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[hydrophilic attack]

Xbox is in a pretty weird dilemma. For the long-term health of their brand, they need to bring in new players by publishing new IP. But in the short term, they can't really afford to. Through focusing so hard on Halo, Forza, Gears, Western multi-plat AAA, they have cultivated a fanbase that only really cares about Halo, Forza, Gears, Western multi-plat AAA. (If you have broader tastes than that, XBO is really the wrong choice of platform, unless you play on other platforms as well.) So any new AAA IP by them isn't really financially viable. Maybe Scorpio is an opportunity for them. If it brings in lots of new people, maybe that is enough people to make a new big-budget first party IP viable. But they are not really in the habit of introducing new IP this late into a generation. E3 will be very telling

 

[zeexlash]

Still almost unthinkable to me that Microsoft isn't going forward with Quantum Break.. it was literally the first game they showed for Xbox One.

 

[dragonelite]

Yes, they do.

What's the deal with Below though? Did Capy get the rights back or is that still with Microsoft?

I believe they own the rights, and are now also on the indie part of xbox live.

 

[OrbitalBeard]

Still almost unthinkable to me that Microsoft isn't going forward with Quantum Break.. it was literally the first game they showed for Xbox One.

It's not unthinkable at all. The game did not perform very well.

 

[Strootman]

Still almost unthinkable to me that Microsoft isn't going forward with Quantum Break.. it was literally the first game they showed for Xbox One.

The game bombed hard. And honestly wasn't even a great game.

 

[Bits N Pieces]

The game bombed hard. And honestly wasn't even a great game.

It was a good game, it just wasn't a great Remedy game.

 

[Jumeira]

Titanfall 2 flop because of EA's mismanagement...it's release in the middle of other even bigger FPS franchise during the peak period....nothing to do with multiplatform.

even if TF2 is still Xbox exclusive, it would have flopped if it's release on the same date.

Not sure about that, Titanfall was a success commercially because of the marketing MS put behind it, it was hyped as the second coming, i assume the sequel would receive the same treatment

 

[FelipeMGM]

Easy. Just get Sony to fund it.

Sony are the masters of ''only fund it with IP ownership'' tho

The only way I see Alan Wake's 2 happening is if some publisher buys Remedy and then funds it, which tbh is unlikely

 

[Doffen]

The masses were always going to choose Battlefield over Titanfall. EA should've known this. Respawn should've known this. Terrible time to release the game. Will it eventually have legs like Rainbow Six? Only time will tell.

Not cool blaming Battlefield when we all know Xbox killed Titanfall. #SAD

It was a good game, it just wasn't a great Remedy game.

Not as good as DiRT Rally.

 

[Purest 78]

I always think it's better to allow someone else to own a game, compared to owning the game and doing nothing with it.

 

[SkyMasterson]

Xbox is in a pretty weird dilemma. For the long-term health of their brand, they need to bring in new players by publishing new IP. But in the short term, they can't really afford to. Through focusing so hard on Halo, Forza, Gears, Western multi-plat AAA, they have cultivated a fanbase that only really cares about Halo, Forza, Gears, Western multi-plat AAA. (If you have broader tastes than that, XBO is really the wrong choice of platform, unless you play on other platforms as well.) So any new AAA IP by them isn't really financially viable. Maybe Scorpio is an opportunity for them. If it brings in lots of new people, maybe that is enough people to make a new big-budget first party IP viable. But they are not really in the habit of introducing new IP this late into a generation. E3 will be very telling

and I'm pretty sure Gears 4 underperformed. Which if that still holds true, is pretty disappointing as I love that game.

It's so weird too, MS had some great exclusives on the OG Xbox and during the first five years of the 360. Remember when BioShock AND Mass Effect were exclusive? Just really crazy to think how things have turned around.

 

[Unreal Champ]

Titanfall 2 flop because of EA's mismanagement...it's release in the middle of other even bigger FPS franchise during the peak period....nothing to do with multiplatform.

even if TF2 is still Xbox exclusive, it would have flopped if it's release on the same date.

And you know this how?

 

[zeexlash]

The game bombed hard. And honestly wasn't even a great game.

It was still a flagship game though, did it not deserve a second chance? I enjoyed it a lot, TV show segments and all.

 

[OléGunner]

and I'm pretty sure Gears 4 underperformed. Which if that still holds true, is pretty disappointing as I love that game.

It's so weird too, MS had some great exclusives on the OG Xbox and during the first five years of the 360. Remember when BioShock AND Mass Effect were exclusive? Just really crazy to think how things have turned around.

Those kind of de-facto third party games that met such a high quality bar, I always feel where key to making X360 such a force.
I remember only owning a PS3 and being super hyped for Mass Effect 1 only to be crushed when I found it was exclusive.

Nearly bought a 360 to play it but once ME2 came over to PS that plan died.

