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[megathor]

Interesting that the Crackdown developers are streaming their own game using "Cloud Power" - https://www.twitch.tv/theycamefromspace wonder if they're trying to distance themselves from this?

 

[ElNino]

Interesting that the Crackdown developers are streaming their own game using "Cloud Power" - https://www.twitch.tv/theycamefromspace wonder if they're trying to distance themselves from this?

They are a cloud based technology group are they not? I think their contributions towards Crackdown have always been specifically on cloud compute, or whatever it ends up being.

 

[Ehker]

They are a cloud based technology group are they not? I think their contributions towards Crackdown have always been specifically on cloud compute, or whatever it ends up being.

If they're not working on that part of the game anymore, maybe the delay isn't some big technical issues, but just getting the core gameplay and multiplayer modes polished.

 

[Rymuth]

44 pages for a 6 month delay 😂

FWIW, the scalebound delay was around 20 pages.

I guarantee you, next year if Rare is shuttered or Crackdown 3 is cancelled - it's going to hit 60 or 80 pages. The increase is due to more and more people realizing there is a pattern emerging.

But I guess it's easier to drive-by than look at the context.

 

[element]

They don't have great management period, and it's probably the reasons J allard and Blackley left so early.

Honestly, Allard and Blackley really didn't do that much in first party. They were focused on the hardware and getting buy-in. I'd say when Ed Fries left that is when you saw a shift in MS strategy. Seamus was important, but it wasn't just him. Kevin Bachus, Ted Hase, and Otto Berkes all had just as important of role if not more than Seamus. They then got Ed Fries involved (as they would need games) and then J Allard.
But when Ed left you had Shane Kim take over who was a finance guy and tons of games were killed. Mythica, Tork, Marvel Universe Online, True Fantasy Live Online and bunch of other games.

If they did Bioware would have exclusives with xbox still and be doing games for multiplatforms.

Bioware was never an option to buy.

They would still be in business with Ensemble studios instead of giving them the boot.

Ensemble was closed because they just costed too much to operate. They were a huge studio making a hardcore genre that never really translated well to console where MS was putting more priority.

 

[Bits N Pieces]

FWIW, the scalebound delay was around 20 pages.

I guarantee you, next year if Rare is shuttered or Crackdown 3 is cancelled - it's going to hit 60 or 80 pages. The increase is due to more and more people realizing there is a pattern emerging.

But I guess it's easier to drive-by than look at the context.

You'll be hoping the bolded happens just to deliver more of that context, eh lol.

 

[Papacheeks]

Honestly, Allard and Blackley really didn't do that much in first party. They were focused on the hardware and getting buy-in. I'd say when Ed Fries left that is when you saw a shift in MS strategy. Seamus was important, but it wasn't just him. Kevin Bachus, Ted Hase, and Otto Berkes all had just as important of role if not more than Seamus. They then got Ed Fries involved (as they would need games) and then J Allard.
But when Ed left you had Shane Kim take over who was a finance guy and tons of games were killed. Mythica, Tork, Marvel Universe Online, True Fantasy Live Online and bunch of other games.

Bioware was never an option to buy.

Ensemble was closed because they just costed too much to operate. They were a huge studio making a hardcore genre that never really translated well to console where MS was putting more priority.

Where did I say buy? You mean they couldn't have paid for Bioware to make an exclusive for them? Just like any other independent studio?

J allard was the reason xbox had a hard drive. He also is one of the reasons xbox live helped shape xbox 360's features.

On the ensemble stuff, they may have been big but they made age of empires which sold a good amount of copies back in it';s day, and halo wars on 360 was big hit. So no I don't see why it was closed or why MS couldn't have helped the studio if XBXO was being operated correctly with people who understood video game culture instead of people with a suit mentality in how to make cuts when something starts costing to much. You can restructure and or at least try to keep some of the talent internal on other projects.

MS does none of that, and to some extent with a couple of studios this gen Sony as well.

 

[Yearsoflurking]

Where did I say buy? You mean they couldn't have paid for Bioware to make an exclusive for them? Just like any other independent studio?

