-
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.
Spencer: Black Tusk E3 '13 teaser was "a concept piece", not a in-dev game
- Thread starter chadskin
- Start date
ultratruman
Banned
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
That's a possibility. Like when Nintendo shoehorned Starfox into Dinosaur Planet.
LiLSnorpSnorp
Member
It's obvious the studio had began working with a new IP in mind, but once the rights to acquire gears was made, it was scrapped (put on the shelf?) for Gears. While a new IP would be exciting, it's also easier to reinvent a series that already has a large fan base, imo
Edit: it'll be interested to find out (if we do) when exactly the rights were acquired. I mean, development at black tusk couldn't have been too far in..(assuming they were working on a new IP)?
Edit: it'll be interested to find out (if we do) when exactly the rights were acquired. I mean, development at black tusk couldn't have been too far in..(assuming they were working on a new IP)?
Nightengale
Member
MS never elaborated on what that $1b meant.
Just that there's an investment of $1b in games for the console. No timespan, no details on how much for studio development, exclusivity buys, marketing, etc.
BruceLeeRoy
Banned
They clearly were working on a new IP but we know MS is risk adverse and so the second it looked like acquiring Gears license was a real possibility they abandoned it.
BrokenIcarus
Member
So MS is gonna ride that Halo/Gears/Forza/Fable-train until it crashes,eh?
I hope they go down with it and take their bullshit PR with them, I am so sick of them trying to lie to us.
I hope they go down with it and take their bullshit PR with them, I am so sick of them trying to lie to us.
thehypocrite
Member
MSFT getting owned in the marketplace, thus they're trying to mitigate risks.
BruceLeeRoy
Banned
Exactly. New IP has always been a non justifiable risk for them. Who can blame them though. They gave Rare a bit of freedom and only got commercial stinkers.
Um, yeah they would. They've had a Vancouver studio for years now under various names and with various staff, with basically zero software to show for it because they keep scrapping titles, shutting down studios, and starting new ones.
Outside of Turn10 and 343 MS' studios are an absolute mess. Even Lionhead, an already assembled studio with multiple releases under it's belt, has now seen big layoffs followed by talent bleed when Molyneaux and Rance left.
Their first parties are a mess, and no matter how they spin this the truth seems pretty clear. Black Tusk was working on a new IP. MS' execs obviously weren't impressed by it and the chance to buy Gears came along, so they scuttled the nacent project in favor of Black Tusk being their Gears house. Hence bringing in Fergusson. They need someone to actually get games out the door up there.
Nightengale
Member
We should know if we hear of any major departures coming from Vancouver over the next year.
thehypocrite
Member
This is a solid business move that everyone can understand. The downside to it is that similar to taking a knee in football. They are more likely to sustain their current performance but less likely to move forward with their 1st party games.
Nightengale
Member
SEGAvangelist
Member
Anyone see this tweet chain?
https://twitter.com/HannoLemke/status/427807647257985024
Looks like they are working on more than Gears.
https://twitter.com/HannoLemke/status/427807647257985024
Looks like they are working on more than Gears.
At least we won't have to wonder what their big game each holiday is, halo/gears/halo/gears/halo/gears? Fables is already dead imo.
Neuromancer
Member
A Microsoft executive lying to us to make themselves look better? Excuse me while I fall out of my chair onto the floor in surprise.
Don't buy it. Cboat said the game was looking amazing. And comparing vancouver to a huge, AAA dev team made up of grreat developers isn't right. Ms had enough faith in these guys to allow them to work for a significant amount of time on the xb1's new, huge, AAA ip. Am i saying they have alway been working on gears? no. But I doubt that what they were working on has been completely thrown out. Ms paid a lot of cash for it. The ip is either on hold, or a lot of the ideas are being incorporated into gears 4.
Also, didn't black tusk say their new game was going to include horror elements? A stealth based spy game like the one shown at e3 doesn't sound very fear inducing.
PsihoPerihelion
Member
I was really excited with the idea of a new IP from MS and specially one that looked like the Black Tusk project.
I don't care about Gears anymore. No more Halo/Gears/Forza/Fable please. I was 360-only the entire generation and I won't make the jump if their going to ride the same wave as before.
I don't care about Gears anymore. No more Halo/Gears/Forza/Fable please. I was 360-only the entire generation and I won't make the jump if their going to ride the same wave as before.
SEGAvangelist
Member
Mmm.
Yeah, maybe that new IP isn't cancelled and Phil Spencer is trying to avoid talking about it.
BrokenIcarus
Member
Yeah I can already see the 'surprise' E3 announcements...
BruceLeeRoy
Banned
Mmm.
That sounds like they are just not taking about how the game fits into the Gears universe.
thehypocrite
Member
Do we think polygon will adjust their score of MSFT last E3 due to this development?
lol
Doug Heffernan
Member
enanogrande
Member
So, anyone know how big Black Tusk is? I seem to remember reading they were at ~50 employees at this time last year... what are the odds they added the ~150 (more like ~250) people they need to run two AAA projects at once?