 

[Messofanego]

That's good they're not going to talk about P7 until they're fully comfortable with what kind of game it's going to be, cause development can bring up totally new paths you want to go down and if the game is different to what was announced, there can be backlash from the mismatched expectations.

If the majority of the studio is working on CrossFire 2's story campaign, I'll have to keep my eye on it cause I just presumed previously it'd just be a smaller project as working for hire. Good interview, Bertie!

It seems they're just waiting for the right business/funding opportunity for Alan Wake 2 so they can make a full-on sequel instead of the smaller DLCs and American Nightmare which were really good in of themselves. The combat of Alan Wake 2 they prototyped showed promise in the AI so for them to say it's not a spoiler because of how far they've advanced, I'm excited to see what they're cooking up after all these projects.

 

[miller.skippins]

Not sure about that, Titanfall was a success commercially because of the marketing MS put behind it, it was hyped as the second coming, i assume the sequel would receive the same treatment

Nah...even tf2 is still gonna sandwiched between COD and battlefield like it did, it will bomb regardless of exclusivity marketing.

The mainstream fps crowd will only choose either cod or battlefield. Tf2 is the outlier that's always gonna be shoved.

That's why I think it will be better if tf2 is actually delayed and release around February 2017.

 

[CassidyIzABeast]

10 year partnership. 2 games of meddling financial and/or critical reception. I'm shocked it ended.

 

[The God]

Xbox is in a pretty weird dilemma. For the long-term health of their brand, they need to bring in new players by publishing new IP. But in the short term, they can't really afford to. Through focusing so hard on Halo, Forza, Gears, Western multi-plat AAA, they have cultivated a fanbase that only really cares about Halo, Forza, Gears, Western multi-plat AAA. (If you have broader tastes than that, XBO is really the wrong choice of platform, unless you play on other platforms as well.) So any new AAA IP by them isn't really financially viable. Maybe Scorpio is an opportunity for them. If it brings in lots of new people, maybe that is enough people to make a new big-budget first party IP viable. But they are not really in the habit of introducing new IP this late into a generation. E3 will be very telling

Then they've just gotta create new IP that appeals to those Halo, Gears and Western AAA fanbases. Something pretty with large multiplayer focus and room for sequels.

Quantum Break as is, a 10hour story driven game was maybe just delivered to the wrong audience

 

[hydrophilic attack]

Then they've just gotta create new IP that appeals to those Halo, Gears and Western AAA fanbases. Something pretty with large multiplayer focus and room for sequels.

Quantum Break as is, a 10hour story driven game was maybe just delivered to the wrong audience

But how does that draw a new audience?

Sure they can make something that appeals to those groups, but it needs something more as well to draw in new people

 

[blakep267]

Then they've just gotta create new IP that appeals to those Halo, Gears and Western AAA fanbases. Something pretty with large multiplayer focus and room for sequels.

Quantum Break as is, a 10hour story driven game was maybe just delivered to the wrong audience

State of decay is that IP that will cater to the people that want online co-op open worlds(see how Ghost recon performed). But it's also can be played as a single player driven game

Crackdown is a toss up because Sunset overdrive didn't perform super great

 

[miller.skippins]

Then they've just gotta create new IP that appeals to those Halo, Gears and Western AAA fanbases. Something pretty with large multiplayer focus and room for sequels.

Quantum Break as is, a 10hour story driven game was maybe just delivered to the wrong audience

Wouldn't this approach just reinforce that the Xbox crowd is just racers & online shooters peeps?

And then Japanese devs will distance itself from Xbox development even further (it's already in a pretty bad shape now in terms of Jap games for Xbox)

 

[Discotheque]

Would love an Alan Wake 2. Especially with twin peaks/lynch fever back in full effect it's something I want even more now.

Not interested at all in that f2p game but it sounds like a good employment opportunity for them. Hopefully that other game they're working on isn't so far away. Seems like it will be at least a few years before we see or hear anything about it tho

 

[Bits N Pieces]

And you know this how?

He likes to project.

 

[miller.skippins]

He likes to project.

Ain't we all projecting in hindsight...

But saying tf2 bombed because it went multi platform is just stupid.

 

[EmiPrime]

I hope they get to make Alan Wake 2 one day and release simultaneously on Xbox, PlayStation and PC. Just please keep the live action to Night Springs and maybe Mr Scratch!

 

[Chris1]

Nah...even tf2 is still gonna sandwiched between COD and battlefield like it did, it will bomb regardless of exclusivity marketing.

The mainstream fps crowd will only choose either cod or battlefield. Tf2 is the outlier that's always gonna be shoved.

That's why I think it will be better if tf2 is actually delayed and release around February 2017.

you say that like titanfall is done small game. It's not. Would the same release date have hurt it? Sure. Bomb? No. It's a big enough franchise with a big enough fan base to hold its own.

