Support NeoGAF

[OnionPowder]

Why would they have the project greenlit and spend such a period in development only to do that?

Internal strategies change. They may not be interested in putting anymore money into it that they could spend on games that could potentially bring in more revenue.

 

[dragonelite]

"creative clashes" =/= impossible milestones (game had already been delayed by a year...)

And no, we don't know exactly what happened with Phantom Dust so no "exact same thing" nonsense.

And don't act like MS is some terrible beast. Moon Studios and StudioMDHR have been vocal about how MS has been good to them. Are they perfect? Hell no. There are two sides to every argument. Let's wait and hear the details first

Meet your deadlines and you're the managers best friend don't meet your targets and the manager will be less friendly and will try to micromanage everything. And it will become the managers fault the project fails. Its the same dam thing in Enterprise software development.

 

[3rdamention]

I wonder what they would get exposed for? Game wasn't progressing the way they wanted. Its MS money to spend or not. I guess that's "scummy". Looks like a business decision they made with their money.

Have you read the article about what happened with Phantom Dust on Kotaku?


MS got exposed there from all angles in the production of that particular game. This may be different, but it could also be similar....The Phantom Dust situation was indeed scummy.

 

[OrbitalBeard]

During gamescom this year they showed Scalebound in private showings.

They showed off something called "Dragon Link", something that they, as far as I know, haven't shown to the public ever and now possibly never will. Up until that point they only showed fairly basic combat that looked great but more in the vein of Dragon's Dogma and less like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta. That's why many people used to Kamiya's games were pretty disappointed. And then they showed Dragon Link. It's a button you hold and then the camera switched into First Person Mode...and you controlled the dragon. So then you controlled the Dragon from Drew's perspective, which still looks HUGE because the camera doesn't zoom out but goes into first person and you fight against another huge Monster. And then they started comboing. They fluidly switched from Drew to the Dragon to Drew by holding or not holding the Dragon Link button.

Think the weapon system of DmC but instead of holding a button to switch to a certain weapon you hold a button to switch to a fucking dragon. So these two characters juggled that huge monkey enemy into the air with all the usual attacks and combos you know from Platinum Games only it was A HUGE GODDAMN DRAGON DOING THE COMBOS. There was a combo counter and a rating and everything. It was their direct answer to the "Where is the Platinum action?" question.

It looked fucking great and as far as I'm aware they have never released that footage, just as they never showed the HUGE array of customising options and RPG features.

I'm so mad about this cancellation. Goddamnit.

WHY MICROSOFT WHY

 

[badcrumble]

I mean to be fair canceling games that you've put a shitload of promotion into isn't a thing that's normal, at least in the major publisher space. There's not really a standard playbook here.

The closest parallel I can think of is Konami yanking the P.T. Demo and videos of it, I guess.

 

[Parakeetman]

Not the first time this has happened to a Japanese exclusive on xbox.

remember

And this is what literally caused Xbox users in Japan to hate MS for a pretty long time. Also the rift with MS and L5. You should have seen how many Xboxes showed up in used stores after the announcement. Was so bad that places were putting signs out that they were not buying any more Xboxes... I still remember that pretty clearly.

 

[StoveOven]

I'm partial to Halo of Forzwars. Rolls right off the tongue.

I've covered Forzawars, you know

 

[robotrock]

Backing the bus?!

He told it like it was. You'd rather some PR rubbish?

I think he probably should have taken more accountability than he actually did, with how Sony was showing off that game on their shows

 

[Purest 78]

Not long until Crackdown bites the dust I reckon. Announced years ago, barely been shown. I wonder what happened with it? Did the whole "cloud physics" thing get thrown under the bus?

I predict Crackdown will be online only, considering we haven't seen any single player content.

 

[HotHamBoy]

lmao, how does this even make sense? If its on xbox 1 scorpio its on xb1 OG.

Some people seem to think Scorpio is a whole new system, or that it will at least have exclusives.

I don't know why, maybe shitty messaging from MS again.

 

[Shengar]

i dont get this "ms fucked pg" over narrative

why would they cancel a good game ? if it looks like a duck,walks like a duck, quacks like a duck....

