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Introducing NeoGAF Gold
Microsoft Studios (& Partners) Current and Future Landscape
- Thread starter Banjo-Kazooie
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I truly believe if they could go back in time after seeing how their other exclusives turned out they would sign Insomniac up for another project. I still think the reason the let Insomniac go was that SO was their first kinda flop this gen, all their launch games sold decently to warrant a sequel, Titanfall sold a shit ton then you had SO which just.. flopped. At that point in time coming off huge hits like Titanfall and SO flopping, it's hard to justify funding a sequel / new game at that point.
Yeah, I mean it's definitely easier to criticize now. I don't think anyone expected Ratchet PS4 to be as big of a success as it was (series seemed to be declining in popularity) so it probably appeared as if Insomniac would be available for a later Xbox project if they didn't agree on something NOW. But the strong R&C sales probably helped get the Marvel deal done and the rest was history.
It seems to have built up slowly.
I know I was making jokes last year and a few times this year that there must be a reason that Splinter Cell:Blacklist was still not a BC title. The theorizing was they were holding it back to offer as a pre order gift or a GWG offer.
There was also this gaf thread from last year where Michael Ironside was spotted at Ubi
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1263153
I guess we'll maybe see at E3. I don't care if it's exclusive or not I just want a new next gen Splinter Cell game in the vein of Blacklist.
I know I was making jokes last year and a few times this year that there must be a reason that Splinter Cell:Blacklist was still not a BC title. The theorizing was they were holding it back to offer as a pre order gift or a GWG offer.
There was also this gaf thread from last year where Michael Ironside was spotted at Ubi
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1263153
I guess we'll maybe see at E3. I don't care if it's exclusive or not I just want a new next gen Splinter Cell game in the vein of Blacklist.
I was referring to xbox exclusives 
But yeah, Ratchet too (I haven't played it but it's a high meta & well liked)
QB did nothing, Halo was a massive drop as was Gears, Recore did nothing, Ryse sequel broke down half way etc. Plus they had Scalebound etc in the works back in 2014 aswell. MCC was broken. Mainline Forza is down too I believe. It's easy to say they should have funded a sequel to SO but back then I don't think it was quite as clear as it is now, if they knew the rest of their exclusives would do nothing / would be down massively I truly believe they would have signed Insomniac up again.
SO sales didn't exactly set the world on fire but in hindsight they weren't too bad compared to what came later and has the most potential for a sequel out of any exclusive IMO, also it's meta is up there with their pillar franchises aswell. By the time they knew how the rest of the exclusives turned out, Sony had already locked up Insomniac.
But yeah, Ratchet too (I haven't played it but it's a high meta & well liked)QB did nothing, Halo was a massive drop as was Gears, Recore did nothing, Ryse sequel broke down half way etc. Plus they had Scalebound etc in the works back in 2014 aswell. MCC was broken. Mainline Forza is down too I believe. It's easy to say they should have funded a sequel to SO but back then I don't think it was quite as clear as it is now, if they knew the rest of their exclusives would do nothing / would be down massively I truly believe they would have signed Insomniac up again.
SO sales didn't exactly set the world on fire but in hindsight they weren't too bad compared to what came later and has the most potential for a sequel out of any exclusive IMO, also it's meta is up there with their pillar franchises aswell. By the time they knew how the rest of the exclusives turned out, Sony had already locked up Insomniac.
Actually this being a thread dedicated to MS's first-party means it would probably be the best place to ask since there's not really a Phantom Dust specific thread...
What are some ideas people have for the Phantom Dust rerelease OT title?
I've been thinking either:
Phantom Dust (2017) |OT| "Unlike anything else on Xbox*"-OXM *PC now included
or
Phantom Dust (2017) |OT| A Post-Apocalyptic Third-person Action Arena-based Collectible Card Game
What are some ideas people have for the Phantom Dust rerelease OT title?
I've been thinking either:
Phantom Dust (2017) |OT| "Unlike anything else on Xbox*"-OXM *PC now included
or
Phantom Dust (2017) |OT| A Post-Apocalyptic Third-person Action Arena-based Collectible Card Game
I have made posts about this so many times on here. Make it Mirror's Edge with stealth, gadgets and guns! And give it a futuristic noir look.
Rappelling down buildings, shimmying along edges, sneaking through air vents, planting explosives, cool gadgets; basically just a lot of cool spy-stuff with gunplay included. MI: Perfect Dark (with aliens), the potential is endless!
