it’s my favorite shooter of all time. That means, I liked it better than Halo 1, 2, and 3. I like it better than Call of Duty 4.
Shadowrun started out as a mod of Halo 1. I think if FASA/MS promoted Shadowrun as such, it could have reached a broader audience. But, this game was barely marketed.
Quick list of reasons why Shadowrun didn’t get better reviews or sell more copies:
marketing
FASA Microsoft internal relationship (studio now closed)
lack of customization in the game
lack of deathmatch gametype
lack of two-flag CTF
lack of downloadable content
no respect to PC players
Games for Windows Live is very plain
The game theory behind Shadowrun is amazing. It’s all about the economy. However, I think that idea was too new to gamers – even gamers that have played Counter-strike.
When you get right down to it, gamers want to play a FPS before they want to learn a game. Shadowrun has a steep learning curve. I feel that if the game had more customization, the learning curve could have been drastically reduced.
I shared this game is several friends. They didn’t take time to go through the training to learn the game.
You know a game has a steep learning curve when it’s got a 30-60 minute tutorial that you should go through.
I own Shadowrun and I have convinced alot of people to get it. But alas it died. But I still refuse to stop playing. FASA did a great job and Microsoft made a mistake. People still play. And love it
I have been around since the game was launched and was around in the forums while the beta was going. The whole community was great and mature, for the most part.
dev’s and kimona. We had a blast and look forward to your future creations.
I really love the 360 version of shadowrun, just hoping they will make a new action rpg like the snes and genesis versions however. The setting is cool and can def be expanded on in many different forms.
Shadowrun: Why it failed
I am doing a document on this in class as we speak. The reason it failed is due to the rpg only aspect of the game. Look at Bioshock, it was able to hold down an RPG Storyline and have action. The game was not shadowrun, for those whom keep insisting its Shadowrun. It was based on some ideas from Shadowrun but ask anyone whom owns mountains of data on Shadowrun and this was simply not even close to the mark.
I wish I could get ahold of the people in charge now and ask if our game development club could do a unreal 3 mod on Shadowrun. But after seeing what happened to others that tried this I have not even touched that in risk of making someone upset.
Future Development should go to a RPG/FPS or MMORPG version of the game with a hard foundation on the roots of the game and the history. There is no shortage in stories or storylines to use in this game at all.
The history is Rich and its a great enviroment, just needs to be developed by a team that is totally in touch with Shadowrun and not those looking to bump out a fast version for quick money.
@Josh Jones: You do realize that Shadowrun for 360 and the PC was a first person shooter based on the Shadowrun RPG, right? This game failed not because of lack of story, but because of design and marketing. It could have worked without a story. It could have worked if it wasn’t based on the Shadowrun IP.
Yes, I do sir I do agree with you, it was a FPS based off an RPG. Which was its first mistake. You do not need to transform this game in any fashion, you simply need to design to it correctly. Which I think you and I agree on. This game was poorly designed. Did have some great innovation, storyline was weak at best, the design was rushed to few maps and the gameplay was fun, but not shadowrun. I would go as far to say this was a mod that you paid out the yang for. I always point at bioshock for the solution, great gameplay and its a FPS with a fantastic storyline. Not rushed, at all. This was simply a failure of designers to read the foundation and build up from it. It did not need the wheels redesigned. I guess I look at it like its kinda like taking final fantasy and turning it into a pure FPS and only a few maps…and do I feel Shadowrun could be as good as Final Fantasy…yes…it just has to be designed and marketed correctly, so I think we both agree on that.
I agree, it would have done better had it not had a Shadowrun anything on it..that was its biggest mistake.Could have named it anything, putting the Shadowrun logo on this title was a marketing and public nightmare. I don’t think people truly understand the impact that this dice game had on the evolution of the gaming industry…and those whom it inspired in its truest form. This game deserves to be made with the full desire to explore the world that was envisioned, this was not that vision in any respect.
(history wise) Which I assume why the game has been reallocated, its a mistake someone is going to try and fix..I hope one day I can be apart of that team. But nothing has come up yet..so I will train and hope, when that day comes, I am ready as a designer to give this title the work it deserves.
Shadowrun was multiplayer only. Bioshock was singleplayer only. I agree that Bioshock was great. But it wasn’t great because of the gameplay. It was great because of the creative design including the story. Shadowrun, as it was designed, was all about gameplay and had very little to do with the story.
Team Fortress 2 wasn’t about a storyline. TF2 was about gameplay and it’s one of the most popular FPS out there. So, you don’t need a story to have a successful MP-only FPS. You don’t need a good story to have a good game.
Shadowrun could have worked without a story or any RPG elements. I needed better design and mostly better marketing and support from Microsoft.
I understand a lot of old school Shadowrun fans were disappointed with Microsoft’s offering. I get that.
I agree with your entire post. I think the mistake was adding the data on the storyline to the game. I don’t think I would have called it Shadowrun. I would have called it something else. Then once I saw success I would have gotten a better team and merged the two into a final solution. Getting the RPG Elements and FPS Elements together.
the “creative design and and storyline” that is missing in this version. Microsoft could have taken their time, released this one as another name, then afterwards, took the money and time to either build a very large online design or a very solid RPG/FPS.