J allard was the reason xbox had a hard drive. He also is one of the reasons xbox live helped shape xbox 360's features.

On the ensemble stuff, they may have been big but they made age of empires which sold a good amount of copies back in it';s day, and halo wars on 360 was big hit. So no I don't see why it was closed or why MS couldn't have helped the studio if XBXO was being operated correctly with people who understood video game culture instead of people with a suit mentality in how to make cuts when something starts costing to much. You can restructure and or at least try to keep some of the talent internal on other projects.

MS does none of that, and to some extent with a couple of studios this gen Sony as well.

No bioware founders were selling the studio

 

[Black Mantis]

Where did I say buy? You mean they couldn't have paid for Bioware to make an exclusive for them? Just like any other independent studio?

J allard was the reason xbox had a hard drive. He also is one of the reasons xbox live helped shape xbox 360's features.

On the ensemble stuff, they may have been big but they made age of empires which sold a good amount of copies back in it';s day, and halo wars on 360 was big hit. So no I don't see why it was closed or why MS couldn't have helped the studio if XBXO was being operated correctly with people who understood video game culture instead of people with a suit mentality in how to make cuts when something starts costing to much. You can restructure and or at least try to keep some of the talent internal on other projects.

MS does none of that, and to some extent with a couple of studios this gen Sony as well.

Well, Ensemble seem to blame themselves and have a better understanding of the situation than you, so...

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/crunch-culture-killed-ensemble-studios

 

[ElNino]

If they're not working on that part of the game anymore, maybe the delay isn't some big technical issues, but just getting the core gameplay and multiplayer modes polished.

I have no idea the state of the game, but it's not unreasonable to assume they have more than one project on the go.

 

[element]

Where did I say buy? You mean they couldn't have paid for Bioware to make an exclusive for them? Just like any other independent studio?

Considering the Elevation Partners deal and then the purchase by EA, Bioware was not going to stay exclusive unless they were bought.

J allard was the reason xbox had a hard drive. He also is one of the reasons xbox live helped shape xbox 360's features.

I'm not diminishing J's contributions to Xbox (he is also a pretty cool and nice guy), but Xbox as a whole was lots of people.

On the ensemble stuff, they may have been big but they made age of empires which sold a good amount of copies back in it';s day, and halo wars on 360 was big hit. So no I don't see why it was closed or why MS couldn't have helped the studio if XBXO was being operated correctly with people who understood video game culture instead of people with a suit mentality in how to make cuts when something starts costing to much. You can restructure and or at least try to keep some of the talent internal on other projects.

When you have a studio with a MONTHLY burn rate around $4m to $5m who's game only sells on PC and take twice as long as their original plan, it just costs too much money. Effectively it was better to kill the studio, sign a deal with Robot Entertainment (formed by the same people) and go from there to normalize cost.
Halo Wars was a hit, but I wouldn't call it a big hit (I would consider a big hit to be 5m units or higher). But it really didn't need the entire Ensemble studio to maintain.

Making games is a business. We are in the business to make money. Hard decisions are made each and every day of game development, even with deep pockets.

 

[Papacheeks]

No bioware founders were selling the studio

Where did I say buy? I said they could kept their relationships for exclusives open.

You know most independent studios do make more than one game for different platforms right?

Well, Ensemble seem to blame themselves and have a better understanding of the situation than you, so...

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/crunch-culture-killed-ensemble-studios

Doesn't mean the talent that was there couldn't have been reined in and kept under close watch by MS while they closed the studio.

Considering the Elevation Partners deal and then the purchase by EA, Bioware was not going to stay exclusive unless they were bought.

I'm not diminishing J's contributions to Xbox (he is also a pretty cool and nice guy), but Xbox as a whole was lots of people.

But it doesn't explain them funding games exclusively like they somewhat did for the first titanfall with EA co publishing it with them, it didn't stop MS from funding Sunset from Insomniac. If EA will do a co-deal on something like titanfall, they would totally allow MS to fit the bill for a game they want developed exclusivity on their box. Especially with EA, and Bioware's history with xbox I don't see how a deal could not be met especially when looking at where Bioware became a house hold name on xbox.