What's your definition of a good game?
See, this is the problem. What Kamiya perceived as a good game doesn't necessarily aligned with MS's definition.

 

[farisr]

lmao, how does this even make sense? If its on xbox 1 scorpio its on xb1 OG.

There are people that think the Scorpio will be a big enough jump to start a brand new generation and have exclusive (normal, non-VR) games not on XB1.

 

[Relaxed Muscle]

During gamescom 2016 year they showed Scalebound in private showings.

They showed off something called "Dragon Link", something that they, as far as I know, haven't shown to the public ever and now possibly never will. Up until that point they only showed fairly basic combat that looked great but more in the vein of Dragon's Dogma and less like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta. That's why many people used to Kamiya's games were pretty disappointed. And then they showed Dragon Link. It's a button you hold and then the camera switched into First Person Mode...and you controlled the dragon. So then you controlled the Dragon from Drew's perspective, which still looks HUGE because the camera doesn't zoom out but goes into first person and you fight against another huge Monster. And then they started comboing. They fluidly switched from Drew to the Dragon to Drew by holding or not holding the Dragon Link button.

Think the weapon system of DmC but instead of holding a button to switch to a certain weapon you hold a button to switch to a fucking dragon. So these two characters juggled that huge monkey enemy into the air with all the usual attacks and combos you know from Platinum Games only it was A HUGE GODDAMN DRAGON DOING THE COMBOS. There was a combo counter and a rating and everything. It was their direct answer to the "Where is the Platinum action?" question.

It looked fucking great and as far as I'm aware they have never released that footage, just as they never showed the HUGE array of customising options and RPG features.

I'm so mad about this cancellation. Goddamnit.

Legit sad.

And mad.

But sad.

Also mad.

 

[Zee-Row]

Not the first time this has happened to a Japanese exclusive on xbox.

remember

I bought an original Xbox for this game and was so burned when it got cancelled.

 

[HStallion]

The closest parallel I can think of is Konami yanking the P.T. Demo and videos of it, I guess.

Don't worry we'll see it again once Konami announces Pachinko.T.

 

[HotHamBoy]

What's your definition of a good game?
See, this is the problem. What Kamiya perceived as a good game doesn't necessarily aligned with MS's definition.

That's where the contract thing comes into play. Maybe MS didn't like it for subjective reasons rather than technical ones, so they had to create a situation where they could cancel it without breaking their contract.

 

[Ganondorfo]

Kamiya should have known that he never should have made a game for a system most xbox one exclusive gamers dont care for. His games are most catered to the PS4 and Switch gamers. Devil May Cry, Okami, Wonderful 101, Resident Evil 2. These games dont sound interesting to Xbox one exclusive owners.

He should have made that game multi, like the developers are doing with Ni Oh. Maybe if MS never funded that game he could have had support from Sony.

 

[Joqu]

During gamescom 2016 year they showed Scalebound in private showings.

They showed off something called "Dragon Link", something that they, as far as I know, haven't shown to the public ever and now possibly never will. Up until that point they only showed fairly basic combat that looked great but more in the vein of Dragon's Dogma and less like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta. That's why many people used to Kamiya's games were pretty disappointed. And then they showed Dragon Link. It's a button you hold and then the camera switched into First Person Mode...and you controlled the dragon. So then you controlled the Dragon from Drew's perspective, which still looks HUGE because the camera doesn't zoom out but goes into first person and you fight against another huge Monster. And then they started comboing. They fluidly switched from Drew to the Dragon to Drew by holding or not holding the Dragon Link button.

Think the weapon system of DmC but instead of holding a button to switch to a certain weapon you hold a button to switch to a fucking dragon. So these two characters juggled that huge monkey enemy into the air with all the usual attacks and combos you know from Platinum Games only it was A HUGE GODDAMN DRAGON DOING THE COMBOS. There was a combo counter and a rating and everything. It was their direct answer to the "Where is the Platinum action?" question.

It looked fucking great and as far as I'm aware they have never released that footage, just as they never showed the HUGE array of customising options and RPG features.

I'm so mad about this cancellation. Goddamnit.