What I want is basically what I imagined Shangheist to be, just with an actual mascot.
Rappelling down buildings, shimmying along edges, sneaking through air vents, planting explosives, cool gadgets; basically just a lot of cool spy-stuff with gunplay included. MI: Perfect Dark (with aliens), the potential is endless!
What I want is basically what I imagined Shangheist to be, just with an actual mascot.
It's almost as if people played games, not policies.
Making loads of new stuff seems to be working pretty well for Sony. Except they don't jettison, they keep pilling the games on. You'll get them when you get them, but you will most likely get them. TLG has showed it.
Do you know who actually jettisons games and studios when they desperately need them? You guessed it, Microsoft. 3 years is PLENTY of time to have a bunch of stuff at least ready to be announced. With 2 more years left to fully develop. There will be no excuse for Spencer if Microsoft pulls another E3 2015 or 16.
Making loads of new stuff seems to be working pretty well for Sony. Except they don't jettison, they keep pilling the games on. You'll get them when you get them, but you will most likely get them. TLG has showed it.
Do you know who actually jettisons games and studios when they desperately need them? You guessed it, Microsoft. 3 years is PLENTY of time to have a bunch of stuff at least ready to be announced. With 2 more years left to fully develop. There will be no excuse for Spencer if Microsoft pulls another E3 2015 or 16.
Such a great IP. It would be a shame if they just sat on it.
Who would develop it, though? They canceled Rare's version and all their studios are busy with more popular IPs. My choice: Starbreeze. Their Syndicate was a warmup. (And yes, I know most of the team went to MachineGames but a guy can dream)
Who would develop it, though? They canceled Rare's version and all their studios are busy with more popular IPs. My choice: Starbreeze. Their Syndicate was a warmup. (And yes, I know most of the team went to MachineGames but a guy can dream)
There is a lot of truth here. They have indeed done incredibly well on the OS and service front. But they really need to double down on their first party, it's in dire need of fresh 'successful' IP.
I recently played Zelda on Switch and it made me realise how critical games are regardless of hardware power etc.
I honestly think MS should put Fable to bed and create something else. I can never see that series be successful again, no matter who helms it. Regarding the RPG space, MS have an opportunity to really let loose and build something open world in nature, it's definitely a a genre they lack in and would would go a long way to proving their mettle to the hardcore audience.
I recently played Zelda on Switch and it made me realise how critical games are regardless of hardware power etc.
I honestly think MS should put Fable to bed and create something else. I can never see that series be successful again, no matter who helms it. Regarding the RPG space, MS have an opportunity to really let loose and build something open world in nature, it's definitely a a genre they lack in and would would go a long way to proving their mettle to the hardcore audience.
No, Sony haven't made or released loads more AAA games at all. They are starting to warm up now but the first couple of years was pretty weak. And they have been helped out by getting some 3rd party games which haven't released on Xbox.
Granted their situation with studios is better than Microsoft's but let's not pretend Sony are pumping out a new Mona Lisa every other month because they aren't.
Granted their situation with studios is better than Microsoft's but let's not pretend Sony are pumping out a new Mona Lisa every other month because they aren't.
Huh, I guess it does, just enabling FPS style gameplay as well. That's not a bad idea. Although, this wouldn't be a game with an achievement for killing no one, it's supposed to have action as well. At least how I imagined it.
Didn't know Rare had a PD game in the works for this gen at all. Tbh, they haven't touched fps/action games in a long time, so I'd be happier with someone else developing it.
But as you said, who would develop it? I haven't played the Syndicate, but it looks like they could be up for it (if they still are enough to make a AAA game). Sad thing is I don't know of anyone who would develop a great AAA IP for MS anymore. I wouldn't have my hopes up for a great new AAA IP on Xbox in a long time. I feel their budget is just too strained atm, and great dev studios available are too few.
Edit: Playground games have opened a new studio, but it's an open world game and not necessarily an Xbox exclusive. Although it may not be a new IP at all.
Didn't know Rare had a PD game in the works for this gen at all. Tbh, they haven't touched fps/action games in a long time, so I'd be happier with someone else developing it.