 

[Asd202]

44 pages for a 6 month delay ��

This thread is not only about this games delay but also about the Xbox as a whole. This year in terms of release is absolutly terrible and most Xbox first parties project continue to be either canceled or disappointing. This delay just adds fuel to the fire and that is why this news got so much interest on this board.

 

[Nightengale]

But it doesn't explain them funding games exclusively like they somewhat did for the first titanfall with EA co publishing it with them, it didn't stop MS from funding Sunset from Insomniac. If EA will do a co-deal on something like titanfall, they would totally allow MS to fit the bill for a game they want developed exclusivity on their box. Especially with EA, and Bioware's history with xbox I don't see how a deal could not be met especially when looking at where Bioware became a house hold name on xbox.

EA owns Bioware, and by default, all the IP Bioware makes.

Titanfall is a rare deal in games business where the developer owns their IP, but it receives AAA funding from a publisher.

Very different circumstances.

With Bioware, EA has nothing to gain by letting co-funding and forfeiting any sort of IP or publishing rights ownership to MS other than being a cheapskate. Titanfall is not a property that EA has ownership rights to, so a deal could be struck there and not have major impact on franchise longevity.

Doesn't mean the talent that was there couldn't have been reined in and kept under close watch by MS while they closed the studio.

Tell me this magical HR policy and plan where a corporation manages to lay off significant amounts of talent, restructure for lower cost, but somehow manages to maintain and keep the core talent, team spirit and morale unbridled.

Snark aside, it is far far far far far far harder than what you think.

 

[Deviousx]

CD3 looked rough and unpolished. It's a good thing that it was delayed.

 

[borges]

This thread is not only about this games delay but also about the Xbox as a whole. This year in terms of release is absolutly terrible and most Xbox first parties project continue to be either canceled or disappointing. This delay just adds fuel to the fire and that is why this news got so much interest on this board.

That is the problem. A thread about subject A, should keep bounded to subject A. If not, its the mess this thread and many others has become. IE: Any Halo thread derailed by people telling how bad MCC multiplayer is. It really makes lecture of threads much less enjoyable.

 

[Vinc]

That is the problem. A thread about subject A, should keep bounded to subject A. If not, its the mess this thread and many others has become. IE: Any Halo thread derailed by people telling how bad MCC multiplayer is. It really makes lecture of threads much less enjoyable.

How is it a mess? People are having an interesting discussion about the implications of the situation.

 

[ForkNetwork]

That is the problem. A thread about subject A, should keep bounded to subject A. If not, its the mess this thread and many others has become. IE: Any Halo thread derailed by people telling how bad MCC multiplayer is. It really makes lecture of threads much less enjoyable.

Lets be honest. Xbox has been a dumpster fire this year in terms of first-party releases. Any kind of negative news involving that lineup would have a similar effect. People are pissed.

 

[borges]

How is it a mess? People are having an interesting discussion about the implications of the situation.

Yeah, no. check first page and tell me how those messages are an interesting discussion.

 

[borges]

Lets be honest. Xbox has been a dumpster fire this year in terms of first-party releases. Any kind of negative news involving that lineup would have a similar effect. People are pissed.

I think you didnt get my point. If the Xbox lineup is a shit this year, cool, lets create a thread to reflect that. Now, every single Xbox related thread being mixed with messages pointing to that makes thread less readable. I mean, I have accessed to a crackdown delay thread and theres people talking about a potential Rare's shutdown. Thats not good.

 

[Uno Venova]

That is the problem. A thread about subject A, should keep bounded to subject A. If not, its the mess this thread and many others has become. IE: Any Halo thread derailed by people telling how bad MCC multiplayer is. It really makes lecture of threads much less enjoyable.

So you think Xbox related news, unlike all other news, should be discussed in a vacuum?

