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[Jawmuncher]

Despite the reception of ORC. The game sold pretty well for it's style and ended up being a success for capcom financially. So much so that Slant Six had another Resident Evil title lined up with Capcom. While the article and interview state that Capcom cut ties with Slant Six because of the Star Wars Battlefront assets that were found on the ORC disc. I don't think that's the case. Looking at the timing, the cancellation would be around when capcom was wanting to peel back on third party development as a whole. So what better way to "cancel" a title and not make it look like it's your fault than just blame it on something else. Especially considering said leftover Star Wars assets led to no form of recall or lawsuit on the title or for capcom themselves. Plus it's not like capcom hasn't left more terrible things on their discs.

Also some interesting tidbits on what Slant Six planned for ORC originally. They wanted to go for something more Survival Horror. But capcom themselves forced down the action angle that we ended up getting. Durting that time capcom was high on everything being action and seems that was being pushed even on their third party devs. I find this a bit annoying since that year we had ORC, Revelations, and RE6. ORC could've stood out greatly had it been a horror title as originally thought.

Also sadly because of the cancellation of that title. It ended up being the primary factor in Slant Six closing their doors. Sad to see it was a capcom situation that led to their closer. I wish Andy had talked more about what kind of game this cancelled title was.

We spoke to Andy Santos, who's currently head of design and production at Atomicom on JCB Pioneer: Mars (links above to our preview and interview) and who was Game Director on Operation Raccoon City at Slant Six. He confirmed this news to us.

"Yeah, there were Star Wars assets on the Operation Raccoon City disc. That led, unfortunately, to our new game being cancelled. It wasn't a sequel, it was a different game. It was a very sad moment."

While Operation Raccoon City may have received bad review scores in the US and Europe, it was actually a number one game in Japan, sold 2 million units overall and Capcom seemingly were very happy with Slant Six. Despite some layoffs the team were put to work on a new Resident Evil title unrelated to Operation Raccoon City, but the news that Star Wars Battlefront assets were left on the disc saw their relationship with Capcom dissolve.

Andy explains:

"We might have got a few terrible review scores, but it was number one in Japan. After making this number one game we got our second game cancelled because of these Star Wars assets being on the disc. I only found out about them from the news story, and I went into work and found out by the end of the day that our next game wasn't going to be made with Capcom."


Essentially this mistake regarding Star Wars Battlefront 3 assets led to Slant Six being closed altogether.

"We tried to get other projects but sadly the company failed to do that, so ultimately it lead to the closure of Slant Six. We must be the only industry where we can have a number one hit and still get first layoffs and then end the whole company!"

Perhaps the reason why Operation Raccoon City received such terrible reviews is that Slant Six wanted to make a classic survival horror Resident Evil game, but Capcom pushed them in a different more action-focused direction, which was Capcom's belief at the time.

"I'm a Resident Evil fan so I wanted the game to be Resident Evil proper, but there were people in Osaka that wanted to push that and make it more action-based. It wasn't Slant Six, it was Capcom that wanted that."


Currently Andy Santos is working on Pioneer: Mars

To this day. ORC is one of the saddest game releases for me. Mainly because the overall concept was basically a game I wished for as a kid playing RE3. So it's sad to see that the concept for the game wasn't even what Slant Six wanted and considering the quality of the game. You could tell they tried but a lot of the pieces just didn't fit together like they should have.

Source: https://www.gamewatcher.com/news/20...tle-canned-due-to-star-wars-battlefront-leaks

 

[Alexander DeLarge]

I had to read this over multiple times. What a strange story.

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

"While the article and interview state that Capcom cut ties with Slant Six after the Star Wars Battlefront assets were found on the ORC disc. I don't think that's the case."

But it sounds like that's the case.

"I only found out about them from the news story, and I went into work and found out by the end of the day that our next game wasn’t going to be made with Capcom".

So, they hear the news, and by the end of the same day Capcom is done with them. Makes sense.

 

[Mellahan]

For reference, here's the Star Wars assets: http://www.pcgamer.com/star-wars-battlefront-3-files-discovered-on-resident-evil-raccoon-city-disc/

What a bummer.

 

[Jawmuncher]

"While the article and interview state that Capcom cut ties with Slant Six after the Star Wars Battlefront assets were found on the ORC disc. I don't think that's the case."

But it sounds like that's the case.

I listed a whole reasoning on why it might've just been a cover. Not saying i'm right or anything. But it's still a possibility.
I edited it to not be after.

 

[RootCause]

Well that's a damn shame. I had fun with ORC. A more complete game than Umbrella Corps.

 

[MatthewMungall]

Never liked ORC, but that's a damn shame about the developer's game being cancelled due to (if its not as OP theorized about it being related to the third-party cull) because of a amateur mistake. Would have liked to have seen where they could have taken the franchise after (hopefully) learning from their mistakes.

