Donkey Kong's Lost 3D Platformer & The Decay of Activision Blizzard

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Today on Game History Secrets, Liam talks about his journey uncovering the development of a cancelled Donkey Kong 3D Platformer known online as Donkey Kong Freedom. Throughout his research, Liam also gains new insight into the dacy of Activision Blizzard.
Liam Robertson is a video game researcher and archiver. In his spare time, Liam creates videos and articles for various outlets, and will also be contributing to the Did You Know Gaming channel.
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Sources/Further Reading:
DK Vine original article: dkvine.com/?p=news_body&post=...
Professor chops Famiboards post: famiboards.com/threads/what-w...
Zippo blog post: zippospeaks.blogspot.com/2023...
NintendoPrime podcast: • Donkey Kong... is Back...
famiboards.com/goto/post?id=6...
famiboards.com/threads/donkey...
Donkey Kong Freedom Dreams game: indreams.me/dream/mxQHJnFhvWQ
investor.activision.com/news-...
polygon.com/2014/4/16/5614716...
investor.activision.com/news-...
polygon.com/2016/4/5/11370024...
venturebeat.com/games/the-bro...
Gamesindustry.biz Guha Bala interview: • Vicarious to Velan: Fr... &t=4s
gamesindustry.biz/how-inventi...
• GamesBeat's interview ...
• Jeremy Russo over Skyl...
polygon.com/2019/1/10/1817745...
gamespot.com/articles/activis...
• Coddy Johnson, Preside...
bizjournals.com/albany/news/2...
kotaku.com/activision-blizzar...
humanrightsfirst.org/library/...
kotaku.com/activision-blizzar...
pbs.twimg.com/media/E6-QyOAXM...
venturebeat.com/games/ex-bliz...
news.blizzard.com/en-us/blizz...
ign.com/articles/blizzard-jen...
washingtonpost.com/video-game...
gamesindustry.biz/activision-...
kotaku.com/activision-blizzar...
cwa-union.org/news/releases/n...
businessinsider.com/activisio...
polygon.com/22891169/activisi...
kotaku.com.au/2022/01/the-rea...
sec.gov/news/press-release/20...
calcivilrights.ca.gov/2023/12...
polygon.com/23915636/bobby-ko...
nme.com/news/gaming-news/acti...
/ 1740867338138955848
wsj.com/articles/activision-v...
kotaku.com/inside-blizzard-de...
thegamer.com/activision-blizz...
windowscentral.com/gaming/xbo...
gamesindustry.biz/activision-...
Black Girls Code Jen Oneal video: • Role Models: How I Lan...
Albany Business Review video: • Vicarious Visions head...
Tips & Tricks Mike Ybarra interview: • Mike Ybarra Interview ...
#donkeykong #nintendo #dk #activision

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Опубликовано:

3 май 2024

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Комментарии : 589

@danielchaconlimon7666 2 месяца назад

I hate so much that Kotick simply "resigned" and there was no consequences for his actions, he simply went to his mansion to relax and enjoy his Billions of dollars

@wilbo_baggins 2 месяца назад

He'll be back to run another company to ruin

@L_Zant 2 месяца назад

Lol what would anyone do? Fine him money? Oh no not 1% of my fortune....lol

@wilbo_baggins 2 месяца назад

@@L_Zant throw him in jail with gen pop

@jesusramirezromo2037 2 месяца назад

@@L_Zant Jail time

@kagemushashien8394 2 месяца назад

@@L_Zant Fine him 75%

@cheesewombatTV 2 месяца назад

This video just reminds me how underrated Vicarious Visions were even before the Crash and Tony Hawk remakes. They were never making the biggest games but you could tell they always gave 100% on every project, even if it was something as silly as Shrek 2 on GBA. You can tell the Bala brothers cared about the company and their quality of work until the very end.

@oftheBlazingNinjas 2 месяца назад

Still pisses me off so much that Kotick did what he did to VV, because they were one of my favourite dev studios.

@jordanrose5558 2 месяца назад

The OG Spider-Man games on the Playstation/PC were sick af

@Vendetta162X 2 месяца назад

They made Crash for GBA and it was still amazing. Yeah, they're really an ace of a company

@Jelly_shy_guy_man 8 дней назад

LOOK SPIDER MAN 🟥🟥🟥🟥 🟦🟥🟥🟥🟦 🟥🟦🟥🟥🟦🟥 🟥🟦🟦🟦🟦🟥 🟦⬜️🟦🟦⬜️🟦 🟦⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️🟦 🟥🟦🟦🟦🟦🟥 🟥🟥🟥🟥 🟥🟥 🟥🟥🟥🟥 🟥🟦🟥🟥🟦🟥 🟥🟥🟦🟦🟥🟥 🟥🟥🟦🟦🟥🟥

@lizardlord4k 2 месяца назад

Amazing how the longer the video goes on, the more evil Activision gets.

@carlosfer2201 23 дня назад

at one point I was expecting a big reveal that Activision had been an EA subsidiary all along.

@BlueAizu_ 2 месяца назад

The tonal whiplash going from Shigeru Miyamoto being worried about Donkey Kong getting rope burn on his feet from grinding on vines in a game prototype to all of the evil things going on at Activision under Bobby Kotick's watch is pretty insane.