But as you said, who would develop it? I haven't played the Syndicate, but it looks like they could be up for it (if they still are enough to make a AAA game). Sad thing is I don't know of anyone who would develop a great AAA IP for MS anymore. I wouldn't have my hopes up for a great new AAA IP on Xbox in a long time. I feel their budget is just too strained atm, and great dev studios available are too few.
Edit: Playground games have opened a new studio, but it's an open world game and not necessarily an Xbox exclusive. Although it may not be a new IP at all.
At that point, what's the creative value in retaining the Perfect Dark name? That world and its characters aren't particularly compelling, at least in my opinion. I recognize that there may be some marginal business justification for calling it "Perfect Dark," but if Microsoft wanted to make a cyberpunk immersive sim, I'd rather see them build a new IP.
Get Human Head on development. They were working on Prey 2 before Bethesda shitcanned it with their shady business practices. It was already a game about a bounty Hunter with gadgets and parkour, so those ideas could be easily reworked into a secret agent action game. Would be a good fit for Perfect Dark IMO.
I don't particularly like either of your suggestions but I guess they're referencing things I don't understand. I would say "Back from the dead", due to both the word 'phantom', and the fact this IP was resurrected after decade + change of dormancy.
I don't particularly like either of your suggestions but I guess they're referencing things I don't understand. I would say "Back from the dead", due to both the word 'phantom', and the fact this IP was resurrected after decade + change of dormancy.
Phantom Dust (2017) |OT| therearedozensofus.gif
I'll be one of the dozens though
I'll be one of the dozens though
I like it, straight to the point.
Well the first quote is from the front cover of the original NA Box art, and I was trying to highlight there's nothing like it on PC either now that its being released there.
You're being very selective by limiting the output to "Sony" and "AAA". I don't care about Sony or big budgets, I care about quality exclusive games I can't play anywhere else. It's such a cop-out to limit the discussion to games Sony does internally, or to blockbuster titles as if smaller or niche games didn't count. The PS4 does have loads more released AND announced exclusive games (I include titles that also come out on PC in this definition of "exclusive") than XBO, in both quantity and critical reception. It's not even close. The PS4 is not warming up, it's at full steam right now.
Well you want to make your mind up with what argument you are trying to make. We were talking about Microsoft's 1st party output, which is the topic of the thread. Naturally then, the only fair comparison to make is Sony's actual output too. If you want to add further qualifiers in order to support your argument then clearly it's not a very good one.
Microsoft have plenty of room to improve we all know this, but it isn't going to happen overnight. This gen they have been releasing about 4 big games a year, plus one or two smaller things, I'm not seeing Sony do much more, if at all. If you add all the 3rd party games then sure, they have more exclusives. But that isn't a fair comparison of platform holder output.
Microsoft have plenty of room to improve we all know this, but it isn't going to happen overnight. This gen they have been releasing about 4 big games a year, plus one or two smaller things, I'm not seeing Sony do much more, if at all. If you add all the 3rd party games then sure, they have more exclusives. But that isn't a fair comparison of platform holder output.
How long do they need dude? I am not having a go at you here, They have been in the gaming business for a while now! I know the hype or talk at the moment is about Scorpio but they have been far too quiet on the most important aspect, the games, considering this with the announcement of Scalebound being cancelled, you would think they would of given the fans something, a little tease or showing of a game but no, fuck all. UI Updates, backwards compatibility games, controllers and now a mid gen console upgrade. I have seen other first parties absolutely slaughtered in the past by fans and. media for less.
It's easy to misinterpret the "Xbox has no games" thing going on at the moment, of course they have games, I get the feeling it is what little or what they actually have to offer from a first party perspective that some people have a problem with or are sick of. The predictability of it all.
From a personal point of view I don't want them to go "here you are, some Gears story DLC, a new Forza and a Halo tease" at E3 as the majority of what new stuff they have to say.
Here is a question for those in the thread, when was the last time Microsoft genuinely shocked you or the press felt it too in a real positive sense with a new gaming announcement ? Gears of War for 360 was the last time for me.
It's easy to misinterpret the "Xbox has no games" thing going on at the moment, of course they have games, I get the feeling it is what little or what they actually have to offer from a first party perspective that some people have a problem with or are sick of. The predictability of it all.
From a personal point of view I don't want them to go "here you are, some Gears story DLC, a new Forza and a Halo tease" at E3 as the majority of what new stuff they have to say.