 

[Blam]

It's a shame but not much you can do about it now.

 

[Dark Ninja]

Good decision on Capcom's part. Abysmal game. ABYSMAL.

 

[ElephantShell]

Close family friend worked at Slant Six while they were working on Operation Raccoon City, and I was able to get a tour of the office. First and only time I've ever been inside a game studio, was a very cool experience for teenage me.

Even though I didn't like that game at all I think of it fondly because of that experience.

 

[MastaKilla]

No offense, but Slant Six was a pretty awful developer from what i remember. ORC was awful. They also were the devs on Socom: Confrontation, which released as a completely broken mess.

 

[Crankshaft]

People hated ORC when it was released. They did patch the game to help with some of the glaring flaws. I had purchased the game for 5 dollars and enjoyed it for what it is. I would've liked to see a sequel with improvements.

 

[BreezyLimbo]

Despite the reception of ORC. The game sold pretty well for it's style and ended up being a success for capcom financially. So much so that Slant Six had another Resident Evil title lined up with Capcom. While the article and interview state that Capcom cut ties with Slant Six because of the Star Wars Battlefront assets that were found on the ORC disc. I don't think that's the case. Looking at the timing, the cancellation would be around when capcom was wanting to peel back on third party development as a whole. So what better way to "cancel" a title and not make it look like it's your fault than just blame it on something else. Especially considering said leftover Star Wars assets led to no form of recall or lawsuit on the title or for capcom themselves. Plus it's not like capcom hasn't left more terrible things on their discs.

umm

I would say that assets from a license that doesn't belong to them anymore is alot more terrible then on disc dlc.

 

[Slayven]

Why were the assets for the game on the disc? Isn't Star Wars EA?

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Weird. Like when that PS1 Tiger Woods game had a South Park episode hidden in it for some reason.

Anyway they did make a follow up to this piece of crap game with Umbrella Corps, which Capcpom was so embarrassed about they released it quietly and nobody ever heard anything about it again.

 

[Jonneh3003]

Good decision on Capcom's part. Abysmal game. ABYSMAL.

The quality of the game is irrelevant to this topic

 

[kuYuri]

I've mentioned this whenever ORC comes up, but I had such high hopes for that game. I still had fun with it, but it had the potential to be amazing with a bigger budget and more polish.

Was their cancelled title ORC2 or another game altogether?

 

[Jawmuncher]

I've mentioned this whenever ORC comes up, but I had such high hopes for that game. I still had fun with it, but it had the potential to be amazing with a bigger budget and more polish.

Was their cancelled title ORC2 or another game altogether?

The interview implies it was another title altogether.
Which is odd. Since ORC ends on cliffhangers for both campaigns.
Could've been a case where it was a sequel but it would've have been called ORC. Since all things considered. They wouldn't really be able to have a game set there anymore.

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

You know why ORC sold a lot? Cuz everyone was hungry to revisit RE2.

Good decision on Capcom's part. Abysmal game. ABYSMAL.

Capcom were the ones that greenlit ORC in the first place. I wouldn't put too much blame on Slant Six.

 

[VonGreckler]

Why were the assets for the game on the disc? Isn't Star Wars EA?

This was before the EA and Lucasfilm deal.
Slant Six was also working on a Star Wars Battlefront 3 for LucasArts back when ORC released and some of those files made it onto the same disc. Clearly an error on Slant Six's part. (or maybe their version of Battlefront got canned by the Disney buyout of Lucasfilm and someone wanted to leak its existence.

 

[Caffeine]

what a strange story

 

[DarkLordMalik]

The trailer to Operation Racoon City was full hype though. Still remember the cinematic reveal for it.

 

[TheRedSnifit]

It's unfortunate that the game sucked so much, because the character designs were dope (at least on the Umbrella side). I wound up modding them into New Vegas.

 

[ffejeromdiks]

This and Umbrella Corps must've fused together in my mind, made the article really confusing at first.

 

[Nirolak]

That sounds like Capcom felt it was a polite reason to give them for why they didn't want to publish their next game.

"We tried to get other projects but sadly the company failed to do that, so ultimately it lead to the closure of Slant Six. We must be the only industry where we can have a number one hit and still get first layoffs and then end the whole company!"

The industry also cares about failure of process, not failure of product. This is why studios with tons of failed games that are received well and generally made on time and on budget keep receiving more work, even when their games fail commercially.

 

[Jawmuncher]

This and Umbrella Corps must've fused together in my mind, made the article really confusing at first.

You're not the only one. Hell some people think they're tied to one another when in reality they have no connection.

ORC isn't canon. Umbrella Corps actually is.

 

[SomedayTheFire]

Jesus christ Battlefront 3 was going to be developed by Slant Six??? Or Spark Unlimited?? Thank God we dodged those bullets.