@BBWahoo Месяц назад

It's tonal ropeburn since it took a while for you to really feel a painful sensation

@hayterfan 2 месяца назад

Come for the lost DK game, stay for the awful Studio politics of Bobby Kotick

@btd0ja 2 месяца назад

It’s so disheartening to hear *just how* averse to risk Activision is. They will not do ANYTHING creative or challenging anymore because they only care about profit.

@Poever 2 месяца назад

It’s the Call of Duty factory, what did you expect?

@HispanusCandor 2 месяца назад

Replace Activision with any major game company and it still checks out

@mayday-tz4dv 2 месяца назад

We just got 4 new crash games...

@lemon5000-tj6nv 2 месяца назад

@@mayday-tz4dvand they only brought back crash cuz of sony

@SECONDQUEST 2 месяца назад

That's capitalism. Never make your company publicly traded if you want to avoid that.

@SinistralWolf 2 месяца назад

The worst part of the Activision Blizzard sale is Bobby Kotick getting away with a huge golden umbrella.

@ZombieBatmanJesus Месяц назад

The system is working as intended

@thetoongrump9801 2 месяца назад

You know a video is a banger, when the story about a rejected DK pitch inexplicably features Bush-era war criminals by the end

@Zveebo 2 месяца назад

And Bobby Kotick still manages to screw over even one of them…

@pianoman7753 2 месяца назад

You WHAT

@jamesmiller206 2 месяца назад

And the fact that the cancelled dk game was the least interesting part of the story really shows how inept activision has become. The shit this studio had to go through further cements my decision to never buy a call of duty game.

@LiamRproductions Месяц назад

I love this comment.

@ClexYoshi 2 месяца назад

It's Bobby. It's always Bobby 'devil horns' Kotick.

@LoliconSamalik 2 месяца назад

Man even lost a date because that's all the girl could see when she looked him up.

@paulakroy2635 2 месяца назад

Suda51 literally had him be the main villain of the 2 no more heroes games because he hates him so much

@Jelly_shy_guy_man 8 дней назад

You’re Pfp is sussy baka

@Jelly_shy_guy_man 8 дней назад

You’re Pfp is sussy Baka

@jimbob3332 2 месяца назад

The Vicarious Visions brothers are some underappreciated personalities in the industry. A genuine story of nobodies working up to sitting with the biggest names and largest companies.

@LiamRproductions 2 месяца назад

Agreed! Lot of respect for those guys.

@okayemjay 2 месяца назад

I knew Bobby Kotick was evil, but I didn't realize how far this went until today.

@TaliesinMyrddin 2 месяца назад

As a WoW fan, yes, the guy has been evil for a long time. I haven't watched the video yet but I'm sure it touches on him threatening to kill an employee.

@HarmanSmith 2 месяца назад

Cool it with the anti-semitic remarks.

@SomeSprites 2 месяца назад

@@HarmanSmith ?????????????

@EnigmaticGentleman 2 месяца назад

@@HarmanSmith Obviously anti-semitism is a huge problem, but if people are immune to criticism due to them being in a marginalized religion, well all you have to do is read the current news to know how that turns out.

@TaliesinMyrddin 2 месяца назад

@@HarmanSmith You're the only one to bring up any kind of religion.

@nathonso_edits 2 месяца назад

17:43 tbh that sounds EXACTLY like the kind of thing that Miyamoto would say 😭

@ComicCrossing 2 месяца назад

My first thought too. Like that anecdote made me convinced Miyamoto did have at least a consulting role in the game.

@Quinn-kr2cp 7 дней назад

Hugely reminiscent of the infamous Metroid Prime quote "What if Samus had a bug's head?"

@Adam-jw3uz 2 месяца назад

This video is the new Roblox_Oof.mp3. Started as a simple premise about Donkey Kong, ended as a hitpiece about everything wrong with Activision.

@paulakroy2635 2 месяца назад

Everything lmao

@Terotrous 2 месяца назад

This video is like a case study into why the AAA developers are all dying out.

@maddestmike5791 2 месяца назад

If only Bobby Kotick was dying with them.

@ZombieBatmanJesus Месяц назад

They are richer than they have ever been. The system is working as intended.

@lukemoonwalker8444 2 месяца назад

I audibly laughed when Bush was namedropped, did not see that one coming.

@brandondiaz9657 2 месяца назад

If Nintendo needs to work with someone other than their own studios, they can phone up Toys for Bob since they're no longer part of the Activision Umbrella.

@EnigmaticGentleman 2 месяца назад

They do actually strike me as the type of company Nintendo would work with, they have very specific types.

@jvfacundo 2 месяца назад

Only by name, all of their workers were transferred to the Call of Duty mines before that happened.

@lemon5000-tj6nv 2 месяца назад

@@jvfacundotoys for bob isnt even a part of activision anymore, they went indie and are now in a deal with microsoft to work on their own projects also crash team fumble was in development when they were in the cod mines

@LagoonKnight 2 месяца назад

R.I.P. @@jvfacundo

@PeterDahu 2 месяца назад

Or Velen which is old Vicarious Visions. Or maybe Playtonic which is old Rare.

@EnigmaticGentleman 2 месяца назад

Thank you for going over the lawsuits, people just magically forgot about it because Microsoft will totally fix it i guess.

@rin_reverie 2 месяца назад

What’s saddening is that Microsoft becoming even more of a monopoly might end up as a net positive for Activision-Blizzard’s staff overall, considering how wretched the old leadership was. When Microsoft entrenching itself is a *good thing*, things are utterly screwed.

