If the game keeps selling I doubt Activision will quibble this point somehow.
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Kotaku: "Destiny Review Scores May Cost Bungie $2.5 Million"
- Thread starter Hip Hop
- Start date
RedNumberFive
Banned
The marketing department deserves a bonus more than anyone.
Enter The 36 Chambers
Member
Should have stuck to Halo. Halo 4 might not have been shit had bungie been in charge
tokyobanana
Banned
This is a big deal because a developer's cut of the gross revenues are usually 15-25% (normally on the lower end). This means that a $2.5million net cash bonus to a developer would usually have to come from $10-$16m in retail sales (or 150-250k units of sales).
Ultimately, it's chump change if the game is hugely successful, but the net economics of developer proceeds means that it's still a substantial amount of money
Ultimately, it's chump change if the game is hugely successful, but the net economics of developer proceeds means that it's still a substantial amount of money
SwiftDeath
Member
lol 90
rokkerkory
Member
that is like drop in bucket lol
Xinkwi-Xkuk
Banned
Really? I love the announcer he sounds cool and says cool $hit!
Judging from Reach and now Destiny I think Bungie was/is done creating great, balanced competitive multiplayer games anyway.
That's the consensus among hardcore Halo fans right now. Maybe Bungie leaving Halo will turn out to be a great thing.
Hero_of_the_Day
Member
If this bonus was going to go to the employees, then nah, it isn't. But, I have no idea how bonuses like this work. If it was just going to go to the company and not the employees, yeah, not that big a deal.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
Have you read the full contract?
It's insane.
Four Destiny games broken up with three ExPacks plus DLC.
To Far Away Times
Member
There's something about this that rubs me the wrong way. A game should stand on its own merits, and not be the byproduct of a massive marketing push and a series of pre planned sequels and expansions.
Hero_of_the_Day
Member
I don't have a problem with something being planned as a series. But, every game should be a self contained story with a satisfying conclusion still. The Assassin's Creed games do a good job of feeling like a complete game, yet setting up the next at the same time.
The Mass Effect trilogy would/could have turned out better had they planned some things out from the start instead of just getting to the final act and pulling a conclusion out of their asses.
funkystudent
Member
I wonder when this game went off the rails during development.
I can totally see a Halo 2 situation where the story campaign was just tossed together in a few months.
They must have known the game was going to see a mixed reaction.
I can totally see a Halo 2 situation where the story campaign was just tossed together in a few months.
They must have known the game was going to see a mixed reaction.
Yup. A fine German games reviewer actually wrote a great opinion piece about just that topic a couple of days ago:
http://www.4players.de/4players.php..._Planwirtschaft_die_Kreativitaet_knebelt.html
If any of you guys speak German, I'd suggest to give it a read.
Shpeshal Nick
aka Collingwood
They don't even deserve the chance to make a sequel let alone deserve a bonus.
Most outlets aren't scoring it low just because the story is awful. There are many other reasons, the most common one being that the gameplay is a drag.
Freshmaker
I am Korean.
It is pretty impressive given that there's a current thread dedicated to people explaining how Other M's story is good.
LegendofDragoonLives
Member
Doesn't the entire game + marketing cost $500m? Didn't they make that in 24 hours? So essentially anything from day 2 and onwards is essentially a pool of cash for Activision and Bungie to swim in. The only issue will be when they have to make a bigger pool once all the expansions start rolling in.
radioactivez0r
Member
I was curious if a 90+ was realistic, and saw that Bungie's mainline Halo games (1-3, Reach) all were 91+, so I guess it wasn't a total reach. Still seems like a hell of a target for a new IP that is trying to be a hybrid game type.
CosmicQueso
Member
So you find the review scores and review content too negative?
As to the bonus, $2.5m to Bungie and Activision isn't a big sum of money. Both parties had to agree to this clause, and Bungie wasn't exactly the kind of development house that would let any publisher push them around. If anything, the clause was most likely nice-to-have throw in of some kind.
