I would bet good money that Sam and Max season 4 will happen within the next 2 years.... But right now...it seems to me... TTG has their schedule full.
I would bet good money that Sam and Max season 4 will happen within the next 2 years.... But right now...it seems to me... TTG has their schedule full.
Telltale has a bunch of other games in the works, including Jurassic Park, Hector, The Walking Dead, Fables, King's Quest, and Law and Order. It's very well possible more Sam and Max games will be released as they have been successful for Telltale (although not as successful as Tales of Monkey Island or Back to the Future, but still good for Telltale), but I'd wait until at least half of these games are out before Telltale considers even announcing the possibility of more seasons.
A good question, and unfortunately one I'm getting more and more dubious about. With Telltale's current workload, we're definitely not going to see a Season 4 anytime soon. Very late 2012-mid 2013 at the earliest. Unfortunately, Season 4 is beginning to seem more like a matter of "if" than a matter of "when."
If I was asked this immediately after The Devil's Playhouse ended, I'd say "Of course they're going to make a Season 4! Sam and Max is Telltale's biggest franchise!" But that's no longer the case. Maybe I'm reading this article wrong, but Back to the Future is now Telltale's most successful franchise. And if "most successful" means "most profitable," then Back to the Future has outsold all three Sam and Max seasons. Combined. Before BttF had even finished.
Telltale could make a Sam and Max Season 4, but they could also make BttF Season 2 (or another more mainstream project) and make far more money from it. Telltale hasn't given up on doing nichier titles yet (Fables and King's Quest are far from mainstream), but I'd expect them to start moving further and further away from that direction.
Money isn't just the only issue. Now, just to be clear, I don't work for Telltale and I don't know what goes on behind the scenes. Most of what I say is just guessing. I could be wrong, and if I am, I'm sorry. But I sort of get the feeling that Telltale wants to move away from sillier projects like Sam and Max. You'll notice they've been steadily inching towards more serious storytelling. Tales of Monkey Island, The Devil's Playhouse, Puzzle Agent, Back to the Future...you should be able to see the pattern. And Jurassic Park, The Walking Dead, and Law and Order all aren't exactly famous for comedy. If Telltale wants to be taken more seriously, that's understandable. Creative people (and game designers are creative people, unless they work for Activision ) shouldn't be forced to do the same thing again and again just because it's what people want. But that does hurt the chances of a Season 4.
There's also the chance of Steve Purcell making a new comic, though. Sam and Max are Steve's babies, and he'd definitely never get sick of them. However, Pixar seems to be keeping him pretty busy. He's apparently trying to work on the long-unfinished comic where Max gets shot, but...well, when you have to choose between your job and a side project, you go with the one that pays the bills.
Anyway, best thing to do is cross your fingers and hope the Freelance Police return soon.
I don't think it's as much as Telltale moving away from comedy as much as it is that they want to broaden their skills and try to tell new types of stories. Despite the push towards serious games, I can't see Telltale giving up comedy so easily any time soon.
To be honest I wouldn't mind if Sam & Max moved away from TellTale. The ending where they walk of into the sunset and where they stepped into the time machine seemed to be a decent goodbye to the Telltale Sam & Max universe. I think after the last season the world has got too convoluted and should start afresh to regain that spontaneity.
Most of what I say is just guessing. I could be wrong, and if I am, I'm sorry. But I sort of get the feeling that Telltale wants to move away from sillier projects like Sam and Max. You'll notice they've been steadily inching towards more serious storytelling. Tales of Monkey Island, The Devil's Playhouse, Puzzle Agent, Back to the Future...you should be able to see the pattern. And Jurassic Park, The Walking Dead, and Law and Order all aren't exactly famous for comedy. If Telltale wants to be taken more seriously, that's understandable. Creative people (and game designers are creative people, unless they work for Activision ) shouldn't be forced to do the same thing again and again just because it's what people want. But that does hurt the chances of a Season 4.
While it is certainly true Telltale are making games with more serious stories I don't think it is because they want to move away from the silliness necessarily but probably because there isn't really anything sillier or as silly than Sam & Max in the first place. It's not a disturbing trend because there is really only one direction they can go. ANY other game they make will take itself more seriously and be less silly.
We'd like to be known as more than "the guys who do sequels to old LucasArts games," and more importantly than that, the teams want opportunities to stretch their legs a bit! Seeing the same people who do the gags in Sam & Max do adventurous action stuff in Jurassic Park now trying their hand at character drama and horror in Walking Dead is incredibly fun! I'm sure Telltale will put some more straight humor stuff on its plate again in the future, but branching out to a bunch of foreign places in the meantime is refreshing. It's also given us reasons to beef up our engine and production pipeline. I can't deny that whenever I see something super cool that we've done in Jurassic Park or Walking Dead, the back of my mind says "oh man, think of the Sam & Max stuff we could do someday!" Of course, as has been said in this thread, we have a pretty full plate right now, with all the stuff we've announced and have in production, but that doesn't stop folks from daydreaming about it.
