Because I think the beta turned people off.
The single player portion actually isn't too bad. Not great though.
The MP is quite horrible though.
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Lightbox (Starhawk) lays off 24 people, moves to iOS development
- Thread starter Kifimbo
- Start date
Because I think the beta turned people off.
The single player portion actually isn't too bad. Not great though.
The MP is quite horrible though.
The Take Out Bandit
Member
I know, right?
Call me crazy, but I have the impression Dylan Jobe is just very full of himself in terms of his game design. He did an interview about why War of the Monsters won't receive a sequel, and he's completely out of touch talking about how WotM sold well on PS2, but couldn't be popular now because. . . uh, stuff?
War of the Monsters could have been massive with more densely populated maps, online multiplayer, and just more of what made WotM GREAT! Especially with fighting games and casual fighters like Smash Bros. being so popular. UGH!
Then he ignores all the issues in Warhawk, goes off to create Starhawk and introduces even more garbage. That's not the way to make games that people want to keep playing dude. You take the recipe and refine it. Smooth it out, make it better than the previous game.
Such a shame.
I want to say his involvement with the good games out of Incognito was due to Jaffe and Campbell's involvement.
Rated-Rsuperstar
Member
The industry needs to shift back to a more singleplayer approach. There are now hundreds of multiplayer games all fighting for peoples time and pretty much all of them get ignored beyond the big titles. I think its easier for people to spend time and money on a 5 hour SP that ends.
Games on IOS don't require a huge investment, so they don't need 1M revenue per day. Thats why so many small teams are heading there. They can self fund them.
Dreams-Visions
Member
Dreams-Visions
Member
I think that's Windows Phone, at present.
LMAO @ "Alphabeta" I'm going to have to use that for some beta sometime in the future.
But he isn't entirely wrong: I thought there was a good game (but not really for me, kinda like Warhawk actually... *cough*) in the foundation of Starhawk, but it really REALLY needed to remove the item build limit (or fix it to where you aren't being harmed by your own team) to get off the ground. Really, when people are telling you this issue months before launch on many forums, that should've sent alarm bells ringing.
What a shame. Lightbox had a lot of history involved with some of my favorite games over the years, talent from War of the Monsters, Twisted Metal, Downhill Domination, Warhawk...
At least the studio remains, but I'm not expecting those types of experiences on IPhones anytime soon.
At least the studio remains, but I'm not expecting those types of experiences on IPhones anytime soon.
SniperHunter
Banned
I am with the guy who said they took too long to release the sequel. I didn't like warhawk at all I thought it was a poor mans battlefield. After bf moved to playstation 3 the warhawk fan base slowly faded away
The Take Out Bandit
Member
Completely agree. Every time they fixed something in the beta, they broke something else, and the game never reached a happy medium. They just kept breaking shit.
Then IIRC they released the additional Hawk weapons in the final month of the beta, after such a LONG ass time, and well - we all know how that worked out. Flak Cannon > Everything else.
Scramble to flak cannon, play arcade flight mode, enjoy being able to aim your reticule anywhere on the god damn screen with a deadly weapon for easy kills. UGH.
Pre-built structures that you could build onto would have been a nice way to alleviate the barren maps, which butted heads with the B&B item limits.
But hey, the dudebros could aim their weapons now. Yay?
4 months back, 2 months after the game A-bombed.
Also that Necessary Roughness episode was hilarious for all the right reasons as a NR fan. You could tell Dylan (or Sony) spent money on it to try to get people (that probably were watching the show for Callie [So, soccer moms or females mainly] or the trainer/Matt [aka: Gay little ol' Me, and women]) to get the game with a video game addiction episode that only showed the game for maybe... 10 minutes and quite poorly at that.
I have to agree.
There are games that get little to no marketing and are successful and spur sequels, and there are games that get tons of marketing, are unsuccessful, and are done. Using lack of marketing is just a poor excuse for a game that doesn't show well.
Maybe so, but I'm not sure how much your guess is worth. And anyway, that's a very different statement than your original statement. There are plenty of people making a good living selling ios games.
Man they should have made Starhawk for the PS4, and implemented an alternative "classic" game mode similar to Warhawk, without the RTS stuff.
It would have a better chance of finding an audience on new hardware on the beginning of a new generation when people are more open to new IPs...
Loved Warhawk to death, bought Star on release day but never got into the game...
So sad to hear we'll probably never see a sequel (to Warhawk) now...
It would have a better chance of finding an audience on new hardware on the beginning of a new generation when people are more open to new IPs...
Loved Warhawk to death, bought Star on release day but never got into the game...
So sad to hear we'll probably never see a sequel (to Warhawk) now...
Agent X
Member
You're accurate in saying "marketing can sell anything" is an incorrect assumption. On the other side of the coin, a lack of marketing by the publisher makes for an staggeringly uphill battle just to get noticed.
Would Starhawk have sold better if there was more marketing muscle behind it? Almost certainly. It might not have been a true blockbuster, but could have helped carry them in a spring and summer that was almost completely devoid of other new first-party hits.
Perhaps at the completion of development, Sony's management felt (privately, not outwardly) that the quality of the game wasn't up to snuff, and figured they'd release it with little fanfare and let it die a quiet death. The problem is that they've done that with nearly every first-party game in the year 2012. Look at Twisted Metal, Sorcery, and practically the entire Vita lineup...totally inadequate marketing, whether or not the games were deserving of that fate. MLB 12: The Show and Uncharted: Golden Abyss have done decently, but almost everything else was (as the cool kids like to say) "sent to die".
