Australian studio Blue Tongue Entertainment — creators of the ludicrously enjoyable de Blob games — has been closed by owner THQ.
The original Wii-exclusive adventure was critically and commercially well-received — it scored an 8/10 in our de Blob review — and the team moved on to produce a sequel for Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360. de Blob 2 on PlayStation 3 supported PlayStation Move, but the move to HD consoles didn't quite capture the sales THQ had hoped, and now the studio has closed.
[source gamasutra.com]
Comments 49
That sucks. :/
Sniffle...
That indeed sucks. I would have loved to see what else they could do.
I liked the original de Blob a lot to be honest. I found it to be very unique in many ways.
What, dude? What, no!
Damn You THQ
de Blob was a great game. Thusly, Blue Tongue was a great developer. Thusly, this is sad.
Damn, THQ doesn't give them second chance.
This is a new proof that us, Wii users, are used to buy anything in a desperate attempt to get something minimally decent to play with. Obviously XBoX/PS3 users dont have this problem.
Man, I hated THQ (except for this game) so this doesn't change anything.
What?! Damn, that is sad. I could've done with a bit more blob. So, this is mainly due to the move over to HD?
So THQ closed their only quality studio?
Awww, that's sad. De Blob was such a great game too!
WHAT!?!? NOOOOooooo... I really liked de blob... I was hoping there would be similar things to come from Blue Tongue. Not necessarily blob games, but other unique, fun, interesting things.
I've had my fair share of fun with both games for Wii, but the second one - while still being a good game - clearly was a sequel for the fans. I guess it was a bit too simplistic, straightforward and colourful for the HD crowd. Both games have soundtracks that are simply ace though! I'll always remember painting the town with those incredibly addicting tunes blasting away.
De Blob 1 and 2 were outstanding, They were a talented dev. Crying shame, especially because of the job losses. Thanks for the brilliant games
I think the were going to make a 3DS game for de Blob so another one bites the the dust.
I officially declare THQ to be the new Activision. After these guys and Kaos Studios, who's next?
@Birdman13
There is just a tiny difference between THQ and Activision: THQ has less mega-hits in their portfolio.
Sad news indeed. Never played the De Blob games myself, although I was interested in the first one for a time. Had and still have too many games to play with higher priority, so it fell under my radar. But I hope all the talented people behind the games find a new enjoyable place to work!
wait, I didn't even realize it was the de Blob developers so I didn't care about this news (as it's THQ and NO ONE cares about THQ most of the time). Now I feel bad.
And it really sucks that they made games that were well liked and actually sold well (against all odds btw, trying to be a new series that isn't a shooter) and it still closes. That is just terrible.
It is not that De Blob 2 was selling bad just for PS3/XBoX, its sales were terrible also for Wii:
Wii: 40K
PS3: 29K
XBoX: 20K
De Blob (1) was selling just decently for Wii with 850K, but it seems most of the players dediced not to repeat the experience.
Very sad. De Blob was one of my favorite Wii games, and now I feel guilty for not picking up the sequel. (I wasn't avoiding it, I just never got around to it.)
Another talented developer down, and I'm very sorry to hear it.
no mentioning in the news of the other studios THQ has shut down today? ah well...
This sounds to me like what happened between Capcom and Clover Studios.
@Chicken_Brutus
I too feel guilty for not getting De Blob 2 now...
THQ has turned into the EA of the previous decade. Buy em up, use em up, and shut em down. Around that, if some project costs them millions(homefront) due to too much cash, buying up talent or others to work on it (or in that game's case both) punish those not involved by the middle men instead. They've been killing jobs steadily all year, many of those not responsible for the problems. If they go down completely it's well deserved.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
...that is all. XD
No, wait, that is not all. Aaaaargh! THQ is a company that I see everywhere, and when I see their sorry name on a title, I avoid buying it unless there´s a strong reason to. THQ has a history of bad movie games, and movie games are maybe the most disgusting of all games because the developers know that they don´t need to put any effort into the game. Just the fact that the movie´s name is on the box guarantees a hefty number of titles sold, at least enough to make a profit off of. Therefore, 98% of all movie games have absolutely no effort put into them because the developers know people will buy it. For me, THQ is BadMovieGames R-us, so to know that they shut down one of their best studios, one who isn´t money hungry all the time, is beyond revolting.
