Microsoft has resigned a contract to develop a title for its Xbox console for
release early next year. The termination of one of Argonaut's Xbox games has had
its new-found grip on profitability tested. Argonaut released an update on trading
for the year ended 31 July 2002 saying:
At the end of July 2002, the Group was informed
that Microsoft had decided to terminate the confidential Xbox project being developed
by Argonaut. This will have a moderate impact on the Group’s results for the year
ending 31st July 2002. The key problem with this project was the lack of a shared
vision of the game’s design between Microsoft and Argonaut. The development agreement
was signed prior to the introduction of the Group’s current project management
systems, which have been implemented in part to avoid this lack of design clarity.
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