Tim Schafer Confirms No Psychonauts Sequel Likely

Via Game|Life comes an interview with Tim Schafer of Psychonauts, Day of the Tentacle fame in which he states there will likely be no sequels in the near future for those of us who loved his past works. "I would love to go back and spend time with the characters from any game I've worked on, and I would love to make a sequel to any of them. But I also want to make something new. If there were five of me I might make sequels, but there's always some new idea I want to explore." The interview is a part of Playboy's Geniuses at Play feature. It features discussions with folks like David Jaffe, Phil Harrison, and Clive Barker, the whole of which is worth reading. The subsite for the interviews is safe for work as of this posting.

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[brkello]

I totally agree with you. I would expect to be safe from this sort of thing on games.slashdot.org. I didn't click and am glad I read the comments first. Editors shouldn't let adult links pass through. At least put up a warning.

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[zegota]

Oh my goodness, boobs. Slashdot, how could you?

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[ubrgeek]

Come on, it's just playboy.com ... The sound of one hand typing :)

Safe for work

[residieu]

Sure, just try to explain that to your bosses. I just want to read the articles, honest!

Damn it.

[Zero_DgZ]

I just don't get developers sometimes. Somehow, some way, franchises stricken with Stupid Sequelitis like Madden, Need for Speed, Halo, Jak, Ratchet and Clank, and Splinter Cell receive installment after marginal installment, even though many (I won't say most) gamers that I know or talk to agree that these are just rehashes of more of the same, and the quality invariably declines with each iteration. Yet they keep coming, because some marketroid decided that there's still milk in that franchise cash cow despite the fact that to the nearest decimal point, nobody cares. (Though halo 3 was an exception to this, as plenty of people did care, and still do.)

Yet, for similarly braindead reasons, developers of these amazing, cult-following sorts of titles steadfastly refuse to make sequels to their games even when millions of people all over the globe are clamoring for them.

Hey, Doublefine! What the fuck is wrong with you? Free money over here!

Christ. The same thing happened with Sam and Max before Telltale revived the idea, the same thing was going on for years with System Shock before Irrational finally stepped up to create Bioshock... Ditto with Beyond Good and Evil as well as Psychonauts - which, might I add, both left us with setups for sequels right there in the endings.

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[Palshife]

Hey, if Tim Schaffer's rationale for skipping the opportunity to make a sequel is to make something new and original, I'm totally on board. I have to think getting Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle and Grim Fandango was better than getting three Tentacle games, but that's just me.

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[faloi]

Yet they keep coming, because some marketroid decided that there's still milk in that franchise cash cow despite the fact that to the nearest decimal point, nobody cares.

Obviously somebody cares. The franchise games are selling, and are probably doing pretty well. For every serious gamer out there, there is probably a gamer that only really care about Madden and is waiting for the next version to have the latest draft picks (or whatever it is that makes one Madden game different from the other). Some g

Re:Psychonauts, sequels, and your post

[Psykechan]

The reason that a new Madden game comes out every year is because it sells. It is almost guaranteed to sell more copies in the first week than Psychonauts has sold since its release. This is why they make more.

I enjoyed Psychonauts but I am not clamoring for a sequel. The writing and voice acting were top notch but it just wasn't a fun game to play. Actually, if I could just watch all of the cut scenes, one liners, and other such parts in a two hour animated movie I'd be pretty happy. As a 10+ hour gam

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[Gothic_Walrus]

Yet, for similarly braindead reasons, developers of these amazing, cult-following sorts of titles steadfastly refuse to make sequels to their games even when millions of people all over the globe are clamoring for them.

Not so much here, actually. There's a good reason why Psychonauts didn't make the Greatest Hits lines for either the PS2 or the Xbox, or why the game was cleared out at ridiculously low prices (I think my sister paid $5 for her copy). The game was good, but I don't think it sold nearly well

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[king-manic]

I just don't get developers sometimes. Somehow, some way, franchises stricken with Stupid Sequelitis like Madden, Need for Speed, Halo, Jak, Ratchet and Clank, and Splinter Cell receive installment after marginal installment, even though many (I won't say most) gamers that I know or talk to agree that these are just rehashes of more of the same, and the quality invariably declines with each iteration. Yet they keep coming, because some marketroid decided that there's still milk in that franchise cash cow despite the fact that to the nearest decimal point, nobody cares. (Though halo 3 was an exception to this, as plenty of people did care, and still do.)

