MrCunningham
Member
Time to update the image....
RIP Visceral
RIP Visceral
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
EA shuts down Visceral, moves Star Wars game to EA Vancouver/others
- Thread starter DKHF
- Start date
Sucks for everyone that gets laid off and hopefully they land on their feet which it sounds like a lot of them are getting shuffled to other studios and projects so that's good.
I mean it's not shocking given Viscerals output, given the way some people act about EA you would have figured they would have been axed after Dead Space 3 not years and more underwhelming games later.
I mean it's not shocking given Viscerals output, given the way some people act about EA you would have figured they would have been axed after Dead Space 3 not years and more underwhelming games later.
digoutyoursoul
Member
Yep it's a real shame. So much potential wasted.
Razgriz-Specter
Member
Fuck EA
Time to update the image....
RIP Visceral
lol
Yep and Lawbrakers, etc. But in the end, GaaS and/or MP games tend to make more money.
Affeinvasion
Member
They're basically a parasite infesting a bloated corpse at this point anyway.
TheVoidDragon
Member
With the way they talk about the game and why they want it to be changed, i don't see how this move is going to turn out well for the game at all.
It sounds like they aren't changing the game because it was bad, but because they don't think it'll be appealing enough for the mass-market. It seems like it's a change for the wrong reasons. their mention of following trends specifically suggests it's a decision made for financial gain, rather than out of wanting to actually make a good game. Nowhere in their statement does it say this is because the game wasn't going well, it only mentions making the change because of their testers and the market not liking that it was a linear game.
Their mentions of wanting to make it more "broad" and "replayable" imply that they want to put in more open-world style gameplay to it, but i don't think that has been a good thing with EA's other games that have done that. The move from more linear story-focused RPGs to open world ones did not go well for Dragon Age and Mass Effect, with both being turned into games that while huge in scale, lacked depth and meaning; an open world filled with repetitive content, meaningless side activities, collectables and overall pointlessness.
Maybe it won't end up being like that afterall, but just from what they say about it there i don't have much hope left. The idea of a story-focused, linear, hand-crafted Star Wars action game sounded great, but this change just sounds like it's going to turn the gameplay into something more generic and bland so it'll sell better.
It sounds like they aren't changing the game because it was bad, but because they don't think it'll be appealing enough for the mass-market. It seems like it's a change for the wrong reasons. their mention of following trends specifically suggests it's a decision made for financial gain, rather than out of wanting to actually make a good game. Nowhere in their statement does it say this is because the game wasn't going well, it only mentions making the change because of their testers and the market not liking that it was a linear game.
Their mentions of wanting to make it more "broad" and "replayable" imply that they want to put in more open-world style gameplay to it, but i don't think that has been a good thing with EA's other games that have done that. The move from more linear story-focused RPGs to open world ones did not go well for Dragon Age and Mass Effect, with both being turned into games that while huge in scale, lacked depth and meaning; an open world filled with repetitive content, meaningless side activities, collectables and overall pointlessness.
Maybe it won't end up being like that afterall, but just from what they say about it there i don't have much hope left. The idea of a story-focused, linear, hand-crafted Star Wars action game sounded great, but this change just sounds like it's going to turn the gameplay into something more generic and bland so it'll sell better.
ScientificPizza
Banned
Didnt Inquisition already have boxes?
VR_RaidenXOF
Member
I'm aggravated that we don't know more. Enough speculation... reporters, dig! Unearth everything.
Jimmyfenix
Member
I wonder how Stigs game is doing. Actually, wait I dont want to know
i was hoping he was working on a game not partnered by EA but forgot he is part of the Star Wars game at Respawn
http://admin.respawn.com/careers
looks like they are still looking for people but with no real news it doesn't look good
Familienoberhauptvogel
Banned
So they want to make a Destiny game
Really disappointed to hear this news. I had assumed that the Amy Hennig Star Wars project was going well, but this proves to be the contrary case.
I would assume that whatever market research the company was doing probably revolved around the recent development of things like Loot Boxes and the boom of open world games that have continued to improve on the general nature of these games.
If her previous projects were of any indication, then the game that Hennig was penning likely was a bit more cinematic and structured than the current games that have the run of the market. What this could mean for the plot of the game, I'm not hopeful for.
I would assume that whatever market research the company was doing probably revolved around the recent development of things like Loot Boxes and the boom of open world games that have continued to improve on the general nature of these games.
If her previous projects were of any indication, then the game that Hennig was penning likely was a bit more cinematic and structured than the current games that have the run of the market. What this could mean for the plot of the game, I'm not hopeful for.
ArkhamFantasy
Member
They didn't really shy away from the truth in the PR statement. It's a linear single player game, EA isn't interested in linear single player games.
Its not that it wouldn't sell, its that EA isnt going to waste years of time, money, and resources into a game thats going to sell less than 8 million copies, and worse, not built around microtransactions and lootboxes.
OfTheOverflow
Member
Welp, certainly not buying Battlefront 2 now. Fuck off EA, jesus christ. This industry is getting really homogenised really quickly. Fucking microtransactions...
Fantastapotamus
Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
Saw that coming a long time ago.
Damn, RIP Visceral.