Titanfall 2 biggest mistakes was not sticking with ms (loss of azure/marketing), too many changes from the first game and a loss of some of the most popular modes from 1.

It was one of the most hyped games among Xbox people and even neogaf until the beta. The beta was a meltdown and a half just read the thread here or on reddit nothing but disappointment about how they ruined the game. No release date was saving it from that amount of hate. The only person that actually liked the beta on neogaf was swolbro I think lol


It could have release in February and not much would have changed sales wise because of the beta and lack of marketing.

 

[deleted]

Of course it is - no publisher is going to hand over like $40 million for an IP they don't own and as a sequel to a game that was a flop.

Even if it might not have been 40m, go ask Kamiya about Bayonetta 2.

If Remedy would reduce the scope of the game, they might be able to sell it out to a publisher.
I don't fully understand, why the big indy developers that are left, like Obsidian, Remedy or Double Fine, that are too big to live on 2D Indie games but too small to sustain the tech race, don't settle for mid size PS360 era projects realized with better pipelines and tech - similar to Platinum Games.

They are able to tackle multiple projects for different publishers at the same time, are in most cases able to deliver critically and from a sales perspective too. And not only for japanese publishers, they did a multiple game Acitivision deal.
Double Fine is doing something similar from a western perspective, but they seem far more limited in their ability to score projects.

What I'm saying is, they seem really invested in keeping up with the tech race and trying to deliver AAA games, when they are most assuredly only working towards their own doom when they can't sustain the growth needed for these kind of games.

 

[Outrun]

But how does that draw a new audience?

Sure they can make something that appeals to those groups, but it needs something more as well to draw in new people

Well you had

ORI, SSO,and QB. If those games did not draw in a different type of gamer, I don't know what will...

 

[HStallion]

If they make anything like max payne 1 and 2 again I'm all over that shit

Steve Hurtz would be awesome.

 

[Easy_D]

You just know watching the new Twin Peaks season will make them really want to make Alan Wake 2. I wouldn't worry about it

 

[dr_rus]

Still almost unthinkable to me that Microsoft isn't going forward with Quantum Break.. it was literally the first game they showed for Xbox One.

MS is generally weird when it comes to choosing which games they produce. So not really surprising.

QB is a great game, btw. It was just sent to die by MS with their questionable WinStore requirements.

 

[SatoAilDarko]

Stuff like this, Lionhead closing down and Twisted Pixel being independent again make me pessimistic for Xbox first-party.

They lost all these exclusive developers but haven't replaced them with anything. It's why the cancelation of Scalebound was so disheartening.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

Yes, they do.

What's the deal with Below though? Did Capy get the rights back or is that still with Microsoft?

I'm sure what the publishing deal is on Below, but I believe Capy has inferred since very early on that it's a timed exclusive. Pretty sure rumours suggested 12 months.

Any other example of Independence studio work with platform holder for ages and go multiplat success story?
Insomniac is only studio I can think of and back doing exclusive again.

The only ones I can think of are Bungie who were in a very unique position and so walked into a golden deal with Activision, and Bioware who worked with MS for a long time but were kind of unique in that they went multiplat only because they were bought out by a major publisher.

Still almost unthinkable to me that Microsoft isn't going forward with Quantum Break.. it was literally the first game they showed for Xbox One.

It's not hard to understand. It was a major flop and MS probably lost a shit load of money on it.

and I'm pretty sure Gears 4 underperformed. Which if that still holds true, is pretty disappointing as I love that game.

It's so weird too, MS had some great exclusives on the OG Xbox and during the first five years of the 360. Remember when BioShock AND Mass Effect were exclusive? Just really crazy to think how things have turned around.

MS started this gen with lots of new IPs and lots of exclusives. As each year has gone they've invested less and less in new stuff. I'm hopeful they'll have a strong E3 with lots of big new games, but I'm really not expecting much.

 

[Chris1]

MS is generally weird when it comes to choosing which games they produce. So not really surprising.

QB is a great game, btw. It was just sent to die by MS with their questionable WinStore requirements.

And what about Xbox? It still flopped there.

The reviews and the 720/1080p checkerboard killed that game more than any windows store it wasn't even supposed to release on till a month before launch

 

[kpaadet]

Even if it might not have been 40m, go ask Kamiya about Bayonetta 2.

If Remedy would reduce the scope of the game, they might be able to sell it out to a publisher.
I don't fully understand, why the big indy developers that are left, like Obsidian, Remedy or Double Fine, that are too big to live on 2D Indie games but too small to sustain the tech race, don't settle for mid size PS360 era projects realized with better pipelines and tech - similar to Platinum Games.

They are able to tackle multiple projects for different publishers at the same time, are in most cases able to deliver critically and from a sales perspective too. And not only for japanese publishers, they did a multiple game Acitivision deal.
Double Fine is doing something similar from a western perspective, but they seem far more limited in their ability to score projects.

