Scalebound cancelled [Platinum Games and Kamiya have commented]

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Magic Mushroom said:
Haven't played FF but with TLG we got a lovely game, which to me as a gamer matters more than recouping costs. And it gained Sony a lot of goodwill, which is also worth something.
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Yeah at the end of the day we all just want good games. Obviously the financials will give context to why certain decision are made, but I really don't care how much profit is made off of a game I just want it and I want to to be good. Don't see why people would throw shade at FFXV and TLG for being money pits when they turned out to be good games. Maybe they weren't very profitable but why do I care?

Obviously profits matter to a certain extent. It will encourage a publisher and/or developed to make more entries in a series or more games like it. But profits don't change the end user experience.
 
BronsonLee said:
Lamborghini Casts Magic Missile



Samsung or Apple if they want to try and hit the living room hard
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Neither want any part of the console game of small margins and playing the long game. Apple and Samsung are used to monster margins. Unless you want something as powerful as a table SOC for 300 dollars.
 
Seik said:
Me too. :(

The man must be crushed. He was making his dream game, it being cancelled must be a hard big-ass pill to swallow.
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Not only that, but, allegedly, Microsoft kept interfering and altering the original concept and demanding additional excessive features.

Aside from the rumored unrealistic milestones a. o.

Imagine what it must feel like when someone possibly, steps in, changes significant design aspects of your passion project, tells you most of what you're doing is wrong, while simoltaneously cuts back on your financial funding.

And thats without taking the various stress factors that comes with working as an independent developer into consideration.
 
Xbox revenues for both Live and Software titles are still trending up, even though hardware isn't looking as positive. Microsoft has at least another entire gen in their cards to try and continue to grow that stuff, since that's where the real money is.

If their next hardware device(s) fail to sustain service revenue, that's when they might take a second look at the Xbox division. It's really premature right now to talk about Xbox disappearing.

That said, as others have pointed out, games are really fucking microscopic potatoes for Microsoft. Office 365, Azure, Windows 10, all infinitely more important to their business objectives
 
Tankard said:
Either that or you admit that this is only YOUR issue with the post and when people pointed out how much of a reach this is, you are trying to backpedal.
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Its clearly referencing Scalebound, expecially this post https://www.facebook.com/PlayStatio...2993.205010466233119/1302575019809986/?type=3

when he says something along the lines of "on PS4 we do not inflict final blows..",

And it is a dig at Microsoft not Platinum, And im sure they arent as sensitive as some people here and will take it lightly...

People here seem to think it is a mortal sin to make a little fun of the competition.
 
Apple wouldn't need to buy the Xbox division to get into the console market, the only reason they would buy them is to eliminate competition
 
Somnia said:
They wouldn't sell Minecraft with the Xbox Division if they sold it. Minecraft was bought by Microsoft as a company, not by the xbox division.
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That's like saying buying xbox division won't get you Gears or Halo either, because technically MS bought/built the studios.. Plus Nobody is gonna buy the console/brand name, they'll want the IP's with it too.

It's still under the xbox division, it'll all go with it. And to be honest, I don't think it was "Microsoft" that purchased them, I know it's MS money but.. Don't forget it was Spencer/Xbox announcing it and dealing with it all. If it was MS it'd probably be Nadella. In the end it's all still Microsoft though, but I think it was mainly a xbox division thing and "Microsoft" bought it for the xbox division. Obviously it's more complicated than that but I think you get what I mean.
 
The only reason I can see Microsoft cancelling this game, which has been leveraged as a marquee game within their Xbox One catalog, is that they felt no realistic amount of increased spending or development time would turn this into something worth playing. If the game looked like it could potentially turn into something fun, and there was any semblance of light at the end of the tunnel - no matter how feint - I get the feeling that they would have stuck with the title until its completion.

What separates something like The Last Guardian, which was given an infinite amount of rope, and Sony Santa Monica's canceled game? They were both titles being developed by prominent studios, but one was given extension after extension - while the other was given the axe. I believe the answer to that question to be the reason why Microsoft decided to move on from Scalebound. The fact that they moved on leads me to believe that development was far too troubled, and the core game was to fundamentally flawed - for Microsoft to risk putting the needed resources and extensions to get the game to market.
 
If Xbox is to be sold off, my preferred buyer would be Samsung. They know how to market and sell electronics all over the world and I would imagine they would be able to court more Japanese developer than any American company.
 
Chris1 said:
That's like saying buying xbox division won't get you Gears or Halo either, because technically MS bought/built the studios.. Plus Nobody is gonna buy the console/brand name, they'll want the IP's with it too.

It's still under the xbox division, it'll all go with it. And to be honest, I don't think it was "Microsoft" that purchased them, I know it's MS money but.. Don't forget it was Spencer announcing it and dealing with it all. If it was MS it'd probably be Nadella. In the end it's all still Microsoft though, but I think it was mainly a xbox division thing and he somehow persuaded MS to buy it.
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The money came from Microsofts overseas 20+ billion they hold on to and not bring to America due to taxes. Minecraft was not bought out of the Xbox Divisions budget.

