Ghostbusters: Not Cancelled

When you see a headline suggesting the cancellation of a game you're looking forward to, it's a sad day. Unless that game is Ghostbusters, and you're a big fan of the franchise, in which case it sends you into a murderous rage. The question is, should it?

The story that set all GB fans on fire today seems to have been this one, proclaiming that the game based on the hit 1984 supernatural comedy -- and a development I've followed pretty closely -- was "dropped." Activision, recently merged with Blizzard/Vivendi/Sierra/Etc, is picking through the company's current properties and choosing the ones it wants to publish. Franchises like Spyro the Dragon and Crash Bandicoot were selected; nothing else in the roster would be published by Activision Publishing.

You mean...the game's cancelled? Cue Venkman: "He slimed me."

Instantly, the fan community started an angry e-mail campaign and -- wait for it -- an ever-effective online petition. This is what fans do. I understand. I'm one of them.

Then a crazy thought came to mind. Why don't we ask Activision?

"First and foremost, the game is not cancelled," says our Activision spokesguy. As for the future, "The company is reviewing its options regarding those titles that it will not be publishing." (We bet he says that to all the media outlets.)

So, to clarify: The statement never said the game was canned, only that Activision was choosing not to publish it under the Activision Publishing banner. It will likely be sold to another publisher, or maybe published by one company and distributed by Activision (much like the three-way dev/pub/dist deals on Guitar Hero and Rock Band). Hey, Activision could even create a new brand for all its movie-game licenses (Shrek, Kung-Fu Panda, James Bond) and do it not under Activision Publishing but as Activision Cinema or Activision Flix or something. You never know.

There's already a lot invested in this game. The media blitz is on. The advance word is good. The game was proudly shown to the public at this year's San Diego Comic-Con with all the trimmings. Business is business and, as a newly minted monolith, Activision has a lot of things to sort out with its portfolio, a lot of inherited projects to deal with. Ghostbusters is Activision's to do with as they see fit -- but do you really think they're going to throw it away?

Especially knowing that if they did, I would personally come and kick their ass?