quote:

Originally posted by stokes_83:
A question for Graeme and Riz.

Did you have big visions for this game including one day a 3D engine similar to EA Sports NFL Head coach?

And thanks to both of you for the great work you have done for so many years. You should be proud of yourselves.

quote:

Originally posted by Archibalduk:
As far as we at The Blue Line are concerned, we will continue to support the game as much as we can. We don't want to see the game or our community die so we will continue to make addons for the game as well as organise EHM Challenges and other EHM/hockey competitions.

quote:

Originally posted by Archibalduk:
Absolutely devastating news I had no idea that the game was being made available via torrents.

As far as we at The Blue Line are concerned, we will continue to support the game as much as we can. We don't want to see the game or our community die so we will continue to make addons for the game as well as organise EHM Challenges and other EHM/hockey competitions.

quote:

Originally posted by laptophound:
Heck I would have stood in the lobby of Rexall place with a laptop and EHM tshirt if needed to drum up support.

quote:

Originally posted by Mgsports:
Maybe another company will take on this game like Grey Dog or Sports Mogul Development Group or EA or so on.
What happens to OOTP maybe Marc Duffy can anwser that?

quote:

Originally posted by Zorbane:

quote:

Originally posted by laptophound:
Heck I would have stood in the lobby of Rexall place with a laptop and EHM tshirt if needed to drum up support.

Hey I woudln't mind buying an EHM t-shirt to wear as long as it looked nice :P

quote:

Maybe another company will take on this game like Grey Dog or Sports Mogul Development Group or EA or so on.
What happens to OOTP maybe Marc Duffy can anwser that?

quote:

Originally posted by gialloneri:
Had some great times in that first year, and it was a pleasure to work with everyone involved.

quote:

Originally posted by Archibalduk:
As far as we at The Blue Line are concerned, we will continue to support the game as much as we can. We don't want to see the game or our community die so we will continue to make addons for the game as well as organise EHM Challenges and other EHM/hockey competitions.

quote:

Originally posted by Minstrel:
Well, time for me to pitch in here for what it's worth. This is the best game and development team on the planet. Bar none. Like Graeme and Riz and for this version EdL, I too have lived this game and loved through this game for the past several years. I am still awestruck at the dedication and hard work that the EHM team has put into this game on a 24/7 basis since before its initial release.

Away from the negative though, I want to put out a heartfelt thanks to Riz and Graeme who I consider friends I've never met, ditto to all the people who supported the game and The Blue Line. You guys are a special group of people that I will never... EVER forget. This game and it's development course is absolutely amazing We've all gotten spoiled by how much you put into each version, each patch. People, go back and fire up EHM 2004 and marvel in awe of the most amazing development effort in gaming. It is truly a shame that like all great TV shows this too has been cut down in it's prime. Not working on this game's testing/development will be like losing a job you love, like dating a supermodel and having her break up with you for your sister, like waking up just a moment too soon from a realllllly good dream. Etc. It's like losing a friend and a limb, and the sun will never shine quite as brightly again.

quote:

Originally posted by Matt - SEGA:
I'm also sorry that Eastside won't be continued. It's made me into a hockey fan, starting back in 2004 with a 3-day demo on the game and crash course on hockey from Riz... I'll definitely still be in the camp of people playing the game.

I think the sentiments thanking the team are well placed - it can be a real challenge getting a game out when you're part of a small team and they worked hard to get an amazing quality product together.

I've read some of the criticism about the marketing and wanted to provide a bit of information on it.

I'd estimate that we spent, in percentage terms, more per unit of Eastside sold than per unit of FM sold. That doesn't, however, add up to a massive campaign, as some of you have pointed out - but we were never going to be able to spend millions on Eastside and expecting TV ads and huge outdoor posters, frankly, is a pipedream.

I'm satisfied (as were SI who approved all marketing activity) that the campaigns were well designed and targeted as many people who were likely to get involved in playing the game as we could possibly reach. We promoted the product online, made the try before you buy demo as widely available as possible, we ran press releases with all our licensors (incidentally, the licensing for this product was a genuinely massive task that took months and months of people's time over the last 3 years) and also with as many specialist gaming press sites and hockey fan sites (most of the ones you provided to us on these forums, also) in the hope that they'd help us publicise the product.

In short, we did all that we could reasonably do. Somewhere, the investment in marketing has to start paying returns and while it's fair to say that Eastside was a top quality product, ultimately hockey lacks football's global appeal. We didn't ever think we'd sell Eastside like FM, none of us - but we hoped we'd get cut through and achieve a comfortable niche of sales that would continue to fund the development of the game. We went through 3 releases trying to make that happen and that's a fair crack of the whip.

As far as I'm concerned - we did the best marketing job we could do in difficult circumstances. A long hockey lockout didn't help us much, but it's not the reason we're stopping. Piracy definitely didn't help us as Miles has already indicated.

Hope this gives a little insight into the fact that we supported Eastside, and tried to make it work. It was a team effort, but up to this point, it hasn't come off... so apologies for your disappointment.

Cheers

Matt