Sorry, I don't think that's anything much. I'm not seeing it. That could be code for its shelved. And we'll get back to it one day.
I would liken it to kicking a field goal when your 4th and inches at the 1 yard line. And down by 2 possessions (14 points). I mean, sure, points are points, but you need a lot of those field goals to make up the deficit. And if you fail the other team gets crap field possession. And if you succeed you only need so much more to take a lead.
Just a little more than a year ago...
http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2012/11/29/microsoft-opens-new-video-game-studio-in-vancouver/
Triggerhappytel
Member
Well, it seems Black Tusk only formed in late 2012, so it probably was nowhere near halfway done, and what's more they would shitcan a new, unproven game in favour of shifting the resources over to a new in-house Gears production.
Steverulez
Member
Ryse
Powerstar Golf
Crimson Dragon
All new IPs released with the console (I'm going to ignore Lococycle for obvious reasons)
Quantum Break
Sunset Overdrive
Project Spark
D4
New IPs Microsoft have announced, 2 of them AAA games (QB/SO)
Press Play and Twisted Pixel are also working on new IPs plus other partnerships we don't know about.
This non-justifiable risk talk is crazy.
ultratruman
Banned
They gave Rare freedom and they made some of the best exclusives for the 360 (Viva Pinata 1 and 2).
Commitment to making games that might commercially underachieve but are critically adored is healthy for a platform holder.
I still don't buy it. Black tusk pitched an idea that ms loved enough to throw halo money at. It's not going away.
This is mostly just giving other studios money to get exclusivity, that's lame.
Spending money to create new IPs from ground up is cool.
But bying exclusivity rights for games, which would have be developed anyways, isn't anything to get excited about as consumer.
BruceLeeRoy
Banned
Eh you don't understand what were talking about
Wait, so comparing them to a huge AAA dev isn't right, but MS had enough faith to have them work on a huge new AAA IP? Where's the logic in this post?
CBOAT said the animation and audio looked amazing, but that they were still in pre-production. They likely never had actual gameplay together and what he was was basically an "extended cut" of the E3 video. It's clear Black Tusk was missing deadlines, does it really surprise you that a studio unable to hit headlines with their current project had it scrapped on them?
If it wasn't for Gears being available and all the hype MS built up around Black Tusk I'd bet they were well on their way to being shuttered before releasing a single title.
ultratruman
Banned
They were really desperate to win people over after the hysterically awful reveal event, I guess. Pretty sure CBOAT implied they showed their whole hand at E3 2013.
BrokenIcarus
Member
Project Spark is the only AAA first party title though.
Edit: Forgot it's free to play, none of them are from MS studios and AAA.
Someone said in the other thread they had 55 employees at the end of 2012. I'd guess they are now at around 100 employees, tops. Hardly enough to develop two AAA games in a reasonable time frame.
Nightengale
Member
I think there's a matter of perspective to be taken into account here.
Games like Crimson Dragon, Flower, Resogun, Lococycle are new IPs, but they are by no means a 'risky endeavour.' New IP, they may be, they're small digital titles made by small teams. I personally wouldn't consider them as the kind of risky titles in discussion here.
Games like State of Decay, Puppeteer, etc are what I consider the bare minimum in terms of risky endeavour into new IPs.
And then there's the high-risk AAA-IPs, like TLoU, Beyond, Ryse, SSO, QB, The Order, etc.
MS do invest in new IPs, I don't disagree on that. But historically, on both consoles, the bulk of their investments are in the early years. New IP from them are more sporadic after the first 3 years. MS has an issue with the perception of their long-term interest in developing new IPs.
BibiMaghoo
Member
It's curious, because they clearly do not attribute the low sales of Judgement to franchise fatigue, if they are prepared to shell out for the IP.
That means they think it was another reason. I would love to know what that is. I suppose it could also mean that they are happy with a million sales for a game who's previous entry did considerably more, but I doubt that very much. A new IP could have done as well or better.
Edit: Wrong thread I think...
That means they think it was another reason. I would love to know what that is. I suppose it could also mean that they are happy with a million sales for a game who's previous entry did considerably more, but I doubt that very much. A new IP could have done as well or better.
Edit: Wrong thread I think...
thehypocrite
Member
What you posted was announced before their performance in the marketplace was materialized. They can be changing their strategy going forward to lean heavily on known performers instead of new IPs. This is my interpretation, not trying to speak for BruceLeeRoy here.
If that's true, I'd be really disappointed. I would have expected their new world-class studio to have at least 200 employees by now.
they really should have not shown the black tusk teaser if it was only a concept piece. And even if it was a legit game they should have waited until they were far enough into dev. Sony tried to pull the same stunt and we got debacles like, Agent, TLG, The getaway, ect. I cant help but fell the same with The Order as well.