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Rumor: Prey 2 cancelled, official statement due next week [Up: ZeniMax: No comment.]
- Thread starter sflufan
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Pfff... I predicted Ninja Gaiden 3 was going to be crap and look
Seriously though, it seems you were right. They were focusing on the wrong kind of properties, commercially speaking. Too bad that it always seem to be the case with the industry that, with creative lenience, there is always a less than stellar commercial record. I guess there's always exceptions, but still. This is truly a market that doesn't reward innovation like it should. hope they reconsider and give this game a chance in the future.
Damn, this was one of my favorite games at E3. Granted, the demo was highly controlled and didn't really give much indication of how far along into development they were, but it was still incredibly impressive.
Maybe it was a little TOO ambitious, though, and Human Head was in over their heads. To my knowledge nobody had actually PLAYED it yet.
Maybe it was a little TOO ambitious, though, and Human Head was in over their heads. To my knowledge nobody had actually PLAYED it yet.
They have to market it which is more expensive than a game sometimes and they have to produce discs.
Anticitizen One
Banned
Deus Ex:Human Revolution for starters
He asked about a digital release though. I mean, the marketing bit still stands, but cutting out the manufacturing has got to help.
That has already been out for months. Prey was more spacey anyway; DXHR was a little more grounded.
Too expensive to recoup costs in digital and they still have to market it.
PrinceOfApathy
Banned
Honestly the game doesn't have to be Prey 2. Could the developers somehow "lose" the code and development sheets they were working on to another studio; so that they could continue the project just under a different name?
Quicksilver4648
Member
Why would this get canceled? It actually looked promising.
Not really, aside from the cyberpunk setting. The color scheme, gameplay, character design were all much different.
Development hell?
Damn I really looked forward to this game and the twitter comment really saids it all.
No comment on a rumor like this pretty much saids it all.
https://twitter.com/#!/jimreilly/status/183303526997426180
No comment on a rumor like this pretty much saids it all.
https://twitter.com/#!/jimreilly/status/183303526997426180
That happens more often than you think. Take Nintendo as an example. They fully translated the DS game ASH with all voices and so on, but never released it. Various N64 were also finished, but Nintendo did not release them. Marketing and distribution costs should not be underestimated! And who knows how far Prey 2 was along.
I imagine Obsidian will still be able to find work specifically due to the bolded. Sega came to them because they wanted an RPG to fill out their portfolio. Likewise, Parker and Stone because they wanted Obsidian to be the one to create an RPG version of their South Park IP. Though given the problems THQ is having, and the recent layoffs to some in the SP team, it remains to be seen what happens with that one.
It's unusual enough for a quality RPG developer to take contracts that it should allow them some room to breathe. It just may mean that Obsidian will have to take work they may have otherwise turned down in the past for whatever reasons, though as an independent developer there probably aren't many examples of those. They generally have to take what they can get, and all the hassle that comes with it.
Right, I agree with your assessment that this strategy was a very risky one, and so far it hasn't gone very well for them.
Following up on the Dishonored video though:
The Good:
-207,635 views on YouTube, mostly likes, so at least the pitch they make while talking is having a good effect so far.
-The game does sound fairly unique in today's industry.
-There are similar games that have performed well.
The Bad:
-They're still talking about the game instead of showing the game. How the game looks when actually played will be a big factor in how marketable it can be.
-The character art style is fairly risky.
-The game seems to be headed for Fall along with two other assassination games (Assassin's Creed 3, Hitman: Absolution) and another period piece (BioShock: Infinite). That's a lot of competition for the same potential audience at the same time, with at least two of those being surefire sellers.
-Following up your earlier sales prediction, ZeniMax's goal is to sell a very large amount with each release:
As such, 1-2 million units would likely be disappointing, especially given that this game has been in development for a long time.GameSpot said:
I remain pessimistic that Dishonored will live up to their expectations, especially when Brink didn't with its opening NPD of 401K sans PC and Rage didn't (to the point id had layoffs) with an opening NPD of 550K units.
Were this 2009 or 2010, or even in a less competitive time of the year, I would be much more optimistic.
Blue Ninja
Member
That would explain why my game store texted me yesterday that they wouldn't be able to deliver the game. Aww.
I feel since ZeniMax owns the studio, it is almost guaranteed to come out.
Dishonored 2 is a much more up in the air concept in my mind, especially since that one will have to be on next-gen platforms instead of a quick iteration sequel on existing platforms.
