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Microsoft shouldn’t take blame for Scalebound, says Platinum. “Both sides failed.”

DunDunDunpachi

Patient MembeR
Interesting interview that contradicts the notion that Scalebound failed solely due to Microsoft.

Or, the director is simply being polite.

A snippet below:

Speaking to VGC in an upcoming interview, studio head Atsushi Inaba said it “wasn’t easy” to watch as publisher Microsoft received the brunt of fan ire following the cancellation news.
“Both sides failed,” Inaba said, and ultimately, the game “didn’t do all of the things that we needed to do as a developer”.
“Watching fans getting angry at Microsoft over the cancellation wasn’t easy for us to watch. Because the reality is, when any game in development can’t get released it’s because both sides failed.
“I think there are areas where we could’ve done better and I’m sure there are areas that Microsoft as a publishing partner wish that they could’ve done better. Because nobody wants a game to be cancelled.”

---

Good article overall.
 

Hendrick's

If only my penis was as big as my GamerScore!
Who believes Scalebound failed because of Microsoft? It obviously wasn't shaping up very good so it got canned. That's on Platinum.
 
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Dabaus

Banned
What is Platinum sucking up to Microsoft for? Surely their partnerships with nintendo and square can keep them afloat as to not be a beggar to Microsofts wallet?
 
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Shifty

Member
Who believes Scalebound failed because of Microsoft? It obviously was shaping up very good so it got canned. That's on Platinum.
There was a whole lot of "MS Bad" when the cancellation got announced, and Platinum still having notable industry darling status at that point probably amplified it.

At this point I resign myself to "trust none of it" because business interests could be involved. Could be that this is the hard truth, could be a case of making nice ahead of doing another project.
Doesn't really matter unless we see something come of it 🤷‍♂️

well mostly MS haters or Sony fanboys I guess
Boy this thread is going to be something :messenger_frowning_
 

Bernkastel

Ask me about my fanboy energy!
Speaking to VGC in an upcoming interview, studio head Atsushi Inaba said it “wasn’t easy” to watch as publisher Microsoft received the brunt of fan ire following the cancellation news.

“Both sides failed,” Inaba said, and ultimately, the game “didn’t do all of the things that we needed to do as a developer”.

“Watching fans getting angry at Microsoft over the cancellation wasn’t easy for us to watch. Because the reality is, when any game in development can’t get released it’s because both sides failed.
Let's be honest if it was Microsoft's fault Kamiya would have raged on twitter, instead he posted this


And later


They developed Nier:Automata in 2 years, while Scalebound spent 5 years in development before being cancelled, clearly something was wrong in Platinum Games Side.
 
Game got canceled because it was going to take more money to develop and the return of investment would have been absymal.

Microsoft really doesnt care about quality, if you look at the trash they have been releasing recently.
 
They managed to work with konami and salvage their game, but somehow when it comes to microsoft, they become clueless.

Yeah, right...
 
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Roitorb

Member
Game got canceled because it was going to take more money to develop and the return of investment would have been absymal.

Microsoft really doesnt care about quality, if you look at the trash they have been releasing recently.

Doesn’t that just tell you how shit the game was then? 🤔
 

//DEVIL//

Member
They managed to work with konami and salvage their game, but somehow when it comes to microsoft, they become clueless.

Yeah, right...

you reminded me of what level 5 did back then. took the money from MS to develop true fantasy live game back then, and used that money to develop ps2 games.

not saying Pgames did the same. but if they were focused on scalebound, it would have launched on time without any delays. to mid size studios in japan, xbox is not really an important console at all.
 

Mista

Banned
So it’s PG’s fault then? Why did this fucking asshole cuss Microsoft on twitter last year or so then?
 

Majukun

Member
Years after the game is canceled, a month away from E3. Wonder if the rumor is true that MS is buying them.
i don't think there's any possibility

platinum doesn't wanna be bought,and microsoft most likely doesn't have much trust in them after scalebound

also they have already 2 games in the oven for nintendo
 

Bernkastel

Ask me about my fanboy energy!
Game got canceled because it was going to take more money to develop and the return of investment would have been absymal.

Microsoft really doesnt care about quality, if you look at the trash they have been releasing recently.

