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Take-Two: "Strategy games are just not contemporary."

N

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
Take-Two's 2K label president Christoph Hartmann has explained the why X-COM is no longer a strategy game, stating that strategy games simply aren't contemporary any more.

MCVUK said:
BRINGING BACK XCOM

Last year 2K announced cult turn-based strategy series Xcom was to return – but this time as a first-person shooter. Fans recoiled at the apparent bastardisation of their beloved series, but Hartmann says there’s good reason for the change of direction.

He explains: “The ‘90s generation of gamers all love Xcom and we own the IP, so we thought OK, what do we do with it? Every studio we had wanted to do it and each one had its own spin on it. But the problem was that turn-based strategy games were no longer the hottest thing on planet Earth. But this is not just a commercial thing – strategy games are just not contemporary.

“I use the example of music artists. Look at someone old school like Ray Charles, if he would make music today it would still be Ray Charles but he would probably do it more in the style of Kanye West. Bringing Ray Charles back is all fine and good, but it just needs to move on, although the core essence will still be the same.

“That’s what we are trying to do. To renew Xcom but in line with what this generation of gamers want. The team behind it is asking themselves every day: ‘Is it true to the values of the franchise?’ It’s not a case of cashing in on the name. We just need to renew it because times are changing.”
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In other news, he also explained why BioShock 2 failed to meet Take-Two's sales expectations.

MCVUK said:
WHY BIOSHOCK 2 UNDERPERFORMED

Next year’s BioShock: Infinite is one of 2K’s most anticipated video games. However, 2010’s BioShock 2 failed to do the numbers the label was expecting.

Hartmann explains why: “It was the publishing window. It was the spring of death. We shipped two weeks after Mass Effect 2. Every two weeks there was a major release so you had two weeks to sell. And if you look at the statistics of all of those titles, sales fell off a cliff for all of them after two weeks.

“The window was really bad and it was a tough one. We were all shooting for autumn and all of us missed. So I think it was the window more than anything else because the critical ratings were good.”
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Source: http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/interview-christophhartmann-2kgames/082216

It must have been pretty embarrassing to sell less than an archaic strategy game like StarCraft 2, but thankfully it wasn't their fault.
 
Fuck you, again.

Wait, wait...

Look at someone old school like Ray Charles, if he would make music today it would still be Ray Charles but he would probably do it more in the style of Kanye West. Bringing Ray Charles back is all fine and good, but it just needs to move on, although the core essence will still be the same.
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W-T-F
 
I'm shaking my head so hard I think I might have an aneurysm.

Also
KuGsj.gif
@ blaming Bioshock 2's failure on the release date.
 
Wowee, I was pretty offended by the basic message this guy was trying to get across (not contemporary? What?) but the Ray Charles/Kanye West analogy? Really now...not really feeling any love for Take-Two these days.
 
That's a strange choice of words, they could have just said not popular.
A year before SF4 came out I would have said fighting game such are not contemporary.
 
Nirolak said:
It must feel pretty awkward to work at Firaxis and have this guy your publishing boss.
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Stern looks the next time he walks into the office.
 
BobTheFork said:
That's a strange choice of words, they could have just said not popular.
A year before SF4 came out I would have said fighting game such are not contemporary.
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I think his view would be that Street Fighter 4 should have been a God of War like action game instead.
 
kinoki said:
Stern looks the next time he walks into the office.
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Well, when the X-COM reboot rumors first appeared in 2007-2008, it was rumored that Firaxis was also making an actual X-COM sequel.

It was rumored they canceled it later though when Firaxis had a round of layoffs.
 
I do not like his approach and I also feel that there is a self fulfilling prophecy going on here. While true, strategy games are less popular than they used to be but there are less attempts to bring great strategy games too. Anyway, some IPs can be made a more enticing product if they become strategy games. I can see the industry getting more shooters than strategy games out, but neglecting the strategy genre completely is not to their benefit. It is myopic to not see the opportunity with profit of a strategy game, just because shooters sell more.
 
Nirolak said:
It must feel pretty awkward to work at Firaxis and have this guy as your publishing boss.
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They're already working on a cover system to Civilization VI. And cinematic action set pieces are a sure thing.
 
I'm going to have to disagree here. There is room for all genres. Adjust your budget and projected sales accordingly.
 
Momo said:
I'm going to have to disagree here. There is room for all genres. Adjust your budget and projected sales accordingly.
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You know that bit in Black Ops where you're in a plane above some troops, and you're commanding them to hide in a house and engage enemies. Yeh, that's all you're getting.

*Goes back to playing Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines*
 
daviyoung said:
Or, in other words. Shooters sell more.
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Nailed it. Makes me sad that the focus of the gaming industry has narrowed.
 
And watch them make up some weak excuse as to why the game did not sell as much as expected.

Change enough of the mechanics around of a franchise and people won't bother with it. I suppose it's too hard to heed that basic warning when you're spending money on focus groups telling you "first person shooters are the seller of this decade!"
 
