505 Games has cancelled the already delayed Ashes Cricket 2013 videogame and released the following statement.
As most people who have followed the project closely can affirm, the development of Ashes Cricket 2013 has been fraught with challenges almost from the outset. The chosen developer, even with their many years of cricket game development experience, was unable to overcome the unexpected challenges that the chosen game engine threw up, even with multiple extensions to the development schedule. At the start of the project, 505 Games received all assurances from the developer that the engine was up to the task of creating a dynamic, cutting-edge cricket game for the modern age across multiple platforms, and unfortunately those assurances were found to be misplaced.
The net result of the challenges we have faced was a game which, despite our best efforts over the course of a 2 year development, couldn’t meet the quality benchmarks of either us, our licensors or our customers. 505 Games’ main priority right now is to protect the Ashes name and that of the ECB and Cricket Australia, and do what we can to recompense the cricket community.
As the licensee and publisher of name for Ashes Cricket 2013, 505 Games would like to apologise publicly and sincerely to our licensors, the ECB and Cricket Australia, and their respective partners/sponsors, who have been nothing but patient and supportive of us throughout the challenges this project has presented, and who, ultimately, we have let down.
Our deepest apologies, however, are reserved for the fans of cricket and cricket games worldwide. 505 Games prides itself on being a safe pair of hands on which gamers of all tastes and denominations can rely to put their best foot forward to create compelling gaming experiences. It is clear that, in this instance, we have fallen way short of our stated aims and failed to deliver. We know that the mitigating factors, as highlighted above, hold little solace to the hordes of excited cricket fans worldwide who had hoped this year to be able to play out their fantasy of playing in the Ashes series.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zjGgau3iF8&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D9zjGgau3iF8&app=desktop
Anyone who has purchased the game on Steam will be offered a full refund, it does appear to 505 are just as disappointed as their fans that they could not create the game they wanted.
Source: MCV
tonycawley
I’ve platinumed both previous versions. To be honest they’re a little dull but moderately enjoyable, if completely and utterly unrealistic. No big shame this has been cancelled, I probably would’ve ended up getting it just to complete the set of plats but would’ve most likely found it very boring.
tonycawley
Oh, and my god that video just shows how hilariously bad this game was turning out to be. The animations have always been piss poor in this series but that just takes the biscuit!
Amphlett
Judging by those fielding animations it looks like they mo-capped my wife throwing.
BrendanCalls
If I was offered this for free, I probably still wouldn’t take it. I couldn’t imagine anything more boring
Vallon
That looks shockingly bad lol.
Stefan L
Well, that goes some way to explain Englands batting collapses…
DividSmythe
I saw a video on IGN earlier and it was truly awful game. Not that if bought it anyway. A very big bugfest. Nice fielding is funny.
baggyg
Great video! Me and my friends played cricket drunk once – looked a lot like that. Fair enough 505 pulling the game. I wonder how they handled sales not directly through steam.
Mr-Flame-Head
to my understanding it only got released through steam, with no retail release