Of course why they did what they did….I dont know…but it was a oops on their part. I don’t blame the staff that created the game either, they are doing what they are being told to do, and trying to make everyone happy…that is a tall order for such a small budget.
I talked to my professor a few terms back about this entire thing, and she said it is getting the huge Shadowrun rule set into a game. There are books of rules and books of data. How to get all those into a single game is a huge undertaking. She said she knew it would be hard to live up to all that data with the size of the shop that was putting the title out. She said as a single player Bioshock has opened the doors to the hybrid of RPG/FPS so that would be a great way to make a single player. She said for massive online play, your going to have to go up vs WWC which no one wants to do right now.
So this has been cool talking to you about this, helps me with my paper and really opens my eyes to your thoughts and thats cool for me thanks for hanging out.
Cool. Yeah. I think we’re on the same page.
I’m interested in reading your report once it’s finished. Maybe you’d like to share it?
Sure I can do that, Its a class project that involves 7 students
Each assigned to learn a section of Shadowrun. We are doing the evolution to the present so, I think it will be a good article. (crosses fingers) So yes I will turn into you as well and you can give us your thoughts.
Well where is the REPORT!
About Shadowrun failing; No Singleplayer was a biggie to lots of people, (not me cause im a counter-strike fan and multiplayer hog, so single player modes rarely get played on my 360.) The last singleplayer game i beat for 360 was Saints Row i believe, but many people told me they felt that the game was Half-Assed because of this. The main reason was not only no singleplayer, But an actual mixture of no singleplayer but still the $59.95 price. It also wasn’t marketed for squat, cause even though Bioshock had no multiplayer (i did not buy this game nor did i make it to the 3rd level before i sent it back in the Mail.) it was hyped majorly and people bought it and loved it. I love Shadowrun more than every game on the 360 except its a tie with Gears Of War. If you make the next shadowrun a freakin RPG and not a shooter, I probably wont buy it, cause i like it as an online shooter.
Come Join us at Pregamelobby.com a Great (ADULT/MATURE) online gaming community. We now have a Shadowrun Sunday Faithful players night.
Say Nolimit4show Referred you and watch the posts of Welcome file in. (No loud mouthed, immature, yelling over the mic and calling people Gay cheap Noobs gamers allowed and you have to be 18 and over.) this community was made for a great caring fun community – the xboxlive children community.
Yeah!! (Wrings hands)! Nice blog you have here. I’ve enjoyed much reading your last posts. Keep it that way.
all right well shadowrun is absolutely amazing
sure the whole point of it just being an online game limits its user and gamers but still if you have xbl its a great game to play..
i would have loved for this game to have a story line or something to back up the online play
maybe the shadowrun era may continue in the next game??
Shadowrun on the 360 is one of my favorite shooters; I’ve always liked Counter-Strike and Shadowrun added so many amazing things to the typical C-S format: several races with different abilities, magic and tech to change the flow of combat, RESURRECTION, and the weapons were cool too. Plus the game has what I feel to be very good graphics and physics, and all this adds up to what I had felt could be a GOTY contender… sadly I was mistaken. I know fans of the PnP RPG generally hate this game because its not a story rpg, but I still hold out hope that those of us who enjoy this format of Shadowrun will not be forgotten when the next Shadowrun game comes out. So I hope that the next Shadowrun will either be an RPG with the current Shadowrun as its multiplayer mode, or that there will be two separate Shadowrun titles, an RPG and a sequel to the current Shadowrun. Until then, I won’t stop playing this terribly underrated gem of a title! -Skeletal
Hi, i have been playing Shadowrun since day one, and i always seem to go back to it. Yes, Halo is fun, as is Gears of War, Crackdown, Guitar Hero, etc etc. But Shadowrun doesnt get old like any other game. Now everyone who is talking about turning this game into an RPG or MMORPG, can you please just think about what your saying… The game would be repetitive, allow unbalanced fights, to much to comprehend, sort of like Oblivion, minus the xbox live of course. Shadowrun should be kept as is, it is next to perfect, minor modifications including new maps, new spells/tech and downloadable content. The future of Shadowrun relies on Adverstisement, as i had never seen a commercial, and ad, anything for this game, i was just let it on it by a friend… Shadowrun is a great game that doesn’t get old like halo, gears, etc. It allows the player to choose what he wants to do… The game is very balanced everything has a pro and a con, And finally… NO STORY MODE IS NEEDED!!! The games online play it self is a story… How could a story be made with out completely redoing the gameplay.
Well I was playing the old pen and paper module of shadowrun way back in the day. When game shadowrun for snes came out I was thrilled to buy it but dissappointed in it content. When shadowrun came out for the sega genesis I had low expectations but I creamed myself at the content and variety it had. However when I saw the screenshots for the newest version of shadowrun I didnt even bother to ask how it was I knew it would suck, and I was right. To anyone who hopes to or will have any part in the new development of a shadowrun game design I sincerely hope you will take the time to actually research how the “original game played and what it was all about. This version was the most incredibly disappointing piece of crap ever released. It was all about making money with no focus on the right way to take advantage of such an epic and legendary game that is still played in darkrooms around seattle.
