Oh no.
Devastated.
The BBC is to release a new Doctor Who game next year, but if you're an Xbox owner you won't be able to enjoy it. Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock will be released for the PlayStation 3, Sony's PS Vita handheld and PCs. The Corporation promises the game will feature "photo-real graphics, television quality scenes and highly …
Shame Sony snuck in and got the exclusive, but hey, we can't expect the BBC to favour license payers over commercial interests. Glad for my PS3 :) Although all we've seen is a hastily-constructed promo video, and it takes longer than a year to add "photo-real graphics and television-quality scenes" especially if you're a minor developer. Maybe in 2014, or maybe it will suck just like every other Dr Who game has. I smell a low budget, even if Sony are involved. Still, staying hopeful ...
BBC Worldwide gets precisely sod all from the TV License. It's the commercial arm of the BBC that deals with TV programme exports, DVD (and digital download) sales, advertising on its overseas satellite channels (yes, the BBC *does* do ads! Just not in the UK!), etc.
Seriously. Look it up. It's effectively a commercial entity that just happens to live in the same building(s) as the publicly funded stuff. In fact, it's the revenues from BBC Worldwide—and the potential overseas sales—that have helped pay for programmes like Doctor Who and The Blue Planet. Without those additional revenue streams, the BBC would have a lot less money to play with.
A fact not helped that only *part* of the TV License revenues actually go to the BBC to begin with. That rollout of broadband to the UK's rural extremities we've been reading about? TV License! The BBC actually get very little say in how that license's revenues are spent. This is why they have to go cap-in-hand to HM's Government every 10 years or so.
The problem with Return to Earth was that it was clearly aimed at little kids, probably up to about 7 years old. The pre-publicity didn't even hint at this and what was even more curious was that it came with a 12+ age rating. My six year old loved it, anybody much older would have found it tedious and repetitive.
They are a mainly Playstation Network Developer, and also some PC games, it is now easier to get things onto PSN than the XBox shop.
MS also put a lot of rules in place which may have stopped this happening. There is something about needing a publisher wich PSN doesn't.
I don't think Sony have done anything to stop it beyond making it easier to get on PSN.
On the one hand, it will probably be out for other platforms after a few months.
On the other hand, and I'm speaking as a PS3 owner and a fan of Doctor Who from, well, before the new First Season: The new Doctor Who s... *Yawn* Sorry about that... I'm just saying that I'm not as excited about the new Doctor Who series... *yawn*... Sorry, sorry again! Look, if it was a game based on the old, non-pop-BS series /and/ if it the first game had been great, I'd be excited. As it is, I'm not sure it's even important enough for me to even comment on. Oh what the heck. It's Friday.
Curious bias in this headline don't you think?
Read the story and you find that the game will be available on Sony devices and PCs (presumably Windows). So why does the headline single out the Xbox? Why no mention of Nintendo products? After all Nintendo had a true exclusive on the last commercial release and is is the best selling of the current crop of consoles and so has the largest user base. Could it be that the author wanted to stir up a little trouble, maybe upset a few Xbox owning Who fans?
BBC Worldwide tend to sell the rights to do this sort of thing to whoever will pay and agree to the licensing terms. As such it's not Worldwide's decision which platforms the game will be released for and it's certainly nothing to do with the BBC. There's no reason why this or any other game should have to be released on every platform.
Hey look! The downloadable adventure games (from the BBC this time, not Worldwide) are only available for Windows and OSX. Are the BBC deliberately giving the cold shoulder to console owners? No, it was probably just a simple case that developing these java games for any more platforms would not have been economically viable.