We'd like to be known as more than "the guys who do sequels to old LucasArts games," and more importantly than that, the teams want opportunities to stretch their legs a bit! Seeing the same people who do the gags in Sam & Max do adventurous action stuff in Jurassic Park now trying their hand at character drama and horror in Walking Dead is incredibly fun! I'm sure Telltale will put some more straight humor stuff on its plate again in the future, but branching out to a bunch of foreign places in the meantime is refreshing. It's also given us reasons to beef up our engine and production pipeline. I can't deny that whenever I see something super cool that we've done in Jurassic Park or Walking Dead, the back of my mind says "oh man, think of the Sam & Max stuff we could do someday!" Of course, as has been said in this thread, we have a pretty full plate right now, with all the stuff we've announced and have in production, but that doesn't stop folks from daydreaming about it.
So...right now Season 4's not even really being considered beyond the occasional nebulous "Wouldn't it be cool if..." thought, then?
Kind of sucks to hear, but like I said, nobody should be forced to just do the same stuff forever. As long as Telltale's enjoying what they do and the games are still good, I'm happy.
So...right now Season 4's not even really being considered beyond the occasional nebulous "Wouldn't it be cool if..." thought, then?
Kind of sucks to hear, but like I said, nobody should be forced to just do the same stuff forever. As long as Telltale's enjoying what they do and the games are still good, I'm happy.
Nothing's "officially planned" until it's "officially announced." As usual, why jump to conclusions? I can't talk about things which don't officially exist.
Nothing's "officially planned" until it's "officially announced." As usual, why jump to conclusions? I can't talk about things which don't officially exist.
[CONCLUSION JUMP] This must mean they're planning season 4, but can't say anything because it's not officially announced [/CONCLUSION JUMP]
To me, "Sam & Max" is Telltale's signature series. They should always return to it. Maybe the end of 2012? Sam & Max has a certain style of humour so I really don't think any of the other games they do are like it, and maybe once they've finished some of the other games on their plate they can return to it & try to outdo the previous seasons.
Comments
That is only my guess though.
what about 2012?
I agree though I always enjoy visiting Steve Purcell's world.
Interesting theory... but I think there are plenty more stories to be told.
If I was asked this immediately after The Devil's Playhouse ended, I'd say "Of course they're going to make a Season 4! Sam and Max is Telltale's biggest franchise!" But that's no longer the case. Maybe I'm reading this article wrong, but Back to the Future is now Telltale's most successful franchise. And if "most successful" means "most profitable," then Back to the Future has outsold all three Sam and Max seasons. Combined. Before BttF had even finished.
Telltale could make a Sam and Max Season 4, but they could also make BttF Season 2 (or another more mainstream project) and make far more money from it. Telltale hasn't given up on doing nichier titles yet (Fables and King's Quest are far from mainstream), but I'd expect them to start moving further and further away from that direction.
Money isn't just the only issue. Now, just to be clear, I don't work for Telltale and I don't know what goes on behind the scenes. Most of what I say is just guessing. I could be wrong, and if I am, I'm sorry. But I sort of get the feeling that Telltale wants to move away from sillier projects like Sam and Max. You'll notice they've been steadily inching towards more serious storytelling. Tales of Monkey Island, The Devil's Playhouse, Puzzle Agent, Back to the Future...you should be able to see the pattern. And Jurassic Park, The Walking Dead, and Law and Order all aren't exactly famous for comedy. If Telltale wants to be taken more seriously, that's understandable. Creative people (and game designers are creative people, unless they work for Activision
There's also the chance of Steve Purcell making a new comic, though. Sam and Max are Steve's babies, and he'd definitely never get sick of them. However, Pixar seems to be keeping him pretty busy. He's apparently trying to work on the long-unfinished comic where Max gets shot, but...well, when you have to choose between your job and a side project, you go with the one that pays the bills.
Anyway, best thing to do is cross your fingers and hope the Freelance Police return soon.
While it is certainly true Telltale are making games with more serious stories I don't think it is because they want to move away from the silliness necessarily but probably because there isn't really anything sillier or as silly than Sam & Max in the first place. It's not a disturbing trend because there is really only one direction they can go. ANY other game they make will take itself more seriously and be less silly.
So...right now Season 4's not even really being considered beyond the occasional nebulous "Wouldn't it be cool if..." thought, then?
Kind of sucks to hear, but like I said, nobody should be forced to just do the same stuff forever. As long as Telltale's enjoying what they do and the games are still good, I'm happy.
Nothing's "officially planned" until it's "officially announced." As usual, why jump to conclusions? I can't talk about things which don't officially exist.
RIP Jump To Conclusions Mat smiley.
[CONCLUSION JUMP] This must mean they're planning season 4, but can't say anything because it's not officially announced [/CONCLUSION JUMP]
Yay!
I've just been going over the season 1 & 2 trailers on youtube, and urgh I miss it so much!!!
I would pay literally anything for a new season.