How in the world did MS let their relationship with Bungie get to that point?

Microsoft chose Halo over Bungie and they chose right. Now Bungie will be making a game that looks like Halo, feels like Halo but doesn't come close for the next 10 years.

You're right, Destiny will definitely not come close to these pitiful numbers

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It'll be galaxies above
 
So was it ever confirmed that the rumoured Gearbox Halo game was the backup if Bungie pulled a Infinite Ward and became a empty shell if 90% of its staff walked post Halo 3?


The whole MS/Bungie split is one of my favourite things from last gen. So unexpected from MS from that era. You would think they would have just let Bungie die instead of letting them go.
 
Bungie / Microsoft was not an amicable split. It was a very, very ugly divorce.

Are you sure? For being such an ugly divorce, there really isn't much evidence to point to. I don't recall there being any public drama or lawsuits. The Bungie Declaration of Independence is the most direct comment on the situation I've seen, and it's pretty tame.

Yes, Reach's playlist support took a hit when 343 assumed full control, but I don't think that's a sign of the split being unusually hostile.
 
Nah, but you did say it "won't come close" to Halo. Which it might.


Well big difference is, Halo came out when the F2P craze was in full swing and there was barely any competition in console multiplayer games. Destiny on the other hand will find it very hard to sell as easy as Halo did.

CoD, Halo, BF are all still going. You get my point?
 
Bungie was the best thing MS had going for them, they should have bent over backwards to make them happy. Sony's incredible handling of ND is how they should have done it.

MS is more in love with blockbuster IP's than the teams behind them, Halo and Gears are good examples of that. Sony invests in great teams that pay dividends for generations.

Sony's approach is better for the long term and MS's is better for the short term.
 
Destiny looks too much like Halo for "creative freedom" to have been a credible reason why Bungie wanted out. They could have made any game in the world and they make another shooter?

Makes me look at them in a lot less favorable light.

they can't do a shooter they've always wanted to?

creative freedom doesn't necessarily mean changing genres
 
MS always owned the Halo franchise. The big issue IMO was that Bungie saw all the money MS was making and so they wanted out to take a shot at a blockbuster IP that they would own.
 
Yeah; if MS had let Bungie create something new after Halo 3 I don't think they would have wanted to leave. You would think this would be a warning to MS to give their developers a bit more leeway, but instead we get Lionhead being a Fable factory, Turn 10 working on nothing but Forza (and they even have to draft in another studio because they want annual Forzas), Rare being stuck with Kinect and most recently Black Tusk's new game being canned in favour of more Gears.

Maybe they'll allow 343i to develop something new after Halo 5, but I doubt it. They'll always be able to hire in new talent, but they'll haemorrhage a lot too because the devs will be in demand and they won't want to work on Halo forever.

Do you even know where the name 343 comes from?
 
I didn't like Bungie's Halo games but I loved Halo 4 so for me the split and moving Halo to 343 was the best thing that could ever happen to the IP. And now we're finally getting Halo running at glorious 60fps with Halo 5. Perfect.
 
Microsoft chose Halo over Bungie and they chose right. Now Bungie will be making a game that looks like Halo, feels like Halo but doesn't come close for the next 10 years.
Hmm? Doesn't come close in terms of sales? Possibly.

I suspect it will play better than whatever 343 is working on. Halo 4 definitely didn't have that Bungie spark and I can't help but feel that the amount of time Bungie has had to work on Destiny will allow them to produce something truly outstanding.

I didn't like Bungie's Halo games but I loved Halo 4 so for me the split and moving Halo to 343 was the best thing that could ever happen to the IP. And now we're finally getting Halo running at glorious 60fps with Halo 5. Perfect.
Interesting point of view. That's precisely what I expected. Halo 4 was different enough that I could see people that didn't previously enjoy Halo loving it while those that were huge Halo fans would shun it. It was well made but it never came close to matching Bungie's efforts for my tastes.
 
Bungie wanted creative freedom, bigger success and the money that comes with it.