EA is still EA
Damn, RIP Visceral.
EA is still EA
Bioware has had loot boxes since Mass Effect 3.
Crossing Eden
Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
It could be a combination of both factors. It being a no show after that footage and it being linear like an uncharted game. We'll never really know unless there's a post mortem of some kind from anonymous devs.
They're releasing one this year in the form of Battlefront 2's campaign.
keltickennedy
Member
I think the problem is that there is no real squeezing of people's wallets. There are two types of players...the ones that hate that shit and don't spend any money on microtransactions, and the other ones that have no problem whatsoever spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on all that bullshit.
Should have gave it to ND. Put a cool jacket on Drake model, give him a light saber and call it a day! Plus Amy can go back home.
OneLessIcon
Member
EA said:
I see where this is going...
chaosmaster(1)
Member
Wouldn't they make an exception for Respawn? Considering the numbers TF1 did only Halo and Gears come near on Xbox exclusively.
Kenzodielocke
Banned
Loot boxes are in Inquisition, believe it or not. Multiplayer though.
Audioboxer
Member
lol
I'm sure Battlefront 2s campaign will be the top quality, well written and non-rushed SP experience Star Wars fans have been asking for.
Tom Nook
Member
Respawn and Bioware right now
I dunno about Respawn one way or another, but I would bet money on BioWare being on some real fucking thin ice at the moment.
If Anthem flops... hoo boy.
Nintendo first used loot boxes in 1988 and nobody cared. (I'm kidding.)
Well in fairness, Nintendo is probably seen as the best when it comes to season passes (as long as the words "Fire Emblem isn't attached to it" and not counting FE:Warriors). I wouldn't be shocked at all if we saw Nintendo take a crack at Loot Boxes and figured out how to do it the right way (or rather to say that they did it long before the idea of Loot boxes was even a thing).
---
Back on topic though, I'm curious to see how Battlefront 2 is going to play out now. I'm sure it will still its nice reviews and all (and last I checked, DICE wasn't on the chopping block if they are still making Battlefield a success), but it does seem like it is basically a survival of the fittest at EA now (especially for those who aren't "EA DICE").
D
Deleted member 30609
Unconfirmed Member
Oof. I hope everyone at Visceral lands on their feet.
Jimmyfenix
Member
The frustrating thing is EA green lit a project which was a Single Player game at a time where you had peter moore yelling that single player games were dead.
Yet years later they have a problem with it
Yet years later they have a problem with it
It's clear now more than ever games need to go up in price in the US to match what the rest of the world have been paying for years now. $60 is too low considering games decades ago costed more. AAA Single player games are dying, and being replaced with AAA services with microtransactions to offset development costs.
Also are people losing their jobs or are they being shifted into EAs other studios?
Also are people losing their jobs or are they being shifted into EAs other studios?
Skiesofwonder
Walruses, camels, bears, rabbits, tigers and badgers.
What a depressing way to start the day. Visceral's Star Wars title was the only EA title that was even on my radar at this point. Going by the wording of the PR, I'm guessing some more hearts are going to get broken when assests/info is are leaked. This move seems completely fueled by money and market trends, not quality.
But enough about us. Is it normal to close a studio right before the holidays, laying off potentially hundreds? Isn't this stuff usually done around the beginning of the fiscal year? What an awful way to start the holidays for those that don't land on their feet.
But enough about us. Is it normal to close a studio right before the holidays, laying off potentially hundreds? Isn't this stuff usually done around the beginning of the fiscal year? What an awful way to start the holidays for those that don't land on their feet.
GIANKRATOS
Member
WHAT DA F??????!!!!!!!!!!!
I swear EA, i don't buy many games from you anyway, but with this you have lost any chance of me buying anything else from you ever again.
I swear EA, i don't buy many games from you anyway, but with this you have lost any chance of me buying anything else from you ever again.
Jaguar Victory
Member
I want a game where you start off as a scrappy outworlder and progress to bounty hunter to kingpin Jabba style. Create your own ship by buying parts, weapons, entertainment, recruit others.
Ammogeddon
Member
EA have been the worst possible custodians for the Star Wars franchise, it's a shame.
How long have they got the licence for?
How long have they got the licence for?
digoutyoursoul
Member
Which leaves the question, why put them there in the first place?
Mass Effect
Member
come on now...
theangrypirate
Member
... Classic EA.
CassidyIzABeast
Member
EA makes 800M from Ultimate Team every year. They not trying to hear that single player shit in 2017.
bizzarewars
Banned
I fucking hate Electronic Arts. They're like King Midas, except everything they touch turns to shit.
ArkhamFantasy
Member
EA is bigger and richer than any third party publisher has ever been in this industry.
The problem isnt that this game wasnt going to make money, its that it wasn't going to make the insane amounts of money that most EA games bring in, so they felt like it was a waste of time, money, and resources.
They want games that will sell 10+ million copies, with strong incentives for Microtransactions and lootboxes.
Audioboxer
Member
It's cheaper to buy games in the UK in pounds than it is America in dollars. Likewise in places in Europe in euros too.
Retail anyway. Our digital prices can be whack when publishers decide $60 = £60.
Similar threads
- Locked