Oh... I'm not sure if I wanted to hear all this, it just hurts now. But thanks for sharing this info.

 

[chadskin]

Legit sad.

And mad.

But sad.

Also mad.

 

[MatrixMan.EXE]

On Metacritic:

91	Bayonetta 2
90	Bayonetta
84	Vanquish
83	Metal Gear Rising
81	MadWorld
78	The Wonderful 101
77	Transformers: Devastation
75	Infinite Space
74	Star Fox Guard
73	Anarchy Reigns
69	Star Fox Zero
64	The Legend of Korra
55	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhatthan

You'll also find that most of the low rated ones were smaller games made on a tight budget...

The Wonderful 101 metacritic isn't even reflective of the game's quality either imo. As far as I'm concerned it's 9/10 game and one of the my all-time favourites.

 

[SilentRob]

Just so you guys know I'm not making this shit up (and I would not blame you because, again, THEY NEVER FUCKING SHOWED IT) this is Vice talking about Dragon Link:

I'm shown a situation where Drew and Thuban, just the two of them, come up against an ape-like beast. What follows is pure Platinum action, mercifully dubstep-free, with cross-species combos launching the furry foe into the air for an above-ground pounding. It's lightning quick, almost like a different game entirely to the slower battle showcased just two months ago.

Seeing Drew and Thuban join forces in taking down a towering enemy – with all the fluidity and pizazz of Platinum titles past – is both a blood pumping and reassuring sight. This isn't all projectile fire from afar, chipping away at a brute's defences; instead, both human and dragon get stuck right into close-quarter combat, and it looks thrilling. I've not had my own hands on the game yet, so how it feels to play is still an unknown – but my attention is pleasingly piqued like it wasn't before.

 

[Chris1]

Pretty much where I'm at as well.

Zeta

 

[Raxus]

Damn at SilentRob's reaction. I am inclined to believe it too since the last E3 trailer showed the Dragons performing special moves while the MC was on the ground.

 

[FuturusX]

During gamescom 2016 year they showed Scalebound in private showings.

They showed off something called "Dragon Link", something that they, as far as I know, haven't shown to the public ever and now possibly never will. Up until that point they only showed fairly basic combat that looked great but more in the vein of Dragon's Dogma and less like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta. That's why many people used to Kamiya's games were pretty disappointed. And then they showed Dragon Link. It's a button you hold and then the camera switched into First Person Mode...and you controlled the dragon. So then you controlled the Dragon from Drew's perspective, which still looks HUGE because the camera doesn't zoom out but goes into first person and you fight against another huge Monster. And then they started comboing. They fluidly switched from Drew to the Dragon to Drew by holding or not holding the Dragon Link button.

Think the weapon system of DmC but instead of holding a button to switch to a certain weapon you hold a button to switch to a fucking dragon. So these two characters juggled that huge monkey enemy into the air with all the usual attacks and combos you know from Platinum Games only it was A HUGE GODDAMN DRAGON DOING THE COMBOS. There was a combo counter and a rating and everything. It was their direct answer to the "Where is the Platinum action?" question.

It looked fucking great and as far as I'm aware they have never released that footage, just as they never showed the HUGE array of customising options and RPG features.

I'm so mad about this cancellation. Goddamnit.

Shhh...milestones missed etc etc.

 

[Gemeanie]

2 years ago I randomly tweeted about considering an XB1 for this game and got spellchecked by Kamiya.

Time flies.

 

[flaxknuckles]

During gamescom 2016 year they showed Scalebound in private showings.

They showed off something called "Dragon Link", something that they, as far as I know, haven't shown to the public ever and now possibly never will. Up until that point they only showed fairly basic combat that looked great but more in the vein of Dragon's Dogma and less like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta. That's why many people used to Kamiya's games were pretty disappointed. And then they showed Dragon Link. It's a button you hold and then the camera switched into First Person Mode...and you controlled the dragon. So then you controlled the Dragon from Drew's perspective, which still looks HUGE because the camera doesn't zoom out but goes into first person and you fight against another huge Monster. And then they started comboing. They fluidly switched from Drew to the Dragon to Drew by holding or not holding the Dragon Link button.