 

[Skeeter49]

While this sucks that this hurt Xbox One X's launch, and the year for Microsoft in general, I think it would hurt them more if this game came out and was underwhelming.

I was underwhelmed with what they showed at E3,so hopefully this game has a better showing next time we see it.

 

[borges]

So you think Xbox related news, unlike all other news, should be discussed in a vacuum?

A thread about Crackdown delay should be about Crackdown delay, yes.
I could definitely start talking about software development delays from a theoretical point of view quoting the mythical man-month and have a good point, but IMO talking about the subject described in the title of a thread is a best approach.

 

[David___]

A thread about Crackdown delay should be about Crackdown delay, yes.
I could definitely start talking about software development delays from a theoretical point of view quoting the mythical man-month and have a good point, but IMO talking about the subject described in the title of a thread is a best approach.

I mean, talking about a Crackdown delay and talking about MS as a publisher is the same thing, cause, you know, MS is the publisher of Crackdown

 

[element]

You know most independent studios do make more than one game for different platforms right?

Actually most don't now because that would be a pretty large independent studio to handle two teams. But i have worked for many work for hire/independent developers. I have a much better concept than you do of how it works...

But it doesn't explain them funding games exclusively like they somewhat did for the first titanfall with EA co publishing it with them, it didn't stop MS from funding Sunset from Insomniac.

You are mixing two types of deals there. Titanfall was MS signing an exclusivity deal with EA, similar to Tomb Raider on Xbox One. MS didn't pay for development per say, but they did provide resources such as tech help and a marketing budget. For Titanfall, MS provided Azure servers and tech help to make it happen.
Sunset Overdrive was just a traditional publisher/developer deal. Insomniac had a game, MS thought it was a cool idea. They decided to work together.

 

[Neuromancer]

A thread about Crackdown delay should be about Crackdown delay, yes.
I could definitely start talking about software development delays from a theoretical point of view quoting the mythical man-month and have a good point, but IMO talking about the subject described in the title of a thread is a best approach.

I didn't realize you became a moderator! Congrats.

 

[Stanng243]

A thread about Crackdown delay should be about Crackdown delay, yes.
I could definitely start talking about software development delays from a theoretical point of view quoting the mythical man-month and have a good point, but IMO talking about the subject described in the title of a thread is a best approach.

This delay impacts this years releases. It's a natural extension of this topic.

 

[TVexperto]

I just played this game at gamescom.

Yeah sure it was only 10 - 20 minutes but wow what an amazingly crappy game. I really feel bad for the devs who worked on this for years.

It feels, plays and looks like a last generation game. The controls are awful, your character feels like its floating instead of walking. He has no shadows on the floor that took me out of the game. the enemies are bullet sponges, you have no idea whats going on you get attacked from all sites. the gameplay is very monoton, shoot, shoot and shoot with the same weapon and maybe throw a grenade and jump in between. sunset overdrive is so much better.

also wtf is up with the driving mechanics. i dont know how to describe it but you press left and you car does a 360 spin almost instead of turning left. really awful. i dont see how delaying this for 6 months will make it better. i can already see the bad scores. this is a really bad xbox exclusive (in my opinion)

 

[Jrs3000]

I just played this game at gamescom.

Yeah sure it was only 10 - 20 minutes but wow what an amazingly crappy game. I really feel bad for the devs who worked on this for years.

It feels, plays and looks like a last generation game. The controls are awful, your character feels like its floating instead of walking. He has no shadows on the floor that took me out of the game. the enemies are bullet sponges, you have no idea whats going on you get attacked from all sites. the gameplay is very monoton, shoot, shoot and shoot with the same weapon and maybe throw a grenade and jump in between. sunset overdrive is so much better.

also wtf is up with the driving mechanics. i dont know how to describe it but you press left and you car does a 360 spin almost instead of turning left. really awful. i dont see how delaying this for 6 months will make it better. i can already see the bad scores. this is a really bad xbox exclusive (in my opinion)

Opinion noted. Go play Crackdown 1 and then tell me how it feels compared to that.

