By David Smith
6/28/2004
Amusement Vision will shut down its official web presence on July 1, the developer announced today. On that day,
www.amusementvision.com will shut down (as will the site of Sega's Hitmaker studio), as Sega continues to reintegrate its former development subsidiaries back into the parent company.
AV will continue its ongoing projects as part of Sega proper, particularly SpikeOut Battle Street for Xbox and the new PlayStation 2 Shining Force strategy-RPG. However, it looks like gamers interested in perusing the flashy Ollie King website or AV's collection of Super Monkey Ball paraphernalia will have to do so within the next week or so.
Amusement Vision's first project, headed by producer Toshihiro Nagoshi, was the 1994 arcade racer Daytona USA, although it didn't acquire its current name until 2000, with the release of the throwback shooter Planet Harriers. Last year, it incorporated the personnel from Sega's Smilebit development subsidiary responsible for Jet Set Radio and Panzer Dragoon, although those staffers have yet to emerge with a new project as yet.