I like these posts seeing as they are educated contributions. The truth is from some of the forums i have read. Shadowrun had a single player but was stopped half way through because microsoft wanted it to be available to Vista. Thus they never had time to finish. Second many probly dont remember this but shadowrun released its first trailer as a downloadable when 360 first came out. And released one or two more until christmas of that year. And then of course it went silent. in the first trailer it had even some ideas of allowing people to make copies of themseleves and using enhanced vision to tell the real one. The truth is i beleive this game has many possibilities because as i started playing when it first came out, ive had 15 ppl get interested in the game.
ive read most of the comments on this blog and i believe that the marketing mainly failed this game in its popularity ive managed to convince 12 people to get this game and they say the marketing and reveiws ruined this game
do you think they will make another shadowrun game or something like it??? i thought they did a really good job with the first one.
i still play this game, you’ll have to beat me with a stick to stop playing it…chances are i’ll kill you if you try xD
i’ve convinced..4 to 5 people to play the game and they LOVE it, its portal under the shooters, teamwork, strategie AND action.
its a game you dont just walk in and own you have to KNOW what your doing.
This game is just underated by the real shadowrun fans, they are too scared to play it cause they’re fingers have merged with dice and pens so they fail. Most people dont like dieing and waiting for rez.
I always used those moments to reflect what i did wrong and watch others that did better.
You’ll find me (Basura Nephilim) playing shadowrun with my running crew (kitanamikai, Xearin , de keurslager, Nymphomanica) till the end of days! respect to this awesome game =)
cat that is all
I played the Shadowrun pen and paper game back in the day it beat out AD&D hands down. It was the first game I bought when I got my 360
and I was very upset at how it played I was at the time looking for an RPG shooter type game more rpg then shooter ( cause I’m really no good at shooter’s ) after being left for dead on the floor’s of the cavern’s several times I threw the game aside. now I’ve tried my hand at some of the other shooter games halo 3, call of duty and all that butt I still kept comeing back to shadow run. The other day I sat down and fired it up again and said to myself this is a great shooter game even if I’m no good at it, so I spent some time in single player mode learning a little more about the game and after I finaly got up to par on being able to get a good kill record on the bot’s I got back online. I got creamed…but the bottom line is the game is great i think it failed cause lack of marketing, and the old pen and paper players were expecting something different. to those I say just give it a try.
[quote comment="20229"]I played the Shadowrun pen and paper game back in the day it beat out AD&D hands down. It was the first game I bought when I got my 360
and I was very upset at how it played I was at the time looking for an RPG shooter type game more rpg then shooter ( cause I’m really no good at shooter’s ) after being left for dead on the floor’s of the cavern’s several times I threw the game aside. now I’ve tried my hand at some of the other shooter games halo 3, call of duty and all that butt I still kept comeing back to shadow run. The other day I sat down and fired it up again and said to myself this is a great shooter game even if I’m no good at it, so I spent some time in single player mode learning a little more about the game and after I finaly got up to par on being able to get a good kill record on the bot’s I got back online. I got creamed…but the bottom line is the game is great i think it failed cause lack of marketing, and the old pen and paper players were expecting something different. to those I say just give it a try.[/quote]
i respect that man, thats a realy brave thing to do.
with me its now the other way around : i own a copy of the 4th edition book and i love it. have yet to try a run with my buddies but so far its pretty dang sweet (though i read some of the things in runners companion about different races and i think thatsm essed up). now i understand what the normal shadowrunners went through but even for that, why not respect it for being a great shooter or at least try (like you did). Well i dont know if you’re interested but you can always add me on Xbox (name is gamertag) and we could run and go for some pointer or stuffs like that, cause you my friend have got a great attitude (h) .
ALL I CAN SAY IS BEST GAME EVER!!! R.I.P SHADOW RUN HOPE IT COMES BACK EVEN BIGGER!
I almost do not know what to say. After reading all of these amazing posts and looking to my own experiences with both the FPS and the RPG it’s safe to say that this game will continue to grow in popularity (Shadowrun in general).
I personally suck at online FPS games, and Shadowrun is no exception to that rule. I would still pop it in the console and die a few dozen times because I thoroughly enjoyed the gameplay. It’s easy for someone who does so poorly in a game to write a negative review for it, but what’s the point in lying about it? If i still had access to online play I would still be dying roughly 8 times per run (it’s a broad average).
As far as a Shadowrun MMORPG I believe that would be the beginning of a new era for all of us dedicated PnP players. This game as an RPG has so much potential that it’s scary. If someone were to tap into that pool and write a game based purely on the story it would sell like icewater in Hell! I have no qualms about saying it would become at least as big as other ‘unmentionable’ online MMO’s.
I do realise that the last post here was in July of this year, but I was unable to just move on without saying something. Hopefully this thread will come back to life, OR I will be redirected to a place where I can participate in a further discussion.