@mrshmuga9 2 месяца назад

He didn’t say anything new other than the outcome of the California lawsuit. Everything else was publicly detailed thoroughly. If you used the internet, you were aware.

@LoliconSamalik 2 месяца назад

@@rin_reverie Hard to call Microsoft a monopoly for buying Activision when there are still hundreds of competing publishers in the US alone.

@PeterDahu 2 месяца назад

@LoliconSamalik Not when that publisher is massive and owns a masdive on top of other massive brands.

@ComicCrossing 2 месяца назад

@@rin_reverie Microsoft is nowhere close to a monopoly. They are literally in 3rd place this gen.

@NintyPrime 2 месяца назад

Really glad someone dug more into this since I had extremely limited resources and connections with which to verify/dig more into it back when I started covering it and a few people came forward. I do not know 1000% if the one person who claimed to be a developer actually was one there, and it was a single source. The rest was me just digging into DK Vine's stuff and some of the journalists that were said to have known about the project. Reaching out to journalists was easy enough, but none of them seem to know enough to ever run a story, even as two of them confirmed to me they had heard about it, but wasn't worth reporting due to lack of evidence and multiple sources. Liam Robertson, as much as we unfortunately do not talk anymore, I know is well researched and can look much deeper into these things than I can. I am very glad this video exists and we at least know a project did exist and was pitched to Nintendo. I was very dubious of the people I had talked to, but I did believe there was truly SOMETHING to the rumors. Glad to finally know what that something is! Thanks Liam, and the DYKG crew!

@misterzygarde6431 2 месяца назад

After Retro is done with Prime 4, I’d be down for another Country game. Especially considering how they wanted to do Tropical Freeze after Returns Heck since Toys for Bob is independent. I’d love to see them do a 3D DK game

@SunoAi-vf5hv 2 месяца назад

TfB is woke, no way. Get Rare to do it, Nintendo is on good terms with Microsoft lately, they can probably swing a deal.

@DaNintendude 2 месяца назад

I think even if Retro just remastered Donkey Kong Country Returns with a new, short 3 world campaign or something. That would be great. Final hurrah for Retro studios' DK while they decide who should take the reigns for DK's future.

@misterzygarde6431 2 месяца назад

@@SunoAi-vf5hv You didn’t have to make this shit political. GTFO

@misterzygarde6431 2 месяца назад

@@SunoAi-vf5hv You didn’t have to bring politics into this. Shut up about wokeness.

@polycube868 2 месяца назад

@SunoAi-vf5hv what did Toys For Bob do? Only game by them I have is the Spyro Reignited Trilogy and I bought it used.

@kirkvandewalker3574 2 месяца назад

I was expecting something about the lost history of a DK platformer, which I got. I did not expect it to cover about the history of another company and it's former CEO's vile practices. Bravo!

@Skyfighter070 2 месяца назад

Incredibly put together, Liam. Didn't expect you to dive so deeply into Activison's crimes. The pacing and stakes just kept building, didn't feel like an hour at all.

@abdelali9279 2 месяца назад

Reading the comments without finishing the second half of the video is a bit wild

@ankd956 2 месяца назад

Man.. this video started with a hopeful and interesting feel, and it becomes really fucking depressing in the end

@goldglovegrappler1382 2 месяца назад

RIP Vicarious Visions, "Blizzard Albany" is such a soul crushing name change.

@Zippy_Zolton 2 месяца назад

Same with an indie studio I LOVED becoming "Epic Games Brasil"

@otooandoh9556 2 месяца назад

@@Zippy_Zolton which studio are you referring to?

@Zippy_Zolton 2 месяца назад

@@otooandoh9556 Aquiris, most notably the owners/creators of the Horizon Chase franchise which Epic has killed in a subtle way by stopping its development for updates and new games after they re-released Horizon Chase 2 outside of Apple Arcade on EGS and consoles

@lucavalente6620 2 месяца назад

@@otooandoh9556I believe he is referring to Acquiris

@infernoflash 2 месяца назад

”For a long time, there has been rumours out there about a game.” Holy shit.

@ZulaCrash 2 месяца назад

I heard that Game will release in year and probably have graphics.

@gregoryberrycone 2 месяца назад

completely unfounded. i have it on good authority there are no plans to make any more games in the future. the entire industry is shifting to arms production

@Vulpas 2 месяца назад

1 hour edition

@ethanbrown5253 2 месяца назад

When it finally comes out, it would be the game of all time

@PhenomUprising Месяц назад

@@gregoryberrycone The entire industry will work on Arms 2?! Whoa, maybe there will be a story mode this time around!

@zackwoods5077 2 месяца назад

Considering how badly their flagship franchises were treated, I'd say maybe this was a good thing. CoD and WoW were the undisputed best sellers of their genres before Bobby took over and they became hollow shells of their former glory when he eventually left.

@OtakuUnitedStudio 2 месяца назад

The irony that Activision was originally founded due to Atari employees walking out for being mistreated, and then ended up doing far, far worse.

@greatsageclok-roo9013 2 месяца назад

Thank you for pointing this out. It really highlights how things come full circle, and that this is more or less a cycle that will go on. I can almost guarantee anyone reading this that if the current AAA publishers all die out, the first Indie studio to take over will become corrupt in 20-30 years. As another example, just look at Telltale Games and what happened there.

