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Black Tusk Studios renamed to "The Coalition"

Gestault

Member
So they WANT to be associated with a single IP? That's putting all their eggs in the gears basket. Are they that sure the IP will be relevant 5-10 years down the line? Hmmmm

"Coalition" has a meaning outside of a Gears of War context. If the series loses popularity over time, nothing's stopping them from transitioning to other work. Being tied to a series like Gears gives them more stability than they would otherwise.
 

viveks86

Member
"Coalition" has a meaning outside of a Gears of War context. If the series loses popularity over time, nothing's stopping them from transitioning to other work. Being tied to a series like Gears gives them more stability than they would otherwise.

I guess
 
So they WANT to be associated with a single IP? That's putting all their eggs in the gears basket. Are they that sure the IP will be relevant 5-10 years down the line? Hmmmm
Turn 10 and 343 are single-brand factory studios, too, so in a way it's polite of them to make this change. It's a warning against ever accidentally thinking that any of these people are silently prepping anything new or exciting. The renaming is also probably a way to skirt or transfer IP rights. Black Tusk had some ownership of Gears, didn't it? You can be damn sure The Corporation doesn't.
 
I thought MS said it was just a concept or did that end up not being true? Either way, I hope it's something that they eventually revisit for a new IP.

Looking at that e3 video it wasn't much of a game. Heavy influence from Splinter Cell Double Agent's Shanghai mission, faceless protag with a gold eye, quick cuts of a punch in a really dark room so you can barely make anything out, ridiculous amounts of detail spent on the inside of a futuristic gun that leads to revealing the name of the studio and not the name of the actual game.
 

j-wood

Member
This is one reason I think I like Sony's approach to first party studios more.

Example, Naughty Dog. They make uncharted games sure. But we still get gems like The Last of Us. Seems like Sony still wants those franchises, but gives some freedom to branch out. (Naughty Dog is considered a first party studio right?).

Sucks. I liked the name Black Tusk and like others said, liked the idea of the other stuff they were working on. Shame it'll probably never see light.
 
"Coalition" has a meaning outside of a Gears of War context. If the series loses popularity over time, nothing's stopping them from transitioning to other work. Being tied to a series like Gears gives them more stability than they would otherwise.

If Gears of War comes out and performs poorly, they might get one more chance to make a sequel that sells better. If that fails expectations as well this studio will be shut down.

Thats just the way it is for such big AAA games/studios. You dont get to pull out negative returns on a 60-70 million investment and still get many chances to do it again.
 

Zebetite

Banned
remember when sometimes game developers were allowed to be creative and think up new stuff instead of being shackled to brands?

those were the days
 
Frankly I'm surprised anyone here thinks there was ever any intention for Black Tusk/Coalition to make anything but Gears of War games.
 

KyleP29

Member
So they WANT to be associated with a single IP? That's putting all their eggs in the gears basket. Are they that sure the IP will be relevant 5-10 years down the line? Hmmmm


Given the timing, I guess we should expect a gears announcement at E3

5-10 year from now if they decide to try a new IP their studio name will be well linked to the gears franchise. And even if they never reach the same quality as epic did, the casual community out there will only hear "from the developers of the gears of war franchise comes x" giving that studios new IP an easier sell to the public.

And yes, i think this announcement, and video of logo in action almost assures a gears teaser at e3
 
Well this is pretty disappointing. How to transform something with such potential and promise into yet another franchise factory. It was bad enough that they killed that spy/thriller IP in order to make more space marine content, and now it seems that this will exclusively be their focus going forward. I'm sorry you never got to see the light Black Tusk.
 

Gestault

Member
If Gears of War comes out and performs poorly, they might get one more chance to make a sequel that sells better. If that fails expectations as well this studio will be shut down.

Thats just the way it is for such big AAA games/studios. You dont get to pull out negative returns on a 60-70 million investment and still get many chances to do it again.

Is that different from a studio making a mainstream release without the benefit of an established series?
 
If Gears of War comes out and performs poorly, they might get one more chance to make a sequel that sells better. If that fails expectations as well this studio will be shut down.

Thats just the way it is for such big AAA games/studios. You dont get to pull out negative returns on a 60-70 million investment and still get many chances to do it again.

Lionhead's Fable The Journey wasn't very successful (I don't think) but they are still making Fable Legends, new IP and possibly something else (scope/size unknown), I don't think it necessarily means that at all.

Rare had some successful and unsuccessful games and despite a few reductions in head count that were pretty small they have never been shut down, just moved onto something else.

I don't see MS shutting them down straight away if Gears 4 does poorly and maybe even a sequel, although I doubt it will anyway, if things got that bad they'll try something else.
 

viveks86

Member
The renaming is also probably a way to skirt or transfer IP rights. Black Tusk had some ownership of Gears, didn't it? You can be damn sure The Corporation doesn't.