 

[Sesha]

It makes sense that they were planning another RE title by Slant Six given how well ORC did. I guess that was one of the titles along with DmC2 they cancelled when they bailed from overseas outsourcing. I wonder what else they put on the chopping block.

 

[Drilbit777]

I mean orc was really supbar do maybe it was better this way

 

[FaustusMD]

To be honest, ORC was so bad I wouldn't give them another try at RE. Truly a thoroughly awful video game in all respects.

 

[gafneo]

Didn't know leaks cost jobs like that. Pretty terrible of anyone who snoops on company property like that.

 

[Tapejara]

It's unfortunate that the game sucked so much, because the character designs were dope (at least on the Umbrella side). I wound up modding them into New Vegas.

Yeah, Four Eyes was one of my favourite character designs from ORC.

 

[SomedayTheFire]

Didn't know leaks cost jobs like that. Pretty terrible of anyone who snoops on company property like that.

They fucked up by leaving the assets in the retail code.

 

[TheRedSnifit]

Yeah, Four Eyes was one of my favourite character designs from ORC.

I think I did Four Eyes clothes + Bertha's mask.

Man, I've got to play New Vegas again.

 

[Linkstrikesback]

"While the article and interview state that Capcom cut ties with Slant Six after the Star Wars Battlefront assets were found on the ORC disc. I don't think that's the case."

But it sounds like that's the case.

Are you familiar with the concept of lying?

 

[Mivey]

Good decision on Capcom's part. Abysmal game. ABYSMAL.

Capcpom made it abysmal by betting on Action RE. That's a bet where everyone loses.

 

[FantasticMrFoxdie]

Thread title had me triple take

 

[Waddle Dee]

ORC looked like a bad game (never played it) but I don't think it alone should have led to them being closed down. Shame it ended that way. Would have been cool if they were allowed to make the RE game they actually wanted to.

 

[Truant]

A lot of AAA teams started out making shitty games. Look at what Rocksteady were doing before Arkham Asylum.

 

[FullMetaltech]

I remember Slant Six. They developed Socom Confrontation. Thats why ORC looked similar to me somehow.

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

A lot of AAA teams started out making shitty games. Look at what Rocksteady were doing before Arkham Asylum.

Urban Chaos didn't get a lot of negative reviews. It mostly got 6's and 7's.

 

[Ivan 3414]

Good decision on Capcom's part. Abysmal game. ABYSMAL.

The game sold well and later on Capcom published and developed Umbrella Corps which apparently was even worse. Evidently quality did not factor into Capcom's decision.

 

[Luminaire]

ORC was ok. I had fun with it as a "Umbrellas version of the events" kinda thing. Shame about the Star Wars stuff.

 

[Jackpot]

Perhaps the reason why Operation Raccoon City received such terrible reviews is that Slant Six wanted to make a classic survival horror Resident Evil game, but Capcom pushed them in a different more action-focused direction, which was Capcom's belief at the time.

Capcom pushing an overall vision doesn't really explain why the game turned out to be a low-budget reskin of Slant Six's SOCOM entry. With bugs and shitty gameplay galore.

"We might have got a few terrible review scores"

"A few"

 

[giancarlo123x]

Better game than umbrella corps.

 

[SkyMasterson]

No offense, but Slant Six was a pretty awful developer from what i remember. ORC was awful. They also were the devs on Socom: Confrontation, which released as a completely broken mess.

Yep. Not sure why OP seemingly is defending their work.

I feel bad that people lost jobs, but they were seemingly not a very talented team. I'm sure the individuals were.

ORC played pretty much like their other products, sloppy and embarassing. It also contributed to further sullying the Resident Evil brand. The fact that Capcom was willing to work with them based on sales and not fan feedback or review scores show where Capcoms heads were at.

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

I'm pretty sure more people played Slant's Socom game than the one made by the actual Socom team. lol

 

[adamsapple]

Operation Raccoon City Dev had a NEW Resident Evil title canned due to Star Wars

 

[OnPoint]

 

[Jawmuncher]

Capcom pushing an overall vision doesn't really explain why the game turned out to be a low-budget reskin of Slant Six's SOCOM entry. With bugs and shitty gameplay galore.



"A few"

Yep. Not sure why OP seemingly is defending their work.

I feel bad that people lost jobs, but they were seemingly not a very talented team. I'm sure the individuals were.

ORC played pretty much like their other products, sloppy and embarassing. It also contributed to further sullying the Resident Evil brand. The fact that Capcom was willing to work with them based on sales and not fan feedback or review scores show where Capcoms heads were at.

I only defended them to the point that perhaps the product was bad because since they didn't want to make a action title to begin with (but did so the stay afloat). That's why the product came out as bad as it did.

At the bottom of my post I list that I was still extremely disappointed in ORC itself. So it's more of a hypothetical situation of what if we had gotten that horror title they wanted to make instead.