@ToasterRepairUnit 2 месяца назад

it's kinda surreal watching this video, I was working on QA for Skylanders Superchargers right when this was going on (and also later for Imaginators)

@thatonecookie242 2 месяца назад

any interesting stories? i loved those games as a kid

@ToasterRepairUnit 2 месяца назад

@@thatonecookie242 Oops, do comments get hidden if they're too long? Mine seems to not show up for some reason

@wilbo_baggins 2 месяца назад

@@ToasterRepairUnitRU-vid is very picky with comments. I doubt its length since I've seen huge comments.

@zynux8252 2 месяца назад

@@ToasterRepairUnit A ton of my comments get hidden because they are too long. But it seems random because other people can comment long sometimes. Depends on words/terms you use too.

@ToasterRepairUnit 2 месяца назад

@@zynux8252 Oh, maybe it was because I mentioned the D word in reference to a poor translation. oops

@Johnjohnson2695 2 месяца назад

It's crazy that a brand new studio's first project was a Mario Kart game. Big respect to the brothers, they sound like good guys

@CyberDragon10K 2 месяца назад

This honestly surprised me the most. I shrugged like most people when Live Home Circuit became a thing, but knowing it's the Bala Bros. that worked with the House of Mario Bros. to make it happen? I need to pay more attention to Velan Studios.

@PikaPhantomVG 2 месяца назад

@@CyberDragon10KThey're in a weird spot right now where they had a major partner cancel a project with them and they had to scramble to try and avoid as many layoffs as possible, but it's unclear if they had to let go of all the people affected. They do apparently have new games scheduled for this year, and some guy allegedly unearthed a LinkedIn post from their HR director about working with a major beloved IP, so it'll be curious to see what they do next. Maybe they'll partner with Nintendo on a new project?

@supersonicsjm 2 месяца назад

My biggest disappointment with the Microsoft buyout of Activision is that Bobby Kotick gets to ride off into the sunset with a massive payout and not answering for his misconduct, the poor treatment of his staff and the borderline, if not, outright illegal actions he undertook whilst working at Activision. The sad part is, Activision is not the only company where this kind of thing happens and a lot of it goes unsaid and therefore the wider public is unaware of it.

@BensyBens 2 месяца назад

We in a time that it’s nostalgic to talk about Vicarious Visions. Damn.

@lowpolysunrise 2 месяца назад

Hope we get another DK game in the next couple of years.

@Austinator0630 2 месяца назад

There's nothing Nintendo can do with Donkey Kong outside of the theme parks.

@Jelly_shy_guy_man 8 дней назад

It’s currently 2029 in the furtuer, and the last dk game was a remake of the og game

@500werewolf 2 месяца назад

Activision not interested in making anything except COD? Let me put on my shocked face. --_-- 34:35 Yeah, pretty much hits the nail on the head. Sounds like a fun Spyro up until the point it starts appealing to Activision for "LiVe SeRvIcE" elements

@stephen2624 2 месяца назад

Thank you for this video. Unlike others who won't be named, you never fail to remind us that the publisher, that owned Crash and Spyro, was run by a man who openly said he wanted to suck the joy out of making games. That's one thing Bobby Kotick made a reality.

@Sam_T2000 2 месяца назад

the _Donkey Kong Country_ franchise (or sub-franchise?) had one of the best track records in all of video gaming, and _DKC2_ & _Tropical Freeze_ are two of the the very best 2D platformers ever… it’s a shame we never got a third game in the _Returns_ trilogy. ideally, I’d have hoped for: - _DKC Returns 3,_ featuring the return of K. Rool and the Kremlings, released in 2017-18 for Switch. - a _DKC Returns_ trilogy HD collection for Switch, released circa 2020. - a 3D platforming _Donkey Kong Country_ -esque game a-la _Sonic Frontiers_ and the _Dreams_ creation, released right about now as a swan song for the Switch 👌

@kennytvn 2 месяца назад

These full length documentaries are insane, well done

@LiamRproductions 2 месяца назад

Thank you!

@mega3291 2 месяца назад

Man i truly truly hate Activision, they killed soo many studios by transforming them into support studios, truly sad. And that DK game sounds so fkn cool.

@maxkozak9702 2 месяца назад

Blame the Call of Duty fandom, if not for all their money none of this would have been done.

@rept7 Месяц назад

If I had a nickel for every time a multiplayer focused Spyro game was shutdown, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird it happened twice.

@beau-urns 2 месяца назад

This video is a summary why stock markets are the bane of society

@emildubas6766 2 месяца назад

I am very much curious then how Toys For Bob faired during its tumultuous tenure at Activision before going indie.

@lemon5000-tj6nv 2 месяца назад

they got sent to the cod mines after crash 4, then after the cod mines they made crash team fumble, a game nobody asked for or wanted

@LiamRproductions 2 месяца назад

That’s the next video I am doing.

@emildubas6766 2 месяца назад

@@LiamRproductions Great! Thanks for your work!

@BBWahoo Месяц назад

@@LiamRproductions Dude I love you

@axelprino 2 месяца назад

Wow, Activision leadership was downright evil. I was aware that they routinely absorbed studios just to send them into the COD mines and that their work culture was pretty much criminal but I didn't know just how heartless they were in their every move, they legit don't see games as art or a creative endeavor and instead just milk what they know will make them money for sure, it's the worst parts of capitalism on crack. I really hope that now that they're under the MS umbrella the whole company will get some sort of restructuring, it's not like MS is good but at least they're not that evil.