Not sure I understand. Did you mean "The Coalition"? Also, did Black Tusk actually have IP ownership? I thought the parent Microsoft Game Studios did and would be free to move it amongst subsidiaries.
 
Frankly I'm surprised anyone here thinks there was ever any intention for Black Tusk/Coalition to make anything but Gears of War games.

Yeah. Pretty sure in the original thread when they bought Gears almost everyone thought this outcome was inevitable from both the way they rapidly cancelled whatever they were working on and put them on Gears the moment they got it and the way they've been running their studios as one series factories.
 
I thought MS said it was just a concept or did that end up not being true? Either way, I hope it's something that they eventually revisit for a new IP.
According to @xboxjobs:

Last summer, Microsoft's official @XboxJobs account described the game thus: "Their first project is a highly ambitious, all-original new IP!".

The same account has now confirmed that the status of that project is now up in the air.

"@BlackTuskStudio has been working on an all original IP since its inception, we've just brought the GOW franchise into our portfolio and have not yet determined the future of the new IP at this point," the account wrote.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...ning-with-black-tusks-highly-ambitious-new-ip

Then according to Phil Spencer:

And even though that clip--a man rappelling down the side of a present-day skyscraper before swinging in an open window to clobber a gun-toting guard--looked decidedly unlike Gears of War, Spencer called it a concept piece, and not a project that is being shelved as a result of the IP acquisition.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-01-27-microsoft-acquires-gears-of-war-ip-from-epic

Personally I'm inclined to believe @xboxjobs as Phil Spencer would have a good reason to try to minimize how far along their other game would have been. Also crazy buttocks on a train said that Black Tusk's game was real and looked good. I know some people don't believe him but he's been right about a lot more than he's been wrong.
 
According to @xboxjobs:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...ning-with-black-tusks-highly-ambitious-new-ip

Then according to Phil Spencer:


http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-01-27-microsoft-acquires-gears-of-war-ip-from-epic

Personally I'm inclined to believe @xboxjobs as Phil Spencer would have a good reason to try to minimize how far along their other game would have been. Also crazy buttocks on a train said that Black Tusk's game was real and looked good. I know some people don't believe him but he's been right about a lot more than he's been wrong.

None of that matters now because they're stuck making Gears of War games the rest of their studio life. Which seems very limited to be called creative.

Talk about future stagnation, when GOG drys up from to many titles.
 
None of that matters now because they're stuck making Gears of War games the rest of their studio life. Which seems very limited to be called creative.

Talk about future stagnation, when GOG drys up from to many titles.

STUCK?


People does not understand that a company needs to grow to be profitable in order to explore other formulas.... what if they make a lot of money and then they go bigger? If this happen there is a chance of 100% that they will work in multiple projects at the same time.... and of course multiple IPs.....THEY ARE NEW!! not even a single game released.! Just after 3 Uncharted Games ND had the resources to work in multiple projects at the same time. Think before bulshiting everything!
 

leadbelly

Banned
For The Players.
The+Coalition+(2013)+BluRay+720p+650MB.jpg

lol

I was thinking it sounds like a movie title.
 
Lionhead's Fable The Journey wasn't very successful (I don't think) but they are still making Fable Legends, new IP and possibly something else (scope/size unknown), I don't think it necessarily means that at all.

Rare had some successful and unsuccessful games and despite a few reductions in head count that were pretty small they have never been shut down, just moved onto something else.

I don't see MS shutting them down straight away if Gears 4 does poorly and maybe even a sequel, although I doubt it will anyway, if things got that bad they'll try something else.

To be fair, Fable: The Journey was most certainly not an expensive game to make and I doubt any of Rare's 360 games were either. Not anything on the level of a Gears game at least.

STUCK?


People does not understand that a company needs to grow to be profitable in order to explore other formulas.... what if they make a lot of money and then they go bigger? If this happen there is a chance of 100% that they will work in multiple projects at the same time.... and of course multiple IPs.....THEY ARE NEW!! not even a single game released.! Just after 3 Uncharted Games ND had the resources to work in multiple projects at the same time. Think before bulshiting everything!

Because that worked for Bungie, right? Or Turn 10... or Lionhead...

A bit disingenuous to be comparing one of Sony's studios (their top studio no less) to them. You should be basing your theories off of other Microsoft studios.
 
Now that's a downgrade.

Oh yes.. working on one of the best IPs of last generation is a downgrade xD


To be fair, Fable: The Journey was most certainly not an expensive game to make and I doubt any of Rare's 360 games were either. Not anything on the level of a Gears game at least.



Because that worked for Bungie, right? Or Turn 10... or Lionhead...

Turn 10 had a colaboration to develop Horizon

Or Polypony
 
STUCK?