Here is a question for those in the thread, when was the last time Microsoft genuinely shocked you or the press felt it too in a real positive sense with a new gaming announcement ? Gears of War for 360 was the last time for me.
They pulled in the oars half way through last gen didn't they. Then the start of this one was a shambles for many reasons. But it's unrealistic to expect Spencer to have made major changes or additions in 3 years, that's all I'm saying.
If some new stuff doesn't start landing in the next years then sure, critique away. But even then they aren;t going to stop making their tried and tested stuff, it needs to be a few more besides those.
If some new stuff doesn't start landing in the next years then sure, critique away. But even then they aren;t going to stop making their tried and tested stuff, it needs to be a few more besides those.
Microsoft's problem right now is creating excitement around their first party games/announcements. Back in the early days of the 360, almost every major release they put out did well. In 2006 they had Gears of War which was a generation defining game, Viva Pinata turned into a 4 game franchise with a TV show. 2007 had Crackdown prove it was more than just a way to get into the Halo 3 beta, Forza 2 started the series transition into a main IP for them, Halo 3 was, of course, huge, and to cap it off they released Mass Effect as their November release. Maybe part of it came from the 360 having such a positive mindshare (despite the RROD), but it seems none of their recent efforts have been able to catch on in a way their early 360 stuff did, with a few exceptions.
I thought their 2013 E3 conference was pretty great for game announcements. The KI reveal in particular was a great moment.
I thought their 2013 E3 conference was pretty great for game announcements. The KI reveal in particular was a great moment.
The start of this gen was amazing.
Xbox E3 2013 were all of these things, all of them first-party:
- Halo 5 Teaser
- Forza 5
- Dead Rising 3
- Sunset Overdrive
- Quantum Break
- Black Tusk New IP
- Ryse
- Killer Instinct
- Project Spark
- D4
- LocoCycle
- Max: The Curse of Brotherhood
- Powerstar Golf
- Zoo Tycoon
- Crimson Dragon
What do I see from all of the above?
An extremely strong effort from 3 fronts.
A continuation of the established AAA tentpoles that made 360 strong, a significant investment in new AAA IPs that have potential to be part of any console's next-gen tentpoles, and a broad array of fresh, smaller digital IPs.
Maybe Phil will return to form what he had under Mattrick in the next two years, but right the actions he's taken in the past two years isn't showing for it.
Xbox E3 2013 were all of these things, all of them first-party:
- Halo 5 Teaser
- Forza 5
- Dead Rising 3
- Sunset Overdrive
- Quantum Break
- Black Tusk New IP
- Ryse
- Killer Instinct
- Project Spark
- D4
- LocoCycle
- Max: The Curse of Brotherhood
- Powerstar Golf
- Zoo Tycoon
- Crimson Dragon
What do I see from all of the above?
An extremely strong effort from 3 fronts.
A continuation of the established AAA tentpoles that made 360 strong, a significant investment in new AAA IPs that have potential to be part of any console's next-gen tentpoles, and a broad array of fresh, smaller digital IPs.
Maybe Phil will return to form what he had under Mattrick in the next two years, but right the actions he's taken in the past two years isn't showing for it.
Yup, it was one of the reasons why everyone was excited when Phil Spencer was put in charge of Xbox. The first party games were the one thing they got right at the start.
While I think their current lineup is more diverse than people give it credit for, it's hard not to look at it and think there is something going on behind the scenes (budget cuts).
While I think their current lineup is more diverse than people give it credit for, it's hard not to look at it and think there is something going on behind the scenes (budget cuts).
Pound-for-pound, if you focus on the quantity of AAA games MS ships annually on-average, they're not inferior to other publishers. I've not been a fan of their E3 conferences in the past 2 years but still they've never had major issues in terms of shipping software, even if 2015/16 had them pull away from smaller digital first-party investments in a big way.
But there is a definite reprioritization of the Xbox portfolio now compared to how ambitious they were 4 years ago.
But there is a definite reprioritization of the Xbox portfolio now compared to how ambitious they were 4 years ago.
I would love a Perfect Dark 3rd person action/shooter. I think it would work really well. They would need to rewrite the story, especially some characters, but it can for sure work in this day and age. They could get the Coaltition to work on 2 projects. Or just have a smaller team concept and create Gears 5, and work on PD as the next big release with a bigger team. When PD is finished move devs over to Gears 5 and have a smaller core team work on PD2. It would also break up the Gears releases a bit and make the games more spread out.