 

[Raide]

I just played this game at gamescom.

Yeah sure it was only 10 - 20 minutes but wow what an amazingly crappy game. I really feel bad for the devs who worked on this for years.

It feels, plays and looks like a last generation game. The controls are awful, your character feels like its floating instead of walking. He has no shadows on the floor that took me out of the game. the enemies are bullet sponges, you have no idea whats going on you get attacked from all sites. the gameplay is very monoton, shoot, shoot and shoot with the same weapon and maybe throw a grenade and jump in between. sunset overdrive is so much better.

also wtf is up with the driving mechanics. i dont know how to describe it but you press left and you car does a 360 spin almost instead of turning left. really awful. i dont see how delaying this for 6 months will make it better. i can already see the bad scores. this is a really bad xbox exclusive (in my opinion)

Did you ever play Crackdown 1 or 2?

 

[peppers]

I just played this game at gamescom.

Yeah sure it was only 10 - 20 minutes but wow what an amazingly crappy game. I really feel bad for the devs who worked on this for years.

It feels, plays and looks like a last generation game. The controls are awful, your character feels like its floating instead of walking. He has no shadows on the floor that took me out of the game. the enemies are bullet sponges, you have no idea whats going on you get attacked from all sites. the gameplay is very monoton, shoot, shoot and shoot with the same weapon and maybe throw a grenade and jump in between. sunset overdrive is so much better.

also wtf is up with the driving mechanics. i dont know how to describe it but you press left and you car does a 360 spin almost instead of turning left. really awful. i dont see how delaying this for 6 months will make it better. i can already see the bad scores. this is a really bad xbox exclusive (in my opinion)

You just listed stuff that literally can be fixed in 6 months. You basically want:
-Fine tune the movement to add weight to the character.
-Add more friction and improved physics to the wheels of vehicles.
-Reduce the damage needed to defeat enemies.

Please make sure you give your feedback to the devs if they are around...!

 

[TVexperto]

Unfortunately there were no devs around only promotion hostess people but also I loved crackdown 1, never played the second. yeah they could fix those things but also there was like no destruction at all

dont mean to hate on the game i really wanted it to be good..

 

[Neuromancer]

Unfortunately there were no devs around only promotion hostess people but also I loved crackdown 1, never played the second. yeah they could fix those things but also there was like no destruction at all

dont mean to hate on the game i really wanted it to be good..

Destruction (like buildings tippling, etc) is only in MP.

 

[Papacheeks]

Actually most don't now because that would be a pretty large independent studio to handle two teams. But i have worked for many work for hire/independent developers. I have a much better concept than you do of how it works...

You are mixing two types of deals there. Titanfall was MS signing an exclusivity deal with EA, similar to Tomb Raider on Xbox One. MS didn't pay for development per say, but they did provide resources such as tech help and a marketing budget. For Titanfall, MS provided Azure servers and tech help to make it happen.
Sunset Overdrive was just a traditional publisher/developer deal. Insomniac had a game, MS thought it was a cool idea. They decided to work together.

Then I guess Insomniac wasn't able to be contracted to make Ratchet and Clank, Spiderman also while they were making Sunset Overdrive for a 2014 release.

Same with Platinum who was making transformersevestation, Nier:Autamata, and Scalebound all within similar time frames.
Respawn is actually moderately small, and yet they were working on titanfall, Stig's game, and another new unannounced project.

Naughty Dog(not independent) has multiple teams who were working on both Uncharted 3 and Last of us at the same time.
There are actually a decent amount out there that are independent that work on multiple projects with different teams.

To your second, actually it was not similar to Tomb raider since Titanfall 1 was 100% exclusive to Xbox, and Xb360. It did not come to another "console" and the reason was MS actually invested money in with EA for titanfall because there was a deficit getting the game to gold status after years of issues with co-founders and the lawsuit with ACTIVISION. EA helped with getting Respawn off the ground which was not cheap, and there needed to be additional funding and that came from MS. The spent a fuck ton on marketing the shit out of that, and helping with Azure servers IIRC.

