Support NeoGAF

[Daigoro]

glad to see it looks like they are still working on it.

still looking forward to playing it one day.

 

[Nerix]

Was looking forward to this game since the announcement. Looked great art wise. Sad that we haven't heard anything new.

 

[Apoleptica]

I hope it sees a revival. I really dug the art style and the concept behind it.

 

[Stare-Bear]

It's being bundled with season 1 of the Steven Spielberg produced Halo Tv Show...

 

[sixteen-bit]

It's been burried...you know, Deep Down.

subterranean game titles = vaporware

 

[Drek]

:/

Totally forgot about Ashen. Why are these all associated with MS and don't seem to release.

Because:

1. In the middle of the X360 generation MS absolutely gutted their first party studio roster of any and all mid-tier studios, only letting the Halo/Forza/Rare/Lionhead groups survive effectively.

2. Then They pushed the later two of those hard into Kinect late that generation.

3. The Xbox One then doubled down on Kinect + TV convergence, so they didn't reinvest in first party studios and still had Rare makign Kinect games.

4. Those two elements coupled with their horrendous DRM scheme caught tons of blow back immediately from the gaming community at large. In response MS spent several E3's in a row trotting out literally every even pseudo-exclusive they had to prop up their rapidly waning credibility, regardless of where it was at in development.

5. Which leads us to where we are now. A bunch of games promised incredibly early and not delivered, a first party studio that can't get out of the Halo/Forza/Gears (added that third pillar!) grind, and a base platform gimped due to non-gaming features taking precedence.

I mean, this wasn't quite Sony's Blu-Ray + $599 get a second job levels of shooting yourself in the foot bullshit, but it is far, far closer than anyone would have guessed MS was capable of middle of last generation.

(of course, no one has topped SEGA on this front with the 32X and CD add-ons followed by the Saturn surprise launch.)

I'm very much hopeful that Below materializes soon though. Super Time Force is really good and this looks like a game in my personal sweet spot.

 

[Theorry]

:/

Totally forgot about Ashen. Why are these all associated with MS and don't seem to release.

Ashen got a increase in budget. So probably doing more now instead of what was planned.

 

[LukasTaves]

I've seen a few posts by Chris Carla and it seems Below, Cuphead and Ashen are all slated for this year, likely waiting for a full blown reveal at E3.

Because:

1. In the middle of the X360 generation MS absolutely gutted their first party studio roster of any and all mid-tier studios, only letting the Halo/Forza/Rare/Lionhead groups survive effectively.

2. Then They pushed the later two of those hard into Kinect late that generation.

3. The Xbox One then doubled down on Kinect + TV convergence, so they didn't reinvest in first party studios and still had Rare makign Kinect games.

4. Those two elements coupled with their horrendous DRM scheme caught tons of blow back immediately from the gaming community at large. In response MS spent several E3's in a row trotting out literally every even pseudo-exclusive they had to prop up their rapidly waning credibility, regardless of where it was at in development.

5. Which leads us to where we are now. A bunch of games promised incredibly early and not delivered, a first party studio that can't get out of the Halo/Forza/Gears (added that third pillar!) grind, and a base platform gimped due to non-gaming features taking precedence.

I mean, this wasn't quite Sony's Blu-Ray + $599 get a second job levels of shooting yourself in the foot bullshit, but it is far, far closer than anyone would have guessed MS was capable of middle of last generation.

(of course, no one has topped SEGA on this front with the 32X and CD add-ons followed by the Saturn surprise launch.)

I'm very much hopeful that Below materializes soon though. Super Time Force is really good and this looks like a game in my personal sweet spot.

What that has to do with 3rd party indie developers taking long to release some games?

 

[Banjo-Kazooie]

Because:

1. In the middle of the X360 generation MS absolutely gutted their first party studio roster of any and all mid-tier studios, only letting the Halo/Forza/Rare/Lionhead groups survive effectively.

2. Then They pushed the later two of those hard into Kinect late that generation.

3. The Xbox One then doubled down on Kinect + TV convergence, so they didn't reinvest in first party studios and still had Rare makign Kinect games.

4. Those two elements coupled with their horrendous DRM scheme caught tons of blow back immediately from the gaming community at large. In response MS spent several E3's in a row trotting out literally every even pseudo-exclusive they had to prop up their rapidly waning credibility, regardless of where it was at in development.

5. Which leads us to where we are now. A bunch of games promised incredibly early and not delivered, a first party studio that can't get out of the Halo/Forza/Gears (added that third pillar!) grind, and a base platform gimped due to non-gaming features taking precedence.

I mean, this wasn't quite Sony's Blu-Ray + $599 get a second job levels of shooting yourself in the foot bullshit, but it is far, far closer than anyone would have guessed MS was capable of middle of last generation.

(of course, no one has topped SEGA on this front with the 32X and CD add-ons followed by the Saturn surprise launch.)

I'm very much hopeful that Below materializes soon though. Super Time Force is really good and this looks like a game in my personal sweet spot.

What does any of that have to do with this game? Lol

 

[RelentlessRolento]

I think there was a GDC talk not long ago about lighting in the game (I might be wrong), so it's def still going strong.

 

[Drek]

What that has to do with 3rd party indie developers taking long to release some games?

Because it likely wasn't ready to be shown when it was, but since MS was paying for an exclusivity period it got publicly revealed far too early.

Kind of like Black Tusk/The Coalition's spy game which was announced with a cinematic, then but got cancelled without further media.

Same with Deep Down and Lilly Bergamo. "Games" that were effectively only technical demonstrations at that point put center stage. The first is clearly vaporware at this point while the second made a complete metamorphosis into something entirely different. But Sony needed early announcements for those sizzle reels.

I'd argue that No Man's Sky is a similar example. Had Sony simply kept it off the stage for E3 2014 and instead pushed release out to mid/late 2017 what Hello Games have since added on from what it launched as would have garnered far, far less criticism. Being shown at VGX, PAX, etc. doesn't generate the same expectations as being center stage at a first party's E3 press conference.

I think it is important to understand why this happens (hence all the other points) because both MS and Sony have "mended" their ways at current, but that only happened because we're mid-generation and titles to show off at E3 are comparatively plentiful. In a few years when we have the Xbox ScorpiPro and PS5 headlining E3 don't go in expecting all the games shown off to actually make it out the door quickly, if at all.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

https://www.engadget.com/2018/03/21/below-release-this-year-gdc-interview-video/

'Below' is going to come out this year, seriously

 

[IbizaPocholo]

 

[IbizaPocholo]