@donkeykongfreedom 2 месяца назад

Cheers Liam!! You've done an outstanding job. It was my pleasure being able to reach out to you and keep up on the daily basis , right up until the end. Thanks a banana bunch my friend :) - Gothic Teddy Bear

@SpongicX 2 месяца назад

Wow... ditching a new refreshing DK game in favor of the same repetitive COD games... Activision really f***ed over Nintendo fans...

@jaccblacc8424 2 месяца назад

Now that Toys for Bob (devs behind the Spyro remakes and Crash 4) went indie, I hope the partner with Nintendo to make a new DK

@Austinator0630 2 месяца назад

It's too late for Donkey Kong as their series doesn't have a dedicated team.

@BanjoGeek 2 месяца назад

Cool to see DK Vine get recognition. They made their website in excitement for when DK64 was coming out and have stayed open ever since. Hyle is also a really cool, really knowledgable person. Hope you guys can collaborate more in the future!

@polycube868 2 месяца назад

I've been trying to create a DK Vine account...is it like NEOGAF where you need a paid email account? I'm having trouble with it.

@mrgabos 2 месяца назад

5:10 quote: "my uncle works at nintendo"

@suluturnip 2 месяца назад

Activision destroying Vicarious Visions is one of the greatest tragedies in gaming.

@mattwo7 2 месяца назад

To think there could have been a reality when the studio that worked on Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2, Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro, Crash Bandicoot, Guitar Hero and Skylanders made a Donkey Kong game.

@fuzzysham88 2 месяца назад

what started out as a fun little trivia on a lost, abandoned game ended with yet another reason to shid on butthead bobby and i'm all for it.

@DaNintendude 2 месяца назад

It's fascinating to know the project did exist, and I can definutelt believe it knowing that a lot of the more dubious details were likely fabricated. The whole pollution plot and Pauline involvement felt very weird, and I couldn't see Nintendo being super involved in that. Learning that it was VV who pitched it (rather than Nintendo coming to them), that it was just gameplay, and that the artstyle was pretty different-- yeah that's more what I would expect. I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo would've shut down the project, or made them change the artstyle at some point if it continued. But we could've had another Mario + Rabbids situation here. Outside western developer making their own Mario (DK) game with innovative gameplay.

@PeterDahu 2 месяца назад

Nintendo would only shut down a project if something goes wrong and it has to gone terribly wrong. I agree about the art style though.

@DaNintendude 2 месяца назад

@@PeterDahu I should've said "backed out" instead of "shut it down" They hadn't fully decided if they wanted to go through with it yet. If they greenlit it-- yeah, they wouldn't shut it down unless stuff went really wrong. But since the project hadn't turned into a real game being developed yet, I could see them getting cold feet or changing their mind.

@kekcrocgod6731 Месяц назад

@@PeterDahuidk I think if activision didn’t end the project the art style could’ve stayed, art styles in Nintendo games aren’t really that consistent (paper Mario and the Mario and Luigi games for example, along with almost every Zelda). I think donkey Kong could’ve gone down a similar road

@Shmeve0 2 месяца назад

A new 3D Donkey Kong is all I want in the world now

@alexbuechergames 2 месяца назад

yeah! why don't people see the way greater movement potential than with Mario? Oh, the verticality!

@Shmeve0 2 месяца назад

@@alexbuechergamesand DK just has way more of the cool factor

@flamesmystic 2 месяца назад

This was a roller coaster ride of a video

@crummylion 2 месяца назад

Yeah... if the Crash levels in Skylanders Imaginators hinted at Vicarious Visions working on the N Sane Trilogy, the Nintendo exclusive DK Skylander hinted at a DK game that never got made. I can see that company or Toys for Bob making a DK game tbh

@wileywood1523 2 месяца назад

I had no clue velan made mk home circuit! That’s really cook

@ConculusHydro 2 месяца назад

very cook

@SylverstoneKhandr 2 месяца назад

Knockout City was legit one of my favorite games of the last 5 years, and is one of the only live service games that ended up having a life post-development after the official servers shut down. That game had the spirit of old VV.

@ethanbuckley1942 2 месяца назад

@@SylverstoneKhandrthey made that one too? Dang, I really liked that game -- now I really want Velan to get to make some more projects with Nintendo

@pizzagroom6221 2 месяца назад

guitar hero was about 15 years before it's time. If it was released nowadays, I can see it being an "evergreen" title. Just releasing a few songs every couple months would do wounders to keep it relevant, instead of releasing a new game every year

@deltamaxxhomevideo 2 месяца назад

Metal is bigger than it’s been in a long time. Guys like Tim Henson and Tosin Abasi are pushing the guitar’s limits. Guitar Hero seems like a no-brainer right now.

@RooTUBEer 2 месяца назад

Thank you for the deep dive. A lot of great work was put into this. I'm from the Albany area and I've met a few Vicarious Visions employees over the years. All great people. They deserved better than this.

@M_Alexander 2 месяца назад

It's wild how companies will pay wild sums to everyone except the workers

@Sientir 2 месяца назад

Dang, this was a whole journey. o_O

@vixxito 2 месяца назад

This started as a Donkey Kong tale and ended up being a damming expose on how shit Acti Blizzard is. Thanks for bringing all of this up Liam.