 

[element]

Then I guess Insomniac wasn't able to be contracted to make Ratchet and Clank, Spiderman also while they were making Sunset Overdrive for a 2014 release.

Insomniac has two studios. Burbank and Raleigh. Spiderman really didn't start until Sunset was complete as large portion of the people who worked on Sunset are now on Spiderman.

Same with Platinum who was making transformersevestation, Nier:Autamata, and Scalebound all within similar time frames.

Platinum is around 250 people. They really aren't small. And their business model is to have multiple games in development.

Naughty Dog(not independent) has multiple teams who were working on both Uncharted 3 and Last of us at the same time.

Depends what you consider 'multiple teams'. Naughty Dog clarified that they really aren't a two team studio recently as most people who will be on Last of Us 2 have been working on Uncharted The Lost Legacy. https://gamerant.com/last-of-us-2-development-start/

It did not come to another "console" and the reason was MS actually invested money in with EA for titanfall because there was a deficit getting the game to gold status after years of issues with co-founders and the lawsuit with ACTIVISION. EA helped with getting Respawn off the ground which was not cheap, and there needed to be additional funding and that came from MS.

totally not true. There wasn't a deficit and EA wasn't seeking a bailout. It was a pure exclusivity deal. What can you offer us (EA) to make this game exclusive to your platform. EA didn't NEED to do that deal and it has little to do with West/Zampella/Activision lawsuit on the game going gold as the lawsuit was settled two years before Titanfall was released.

You are the infowars of video game news finding anything to connect dots that have no relation to each other.

 

[Surface of Me]

Elemamt the Geoff Keighly final hours disputes what you are saying about Titanfall.

 

[Papacheeks]

Insomniac has two studios. Burbank and Raleigh. Spiderman really didn't start until Sunset was complete as large portion of the people who worked on Sunset are now on Spiderman.

Platinum is around 250 people. They really aren't small. And their business model is to have multiple games in development.

Depends what you consider 'multiple teams'. Naughty Dog clarified that they really aren't a two team studio recently as most people who will be on Last of Us 2 have been working on Uncharted The Lost Legacy. https://gamerant.com/last-of-us-2-development-start/

totally not true. There wasn't a deficit and EA was seeking a bailout. It was a pure exclusivity deal. What can you offer us (EA) to make this game exclusive to your platform. EA didn't NEED to do that deal and it has little to do with West/Zampella/Activision lawsuit on the game going gold as the lawsuit was settled two years before Titanfall was released.

You are the infowars of video game news finding anything to connect dots that have no relation to each other.

You should go read Final hours with geoff keighley it explains most of the whole story with that Game, the studio, the founders and how they got out of the hole they were in during and after lawsuit.

I am not connecting dots, and I don't care what your background is in. The evidence is there that one company is able to make deals and long term relationships for games being made by them either it be internal studios with more than one team, second party exclusives, or third party exclusives making games for them.

MS isn't doing a good job keeping contracts open, even if they were interested, they don't seem to keen on fighting to keep a IP, or franchise with xbox regardless if they own the IP or not.

 

[Brad Grenz]

You should go read Final hours with geoff keighley it explains most of the whole story with that Game, the studio, the founders and how they got out of the hole they were in during and after lawsuit.

I am not connecting dots, and I don't care what your background is in. The evidence is there that one company is able to make deals and long term relationships for games being made by them either it be internal studios with more than one team, second party exclusives, or third party exclusives making games for them.

MS isn't doing a good job keeping contracts open, even if they were interested, they don't seem to keen on fighting to keep a IP, or franchise with xbox regardless if they own the IP or not.

Geoff Keighley's narrative is a self serving explanation from the stakeholders at the time. The idea that EA would have simply let the project die rather than extend the budget themselves absent the infusion of money from MS is preposterous.

 

[Papacheeks]

Geoff Keighley's narrative is a self serving explanation from the stakeholders at the time. The idea that EA would have simply let the project die rather than extend the budget themselves absent the infusion of money from MS is preposterous.