Nothing would have been more absymal than crackdown3 and that one got released.
Microsoft has funded many unsuccessful games, recent ones being Super Lucky's Take, Crackdown 3 and Recore. Let's be honest, this game was 5 years in development and people think it's Microsoft's fault.
Heck, when it was announced it was hated by everyone. Unfortunately, IGN has deleted it's Scalebound announcement teaser video, so these are the comments I pulled from Outside Xbox's upload( a place where people are positive about Xbox)


Wow I just saw the main character once and I already know his personality (I hate it)
I hate this game already
discount dante
lol at the idiots saying this looks good. It's just your typical CGI trailer that shows nothing about the game whatsoever

Never have I seen a more useless bow and arrow......
this character talks way too much.
god those animations and dialogs....dragon may cry as someone said before but with sonics dialogs
Wearing headphones while fighting a giant monster is almost as stupid as wearing a bra armor. Almost.
Why does this game look to me like it was made in 2010...?
that's stupid. With such music and hand-made epicness there should be a lot of more action and real epic, cuz watching that guy shooting from his bow after music drop, like pfff.
Looks like he's shooting paperarrows at a stonewall with that cheap bow. Im not buying it.
And after its cancelled, apparently this game was supposed to be handed down from God.
 
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Bernkastel

Ask me about my fanboy energy!
you reminded me of what level 5 did back then. took the money from MS to develop true fantasy live game back then, and used that money to develop ps2 games.

not saying Pgames did the same. but if they were focused on scalebound, it would have launched on time without any delays. to mid size studios in japan, xbox is not really an important console at all.
I wouldn't be surprised if Scalebound funds were used on Nier:Automata, that game looked like it had more budget than Final Fantasy XV, and Square always gives a very tight budget to Yoko Taro.
 

Bernkastel

Ask me about my fanboy energy!
I really hope that Microsoft buys platinum games
Nope if they want Japanese devs, they should go for Valhalla Games, Team Grounding or White Owl Studios. Microsoft has invested a lot in Japanese studios, but most of them use that money to develop PlayStation/Nintendo titles and give Microsoft a barely functioning game.
 

nowhat

Member
I wouldn't be surprised if Scalebound funds were used on Nier:Automata, that game looked like it had more budget than Final Fantasy XV
Seriously? I love NieR: Automata, but it is pretty easy to see that many corners were cut. For example, recycling the environments (which in themselves are not that huge) - yes, they change with the story, but still there's a very limited selection of locations and art styles. The world of FFXV is quite objectively larger by a factor or two and more varied by a mile. Dynamic weather and day/night cycle. There are many more cutscenes and a lot more of voice acting (and characters). And so on.

Just to be absolutely clear, I think NieR:A is a much better game, there's no contest really. But it's not due to the production budget.
 
One thing about this game is that people, mostly fanboys which in some cases had positions as game journalist, made it a big deal across forums, social media, articles, and video jumping to instant conclusions.

What's funny is before the cancellation no one gave a shit about the game and trashed all its E3 demos. Then all of a sudden...
 
you reminded me of what level 5 did back then. took the money from MS to develop true fantasy live game back then, and used that money to develop ps2 games.

not saying Pgames did the same. but if they were focused on scalebound, it would have launched on time without any delays. to mid size studios in japan, xbox is not really an important console at all.
Given how common it is for games to be delayed, announced too early, or even restart development, that's a silly reason to think Platinum weren't focused on Scalebound, especially with MS' track record of troubled development alone this gen in regards to delays, cancellations, and games releasing in a pretty rough or bare bones state at launch.

Not defending Platinum and whatever there problem was on there side of the blame, just saying. Even with Kamiya's solid track record of acclaimed titles, he's had troubled development with his games in the past despite 100% focus. Plus as the guy below me pointed out, MS also wanted online later in the games development, and Platinum have limited experience with online (Anarchy Reigns).

Seriously? I love NieR: Automata, but it is pretty easy to see that many corners were cut. For example, recycling the environments (which in themselves are not that huge) - yes, they change with the story, but still there's a very limited selection of locations and art styles. The world of FFXV is quite objectively larger by a factor or two and more varied by a mile. Dynamic weather and day/night cycle. There are many more cutscenes and a lot more of voice acting (and characters). And so on.

Just to be absolutely clear, I think NieR:A is a much better game, there's no contest really. But it's not due to the production budget.
Yeah, I honestly don't know how anyone could unironically think Nier Automata had a larger budget than Final Fantasy XV.
 
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Sounds about right. Microsoft asked too much from them (like co-op/mp and open world) while Platinum was too busy making games for other devs
 
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Nikana

Go Go Neo Rangers!
People who sit on the internet have no idea what actually happens during game development and deals!?