Think the weapon system of DmC but instead of holding a button to switch to a certain weapon you hold a button to switch to a fucking dragon. So these two characters juggled that huge monkey enemy into the air with all the usual attacks and combos you know from Platinum Games only it was A HUGE GODDAMN DRAGON DOING THE COMBOS. There was a combo counter and a rating and everything. It was their direct answer to the "Where is the Platinum action?" question.

It looked fucking great and as far as I'm aware they have never released that footage, just as they never showed the HUGE array of customising options and RPG features.

I'm so mad about this cancellation. Goddamnit.

I heard about about that stuff and that's what put it on the map for me when the showings at e3 and gamescom left me cold. I don't understand why this footage wasn't shown, it probably would have gotten a great amount of hype.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

Does anyone else kind of feel like we might see a Sony-P* collaboration in the near future? If the cancellation of Scalebound does leave them in the lurch then even a small game with Sony might be beneficial to them, and the goodwill for Sony would be through the roof.

I mean, it's possible but who knows. The character action genre isn't really a big deal any more so who knows what Sony would want out of them.

 

[Iksenpets]

Backing the bus?!

He told it like it was. You'd rather some PR rubbish?

Sony chose to elevate a small indie dev into that position and the leave them to fend for themselves for handling their PR. If Hello was screwing things up so badly, Sony should have put them on a shorter leash. Going out there and saying "yeah, they really fucked up!" when you were effectively their patron is dodging a lot of blame that should be on you.

 

[Blackleg-sanji1]

Just so you guys know I'm not making this shit up (and I would not blame you because, again, THEY NEVER GODDAMNIT SHOWED IT) this is Vice talking about Dragon Link:

You killing me man

 

[PunishedReaver]

Not the first time this has happened to a Japanese exclusive on xbox.

remember

Ugh... I remember when my bro and I were so excited for this game to come out and reading all about it in magazines. Man, we got so mad when it got canned. Sucks to everyone that were looking forward to Scalebound. Looked pretty cool too.

 

[massoluk]

Odds on the game becoming limited release Switch exclusive?

 

[robotrock]

Does anyone else kind of feel like we might see a Sony-P* collaboration in the near future? If the cancellation of Scalebound does leave them in the lurch then even a small game with Sony might be beneficial to them, and the goodwill for Sony would be through the roof.

Sony loves doing shit like this. Hope someone supports the Scalebound team with a new project ASAP.

Odds on the game becoming limited release Switch exclusive?

0%. Microsoft is probably not going to give the name + all of the assets developed back to Platinum, or to Nintendo.

 

[Trago]

During gamescom 2016 year they showed Scalebound in private showings.

They showed off something called "Dragon Link", something that they, as far as I know, haven't shown to the public ever and now possibly never will. Up until that point they only showed fairly basic combat that looked great but more in the vein of Dragon's Dogma and less like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta. That's why many people used to Kamiya's games were pretty disappointed. And then they showed Dragon Link. It's a button you hold and then the camera switched into First Person Mode...and you controlled the dragon. So then you controlled the Dragon from Drew's perspective, which still looks HUGE because the camera doesn't zoom out but goes into first person and you fight against another huge Monster. And then they started comboing. They fluidly switched from Drew to the Dragon to Drew by holding or not holding the Dragon Link button.

Think the weapon system of DmC but instead of holding a button to switch to a certain weapon you hold a button to switch to a fucking dragon. So these two characters juggled that huge monkey enemy into the air with all the usual attacks and combos you know from Platinum Games only it was A HUGE GODDAMN DRAGON DOING THE COMBOS. There was a combo counter and a rating and everything. It was their direct answer to the "Where is the Platinum action?" question.

It looked fucking great and as far as I'm aware they have never released that footage, just as they never showed the HUGE array of customising options and RPG features.

I'm so mad about this cancellation. Goddamnit.

God dammit....