What's going to happen later this year with LittleBigPlanet Karting, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, Sports Champions 2, and Wonderbook? Will Sony really get behind these games with a serious marketing push (not just PS.Blog for the Internet savvy...I'm talking mainstream media), or will they also be "sent to die"? I don't think any developer (particularly those who are independent) wants to have a first-party publishing deal and then feel like the the first-party company isn't supportive of their efforts. They'll feel like the rug is being yanked out from under them. That will affect the first-party's ability to attract or strike deals with other developers in the future.
The Take Out Bandit
Member
HOW COULD HE LOSE?! HE HAD HIS HOODIE AND SUNGLASSES ON!?!?!?
A few years ago I remember seeing ads on TV for Heavy Rain. What happened to that Sony? They've dropped the ball completely in marketing.
demosthenes
Member
Like most of Sony first party stuff.
Most Sony First Party games do sell well despite few bomba like starhawk and resistance 3. Huge mumbers ? no but good enough for a single platform ? Yeah
This year a lot of games have struggled even with proper marketing. Twisted Metal did 220 k First month on a single platform at full price where other games like have been getting numbers similar to it on more platforms with more marketing.
Those 2 are going to be marketed well i feel
I kinda agree with him tho. Starhawk was a mildly OK game, at best. It had some GREAT fucking ideas that never really came together cohesively, IMO.
The MP styled SP... that is another huge gripe of mine. The universe created would have been much better served if it was fleshed out into more of an Action/RPG than just "we're plopping you on your average MP styled map and shoving waves of enemies at you."
It felt more like a random challenge mode than it did a proper SP experience.
From my playtime with it - the game would have been better off as a 20 dollar downloadable PSN game for BOTH the SP and MP at launch.
Yes, Wonderbook is getting a serious push here in Europe at least.
What's going on with LBP Karting anyway? Is it me, or the game is basically dead (exposure-wise) since the San Diego layoffs?
Rhazer Fusion
Member
Never played the game or Warhawk PS3 and best wishes to those who lost their jobs, but this is why I dread the future of gaming with everything escalating through the roof. Why didn't they even advertise this game though? Not saying that would of turned everything around, but most people didn't even know the game was released even after the beta.
That pisses me off. What a fucking asshole that poster is. A bunch of people just lost their jobs.
The Take Out Bandit
Member
Agent X
Member
I believe you're right (from what I've observed), but in North America it's a whole different story. They basically buried it after the E3 showing.
BTW, Wonderbook could be marketed successfully in America, but they can't use the same tactics that they typically employ for games like God of War or Uncharted. If they look at what Microsoft did to promote Kinect and its games, then they might have a good idea of where to start.
Lately, SCEA has either been "full on" (God of War, Uncharted) or "full off" (virtually everything else). There's no tiers in between. Even games like LittleBigPlanet PS Vita have absolutely no mainstream advertising.
It seems that way, unfortunately. It's a shame, since LBP was one of the PS3's spotlight franchises for a while. However, if they couldn't be bothered to open the advertising wallet for LBP Vita (basically a mainline game), then I don't hold much hope for LBP Karting getting the push it needs.
Riposte
Member
Sony has plenty of IP to work with, but they simply can't make the extra effort to make them stick.
In hindsight it seems like a bad plan to work for Sony without the benfits of being a part of Sony.
AgentOtaku
Member
Starhawk was fantastic
this fucking sucks
this fucking sucks
Man-is-Obsolete
Member
I got Media Molecule, ThatGameCompany, Sucker Punch, Naughty Dog, and Quantic Dream on the line, who's success story do you want to hear first?
alfredofroylan
Member
They were successful way before joining Sony.
Naughty Dog, Sucker and Media Molecule are owned by Sony. TGC and Quantic Dream are not made up of people who left Sony then made the exact game exclusively for Sony with less support.
Man-is-Obsolete
Member
So, the point is they stuck with Sony and were rewarded handsomely and now have grown into two full teams making back to back games.
Coming into this gen they weren't, and that wasn't the point being made.
EDIT: I was wrong about Naughty Dog, they were acquired last gen, my bad.
Sony will cut ties when they need to. Who knows what will happen going into next gen.
The Take Out Bandit
Member
Let's just admit some developers are winners and others are losers.
Nature of the beast.
Naughty Dog established their position by delivering more of the same for the better part of every console generation.
Lightbox bottomed out by throwing the baby out with the bathwater. They made a game Warhawk fans didn't want, and a game Call of Duty fans only took a passing interest in - if at all.
Not saying developers shouldn't take chances, but when you're risking as much as Lightbox did out of the gate; perhaps it's best to play it safe and improve upon a proven concept?
Nature of the beast.
Naughty Dog established their position by delivering more of the same for the better part of every console generation.
Lightbox bottomed out by throwing the baby out with the bathwater. They made a game Warhawk fans didn't want, and a game Call of Duty fans only took a passing interest in - if at all.
Not saying developers shouldn't take chances, but when you're risking as much as Lightbox did out of the gate; perhaps it's best to play it safe and improve upon a proven concept?
Yeah.
Warhawk 2 would have been great. A game that isn't Warhawk 2 wasn't that good of an idea. Developers should develop what they know until they're established.
Yup, and it's really sad.
I think part of the problem is with SCE -it's their money after all- when they saw the horrible worthless SP mode and RTS elements and all that stuff they should told Dylan to drop all that useless things and make Warhawk 2.
This really remind me of Red Faction:Armageddon.