I don't disagree but MS made it possible to get the game out in a timely manner with the small staff they had at the time.

 

[DopeyFish]

Elemamt the Geoff Keighly final hours disputes what you are saying about Titanfall.

I'd believe element before geoff fwiw

 

[Papacheeks]

I'd believe element before geoff fwiw

Why? The final Hours was a straight up documentary on the whole Infinity ward law suit with Vince zampella, and Andrew West and how the creation of Titanfall was a bumpy road. The info is straight from the horses mouth?

 

[Kastrioti]

Scalebound was a trainwreck. No extra time could have saved it. Additionally, the relationship between MS and Platinum was 'tense' to say the least.

I really don't believe that. I'm sure there were problems in development, and that the game was probably rough at the stage it was cancelled, but look at Hideki Kamiya's track record as a Director.

Bayonetta, Resident Evil 2, Okami, The Wonderful 101, Viewtiful Joe etc. Hideki Kamiya would've delivered if given the time with Scalebound and it would've been a great game under the banner of Microsoft first party and a nice feather in the cap against first party rival titles like Horizon and Zelda.

For whatever reason, MS cancelled it and I'm sure hurt themselves with Japanese developers. Instead Phil Spencer put resources towards Halo Wars 2, Voodoo Vince HD and Phantom Dust HD. The resurgance of Nintendo consoles in the West, along with stellar first party titles from Sony, revealed how barren the first party lineup of Microsoft is.

Still though, I'm happy to see MS make some effort to work with mid level developers to get some exclusive software for the Xbox. Because without exclusives why would anyone choose an Xbox over the PS4, Switch and Steam right now?

 

[Dehnus]

Scalebound was a trainwreck. No extra time could have saved it. Additionally, the relationship between MS and Platinum was 'tense' to say the least.

That isn't true. Satya isn't greenlighting projects and really Terry Myerson (Phil's boss) is probably looped in for larger business deals such as a new Halo. If Phil wanted to make a new Battletoads game, he could make it happen with little influence from upper management.
Most of the GaaS titles were spearheaded by Kudo who was in charge of studios. After Kudo left to go work exclusively in Windows Apps Studio (aka Hololens) that left Phil in total control of hardware and software of Xbox.

The issue with Microsoft is they aren't structured to build new games. The hierarchy internally is very individual task specific, not team based. At other companies, you have opportunities after a game is complete to explore new possibilities and maybe even build a prototype. At MS you go straight onto another team or a sequel. It isn't structured for someone to come up with an idea for a game and ask for resources to prototype it.
Because they aren't structured to build games internally, they either solicit proposals based on an IP they own from independent studios or have independent studios pitch them new IPs, and then sign a publishing deal, example being Killer Instinct or ReCore. Internal staff then just manages the development and provides additional resources if needed.

The other issue is when MS buys an external studio, they all instantly become MS employees and are moved to the Microsoft Level System, which is a flat number which reflects your role and salary range across the entire company. Hypothetical example, a level 60 artist on Word makes a similar amount as a level 60 artist on Halo. Why this becomes an issue when MS buys external studios is their burn rate explodes, thus creating an environment where you need to sell more because you cost more. Compare this to Sony or Nintendo, where most studios are setup as a subsidiary. Your pay check still says Sony, but each studio can set their own salaries and even benefits (to some degree). At MS, you work for MS. Not for 343i or The Coalition or Turn 10 or Minecraft.

Another issue with MS and actually many larger publisher is they are SO large that small hits aren't big enough. These are multi-billion dollar companies with shareholders. As silly as it sounds, it is 'easier' to spend $100m on a game and market the shit out of it to make $1b than spending $20m to make $100m. That $100m won't make an impact in the books. You see this with Activision, Ubisoft and EA, leaving a huge void in 'filler' games and new IPs.

In an industry of crunch and overworked individuals isn't it good that MS treats game devs the same as their Software Devs? I mean most big studios burn through talent like crazy and can't give them a solid job with a future.