 

[Joqu]

Just so you guys know I'm not making this shit up (and I would not blame you because, again, THEY NEVER GODDAMNIT SHOWED IT) this is Vice talking about Dragon Link:

 

[Glass Rebel]

Just so you guys know I'm not making this shit up (and I would not blame you because, again, THEY NEVER GODDAMNIT SHOWED IT) this is Vice talking about Dragon Link:

In other words, fuck Microsoft for real.

 

[CCIE]

I have a feeling the lines have been drawn in the sand with the Japanese and MS - it will be awhile before you see another Japanese company work with MS. Level-5, Platinum, etc... these are highly-respected companies in Japan. It's a different culture.

BTW, Nier and Grandblue Fantasy look amazing for the PS4... Like I said before, the lone holdout at this time is Square, and I personally think they've had enough as well (That is completely my opinion). Their games have sold like complete crap on the XB1, and most of them aren't even going to see the platform to tank. PS4 and Switch will get everything Square going forward...


Like I said before, I expect most Japanese companies to take their current XB1 projects (those that actually exist) to Sony or Nintendo.



BTW, Platinum will simply move a lot of their people over to Granblue, which has a following as an established franchise already in Japan.

 

[HotHamBoy]

Odds on the game becoming limited release Switch exclusive?

Once again, zero. IP/assets owned by MS.

This question is gonna come up often, isn't it? Should be in the OP, ha.

 

[Zackat]

During gamescom 2016 year they showed Scalebound in private showings.

They showed off something called "Dragon Link", something that they, as far as I know, haven't shown to the public ever and now possibly never will. Up until that point they only showed fairly basic combat that looked great but more in the vein of Dragon's Dogma and less like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta. That's why many people used to Kamiya's games were pretty disappointed. And then they showed Dragon Link. It's a button you hold and then the camera switched into First Person Mode...and you controlled the dragon. So then you controlled the Dragon from Drew's perspective, which still looks HUGE because the camera doesn't zoom out but goes into first person and you fight against another huge Monster. And then they started comboing. They fluidly switched from Drew to the Dragon to Drew by holding or not holding the Dragon Link button.

Think the weapon system of DmC but instead of holding a button to switch to a certain weapon you hold a button to switch to a fucking dragon. So these two characters juggled that huge monkey enemy into the air with all the usual attacks and combos you know from Platinum Games only it was A HUGE GODDAMN DRAGON DOING THE COMBOS. There was a combo counter and a rating and everything. It was their direct answer to the "Where is the Platinum action?" question.

It looked fucking great and as far as I'm aware they have never released that footage, just as they never showed the HUGE array of customising options and RPG features.

I'm so mad about this cancellation. Goddamnit.

 

[VpomRurd]

Weve been through this. This article only proves my point again that the Xbox360 had 20 million more consoles sold than xbox one when 3 came out.

While not about GoW, Halo 3 sold roughly 4 mil first week, with around 15-20 mil consoles sold. Halo 5 sold 1.5 mil (ish) first week with around the same number of consoles sold.

Numbers are deliberately vague but fact of the matter is Halo 3 and Halo 5 had very similar launch bases in terms of units in homes but Halo 3 sold vastly more.

 

[Relaxed Muscle]

What's your definition of a good game?
See, this is the problem. What Kamiya perceived as a good game doesn't necessarily aligned with MS's definition.

Did MS wanted a good game, or a game they thought it would sell more? Or maybe they wanted a game that would fit on their new software portfolio of games as services.

 

[icespide]

for the love of god people Microsoft owns the IP. Stop suggesting Nintendo to swoop in and save it

 

[exmachina64]

During gamescom 2016 year they showed Scalebound in private showings.

They showed off something called "Dragon Link", something that they, as far as I know, haven't shown to the public ever and now possibly never will. Up until that point they only showed fairly basic combat that looked great but more in the vein of Dragon's Dogma and less like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta. That's why many people used to Kamiya's games were pretty disappointed. And then they showed Dragon Link. It's a button you hold and then the camera switched into First Person Mode...and you controlled the dragon. So then you controlled the Dragon from Drew's perspective, which still looks HUGE because the camera doesn't zoom out but goes into first person and you fight against another huge Monster. And then they started comboing. They fluidly switched from Drew to the Dragon to Drew by holding or not holding the Dragon Link button.

