Shpeshal Nick
aka Collingwood
Seriously, what does this have to do with anything?
Scalebound cancelled [Platinum Games and Kamiya have commented]
- Thread starter SteveO409
- Start date
- Status
Seriously, what does this have to do with anything?
Hypothetically, internal politics, budgetary red-lines, change in strategic directions...hell, games have been canceled over the loss of tax credits. And sometimes people just change their minds.
Also, don't be so flippant about stuff you don't understand. Publishers fucking with milestones has killed many independent developers.
cripterion
Member
Project Spark
Kinect 2.0
Xbox Fitness
and the failure that was Quantum Break/Tv stuff.
All the stuff that they banked on just fails hard or doesn't even see the light of day. Someone said in this thread Microsoft was quite fluid, I'd say that for this gen they are literally liquid shit.
Head.spawn
Junior Member
Doctor Ironic
Member
Maybe I can shoot fire out of my ass.
I'm saying we have no facts about this event other than two established histories (and some insiders who are saying things with sources they can't reveal) and the thread speculation is... going in the complete opposite direction of what all of those things suggest.
kungfuian
Member
I'd presume Microsoft's loss may become Sony's gain. Platinum is a great dev and Sony would be smart to give them more work IMO.
From a PR stand point Sony parading this type of persona out on stage is like adding salt in the MS wound, and therefor a totally viable strategy IMO. It also very strongly reinforces their commitment, and the competitors lack there of, to helping developers make the games they want to make!
Wouldn't surprise me at all. These guys seem to be capable of pulling things off in weird ways. Sony could give them a modest budget, something less than what a AAA game would get with a good enough development time.
Well with enough chili....
Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew
Banned
It's an observation.
Sword Of Doom
Member
Honestly, I was at work and when I saw the thread title I thought to myself "this is huge!"
It's a Kamiya/Platinum game. Are you really surprised? Especially considering how the game was showing poorly and the entire discussion about MS and their plans. I personally think the game wasn't good so MS dropped it. Most logical conclusion for me cause the game didn't look good
I do hope platinum recovers from this. Video games would not be as fun without them
WaterAstro
Member
Oh no wonder there was so much Platinum Games buzz... I didn't know it was cancelled lol!
2 Slice Toaster
Member
Or better yet promote their Kickstarter at the next E3!
Given their name showing up on the Switch list dev list, I wouldn't be shocked if they had a contract with Nintendo for Bayo 3 or something else to start full development once ScaleBound or Nier is done. Having said that, the president's goal is also for them to make their own IP in the next few years so I wonder where that falls into everything.
I feel like Nintendo & Sony could be the real winners. Platinum games should just get all of their projects out and then split the entire studio into 2 teams and 2 teams only. One works on a Switch exclusive and the other works on a PS4 exclusive. Boom!!!
Kazuo Hirai
I really want everyone to know how much more Titanfall 2 sold than Nioh. It was a staggering amount.
I know the Itagaki things, but what make the new Team Ninja Sony's second party?
MicroSoft didn't repair the relationship and stop them go Sony's side?
What if DOA6 become PS exclusive, can't imagine.
The KOEI(own TN) focus multiplatform many years, weird chioce
DOAX3 did not even come out in the US and you're wondering why it didn't release on Xbox One?
Inviusx
Member
Platinum have proven to be pretty garbage developers when working on a small budget. Legend of Korra, Ninja Turtles. They were hot garbage.
Captain.Arabia
Member
I didn't say it had to be a small budget but it doesn't have to be a massive budget.
Milly Osworth
Member
Phil did his PR speak on Twitter now, so we're all good right?!
I mean...
The latter would be up to the publisher. If Square wanted Nier Automata on Xbox it would be and Platinum wouldn't have much say in that.
But I think it's fair to say that Platinum will not be directly partnering with Microsoft again.
Very unfortunate news for everyone involved, particularly Kamiya who seems to be unwell from insider reports. Hopefully he and the rest of Platinum can recover from this with merely a few bruises and nothing too major like significant layoffs.
As for where they go from here, they are the kind of company that I could see finding HUGE success through Kickstarter if they struggle finding significant work. A lot like what Obsidian went through a few years ago before finding their niche.
As for where they go from here, they are the kind of company that I could see finding HUGE success through Kickstarter if they struggle finding significant work. A lot like what Obsidian went through a few years ago before finding their niche.
Jaguar Victory
Member
It's hard to tell with mega corporations. Sometimes they have the wrong people in charge. Who knows what the politics are, what their budget constraints are, or if the CEO has a shit vision he's dictating down and enforcing. Artists make art. They don't do well with the financials. Businesses make business and are the stiffs reading leadership books and trying to make a name for themselves. They can't create art. Videogames have to mix the two like movies and sometimes you get a hit and sometimes you get a dud. The hits fund the duds. I wonder if the lukewarm sales of quantum break and gears 4 limited their operating budget and sacrifices had to be made.