Siiiiiiiigh...... You'll be missed BlueTongue. We barely knew you guys :C
Bummer. I may pick up the 360 version of De Blob 2 because I enjoyed the original quite a bit and it's cheap. Want to pick it up before its hard to find.
Blue Tongue was a great studio that will be missed.
"but the move to HD consoles didn't quite capture the sales THQ had hoped"
But it was still a succes on the Wii, right?
Either way, a pity the studio got closed. But on the other hand I don't know what they could have done more with the franchise. But they could always have started a new franchise!
@MetroidMasher17,
The name THQ (Toy headquarters) always gave me a bad vibe. I mean "toy headquarters", they don't take their job very seriously then. For them games are just toys!
However, I bought De Blob 1 and 2. THQ may give me a bad vibe, but Blue tongue worked on those 2 games with heart and soul. Both games are fun. That's what counts!
Hate to say I told you so.
Because those guys were awesome. And I'm sure they will all still have great careers in video games.
Wait a second. Wasn't the original developed in the Netherlands?
It really feels like Clover all over again. Great games that don't sell millions, thus the studio gets closed. Which proves that quality games won't necessarily sell.
That sucks!
@Henmii Have you been watching The Last Starfighter? Games are just toys.
Sadness... DeBlob 2 had one of the best VGST's I've heard in awhile...
Ah damn. We don't have enough game development happening in Australia as it is, so it's a pity to see another one shut up shop!
I is sad.
Poor little blob.
Sad to see this indeed. De Blob was one of my favourite Wii games because of its amazing charm and humour. Gameplay wasn't too bad either. So i bought the sequel on both the DS and Wii which i still have to play.
Would have been interesting to see what another sequel could have done with the Wii U controller.
Blaketoberfest wrote:
Hey, at least someone that was waiting for that game too. Though it seemed like a very vague announcement it still made me hold out on buying the Wii and DS versions because i knew i had to get it sometime and wanted to keep the cost for all three combined on a reasonable level.
Well I'm sure it's not the end of them as developers. If they're not absorbed under contract into one of THQ's other divisions, they can form a new studio.
Not saying that would be easy mind, but I bet they could make some great indie games.
NOOOOO!! This was one of the very few new 3D platformers that was doing well, this is a very very sad day to 3D platforming fans everywhere. I wish 3D platformers were still commercially successful
@KeeperBVK Not according to Blue Tongue!
"Our acclaimed Nintendo Wii game de Blob launched in the US and Europe September 2008, and in Japan and Korea in November 2008. Find out more at www.deblob.com."
"Wait a second. Wasn't the original developed in the Netherlands?"
De blob was originally a downloadable game made by dutch students. I think it can still be downloaded for free on the internet, so check it out when you are in the mood. The students sold the rights to Blue tongue, and they created the fun Wii games that we know!
De Blob is really a fun game if you haven't tried it yet. One of the earlier Wii games that felt the need to assign an upswing of the remote to jump. You do a LOT of jumping in this game so it can be a bit tiring. Once you get past this minor annoyance, you'll find that the game has lots of charm and a great soundtrack.
I picked up de Blob 2 for the DS to see if it had the same qualities as the original. This game is a platformer ONLY with a more basic approach to the gameplay. My 4-year-old absolutely loves it because the controls are great and he doesn't need to be able to read to understand how to complete most of the objectives. He loves the color orange and always tries to traverse the levels as far as possible with an "orange Blob"
Thanks for the great games - you will be missed by these gamers.
That is sad news. I loved de Blob on the Wii and I am still going to pick up the second game. I thought the move to the HD systems was going to be positive for the developers. Goes to show why we need the Wii.
With the gaming audiences on the HD systems only looking for a particular type of game, namely FPS, games like de Blob have a better chance on the Wii. I still think the announcement of the Wii U was too early and that the Wii still has some life in it especially for developers like this. MORE people losing their jobs. How sad
I have 1 last level to play in DeBlob 2 (each level has taken me over 2 hours so I only play 1 a day) and it's a really good platformer. To continue on what Environ said - that upward swing was stupid in DeBlob, but 2 plays like a real platform game. Don't see why the second sold poorly, besides the better controls it even has 1 of my favorite features - optional difficulty. I'm playing it on normal and my 6 and 8 year old sons are playing on easy so everyone is enjoying this. They would have finished by now but I bought them Sengoku Basrai Samurai Heroes and nothing can compete with 2 player split-screen non-stop violence.
So sad:(
love de blob.....
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