@chisecrecy4974 4 дня назад

I love how absurdly far the soulless and risk-averse nature of Activision goes, to the point where the actual fucking Tony Hawk even comes forward to corroborate how profit-driven the company is.

@GigaMan91 2 месяца назад

Link and Samus crossing over with Marvel could have been a big deal!

@kingcheerio8558 2 месяца назад

I desperately need someone to start working on a mod to add them back in

@spiderwithay6679 2 месяца назад

I genuinely appreciate this videos heal turn into a searing indictment of the horrible abuse workers (women in particular) suffered under Activision and Blizzard.

@BR-jw7pm 2 месяца назад

(Reads title) Me: now I have to see how these two things are related

@mokarokas-1727 2 месяца назад

Very loosely, as it turns out. Could've been two separate videos. Granted I skipped through this video, but there was a clear spot where they dropped DK completely and only talked about Activision. The segue was that Activision had acquired Vicarious Visions, possibly shelfing DK Freedom. Not related to the Blizzard allegations and Kotick which take up the latter half, though.

@gigastrike2 2 месяца назад

@@mokarokas-1727 It's true. I listened to the whole thing, and it seems like the "lost 3d platformer" headline was just a clickbait title they believed would appeal to their viewerbase, when they really wanted to talk about the Activision Blizzard controversies.

@Gabo2oo 2 месяца назад

@@gigastrike2 He went a lot in-depth about the DK platformer though; it took a little over half the video and most of the original research relates to it (as opposed to the Blizzard stuff which is more of a summary). The video title doesn't feel disingenuous at all.

@mrshmuga9 2 месяца назад

@@Gabo2oo99% of the DK stuff was just reiterating what DK Vine already said and some minor clarifications. Activision turning it down, despite being a big name IP isn’t exactly new as that’s observable to everyone with their releases and studio mergers/closures. And the Activision stuff was also just reiterating what was widely reported on already, outside maybe the result of the California lawsuit that ended a few months ago.

@Gabo2oo 2 месяца назад

@@mrshmuga9 Still, most resources to compile and inquire for this video went to the DK side of things, even if there weren't THAT many new stuff uncovered. If they had rushed through DK to get to the Activision side I'd agree that the title was clickbait, but as things actually stand I think it's pretty straightforward.

@NinBendo1 2 месяца назад

Starting this video: Cool! Donkey Kong game! Ending this video: My God, I forgot how *TERRIBLE* Activision is.

@ScrewlooseStudios 2 месяца назад

Big ups to Karthik Bala for finally getting to work with Nintendo on a big project.

@1234_Flux 2 месяца назад

So basically Activision is the worst company of all time.

@GreyWolfLeaderTW 2 месяца назад

The Soviet Union (functionally a company given it merged state with economics and business) makes this look like child's play. Look no further than the fustercluck that was Chernobyl, Stalin, and Stalin's head of secret police Lavrentiy Beria. Beria would eat Kotick's heart for breakfast.

@PeterDahu 2 месяца назад

@@GreyWolfLeaderTWUSSR wasn't a company. It's hilarious when capitalism clowns say stuff like this?

@jesusramirezromo2037 2 месяца назад

@@GreyWolfLeaderTW Who's talking about the USSR? Dude, that's not comparable at all You could literally say the same thing about any country

@Gigaheart 2 месяца назад

@@GreyWolfLeaderTW No I think that goes to Enron.

@gregorydezoete3601 2 месяца назад

Activision is Not Worst Video Game Company, Is Neutral Video Game Company

@scrumptioushumanbeing2268 2 месяца назад

Activision is such an unhealthy company. You slowly see the most creative and passionate developers leave the company, first vicarious visions and then toys for bob. Now they are just pumping out call of duty.

@PeterDahu 2 месяца назад

Don't forget Infiniti Ward, Raven Software, and Treyarch.

@maxkozak9702 2 месяца назад

Blame the Call of Duty fandom, if not for the money none of this would have been done.

@aureliomercado9730 2 месяца назад

To sum it up, Mr. Money bags himself screwed the developers over. That really sucks because that Donkey Kong game seems interesting.

@mrpinguimninja 2 месяца назад

The lesson here is, whatever it is you love: games, books, movies, comics, you have to hate corporations.

@zixty_ 2 месяца назад

Awesome video, I learned a lot. I really love the direction DYKG is going. Thank you!!

@LiamRproductions 2 месяца назад

Thanks!

@DJIVision 2 месяца назад

Good work Liam, lotta legwork in this one

@LiamRproductions 2 месяца назад

Thank you!

@AlterBridgeJericho 2 месяца назад

Bobby Kotick will not see heaven

@fearlessjoebanzai 2 месяца назад

That's unfortunate! If you believe that heaven and hell literally exist, then surely those who get sent to Hell will see Heaven - always! And be reminded as to what could have been! If it's metaphorical, then unfortunately he probably sees heaven every day when he gets served gourmet breakfast in bed on his mega yacht, anchored in Monaco or the Bahamas or somewhere just as swell!

@Ihartwalrusguy 2 месяца назад

Really sucks that Microsoft is doing nothing with any of the IPs and Studios after buying Activision-Blizzard, not even prying Vicarious Visions from Blizzard’s coal mines

@jumponeverything 2 месяца назад

I mean they only got control about a year ago, you aren't going to see any games come from that for at least a couple more years

@EnigmaticGentleman 2 месяца назад

I mean Microsofts shtick over caring about creative games is just surface level, at the end of the day they're just another soulless company.