They're also in the middle of creating a new console so R&D and near future manufacturing costs are putting the division in the red right now leading to more scrutiny. The open budget days seem to be over. Stockholder groups are only interested in profit and have been pressuring MS for years regarding the XBOX division. I really hope Nadella is 100% in. We're going to find out soon. E3 is around the corner.
They're also in the middle of creating a new console so R&D and near future manufacturing costs are putting the division in the red right now leading to more scrutiny. The open budget days seem to be over. Stockholder groups are only interested in profit and have been pressuring MS for years regarding the XBOX division. I really hope Nadella is 100% in. We're going to find out soon. E3 is around the corner.
Sword Of Doom
Member
Yeah it's sad seeing them in this state. I'd take 1 good platinum game over 10 garbage copy/paste AAA games
Doctor Ironic
Member
Grim Patron
Member
Very bad.
Dreams-Visions
Member
I mean, it's not like we're every likely to get the whole story. Opinions will fall along pro/anti MS lines, generally speaking. Maybe the product was shaping up just that badly. We'll never play it to know.
I think it's fair to say it must have been pretty disappointing to someone if they would cut their losses this late into development. It must have been irredeemable.
Insiders are very much hinting a Project Dust kind of story.
RiccochetJ
Gold Member
If publishers are able to fuck with milestones means that either means that the contract was written poorly or as soon as you missed a milestone, the gloves were off. No, I haven't worked in game development, but I've been part of similar high stress dev environments so while I don't know the details, I have an idea. Check yourself with the idea that no other dev environment can sympathize or empathize.
Yep, right in the feels
Blue Ninja
Member
The first, maybe. The second, hell no. Platinum's an independent developer, they can't afford to go playing favorites.
As someone said, it's all up to the publisher. Though I agree Xbox One is becoming less and less of an interesting ecosystem all the time.
I was going through the start of the thread and seeing some posts and this one caught my eye.
The only sort of short turnaround I see would be if either Sony or Nintendo came in to fund a project from Platinum Games.
I mean how bad could it have been to where Microsoft wanted to cancel a game that was supposed to come out this year?
I'd really like to know what went down because I was super hyped for Scalebound despite the bad E3 showings. I had a lot of faith in Kamiya and that he would turn it around. Scalebound was #2 in my Most Anticipated games for 2017 thread behind only Zelda: BotW.
Did MS really want an online component tacked on? Why were Kamiya and top staff taking a month off and missing deadlines when they knew this was huge title for Microsoft?
I tweeted Kamiya about this game like a couple of weeks ago lol.
I was really looking forward to it :/
This is also a very interesting response given the game is now cancelled.
BackwardCap
Member
Pretty sure the only reason most of us even care is because Platinum.
Time for Bayo 3 & Wonderful 202
Time for Bayo 3 & Wonderful 202
Honestly, I'm worried that he'll retire at this point. The amount of pressure and eventual cancellation may have been too much.
Hawk269
Member
I would think he would be being that he gave the Xbox Division the green light to research and develop Scorpio. The Development and Research for a new console is expensive and we are not even including manufacturing and marketing. I don't think a CEO would green light such a project unless he/she was 100% behind it.
I see zero reason to buy it. I would have an easier time convincing someone to get a Wii U than an Xbox One.
It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with how the contract was written. In these relationships, the publishers have all the power. Even if they are being unreasonable, typically developers have little recourse. They either agree to these milestones and hopefully get paid, or they don't, development stops, and the small dev doesn't have the money to keep the lights on. They can sue the publisher, but then their game probably never gets made, AND they are now labeled a problem to work with to all the other publishers. Not that it matters, because again, by the time the lawsuit is done, even if the dev wins, they have already had to shut down.
It's fucked up. It doesn't happen all the time, but it absolutely has happened, and will again.
Hawk269
Member
This. I am sure the amount of pressure of being the person in charge is immense. In my field, I was a person in charge and the buck stopped with me and it was a pretty stressful type of thing. I can imagine a person like him in the position he is in it can be even harder. Hopefully he focuses on his health and takes the time he needs before he jumps back into the fold. Like someone else said, his health is more important than making video games.
Huh, is that really the first time you ever encountered that phrase? I always thought it's pretty common usage with relation to competitive markets and politics.
Jaguar Victory
Member
I hope you're right. Stinkles seems to be in good spirits so all can't be bad. That or he's riding the Seahawks playoff high right now.
They'll probably do Xbox games if the publisher requests it. You'll just probably won't see Platinum Games working directly with MS again.
I'd be more interested to see how other Japanese devs react to this and if this would affect on their thoughts on working with MS in the future.
While it'd be awesome to see him come out on stage, rejuvenated, and on the fast track on a new game, like Kojima. I feel like there's no chance of that happening.
If he's really breaking down from all the stress from Scalebound then i'd imagine he'd might stay away from games for a while. Maybe even enter a year long sabbatical.
- Status