Commanche Raisin Toast
Member
cool, now randy pitchford can scoop up the title and help them finish it up.
you guys like him, right?
you guys like him, right?
Gordon0Freeman
Member
Really sad day if true. Was my 3rd most anticipated game this year behind Halo 4 and Infinite....
Borderlands 2 is Steamworks isn't it? We love him!
But these games were shit/mediocre. The reality is that well-marketed or bland-looking shit tanks fast even if initial sales were high. If Bethesda does reviews right and it hits above 90s at MC it will do rather well. Also it will do well in Europe and on PC if they don't fuck up the port.
I do agree about competiton though. Hitman and Bioshock are in the same niche.
Duke Nukem Forever mostly had Gearbox's stamp on it as opposed to Gearbox's developers.
Triptych Games was one of the leading forces behind actually finishing the project.
The only risk for market competition is Bioshock due to the setting and certain gameplay concepts. It's far different from something like AC3 or Hitman.
Read this interview:
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/08/22/dishonored-interview/
Dishonored would have had a tougher time going up against something like DX:HR.
if there is a chance of True Crime/Sleeping Dogs situation again,I think Rockstar/2K will love to get a game like this (they also published the first),and I think it's easy to cut the connections to Prey IP since -iirc- it's not that related to the first one.
I just hope the cancellation don't kill the studio before another publisher pick it up.
I just hope the cancellation don't kill the studio before another publisher pick it up.
There really aren't that many games that hit that though.
I do agree that Europe is a healthier market for the game, but I feel there's also the question of expectations here.
How much do you think they want the game to sell? It's been in development since around 2009, and Arkane isn't a hole in the wall studio size wise.
I agree the game is quite different, but I think that consumer perspective is also important here when you want a bigger hit.
Like, on paper it's an assassination game, and if that's the first thing you tell people in a 30 second TV commercial, they won't necessarily assume it's very different from other choices.
This is a hard one from a messaging perspective.
There's also just the limited money and time factor. If I'm buying BioShock and Assassin's Creed at launch, that's $120 and a lot of hours less I have to buy and play Dishonored.
If the game was out in April however, that's not an issue.
Commanche Raisin Toast
Member
sorry, it was an extremely timid troll of me, because i was 3 posts down from a mod post and don't want to get banned.
but in all seriousness i WAS NOT looking forward to this game, but it's still sad that it is probably canned. hopefully someone else will step forward to help get it done but i have no idea how far along it is.
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I wonder what the chances are of a Summer release instead?
Definitely remains to be seen how they market it, but I don't think it will live and die based on television marketing. That will have impact, no doubt, but these days it's easier to get a game's name out there than relying so heavily on marketing in the form of television ads.
Titles like these can do fairly well by generating positive word-of-mouth. The game could end up commercially unsuccessful, of course, but I think if it's a good game and reviews well, people will largely go for it. It's more rare these days that a good game just falls under-the-radar due to the spread of information. Now whether it hits whatever mark Zenimax wants it to hit is another matter.
Oh there's no issue with your post.
A lot of people do think Gearbox made the game!
I think that would be a good idea, but there is the double edged sword of games usually selling less then.
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Also, on the note of Arkane Studios, their website has a big hiring sign: http://www.arkane-studios.com/uk/index.php
However, ZeniMax's job site has zero postings for them: http://jobs.zenimax.com/
That may not mean too much, but it is a sign that they were growing, yet have now completely stopped for some reason.
rollingstart
Banned
what if this is like when the Green Ranger died but Tommy returned as the White Ranger. Like the name is changed to something stupid like Preydator or Sid Meier's Alien Bounty Hunter. Re-announcement trailer has some skrillex in there.
Right, if their goal was really only 1-2 million with a ~$30 average selling point, I wouldn't be very worried.
However, ZeniMax runs fairly big expectations as a publisher. Hopefully they've become more realistic, but then again, games do cost a lot, and this one has been going on for a while.
Were they not dumping/cancelling projects/doing layoffs, I would just assume they'd take the loss on the game, write it off as franchise establishment, and start work on the sequel for next gen hoping for more profitability.
It's just that they actually seem concerned now, which makes me more concerned.
TheExplodingHead
Banned
This will blow hard if true, one of the games I was really looking forward to.
Angry Fork
Member
This game looked fucking awesome I was anticipating it.
What the hell man. Did they need the money to fund a shitty middle east FPS?
What the hell man. Did they need the money to fund a shitty middle east FPS?
StalkerUKCG
Banned
bengraven
Member
I could actually see them try and do this.
Also, where's your avatar from? That art is great.
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