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[Aztechnology]

Meh, who honestly even cares what Spencer is saying at this point - we need to start seeing some reciepts.

People who's business it is to publish games decided to axe the project. Troubled development, which would probably mean pushing it back. Large expenses from marketing, production for retail etc. A smaller market in the West for this kind of title, and a non-existent one in the east essentially given Xbox and PC don't sell. It's a recipe for a game that would have at best probably made a very mediocre profit or maybe even lost money when all was said and done, hard to say. When instead they can allocate those funds towards a new IP.

I mean I'm saddened to see they wouldn't just finish and then forgo the marketing portion, but it just never really felt like a good fit anyway IMO.

 

[Kayant]

just saying from everything i've heard about how working for microsoft is, that "decision" that was given to them may not have felt all that free. i would have been scared shitless to lose my job if i were in that position and chose the "wrong" answer

i dont believe that shit for a second. cboat mentioned the game was in a playable state and looked really good.

plus why would these guys put their own game aside to work on someone elses ?

Well if as a studio you haven't put up anything for a while (iirc 4 yes or so)plus they got rebranded in that time I would go with gears because it's guaranteed to do well even if it under performs like it has. New IPs are great but very risky.

So I do believe what ROD and the studio manager said.

 

[Gwyn]

i hope they take the risk and fix mcc and release it on pc with halo reach added

jk will never happen

lets instead spend $ releasing halo mega bloks who cares about mcc

 

[Kaelan]

Will they risk making a singleplayer game though?

LOL'D. So fucking true.

 

[CCIE]

First of all chick, not a guy... Second, MS corporate is not going to fund a game like TLoU - it doesn't fit what they want to do unless something has changed very recently. Listen to the insiders - all their information fits what I was told about strict budgets and the like.


A "risk" would have been to actually finish out Scalebound, for example... now MS risk is Sea of Thieves - a game that if successful they can monetize with micro transactions and Live subscriptions. That is the "risk" MS is taking.

 

[Matt]

O'come on guys. I am joking around.

As was I

 

[Mrbob]

Have no idea what to make of Phil's statements anymore. Says a lot of words that really don't mean anything. Good for PR I guess because people speculate what he is actually trying to say.

Gears of War Horizon
Forza Wars.

Take all the risk.

Nailed it. Hopefully we get some more actual new IPS.

 

[onemanasylum]

I don't think it's entirely his fault either, I feel Microsoft itself is. He talks to fans on twitter, I like that, however to me it's just recycled soothing attempts more than anything most of the time.

The studio discussions don't seem to go away, the latter years of the 360 they were questioned, look at this reply from 2014, he's saying similar two years later

https://mobile.twitter.com/XboxP3/status/425753110787543040

Of course it is not all Phils fault, that's crazy, MS has an org chart with higher ups calling the shots.

 

[themagicalkitsune]

Ask and ye shall receive

lmao what is this dbz fusion shit

 

[Unreal Champ]

This guy is full of shit. His words are nothing but smoke and mirrors. Screw this moron.

 

[oti]

Sure, but after creating Uncharted 2 many of the key creative people were allowed to break off and start work on a new IP, which turned out to be one of the best first-party decisions Sony has ever made and resulted in a massive new franchise for them. This is the kind of thing MS needs to allow, even if it means we go 3-4 years without a Gears or Halo instalment.

I think if you were to suggest this to Microsoft they would laugh at you.

I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm saying Microsoft won't see it that way.

 

[Nikana]

I agree that with Scorpio, Spencer and Co. can use that to launch the Xbox division in his vision but he needs the backing and investment of MS to deliver the games. It's the "video games business" not tv or sports or Kinect or Windows 10. They need stronger 1st and 2nd party support. For now they have enough market share that 3rd parties still publish their games on the box, but even so notable 3rd party games have been missing from the platform or have come after a Ps4 release, Nier Automata and Firewatch being examples respectively.

He needs to come out and say these are the 1st party games we're working on, Halo, Gears, Forza and this new IP and these developers are working on them etc.

I agree with this, my point is he only got the head just just shy of 3 years ago.

Idk I guess in my head we saw the immediate effect of him becoming the head in stuff like scalebound and tomb raider. He realized that his first party output wasn't where it needed to be so to fill that Gap he started picking up some 3rd party games.

He's always been a fan of crack down so he greenlit the Crackdown reboot that they always wanted to make and that was an IP that hardcore Xbox fans love.

In my mind the deals like Tomb Raider and scalebound were to just buy him time while he built first party Studios. 3 years to get first party games off the ground from scratch just isn't that much time.


If they don't have at least 2 major new IP for Scorpio reveal/e3 I would be shocked.

 

[Apathy]

Microsoft take risks, lol. That will be the day.

"the next halo game will feature master chief in a slightly darker shade of green"

 

[Samurai G0SU]

Nope. Actions speak louder than words, this guy is a windbag, and I've never gotten the love he gets in this board. This brand has really suffered under him.

Lmfao!!! Neogaf gold at its finest here folks.

Popcorn.gif

 

[Fat4all]

O'come on guys. I am joking around.

I know, but still.