 

[Agent_Carnage]

This maybe a bit of a necro bump but I feel as there been no news about it I wanted put my 2 cents in.

I find it a bit concerning we havent gotten new game-play and or any game-play from the Destruction modes and this is almost Mid Feb and it is almost spring time. If the game wasnt this far in development I would put money down that it gets cancelled but its only one of the very few exclusives for the X1 this year so it has to come out.

I am going to go on record and say I think the destruction modes are gone. At this point I would of assumed there would be something to hype it up but nothing.

 

[CRAIG667]

This maybe a bit of a necro bump but I feel as there been no news about it I wanted put my 2 cents in.

I find it a bit concerning we havent gotten new game-play and or any game-play from the Destruction modes and this is almost Mid Feb and it is almost spring time. If the game wasnt this far in development I would put money down that it gets cancelled but its only one of the very few exclusives for the X1 this year so it has to come out.

I am going to go on record and say I think the destruction modes are gone. At this point I would of assumed there would be something to hype it up but nothing.

It is strange how little we've seen of it.

 

[Mattyp]

This maybe a bit of a necro bump but I feel as there been no news about it I wanted put my 2 cents in.

I find it a bit concerning we havent gotten new game-play and or any game-play from the Destruction modes and this is almost Mid Feb and it is almost spring time. If the game wasnt this far in development I would put money down that it gets cancelled but its only one of the very few exclusives for the X1 this year so it has to come out.

I am going to go on record and say I think the destruction modes are gone. At this point I would of assumed there would be something to hype it up but nothing.

Already been discussed that destruction is multiplayer only hasn't it? Expect E3 release date and 360 backwards launches.

 

[Sosokrates]

This maybe a bit of a necro bump but I feel as there been no news about it I wanted put my 2 cents in.

I find it a bit concerning we havent gotten new game-play and or any game-play from the Destruction modes and this is almost Mid Feb and it is almost spring time. If the game wasnt this far in development I would put money down that it gets cancelled but its only one of the very few exclusives for the X1 this year so it has to come out.

I am going to go on record and say I think the destruction modes are gone. At this point I would of assumed there would be something to hype it up but nothing.

Game companies tend to focus on there next big game, which in MS case is sea of thieves.
Its a similar situation with sony, we are seeing stuff about god of war but haven't seen anything about spiderman since E3.

 

[Codes 208]

Already been discussed that destruction is multiplayer only hasn't it? Expect E3 release date and 360 backwards launches.

The fact that crackdown 1 or 2 arent even BC yet is a crime in its own.

Also sosokrates, youre right that they focus on the soon-to-be or the new launches. But sony has had a huge list of third party ads lately. During the holiday ad, along with their own commercials, they also had ads for destiny, cod and bf2. And as of now they have ads for going on for god of war and monster hunter world.

But it is concerning we havent heard about cd3 since it was delayed

 

[Agent_Carnage]

Game companies tend to focus on there next big game, which in MS case is sea of thieves.
Its a similar situation with sony, we are seeing stuff about god of war but haven't seen anything about spiderman since E3.

The difference is we been hearing updates on Sea of Theves for months now they been showing it off frequently. They havent done the same for CD3 even though supposedly its coming out in the spring time. At some point MS would start to hype up the next release.

The game is probably going to suck. Also I would love some CD as games with gold to get people interested before CD3 comes out.

 

[Sosokrates]

The difference is we been hearing updates on Sea of Theves for months now they been showing it off frequently. They havent done the same for CD3 even though supposedly its coming out in the spring time. At some point MS would start to hype up the next release.

The game is probably going to suck. Also I would love some CD as games with gold to get people interested before CD3 comes out.

Well, SOT is an mmo style game and has had an alpha and a beta.
We also havent seen that much from Spiderman and Detroit:bh even though they are due out in a similar time frame as C3.

If c3 comes out in august they will probably stat seeing more in june.

As for the quality of C3, it looks similar to the previous ones, which at the time I didnt see the appeal, yet they sill had there audience(well the first one did).