Is Larry Dead?

It appears that he is--to me.

February 1999

On February 22, 1999, Sierra informed me they were going to stop development of Leisure Suit Larry 8: Lust in Space. After 16 years of designing and programming games for them (at that time, an entertainment software industry record), they asked me to clean out my office.

Things looked bad for the old Polyester Prince. I don't own the rights to Larry...Sierra does. And they were not interested in investing the 2-3 million dollars it takes to create a new game. While I'd love to do another Larry game, I can't; not without Sierra.

Sierra never said "we will never do another Larry game." They just said "we don't want to do a Larry game at this time." That is, with me.

So Larry lies in limbo. Sierra hasn't actually "killed him," it's more like he's been tied up in the basement and left to die.

Or, as Guido Schlabitz told me, "Finally, Larry got laid, though only on ice!"

Early 2002

Back in early 2002, Sierra's president, Mike Ryder, dropped some hints to PC Gamer magazine that "we're reviving the old franchises, including Leisure Suit Larry." PC Gamer emailed me immediately and asked if I was working on a new game. I replied that I would love to, if Sierra and I could work out the details.

Here's the story: Feb. 1, 2002, I met with Mike Ryder in his office. He said he was interested in "reviving the franchises that made Sierra," including Larry. I was ready, but skeptical. There were many details to consider. We agreed to work via email that week and get together again soon.

After hearing nothing from him for the next month, I emailed him to see what had happened. It took him a month to email back that he was really busy and would get to me soon. More than four months have passed since that email and I've still heard nothing more from him.

Add to that the recent news that Sierra has no copies of any Larry games left in the warehouse and they don't intend to make any more. "It's too expensive to print the large quantities necessary to get a volume discount," says their production manager. Let's see: they have no cost of development, no marketing, no advertising, no sales commissions, a big warehouse that's already paid for, etc., etc., but they can't afford to keep a backlist?

I've heard from various sources that Sierra wants to "revive the old franchises." I'm all for that. And I have literally thousands of emails posted on this site from fans who would love nothing more!

I'm still waiting. My office is just up the hill from Sierra's office. I can be there in ten minutes. I'd love to get the call!

2003-4

In 2003, Sierra announced they were creating a new Leisure Suit Larry game without Leisure Suit Larry in it. In October 2004, it shipped. You can read more about it here.

By the way, I'm proud to say that I had nothing to do with Magna cum Laude!

2008

VU Games has announced yet another Larry-less Larry game: Box Office Bust. It will also be Al-less! You can read more about it here.