People does not understand that a company needs to grow to be profitable in order to explore other formulas.... what if they make a lot of money and then they go bigger? If this happen there is a chance of 100% that they will work in multiple projects at the same time.... and of course multiple IPs.....THEY ARE NEW!! not even a single game released.! Just after 3 Uncharted Games ND had the resources to work in multiple projects at the same time. Think before bulshiting everything!

Yeah that's nice and all but they changed their name to something connected to Gears of War lore....studios don't do that Unless they have one IP in mind.
 
Yeah that nice and all but they changed their name to something connected to Gears of War lore....studios don't do that Unless they have one IP in mind.

So you think that if they succed they never going to consider other options because of THEIR NAME!!!!!

Person 1- Hey, now that we are big and we released 3 Gears games, lets try other things
Person 2- We cant, because our name is just for gears
Person 1- mm thats a shame, lets do another gears then

Sorry but this is no how it is..!
 
So you think that if they succed they never going to consider other options because of THEIR NAME!!!!!

Person 1- Hey, now that we are big and we released 3 Gears games, lets try other things
Person 2- We cant, because our name is just for gears
Person 1- mm thats a shame, lets do another gears then

Sorry but this is no how it is..!

Also they are contracted to do so...
 

RK128

Member
So they officially branded themselves as the Gears of War team huh :l? Well.....they seem happy about that, so good on them in embracing the studios new direction I guess :). I'm sure their Gears of War is going to be fantastic, especially if the mechanics and features from their scrapped Spy game bleed their way into the new gears.

It is a shame though, as they had to scrap a very cool looking concept in order to focus on making Gears for Microsoft, but that is expected as that IP is huge for them. Hope for the best for both Microsoft and Black Tusk regarding the new Gears regardless :D.
 

Imbarkus

As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
Makes me long for the days of The Collective.

593906.png


Still hoping for a GOG release on DS9 The Fallen...
 
I think the old logo with the green shards looked much cooler, but the name itself is about in the same ballpark. Black Tusk Studios was a bit of a mouthful, simply Black Tusk sounds pretty cool though. The Coalition is interesting since it begins with "the". Not a lot of developers do that.
 
STUCK?


People does not understand that a company needs to grow to be profitable in order to explore other formulas.... what if they make a lot of money and then they go bigger? If this happen there is a chance of 100% that they will work in multiple projects at the same time.... and of course multiple IPs.....THEY ARE NEW!! not even a single game released.! Just after 3 Uncharted Games ND had the resources to work in multiple projects at the same time. Think before bulshiting everything!

So blowing over a year of development and associated costs is the studio being financially responsible? The comparison to Naughty Dog is not all that valid in this circumstance, as Uncharted was a new IP that Naughty Dog themselves created. Black Tusk was creating their own new IP as well, until it got cancelled to make Gears. So instead of diversifying and potentially having two profitable franchises, they were denied the chance to create something of their own.

And just a clarification, it was after Uncharted 2 that Naughty Dog became "two" teams. The Last of Us and Uncharted 3 were developed in tandem.
 
Turn 10 had a colaboration to develop Horizon

Or Polypony

And what does that have to do with anything? Turn 10 has still only made Forza games last time I checked. So I guess you aren't disagreeing with me then?

And please tell me you're not doing what I think you're doing with pony being bolded.

I see this conversation is pointless then...
 
So blowing over a year of development and associated costs is the studio being financially responsible? The comparison to Naughty Dog is not all that valid in this circumstance, as Uncharted was a new IP that Naughty Dog themselves created. Black Tusk was creating their own new IP as well, until it got cancelled to make Gears. So instead of diversifying and potentially having two profitable franchises, they were denied the chance to create something of their own.

And just a clarification, it was after Uncharted 2 that Naughty Dog became "two" teams. The Last of Us and Uncharted 3 were developed in tandem.

Pretty much
 

Vilifier

Neo Member
I am loving the logo, the actual new company name is ok. We will now get Gears of War spinoffs as far as the eye can see.
 

PhatSaqs

Banned
So blowing over a year of development and associated costs is the studio being financially responsible? The comparison to Naughty Dog is not all that valid in this circumstance, as Uncharted was a new IP that Naughty Dog themselves created. Black Tusk was creating their own new IP as well, until it got cancelled to make Gears. So instead of diversifying and potentially having two profitable franchises, they were denied the chance to create something of their own.
This is crazy talk. They are a new studio with no games under their belt lol. Why do you think the new IP got canned? Because MS is evil and doesnt want a new budding studio creating brand new hotness and only wants Gears and hates new IP?
I'm curious to know the running philosophy here...
 

dab0ne

Member
Why did they put the word "The" at the front. I personally think just "Coalition" would have sounded better. In all honesty I don't care nearly as much about the name of the studio as I do the quality of games they make. If the games are good they can call themselves "The Super Duper Pooper Scoopers" for all I care. :p
 
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