Microsoft had all the cards before.

Bungie got their freedom, Microsoft got one of the best ready made IPs out there.

Best outcome for both parties.
 
Bungie wanted creative freedom, bigger success and the money that comes with it.

Microsoft had all the cards before.

Bungie got their freedom, Microsoft got one of the best ready made IPs out there.

Best outcome for both parties.

I'm still a bit worried about Activision's involvement though. With the reportedly huge budget and the talk about game as service I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop and they announce a subscription fee for Destiny.
 
I'm still a bit worried about Activision's involvement though. With the reportedly huge budget and the talk about game as service I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop and they announce a subscription fee for Destiny.
There won't be. They'll have DLC, and bi-yearly main releases, offset with bi-yearly expansions. Activision will make an obscene killing without sticking their dick in a hornets nest.
 
Microsoft defiantly fucked up.. It's looking like Destiny is going to be a huge success and big franchise. That franchise could have been theirs had they given Bungie some freedom. What stings more is that some early work was probably performed by Bungie when Microsoft was paying the bills and signing their checks.
 
bungie lost their magic long ago, After fucking up the halo gameplay with halo reach, I lost any hope for them. Part of me hopes destiny will be good, but another part remains bitter at the fact they ruined traditional halo gameplay.
 
Microsoft pressuring Bungie to try and pump out yearly Halo titles probably is what turned this relationship sour. From what I've read/heard a while ago leading up to the departure Bungie was uncomfortable with pushing out a yearly title due to concerns of the quality of their product. MS didn't seem to care all to much about that, it was an ongoing struggle between the two. Bungie is better off now I feel and will probably produce a hit with Destiny.
 
You keep the IP not the studio name because everyone knows the studio is only as good as its creators. If the talent leaves what's the point of keeping the studio?
 
Did no one in the Xbox executive team realize how valuable Bungie was beyond the Halo series and the potential they had in creating a new franchise for the company?

Bungie has been hailed as one of, if not the best fps dev in the industry for over a decade now. Surely MS would trust them enough to work on something new rather than forcing them to become a perpetual Halo womb. It's stuff like this that makes me wish MS treated its internal teams more like Sony treats ND.

Props to MS for letting Bungie go their own way without destroying them, something truly exemplary for an acquiring company as large as MS. But the fact that it came to the point where Bungie didn't feel comfortable at MS any more is what truly confounds me. How do you let relations with your premier dev erode like that?

I'm pretty sure Halo 4 is the answer to your question in the title.
 
In the short term they both walked away as winners. Bungie is free from that partnership and MS still has its Halo and Halo factory in 343.

The long term effects will be the interesting thing. If Bungie's vision of this MMOish size shooter on console actually happens, then it will be interesting what happens to Halo, especially since fatigue is setting in and we might see a shift in console balance compared to last gen. I'm also wondering how much steam will be left after this trilogy and possible spinoffs.

I think Bungie "won" this one in the long term.
 
You keep the IP not the studio name because everyone knows the studio is only as good as its creators. If the talent leaves what's the point of keeping the studio?*


*see Rare


Halo & Bungie were both stagnating. It was a good split.
 
In the short term they both walked away as winners. Bungie is free from that partnership and MS still has its Halo and Halo factory in 343.

The long term effects will be the interesting thing. If Bungie's vision of this MMOish size shooter on console actually happens, then it will be interesting what happens to Halo, especially since fatigue is setting in and we might see a shift in console balance compared to last gen. I'm also wondering how much steam will be left after this trilogy and possible spinoffs.

I think Bungie "won" this one in the long term.

Totally agree with you here. 1000% If the next Halo game isn't an instant hit it and Bungie's Destiny produces as I expect it will it will definitely hurt Xbox 1's future during these console wars.
 
This is what happens when companies buy each other - it never works out or very, very rarely.

This is why Facebook buying Oculus will result in nothing good.

What exactly are you basing that opinion on and stating it like a fact?
 
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