The reason sequels are so popular is because people but them. The truth is "innovative" doesn't imply "good". For each crappy sequel there is a crappy original title. They are just not as well publicized as the crappy sequel. When a Major franchise falls short of the mark it's news. When a new game falls short of the mark it's not news. If you really look at the number of game that come out each year you'll find sequel to original ratios have gone up since the Atari days but not that much since the SNES da

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[Kilraven]

I agree with most of the replies thus far, sequels empirically fail at maintaining the magic of the original. When it comes to games, there's nothing I hate more than the feeling I've paid twice for the same thing. Not to mention, most of the games I felt a majority of love for made squat, and that can kill any plans for a sequel fast.

However, I don't have a problem revisiting some original IPs after 15-20 years (way things have been going, maybe even 10 years). And that's something I'd like to see more of,

Don't worry

[aadvancedGIR]

If you want half-finished crappy sequels, you can always ask Obsidian or EA, that's what they are good at.
BTW, I agree with his stand, to remain on top, he needs to take new risks over and over instead of falling back to the average. As long as he find someone willing to finance him, he should continue slightly improving our gaming experience.

ahem..

[Turn-X Alphonse]

Maybe it's just me here, but isn't it a bad idea to link to a known softcore pornography site on a site aimed at the entire age scale? I mean sure it might be a good article, but if the messenger is wearing nipple clamps and a strap on vibrating horse penis you might just want to side step it all together.

If that is what you are looking for

[IndustrialComplex]

I think Hustler is more your style.

Re:ahem..... wow

[IndustrialComplex]

but if the messenger is wearing nipple clamps and a strap on vibrating horse penis you might just want to side step it all together

I don't know what version of Playboy you found in your granddad's attic, but they certainly seem more interesting.

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[Detritus]

Softcore pornography?!

Have you even looked at the web site?

There's going to be a revival meeting on the B Ark this weekend. Tickets are free. Invite all your friends.

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[MBGMorden]

Eh, there's nothing in most issues of Playboy that I personally care if ANYBODY sees. It's mostly a regular old magazine with articles and ads geared toward men (not that those are often read, but the majority of the magazine is such content), with maybe 10-15 pages per issue showing a, heaven forbid, naked women in normally pretty ungraphic poses. Quite a number of the spreads, especially of more known models/actresses/etc, are often topless only. There is NO sex depicted in Playboy, ever. It's all jus

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[king-manic]

I mean sure it might be a good article, but if the messenger is wearing nipple clamps and a strap on vibrating horse penis you might just want to side step it all together.

The page itself was Safe for Work. Not a vicious man eating nipple in sight. Playboy is just a touch bluer then Maxim and honestly can many men say they've never peaked at a playboy/porn rag before they were 18?

How About a Reissue?

[pete-classic]

Looks like used copies are going for $25 for PS2 and $30 for Xbox. Sounds like a good candidate for a reissue.

-Peter

Playboy interviews game developers?

[Metsys]

Wow. First MTV and now Playboy as a source for interviews with game developers? Despite the fact that the site is linked directly to on Slashdot, that's messed up.

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[tcolberg]

I'm fine with Playboy becoming more of a well-rounded (pun intended) men's magazine. I'm more likely to read the stuff in Playboy (who surprisingly has a decent journalistic history) rather than the drivel seen in adolescent-targeted mags like Maxim or Blender.

I don't see the point

[apethedog15]

The main attraction of a sequel to this game would be so we could enjoy a game that had the same level of quality as the first one - but we already have that going on. The same team is making Brütal Legend. I'm glad they chose to pursue making a new, original game, rather than a sequel. It's not like we're missing out on a game that is as great as the first one was - it's that we're getting a game that is potentially going to be even greater, and, more importantly, a whole lot fresher.

Slashdot quotables

[Dr. Eggman]

I think the secret in life is to surround yourself with people smarter than you. That definitely applies to programming. --Tim Schafer

Now there's a quote that belongs on the quotes bar at the bottom of Slashdot!

Brutal Legend Sequels

[DataShade]

Why would he waste his time on a sequel for a great old game when he can make a great new game? Look up Brutal Legend, and see if you wouldn't rather have that than Psychonauts 2.