I'm shocked I tell you...SHOCKED
 

Xenon

Member
No shit. They were trying to do something that was unlike anything they have ever done. MS needs to own forcing multiplayer into a title like this, but Platinum should have never accepted it. Ultimately I think they failed to deliver the concept to anything that was enjoyable to play. I personally feel like the dragon aspect should have been a part of a larger game.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
Yeah, I honestly don't know how anyone could unironically think Nier Automata had a larger budget than Final Fantasy XV.
Yeah, unfortunately Yoko Taro never gets FF level of budget for his game, but even with limited resource he and Platinum Games made a damn good game. I do hope he gets bigger budget for his next game.
 
k7n3wyk.png
 
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Freiya

Member
Who believes Scalebound failed because of Microsoft? It obviously wasn't shaping up very good so it got canned. That's on Platinum.


I blame Microsoft, I believe plat didn't have free reign to do what they wanted. Seems obvious to me, the game looked like it had input from a round table of goons from Microsoft.
 
Interesting interview that contradicts the notion that Scalebound failed solely due to Microsoft.

Or, the director is simply being polite.

A snippet below:

Speaking to VGC in an upcoming interview, studio head Atsushi Inaba said it “wasn’t easy” to watch as publisher Microsoft received the brunt of fan ire following the cancellation news.
“Both sides failed,” Inaba said, and ultimately, the game “didn’t do all of the things that we needed to do as a developer”.
“Watching fans getting angry at Microsoft over the cancellation wasn’t easy for us to watch. Because the reality is, when any game in development can’t get released it’s because both sides failed.
“I think there are areas where we could’ve done better and I’m sure there are areas that Microsoft as a publishing partner wish that they could’ve done better. Because nobody wants a game to be cancelled.”

---

Good article overall.
That's just the life of the publisher. They deal with the money and the blowback, almost never the praise.
 

shark sandwich

tenuously links anime, pedophile and incels
Platinum is incapable of failure. I think it’s obvious that the cold-hearted game-hating execs at Microsoft canceled this game just for their personal amusement.

Everything was going perfectly smoothly. The early footage looked amazingly fun and polished. So it’s clear they waited until near release just to increase the disappointment and sadness they caused by canceling it.
 

Stuart360

Member
Platinum is incapable of failure. I think it’s obvious that the cold-hearted game-hating execs at Microsoft canceled this game just for their personal amusement.

Everything was going perfectly smoothly. The early footage looked amazingly fun and polished. So it’s clear they waited until near release just to increase the disappointment and sadness they caused by canceling it.
Yep lol, everyone said how terrible the game looked, then it became everyones favorite game when it got cancelled. Same thing happened with Crackdown 3 once the reviews started hitting.
 
Around here you would have thought MS cancelled the game and went to Japan & set the studio on fire after kidnapping everybody at Platinum's pets. I thought the game looked awful to begin with. Not that it couldn't have panned out to be a game some would have enjoyed, just didn't interest me personally. However it was ScaleboundGAF around here for a while where it apparently looked like MS killed the 2nd coming.
 

Klayzer

Member
Legitimately disappointed that it was cancelled. I know I wasn't the only gamer intrested in an action rpg developed by Platinum with Microsoft's money bags backing it up. Every bit of news turns into a console battle ground now. Its fuckin annoying.
 
That would be a bomb. Didn't they make Nier Automata?
They did. That's a highly unlikely rumor though as they just stated a few days ago they're going to start doing first party games so they can own them.
 

Jigsaah

Gold Member
They did. That's a highly unlikely rumor though as they just stated a few days ago they're going to start doing first party games so they can own them.

I think a lot of the other studios were also working on games when Microsoft acquired them. I think Ninja Theory and Obsidian were included in that group.

What I would question is whether or not those new IPs would be console exclusive even if Microsoft did acquire Platinum..
 
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Microsoft has funded many unsuccessful games, recent ones being Super Lucky's Take, Crackdown 3 and Recore. Let's be honest, this game was 5 years in development and people think it's Microsoft's fault.
Heck, when it was announced it was hated by everyone. Unfortunately, IGN has deleted it's Scalebound announcement teaser video, so these are the comments I pulled from Outside Xbox's upload( a place where people are positive about Xbox)





And after its cancelled, apparently this game was supposed to be handed down from God.


Honestly, I cant tell if you are serious or not.
In what universe are crackdown3, luckys tale and recore successes?
They are mediocre games.
You should learn what real quality is.
 
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