What I'm saying is, they seem really invested in keeping up with the tech race and trying to deliver AAA games, when they are most assuredly only working towards their own doom when they can't sustain the growth needed for these kind of games.

You think Obsidian latest games have had a AAA game budget or tech? Very few publishers are interested in mid sized games anymore. That's why their latest games have been crowdfunded, how does that translate to having an AAA budget?

 

[Doffen]

But saying tf2 bombed because it went multi platform is just stupid.

Who said that?

 

[CassidyIzABeast]

Still almost unthinkable to me that Microsoft isn't going forward with Quantum Break.. it was literally the first game they showed for Xbox One.

Based on Steamspy, Ori sold way better than QB. Doing another QB with the same dev time and cost would be unthinkable.

 

[deleted]

You think Obsidian latest games have had a AAA game budget or tech? Very few publishers are interested in mid sized games anymore. That's why their latest games have been crowdfunded, how does that translate to having an AAA budget?

Well, yeah I obviously forgot something crucial

I was thinking about the deal Obsidian had with MS (?) that fell through and was about a big rpg iirc.
Double Fine was talking about the cost of Psychonauts 2 before scaling it back a little (?) for the crowdfunder.
Remedy wanting to do Alan Wake 2.. They all long for the big projects.

Even Platinum Games, now that I think about it with Scalebound.
Why don't they keep perusing the model that works?

 

[hydrophilic attack]

Well, yeah I obviously forgot something crucial

I was thinking about the deal Obsidian had with MS (?) that fell through and was about a big rpg iirc.
Double Fine was talking about the cost of Psychonauts 2 before scaling it back a little (?) for the crowdfunder.
Remedy wanting to do Alan Wake 2.. They all long for the big projects.

Even Platinum Games, now that I think about it with Scalebound.
Why don't they keep perusing the model that works?

Of course they want to do big products if they find publishers willing to fund. Keeps cash coming in for longer, keeping people employed

 

[K' Dash]

Sam, if you don't have the money to do Alan Wake 2, throw it in a kickstarter and I'll give you $1000 to start.

That's how thirsty I am for AW2.

 

[AmuroChan]

Sony are the masters of ''only fund it with IP ownership'' tho

The only way I see Alan Wake's 2 happening is if some publisher buys Remedy and then funds it, which tbh is unlikely

I don't think Sony owns any of the IPs that they fund through their pubfund program. Most of those games have made it to other platforms. I believe they just ask for 6 month exclusivity.

Also, didn't Sony fund No Man's Sky, SFV, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, and Helldivers? All have made their way to PC. Do Sony own those IPs?

 

[deleted]

Of course they want to do big products if they find publishers willing to fund. Keeps cash coming in for longer, keeping people employed

Right. Makes total sense, I didn't think about that angle

 

[Sangetsu-II]

I don't think Sony owns any of the IPs that they fund through their pubfund program. Most of those games have made it to other platforms. I believe they just ask for 6 month exclusivity.

Also, didn't Sony fund No Man's Sky, SFV, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, and Helldivers? All have made their way to PC. Do Sony own those IPs?

They own Helldivers and EGttR.

 

[BlazinSkatinAxel]

Easy. Just get Sony to fund it.

Laws don't work that way.

I don't think Sony owns any of the IPs that they fund through their pubfund program. Most of those games have made it to other platforms. I believe they just ask for 6 month exclusivity.

Also, didn't Sony fund No Man's Sky, SFV, Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, and Helldivers? All have made their way to PC. Do Sony own those IPs?

Sony didn't see PC as a threat to PS4, so something appearing on Steam doesn't bother them. (See: Street Fighter V)

 

[Goodacre0081]

MS started this gen with lots of new IPs and lots of exclusives. As each year has gone they've invested less and less in new stuff. I'm hopeful they'll have a strong E3 with lots of big new games, but I'm really not expecting much.

yup and i remember tonnes of journalists suggesting to pick the xb1 over the ps4 back in 2013 due to this. it wasn't hard to look back at past trends and figure out xbox exclusive games were going to dry up. I remember the quote "buy what you want to play now" line going around. third party deals without IP ownership don't get you very far

 

[RedSparrows]

Remedy were also on the 360. It is not like their relationship with MS was some X1 only weirdness.

 

[gdt]

I didn't know Sony owns Death Stranding....?

Are my PC version dreams and hopes dead now?

 

[Freeman76]

Their games are way overrated imo.

 

[Sotha_Sil]

I didn't know Sony owns Death Stranding....?

Are my PC version dreams and hopes dead now?

Don't think they've come out and directly said that, but... yeah.

 

[Plasma]

Quantum Break as is, a 10hour story driven game was maybe just delivered to the wrong audience

I don't think that's true it was just a mediocre game.