They need Scorpio, and they need it to be big. And the Scorpio reveal has to come with an interesting games lineup as well.

 

[MisterR]

It's Phil Spencer doing what he always does, telling people what he thinks they want to hear.

 

[MarveI]

I get the backlash against Phil and MS, but why aren't people blaming platinum? They seemed to get enough time to work on it, maybe the game just sucked and was a mess. I'm sure the last thing Phil wanted to do was to cancel it. It must have been in a pretty sorry state to force his hand.

I keep reading responses here that sound like he cancelled it out of spite or something. Just realize that he probably literally agonized over it, and I'm sure gave platinum numerous chances to right the ship.

They took a "risk" on scalebound, and ended up losing. That's the nature of a risk, sometimes it turns out shitty.

Blaming either side about this cancellation is wrong as we have no facts about what caused it. Maybe neither side is to blame, maybe one maybe both. People blaming MS isn't just about Scalebound, it's the culmination of several things that broke the camels back. At least that's how I feel about it.

 

[Sword Of Doom]

I wonder how much power he really has.

.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Dictator93]

Forza Wars.

Take all the risk.

A 3rd person cover shooter as a car?

Why not.

 

[Kyrios]

I don't think it's entirely his fault either, I feel Microsoft itself is. He talks to fans on twitter, I like that, however to me it's just recycled soothing attempts more than anything most of the time.

The studio discussions don't seem to go away, the latter years of the 360 they were questioned, look at this reply from 2014, he's saying similar two years later

https://mobile.twitter.com/XboxP3/status/425753110787543040

Didn't he also say Japan was "critical" to Xbox's success prior to the console's release in that country? For some reason I keep thinking about that...

 

[Pie and Beans]

I'd advise developers never to take the risk of signing with Microsoft at this point and go to Kickstarter instead or literally anywhere else.

Xbox isn't going to be a long-term thing anymore. That much is clear.

 

[Kremzeek]

Nope. Actions speak louder than words, this guy is a windbag, and I've never gotten the love he gets in this board. This brand has really suffered under him.

yeah i haven't seen any concrete positive effects under his "leadership."

MS needs to start saying YES YES YES instead of NO NO NO (or JUST WAIT, something better is coming in a year but we can't show you anything. please preorder Scorpio).

 

[Anung]

A 3rd person cover shooter as a car?

Why not.

Scalebound would have been way better if the dragon was a car from Forza.

 

[Doffen]

Someone need to update the Spencer Effect chart.

Do you remember this?

SNIP*

Triggered.

More like delaying the console in 29 markets.

 

[BRocknRolla]

You're right, Phil. Those are nice words but they do sound very hollow right now.

 

[JOEVIAL]

Poor Phil. He is in a lose / lose situation at this point. Scorpio has been built up to be Xbox's saving grace by the xbox community. So much so that I don't think it is possible to live up to the expectations.

If Scorpio isn't $399, And at this point MS won't sell hardware at a loss so odds are it won't be.

People will complain

If Their E3 conference only shows known games and doesn't have any surprises other than Halo 6, Forza 7, Crackdown, Sea Of Thieves, Cuphead, State of Decay, Voodoo Vince Remaster, and Phantom Dust Remaster.

People will complain

And finally unless Scorpio's graphics aren't a generational leap from PS4 (or even Pro for that matter).

People will complain

Phil has done a lot of good to the Xbox brand the last 2 years, but he is fighting a serious uphill battle. arguably more so then when he was appointed as head of xbox. Some of it is self inflicted, but most of it was conjured from hyperbole from the Xbox community.

There isn't really winning scenario here for Phil.

Unfortunately there is a lot of truth in what you are saying

In all honesty the Scorpio won't be a "true, amazing breakthrough in gaming tech" I mean... its just a more powerful console, which will make games look prettier sure... but that won't matter if the gameplay of those games isn't good. Add to that XBOX needs more original IP's instead of "new and innovative IP" (I am so tired of hearing that from XBOX during conferences).

 

[LordRaptor]

Lionhead made two good Fable games, one kinda okay Fable game, and were developing a Fable game that had a bad beta. That output doesn't illicit the same kind of reaction that a developer like Platinum does

I think its a couple things. Lionhead had been on a downward trend for a while and things like Fable 3, Fable Kinect, and Fable Legends had really alienated the fan base. Then pair that with this becoming a disturbing trend of MS shuttering publicly revealed projects down and I think people are becoming increasingly unhappy with the way things are going down.

It's less the quality of either developers projects, its just to me the closure of a wholly owned studio - rather than repurposing them to another project, or merging them or setting them up as an ancillary studio to assist other projects - seems more indicative of scaling back support than the cancelling of a work-for-hire project

 

[Fat4all]

Scalebound would have been way better if the dragon was a car from Forza.

I honestly want a car from Forza to be in KI Season 4.

 

[Papacheeks]

Comparing Sony with MS here makes no sense for several reasons. The truth here is we don't know or Microsoft's organizational structure. From what I've read over the years it's supposed to be a quite a hostile atmosphere between the divisions and they try to beat each other. Add in that I'm sure Microsoft wants to win at everything and beat the competition so they hate this console generation to no end.