@lemon5000-tj6nv 2 месяца назад

toys for bob is working on a game with microsoft rn as we speak, i just hope its actually a brand new spyro game like everybody wanted

@TaliesinMyrddin 2 месяца назад

@@jumponeverything They only really officially got control like five months ago

@user-zx6jd8hv3t 2 месяца назад

Bro it’s been a few months you have no idea what the fuck their plans are yet.

@asmariamoon 2 месяца назад

I still remember playing the GBA port of THPS 2 back in the mid-2000s. It was incredible how much VV included on the limited hardware. It's so sad that they got screwed over repeadedly by AB management.

@jw1690 2 месяца назад

Activision is legitimately just a massive black hole where creativity and fun go to die. Also props for going into the allegations etc in this vid as well. People shouldn't forget about it and the people that participated should not be allowed to act like it didn't happen.

@greatsageclok-roo9013 2 месяца назад

Wasn't really interested in the DK thing, but I loved the talk about Vicarious Visions... And how it flowed seamlessly into Activision's decline was another discussion in of itself. The way I see it, Bobby is probably comparable to those celebrities that became mega popular in their field for doing great things, but as soon as a serious allegation was thrown their way, people forgot about all the good they did and focused on the evil. People like OJ Simpson and Rolf Harris, for instance. Loved for a start - despised at the end. So in short, no-one will really care about the legacy Bobby made in bringing strength to Activision, and will instead focus on how he ended up destroying it. Pity it has to be that way, but he only has himself to blame for letting it be so.

@fearlessjoebanzai 2 месяца назад

Woah!!! You got some great idols there buddy! Nobody takes away from OJ's football records or Rolfs artistic talent. They just don't like the stabby murder thing or the weird child grooming/horrible stuff. Do you know something about Kotek that we don't? Otherwise it's simply that he's just a vampire that has sucked the life, profit and ability for many to earn a living from their creative endeavours - while never creating anything himself, artistically or otherwise. *edit - I possibly misinterpreted your pov of Bobby, but there is no positive to these greedy vultures. They contribute nothing and take take take without empathy, simply to satiate their selfish desires.

@greatsageclok-roo9013 2 месяца назад

@@fearlessjoebanzai I never said they were mine. But they *were* idols for people at some point. Then obviously shit went down, and they became nobodies.

@ALDONueve 29 дней назад

Also, Velan Studios made Mario Kart Home Circuit, so they got back their fill of Toy to Life games again.

@LiamRproductions 29 дней назад

That is explored in the video.

@ALDONueve 29 дней назад

@@LiamRproductions Yes i saw it, i commented before reaching that part, still the later is true, they managed to came back to roots.

@LiamRproductions 27 дней назад

@@ALDONueve Gotcha!

@BrownMan-gg7dx 22 дня назад

That 3D donkey Kong game looks 🔥. I hope Nintendo pulls some strings and releases that. Dk hasn't had a full 3D game in a long while and it would be nice to see what they can cook up with him. The graphics look amazing.

@Ubylmoen 2 месяца назад

Hilarious for Zippo to bring up track records, when his track record is being wrong

@polycube868 2 месяца назад

'Member when this channel was just a facts and trivia channel? It's come a long way...and I liked the old content...this channel, Beta 64, The Easter Egg Hunter, Classic Game Room and AVGN were the first channels I remember watching on RU-vid.

@F1ghtGam3r 2 месяца назад

This was a big left turn torards the end

@monopolyrubix1875 2 месяца назад

Sounds like yet another sad story of big buisiness crushing dreams and creativity. EDIT: Jesus Christ, second half of this video is horrific and sadly too common.

@NeonZeonis 2 месяца назад

You guys are inspirational in how you manage to find, research, and share your findings all the while making a moving and meaningful video that entertains, informs, and educates all at once. Thank you guys for the work you do!

@LiamRproductions 2 месяца назад

This one was all me and I thank you for your kind words.

@flyingfist4203 2 месяца назад

What an odd combination for a Title.

@cupk8games 2 месяца назад

This was excellent, and solidifies my desire to support smaller studios over massive conglomerates - from the criminal behavior to the unwillingness to explore creatively.

@mattwo7 2 месяца назад

27:48 Huh, they made Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit as their first game instead of a new DK game. Wonder why that was?

@HairyOreo 2 месяца назад

Never hurts to slowly build their trust back up with Nintendo with something smaller

@mattwo7 2 месяца назад

@@HairyOreo I'm not sure how much it qualifies as "smaller" given the technology put into it. Toys-to-life had been done before but not using tracking technology to make custom RC car courses for a video game.

@HairyOreo 2 месяца назад

@@mattwo7 True. I was more thinking about the software itself. Yes the cars are impressive but it's hard to not see them as drones with phone apps but with wheels.

@mattwo7 2 месяца назад

@@HairyOreo I was also referring to the software... Including the software in the cars...