I thought their E3 2013 was really good. Especially the part when Phil talks about how Master Chief and Marcus Fenix helped define the previous generations and the need for new heroes to take their place. Then he goes ahead and announces Microsoft is investing in 5 brand new studios working on blockbuster franchises. Then shows off the first trailer for one of those new studios projects. A new IP running in engine, from a new large studio based in Vancouver, Black Tusk.
https://youtu.be/fSXicnwHgss?t=4522
Then none of that ever happened.
And now here we all are, almost four years later, still hoping Phil says something along those exact words this E3.
https://youtu.be/fSXicnwHgss?t=4522
Then none of that ever happened.
And now here we all are, almost four years later, still hoping Phil says something along those exact words this E3.
I usually just lurk in this thread but come on, if you're going to make claims like this you should really, you know, check to see if you're right or laughably wrong. Sony released 11 games last year (17 if you include VR games and 20 if you include re-releases/remasters on top of that), Microsoft released 5 (7 if you include KI S3 and the Ori re-release).
How long is it going to take you to notice Microsoft's been releasing less and less games every year since the Xbox One launched?
How long is it going to take you to notice Microsoft's been releasing less and less games every year since the Xbox One launched?
I thought their E3 2013 was really good. Especially the part when Phil talks about how Master Chief and Marcus Fenix helped define the previous generations and the need for new heroes to take their place. Then he goes ahead and announces Microsoft is investing in 5 brand new studios working on blockbuster franchises. Then shows off the first trailer for one of those new studios projects. A new IP running in engine, from a new large studio based in Vancouver, Black Tusk.
https://youtu.be/fSXicnwHgss?t=4522
Then none of that ever happened.
And now here we all are, almost four years later, still hoping Phil says something along those exact words this E3.
https://youtu.be/fSXicnwHgss?t=4522
Then none of that ever happened.
And now here we all are, almost four years later, still hoping Phil says something along those exact words this E3.
1. Black Tusk -> rebranded as Coalition
2. Microsoft Victoria -> shut down ( was Mattrick's pet project )
3. ???
4. ???
5. ???
To be quite honest, part of the things he's saying is probably exaggeration because the other new studios that MS had set-up in that time frame weren't blockbuster studios, it's likely the other 3 are:
x. Lift London -> no game released yet, working on cross-platform mobile/tablet/PC/Xbox games.
x. Team Dakota -> internal team that worked on Project Spark, team is disbanded.
x. Decisive Games -> team that was set-up to work on strategy games, apparently disbanded.
2. Microsoft Victoria -> shut down ( was Mattrick's pet project )
3. ???
4. ???
5. ???
To be quite honest, part of the things he's saying is probably exaggeration because the other new studios that MS had set-up in that time frame weren't blockbuster studios, it's likely the other 3 are:
x. Lift London -> no game released yet, working on cross-platform mobile/tablet/PC/Xbox games.
x. Team Dakota -> internal team that worked on Project Spark, team is disbanded.
x. Decisive Games -> team that was set-up to work on strategy games, apparently disbanded.
If you want to take PS4's third-party exclusives out of the equation then we might as well also exclude Xbox's third-party exclusives/partnerships, accept that they have no more than 4 games and close this pointless thread.
Don't make me laugh, dude. You're the one who is adding qualifiers and moving goal posts as to what an exclusive game is. And yes it is a fair comparison. It's up to you to shell out the cheese necessary to sign a third-party exclusive if you have to and it's up to you to make your platform more attractive to a wider audience so that the competition doesn't get defacto exclusives that they don't even need to pay for. Or alternatively, it's up to you to have such a strong first-party stable that third-party exclusives become unnecessary. Microsoft is clearly failing hard in every single one of these accounts.
But let's keep making excuses for Phil.
Don't make me laugh, dude. You're the one who is adding qualifiers and moving goal posts as to what an exclusive game is. And yes it is a fair comparison. It's up to you to shell out the cheese necessary to sign a third-party exclusive if you have to and it's up to you to make your platform more attractive to a wider audience so that the competition doesn't get defacto exclusives that they don't even need to pay for. Or alternatively, it's up to you to have such a strong first-party stable that third-party exclusives become unnecessary. Microsoft is clearly failing hard in every single one of these accounts.
But let's keep making excuses for Phil.