I get the feeling that the big videogames corporations, in this generation, only seem to care about the money, and are incapable of throwing a bone to their customers. C'mon, guys, business doesn't run solely on money...
 
Holy shit, the strategy game garbage and lame Bioshock 2 spin is about what I would expect from such a person, but bagging on Ray Charles?! REALLY, man? Kanye West?! REALLY, man?! Buckle up, you have a world of shit coming your way today and you deserve it! >;P

Can't tell if I'm smh or having a seizure
 
I'm trying hard to believe that these are real quotes in a generation where a RTS and a 2d platformer have been two of the hottest games around. The Kanye/Ray analogy? I think even Kanye would shake his head at that.

And didn't Bioshock 2 ship over 2 million copies? What the hell?

Edit: a quick search indicates it shipped over 3 million, but fell short of that in sell-through. TT originally projected 5 million in sales.
 
He is correct from a business standpoint but from a fan standpoint, he is talking out of his ass. Who is to say X-Com will work as an FPS either? If it bombs, will they head the other direction again?

Ray Charles is still classic music that seems timeless but its not going to sell the number like Kanye would. I would love a remake of the old X-Com game in HD for DD but Take-Two are thinking about big numbers and hope a new FPS focused X-Com game sells well.
 
echoshifting said:
Holy shit, the strategy game garbage and lame Bioshock 2 spin is about what I would expect from such a person, but bagging on Ray Charles?! REALLY, man? Kanye West?! Buckle up, you have a world of shit coming your way today and you deserve it! >;P
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There are obviously no people that would buy a modern Ray Charles, just as there are no people who would buy a modern X-COM!
 
Raide said:
He is correct from a business standpoint but from a fan standpoint, he is talking out of his ass. Who is to say X-Com will work as an FPS either? If it bombs, will they head the other direction again?

Ray Charles is still classic music that seems timeless but its not going to sell the number like Kanye would. I would love a remake of the old X-Com game in HD for DD but Take-Two are thinking about big numbers and hope a new FPS focused X-Com game sells well.
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Is he? StarCraft 2 has sold (as in actually sold, not shipped) 4.5 million copies worldwide as of February: http://files.shareholder.com/downlo...9bb3-ae5ddf1b86b8/ATVI C4Q10 slides FINAL.pdf

This is more than almost every single game the 2K label has ever released.
 
Gravijah said:
There are obviously no people that would buy a modern Ray Charles, just as there are no people who would buy a modern X-COM!
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I need to keep a distance from sharp objects for a spell...do not want so hard

I can't even...I'm just...I need a gif. I know there's a gaf gif for this.

Salazar said:
And tuck in your shirt.

http://i.imgur.com/BgKJy.jpg[IMG][/QUOTE]

Slob! [spoiler]<---hypocrite[/spoiler]
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The lies these guys tell themselves... The reason why BioShock 2 "underperformed" (had no idea it did) was that it was a sequel to a game that didn't need a sequel. Especially not a sequel that didn't improve anything.
 
Raide said:
He is correct from a business standpoint but from a fan standpoint, he is talking out of his ass. Who is to say X-Com will work as an FPS either? If it bombs, will they head the other direction again?

Ray Charles is still classic music that seems timeless but its not going to sell the number like Kanye would. I would love a remake of the old X-Com game in HD for DD but Take-Two are thinking about big numbers and hope a new FPS focused X-Com game sells well.
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It's going to bomb terribly. The people who care about the IP want a strategy game, the people who like FPS generally don't buy such quirky looking ones en masse. Maybe 1 million shipped if they're lucky, no multiplayer community after a month.
 
Nirolak said:
StarCraft 2 has sold (as in actually sold, not shipped) 4.5 million copies worldwide as of February: http://files.shareholder.com/downlo...9bb3-ae5ddf1b86b8/ATVI C4Q10 slides FINAL.pdf

This is more than almost every single game the 2K label has ever released.
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This is Blizzard we are talking about. Starcraft has a massive following, so SC2 was bound to sell huge. X-Com just does not have that kind of fanbase to work on. Most people have no idea what X-Com is, so Take-Two is banking on firing out an FPS to grab people attention. Amidst all the other shooters, it will fail.


Sho_Nuff82 said:
It's going to bomb terribly. The people who care about the IP want a strategy game, the people who like FPS generally don't buy such quirky looking ones en masse. Maybe 1 million shipped if they're lucky, no multiplayer community after a month.
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Sounds about right. Really a shame to see games appear and then the online is dead within a month or two but thats what developers get if they produce sub-par games.
 
Acosta said:
Fuck you, again.

Wait, wait...


W-T-F
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Between this and, "Within America at that time you have a blossoming of the minorities and repressed parts of society coming out and having their voices heard, and some of the characters in your base are voices of those factions," this game has brought out the best in bosses of big-budget video games.

And Ray Charles was part of that blossoming of the minorities! It's an airtight case!
 
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