Sierra keen to risk new IP

Sierra Entertainment has told GamesIndustry.biz it isn't afraid to take more risks than other publishers and that it's ramping up development of new IP like Prototype and F.E.A.R.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the site, it said would focus on making fresh franchises from the four areas it has already done well in: real-time strategy, open world, first-person shooters and kids' games.

"On top of these four pillars of genres we're going to create original IP, and I would say we're pretty solid in that direction compared to any other publisher," said Martin Tremblay, boss of Sierra Worldwide Studios.

"We're going to be up there with the big guys with regard to creating new franchises.

"Compared to any other publisher at the moment, we're the new one coming up in the console world. We will surprise a lot of people because our commitment to quality is absolutely there, and we're taking a real step forward in terms of the balance of licensed titles, original IP and strong sequels," he said.

As well as establishing spooky shooter F.E.A.R. as a franchise, Sierra has also recently unveiled Prototype, an open-world third-person action title from Scarface developer Radical Entertainment. Have a look at Ellie's recently published preview to see how it's shaping up. Well, in summary.

Also on the publisher's list is the delayed but repolished shooter TimeShift, which is out this year, as well as movie tie-in The Spiderwick Chronicles for next February.

The force of the push is coming from parent company Vivendi, according to marketing man Al Simone, who said there was a real drive to generate fresh ideas for games.

"Within the entire organisation, there's an over-commitment to original IP which we fully embrace, even though there's risk associated with that," he said.

"Next year, we're looking to bring original IPs probably at a pace that most third parties haven't in the past few years."

Head over to GamesIndustry.biz to read the full interview with Martin Tremblay and Al Simone.