Employees will hit their bonuses regardless of this additional payout if they hit their overall financial targets.
Despicable analogy. Horrid. Stop it.
As to being upset about Destiny, people feel as though they were sold a bill of goods. What they sold and what I bought was not what was delivered.
We've now reached the point where valid criticism of a commercially available product by critics and consumers is casually contrasted to rape. This is offensive on like 75 different levels. Wow.
Glass Rebel
Member
Oh, I love Luibl's stuff. Thanks for linking to this.
So you'd prefer to have Bungie closed and all employees laid off?
sometimes i game
Member
Pretty standard to get a review score bonus. Some games have famously made it 1 point under 90 on metacritic, devs am cry.
I think he/she is referring to Bungie saying they needed to earn the right to make sequels by putting out a great first game. Personally, I'm not sure they earned it either.
Oh for fuck's sake guys, give it a rest. It's a common saying and if you think it's meant literally...I don't know what to tell you.
I never said the game wasn't flawed. The thing is no game has been this viscerally hated on by GAF in a long, long time. It just seems strange to me that this comment (that I was initially referring to, by the way) "Bungie shouldn't be allowed to even make a sequel" goes by as totally fine, but "Why does everyone hate this game more than other games?" a QUESTION is met with hostility.
Also, no one has answered my question.
I never said the game wasn't flawed. The thing is no game has been this viscerally hated on by GAF in a long, long time. It just seems strange to me that this comment (that I was initially referring to, by the way) "Bungie shouldn't be allowed to even make a sequel" goes by as totally fine, but "Why does everyone hate this game more than other games?" a QUESTION is met with hostility.
Also, no one has answered my question.
It sold on hype alone. "The creators of Halo" is enough to sell any franchise. People won't be fooled for Destiny 2. As a huge Halo fan I'm personally let down by the game. It feels so empty and grindy. I don't play MMO's because I don't want to pay a fee every month, but if this is how they play, I'm not missing much.
To the Heretic above me. People are angry because this was supposed to be the next big thing. At this point, well, it really isn't. It's nowhere near as good as Halo, single player or multiplayer. If Halo campaign and multiplayer are a 10, Destiny is a 6/7 at best.
I did not like the campaign in the last Halo by 343 but I can say that it was way more exciting than what I'm playing in Destiny.
As long as Todd Howard thinks about how Obsidian made a better 3D Fallout than himself before he falls asleep, then it wasn't for nothing,
LapinAgile
Member
They deserve a chance to make a sequel. There are plenty of people enjoying the game as delivered.
A smarter studio head would have negotiated a higher guaranteed amount and do without the bonus.
Considering the size of the review reading population, this standard clause is overwhelmingly favorable to the publisher.
Neuromancer
Member
Everyone has a right to their opinion of course. But yes personally I found reviews to this game to be surprisingly negative compared to my experience, as its been a lot of fun for me and my friends as we've played together every night since launch.
But if you say employees will still get bonuses based on other criteria that's good to hear.
Warm Machine
Member
With a staff of 500 they spend more than that every month. If it was a bonus it would be like the employee getting an extra paycheck and a half.
googleplex
Member
I honestly haven't paid attention to the reviews. I just bought it and I'm really digging it. The game pushes all the right buttons for me.
AAA games get rated on a 7-10 scale.
TheSpaceBetween
Member
Came to post this. Boo freaking hoo Bungie.
I dunno, man. That isn't the impression I got from the GB and Gamespot reviews. They just found it boring.
Sounds passive aggressive. Like something critics did to them.
If you are an employee of Bungie, it's a big deal. Rough math, if 500 people are on the team that averages out to a $5,000 (pretax) bonus each. (Obviously, there will be great variation.) I imagine if you were looking forward to that bonus you'd be a bit bummed.
Personally I think it's foolish to tie bonuses to review scores. Should have been tied to things like sales, or player retention, etc.