@flamewave64 Месяц назад

This is an incredible piece of investigative journalism. It’s incredible seeing what this channel has grown into. Did you know that super Mario Bros two was originally a Japanese game? Called dunkey dunkey and the wizzard

@spectrosrage 2 месяца назад

And here we have the biggest disparity between independent studios and massive corporations, laid out in beautiful contrast. Wonderfully done. It's night and day, how these things operate. It's so frustrating to see enthusiasm, heart and good ideas that could add more happiness in the world crushed by a company so obsessed with the safety of its bloated income. In some ways I feel like the best option is to just specifically let the people vote and pay for what they want to see in the world, especially when it comes to entertainment media. Like Kickstarter, but without stretch goals and rewards.

@GreyWolfLeaderTW 2 месяца назад

Meh, you're overselling it. Obsession with the bottom line and harassment happens at small companies too. Nothing intrinsic about being small prevents flaws of human nature.

@greatsageclok-roo9013 2 месяца назад

@@GreyWolfLeaderTW I agree with you. The original comment implies that this is true for every publisher, which is not the case. Nintendo is a prime example of this. And you're right about small studios being flawed. You might be the small guy with big plans and big ideas - that doesn't give you immunity to the same shit. Besides, these sort of antics aren't new in the industry and have been around for decades - even as far back as when Atari were in command. Did you know that Activision was formed by a group of workers who left Atari who were disgruntled that they weren't being paid enough? Or that NaughtyDog intentionally tried to sabotage one of their games to undermine Universal Interactive? Or that a single executive decision by Psygnosis is the reason Rascal was so terrible? These things actually happened, and all took place before the turn of the millennium. This sort of shit won't go away, even if we want it to. One way or another, a new set of problems will arise from a newcomer in the future. Humanity is an Ouroboros of evil. We try to destroy it, but we just end up making more.

@burgermike92 2 месяца назад

@greatsageclok-roo9013 I'm curious. What game did ND try to sabotage?

@greatsageclok-roo9013 2 месяца назад

@@burgermike92 Crash Team Racing. How did they try to sabotage it? By putting an alien into the game! ... Problem: they forgot to make the game shit and pumped out a timeless classic instead.

@burgermike92 2 месяца назад

@greatsageclok-roo9013 Can you really say that was sabotage? The whole reason for including Oxide was so people would forget about Crash and move on. Don't think they meant it in a malicious way. Also Universal had no hand in CTR. ND only agreed to do CTR on the condition that Sony would publish it instead.

@theotherjared9824 2 месяца назад

Tldr: Call of Duty ruined everything.

@GabePuratekuta Месяц назад

And Bobby Kotick was responsible.

@CrystalFissure 2 месяца назад

The stuff about THPS just makes me irate. VV did such a great job with the game and it basically meant nothing.

@KairiKeyz 2 месяца назад

This comment is about the Skylanders 7 concept, it would've been revolutionary for the franchise and it could have better what Imaginators did, the open map concept was good but the game felt rushed. I mean it feels a bit unbalanced with non senseis and despite patches of the game it still feels unpolished. Plus, maybe we could have a better story the previous games didn't deliver, Superchargers was decent plot going on. But dang, Activision is a mess of a company, I hope Microsoft gives it more care than what Acti's Scumbag CEO was doing.

@theTadpolshrimpl3425 2 месяца назад

Yeah I am so pissed that Activision canceled it. As a Skylander fan not only me but the rest of the community would absolutely scream out of joy to see it real.

@greatsageclok-roo9013 2 месяца назад

I would have loved it more if it discarded the Portal of Power concept. You know me well enough Kairi to know my stance on the matter.

@anthonystrangio 7 дней назад

HOW DID THEY NOT DO THIS

@thekiss2083 2 месяца назад

I have a hard time believing that city-based DK concept got anywhere with Nintendo. A) It would have been the biggest rebrand of any of their properties, ever and B ) Nintendo already had an "animals doing radical stuff in a deserted city" IP in Splatoon, and there's no way they'd have greenlit a second at that point in the mid-2010s

@LiamRproductions 2 месяца назад

You’re interpreting an early demo very literally. It was just a demo to show off the mechanics. It doesn’t necessarily represent the targeted aesthetic of a fully produced game.

@thekiss2083 2 месяца назад

@@LiamRproductions Maybe

@LinkoVideo 2 месяца назад

Severance packages should be illegal

@Juramaia- 2 месяца назад

Something about the way this channel's thumbnails look tricks my brain into never clicking on their videos even though I like them. When it's in my subscription feed my eyes just pass right over them without a thought. I have to actively remind myself that they exist and that I would probably enjoy their new video. I'm not sure why I'm like this.

@scrustle 2 месяца назад

Despite having heard all about it multiple times, it somehow still manages to shock me how awful the rot at the core of Actiblizz is.

@thecinematicbandicoot7280 2 месяца назад

Thank you! Gonna add this to my list of sources for a college essay!

@Sekhmmett 2 месяца назад

I came in here because of a small specific subject and was graced with an incredible amount of excellent content. I would like to thank you very much for the high quality video.

@DGamesabit 13 дней назад

Really interesting video!

@FirithPanda 2 месяца назад

2:20 - Somehow, some way, JoJo has managed to appear in this video.

@Caolan114 2 месяца назад

Possible unpopular opinion remake DK64 with modern graphics and lighting then use what you have learned to create a sequel

@polycube868 2 месяца назад

Not really unpopular, a DK64 remake with quality of life upgrades such as a way to switch characters without going to a swap barrel alone that change would improve the game, then add in a map, and a banana checklist. I haven't beaten it but DK64 isn't a bad game at all, just not as good as Banjo Kazooie or Spyro the Dragon.