Think the weapon system of DmC but instead of holding a button to switch to a certain weapon you hold a button to switch to a fucking dragon. So these two characters juggled that huge monkey enemy into the air with all the usual attacks and combos you know from Platinum Games only it was A HUGE GODDAMN DRAGON DOING THE COMBOS. There was a combo counter and a rating and everything. It was their direct answer to the "Where is the Platinum action?" question.

It looked fucking great and as far as I'm aware they have never released that footage, just as they never showed the HUGE array of customising options and RPG features.

I'm so mad about this cancellation. Goddamnit.

 

[Roboculus]

Just so you guys know I'm not making this shit up (and I would not blame you because, again, THEY NEVER GODDAMNIT SHOWED IT) this is Vice talking about Dragon Link:

Damn it's a bummer this got cancelled.

I can only hope that some form of this idea lives on in another game.

 

[wenis]

What's your definition of a good game?
See, this is the problem. What Kamiya perceived as a good game doesn't necessarily aligned with MS's definition.

The definition should be whatever the risk assessment and consultation company and Microsoft labeled the game as being. Chances are this whole situation is a culmination of a lot of things and not just one thing. Could be contracts, could be timelines not being kept to and it could be that seeing the game through development with full marketing and post launch oversight was much more of a risk and detrimental to microsofts bottom line than they were comfortable risking. It was probably vastly cheaper to cut it off at the legs now and write it off as a loss they could recoup from than to put out a stinker of a game with no chance of recouping anything near development costs let alone any post production expenses.

Game industry is wicked.

Games die everyday B.

 

[MaceTheDon]

Too bad, would've liked to have seen how a western focused MH type game could've been like.

 

[kiuo]

Liam Robertson talks Scalebound's cancellation, and factors that may have caused the cancellation.

https://youtu.be/W3q85SF8sj0

What the heck? Scalebound's protagonist was suppose to be a girl before Microsoft made Platinum change her to an ugly hipster whiteboy? Damn never knew that

 

[robotrock]

for the love of god people Microsoft owns the IP. Stop suggesting Nintendo to swoop in and save it

Has Microsoft ever sold one of their IPs off? Probably not right?

Sure would be a nice goodwill move if they gave it all back to Platinum.

 

[RiccochetJ]

Platinum pay their employees from the money Microsoft put in. How is that low risk?

Funded development tends to have a lower risk because it's not your money. I'd have to look to find them, but I definitely know there's some articles or podcasts where a studio owner/head peels back the curtain enough to explain why sometimes they take these kinds of contracted jobs to keep the lights on while they try and get their own internal IP off the ground.

There is the nasty case of Alien: Colonial Marines where GearBox was accused of funneling money paid to them by Sega for that game and was instead diverted to Borderlands 2.

 

[Oersted]

Odds on the game becoming limited release Switch exclusive?

Limited release?

 

[Gbraga]

During gamescom 2016 year they showed Scalebound in private showings.

They showed off something called "Dragon Link", something that they, as far as I know, haven't shown to the public ever and now possibly never will. Up until that point they only showed fairly basic combat that looked great but more in the vein of Dragon's Dogma and less like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta. That's why many people used to Kamiya's games were pretty disappointed. And then they showed Dragon Link. It's a button you hold and then the camera switched into First Person Mode...and you controlled the dragon. So then you controlled the Dragon from Drew's perspective, which still looks HUGE because the camera doesn't zoom out but goes into first person and you fight against another huge Monster. And then they started comboing. They fluidly switched from Drew to the Dragon to Drew by holding or not holding the Dragon Link button.

Think the weapon system of DmC but instead of holding a button to switch to a certain weapon you hold a button to switch to a fucking dragon. So these two characters juggled that huge monkey enemy into the air with all the usual attacks and combos you know from Platinum Games only it was A HUGE GODDAMN DRAGON DOING THE COMBOS. There was a combo counter and a rating and everything. It was their direct answer to the "Where is the Platinum action?" question.

It looked fucking great and as far as I'm aware they have never released that footage, just as they never showed the HUGE array of customising options and RPG features.

I'm so mad about this cancellation. Goddamnit.