To your suggestion with the independent funding and operation of the Xbox division, this sounds like fanfiction to me. In the greater picture Xbox might as well only exist to get Windows 10 in peoples' living rooms. The truth is there's no need for the expensive dedicated console market to achieve that goal. That's why I don't believe Xbox as we know it will be around for much longer if Scorpio fails. The way MS is talking up the machine it doesn't sounds cheap and I can't imagine the higher ups being eager to invest even more into the current Xbox brand.

WOw, defensive, i was giving my opinion on what I think they should do as a division. And why can't I compare xbox to playstation?

Your outlook is Xbox as a platform but to have that they have to actually make a store front that's not hot garbage and works, which currently they've done nothing with.

And to see Sony do well, and soon I believe Nintendo do well in the same console space says that they could do well as well if they restructure and have the principles that Nintendo and Sony have for why they actually got into this industry.

 

[LiK]

Taking risks is fine but if it ends up being canceled then you're just wasting money and time.

 

[mejin]

It's Phil Spencer doing what he always does, telling people what he thinks they want to hear.

Worked for 3 years. At least, for the xbox community.

 

[chadskin]

Boy, the honeymoon for Spencer at the head of Xbox really is over.

 

[Into the Light]

I had no idea you guys were looking forward to this game so much. I really never thought twice about it.

 

[Nikana]

I'd advise developers never to take the risk of signing with Microsoft at this point and go to Kickstarter instead or literally anywhere else.

Xbox isn't going to be a long-term thing anymore. That much is clear.

Insert that's bait gif here.

 

[FinaruDensetsu]

It's Phil Spencer doing what he always does, telling people what he thinks they want to hear.

Because he'd somehow be doing his job better if he told people what they didn't want to hear?

 

[Kickz]

Because Halo is more important to Microsoft than Killzone is to Sony.

Well Killzone isn't really in Halo's orbit

 

[facetheslayer92]

Didn't he also say Japan was "critical" to Xbox's success prior to the console's release in that country? For some reason I keep thinking about that...

I hope he didn't mean that literally.

 

[FunkyPajamas]

Triggered.

More like delaying the console in 29 markets.

Haha, that shit reminds me of the "Europe is a country" thing. Ha!

 

[Kill3r7]

I'd advise developers never to take the risk of signing with Microsoft at this point and go to Kickstarter instead or literally anywhere else.

Xbox isn't going to be a long-term thing anymore. That much is clear.

To be fair it sounds like Platinum shopped Scalebound all around town before settling for MS. Depending on the scope of the game Kickstarer might be a non starter.

 

[LegendofDragoonLives]

corporate speak is a wonderful thing.

We live in an era where political correctness and how you speak are far more important than what you actually do. Dude just always says the right thing and people eat it up. I'm still waiting for the different Microsoft that we were supposed to see under his leadership.

 

[Salty Rice]

Much talk. No substance.

Risks my ass.

 

[Dante]

Lmfao!!! Neogaf gold at its finest here folks.

Popcorn.gif

*Shrugs* they've really fallen from grace, even the PS3 was able to turn things around, the Xbox brand seems to continually lose momentum this gen.

 

[oti]

I think people should stop dramatising business so much. I highly doubt Spencer is either "your friend" or a "bad thing for the brand" or solely responsible. Companies are difficult systems.

 

[Fat4all]

I had no idea you guys were looking forward to this game so much. I really never thought twice about it.

It's a Kamiya directed Platinum game, of course people cared about it.

 

[Jaded Alyx]

Give me a star fox since Nintendo won't.

Star Fox Zero doesn't count because......?

 

[Goose_Se7en]

Man I'm still fucking bummed Scalebound is dead. I know many thought it looked stiff or w.e. and it did, but still it was a Kamiya game and I thought it was gonna be awesome.

 

[Aztechnology]

I'd advise developers never to take the risk of signing with Microsoft at this point and go to Kickstarter instead or literally anywhere else.

Xbox isn't going to be a long-term thing anymore. That much is clear.

A game like Scalebound could never be created off of Kickstarter. It would take Star Citizen level funding and I'm sorry but it would just never get it.

Xbox is transitioning into a PC/Console industry and while their first party games aren't really showing much they are making some smart decisions. People claiming Xbox is dead are being very silly. It's like saying Valve died when they stopped producing games.

 

[Boke1879]

The biggest mistake MS made was not cultivating new IP.

Seriously there should have been a Sunset Overdrive 2. Now they kinda have to double down on their key franchises. IT just sucks because the constant cancelling of games just doesn't inspire confidence.

 

[jelly]

Phil probably fights his corner then the Windows bosses nod their heads and do what the hell they like and Phil gets the flak. Windows Store is the priority, likely hope they do something good for Xbox and games while not screwing it up. I can see the Xbox team calling Microsoft customer support instead of having any serious collaboration and say. Nadella lives in a bubble of massive return of investment, probably thinks why every game can't be a Minecraft success and doesn't see beyond Xbox Live subscriptions since subs is what he is basically turning Microsoft into and is mostly done.

 

[CCIE]

Scalebound would have been way better if the dragon was a car from Forza.

LMFAO!! Damn....