I'm not saying Minecraft couldn't go if they sold the xbox division, but I'm pretty sure Minecraft doesn't operate under the xbox division, it's under another division completely. I'd have to look that up though.
 
jayu26 said:
If Xbox is to be sold off, my preferred buyer would be Samsung. They know how to market and sell electronics all over the world and I would imagine they would be able to court more Japanese developer than any American company.
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That would definitely be interesting to see how that played out.
 
Games get cancelled all the time. If MS didnt like where the game was going, they can do whatever they want. Same with Fable, it got canned for a reason. Sucks for games but it is what it is.

People calling Xbox dead have no idea how how any of this works.
 
Somnia said:
The money came from Microsofts overseas 20+ billion they hold on to and not bring to America due to taxes. Minecraft was not bought out of the Xbox Divisions budget.

I'm not saying Minecraft couldn't go if they sold the xbox division, but I'm pretty sure Minecraft doesn't operate under the xbox division, it's under another division completely. I'd have to look that up though.
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I edited my post to make it a little clearer "In the end it's all still Microsoft though, but I think it was mainly a xbox division thing and "Microsoft" bought it for the xbox division. Obviously it's more complicated than that but I think you get what I mean."


It's not like the Gears IP came from the xbox budget either
 
Guymelef said:
It's better for everybody not having Scalebound.
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That comment could potentially be true though. Maybe the game just wasn't shaping into something worthwhile or functional. But since Microsoft sunk money into it, and they're bringing it to market, they'd be obligated to advertise it and try to make as much revenue from it as possible. In that sense, it'd be better for Xbox gamers - because they wouldn't be selling them a game they know to be horse shit. But then again, they've put out games like that before :D
 
I lost interest in the game after the last showing, but it's always kind of sad to hear about a team working on a game for a few years just to have it scrapped.
 
The_Dama said:
Games get cancelled all the time. If MS didnt like where the game was going, they can do whatever they want. Same with Fable, it got canned for a reason. Sucks for games but it is what it is.

People calling Xbox dead have no idea how how any of this works.
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games get canceled all the time yes. what doesn't happen all the time is canceling of a huge AAA third party game that has been shown at multiple staged events. is it really so hard to understand why this is a controversial thing that people like to discuss?
 
harSon said:
That comment could potentially be true though. Maybe the game just wasn't shaping into something worthwhile or functional. But since Microsoft sunk money into it, and they're bringing it to market, they'd be obligated to advertise it and try to make as much revenue from it as possible. In that sense, it'd be better for Xbox gamers - because they wouldn't be selling them a game they know to be horse shit. But then again, they've put out games like that before :D
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This is my view. The game was not up to their standard, be that their fault or platinums, and so it's better not to rob people of £50 with a turd.
 
Guymelef said:
It's better for everybody not having Scalebound.
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I have to imagine the original concept of the game was much different than what it was turning into it, especially considering how long it's taken.

Having every exclusive focus on the same concepts just makes Xbox look shallow as a brand in regards to exclusives. Nintendo has the same problem. Platformers and Party Games. Now, they do have a good deal of RPG's as well, but they both really need to focus on getting more genres.
 
jayu26 said:
If Xbox is to be sold off, my preferred buyer would be Samsung. They know how to market and sell electronics all over the world and I would imagine they would be able to court more Japanese developer than any American company.
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I don't want the next RROD to be an exploding Xbox...

But in all seriousness, I'm not really sure how this topic started but I figure I'll throw my own guess in. I love Xbox (Xbox One is my primary place to play games) but I just don't see how it could exist as a brand with anyone else. If Microsoft were to throw in the towel, I think it would just be gone for good.

On the other hand, I have an odd fantasy where Nintendo exists the console business and Microsoft buys their IP. Microsoft hardware/software/online with first-party Nintendo IP... goddamn. It'll never happen though.
 
jayu26 said:
If Xbox is to be sold off, my preferred buyer would be Samsung. They know how to market and sell electronics all over the world and I would imagine they would be able to court more Japanese developer than any American company.
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Samsung are Korean, why would that be advantageous?
 
icespide said:
games get canceled all the time yes. what doesn't happen all the time is canceling of a huge AAA third party game that has been shown at multiple staged events. is it really so hard to understand why this is a controversial thing that people like to discuss?
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Indeed.

This is a very rare occasion.
 
jayu26 said:
If Xbox is to be sold off, my preferred buyer would be Samsung. They know how to market and sell electronics all over the world and I would imagine they would be able to court more Japanese developer than any American company.
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The fight over J devs seems fruitless, especially when they're still in a frail state. Best to leave it consolidated mostly under the largest platform.

As for who would most likely buy them out, that'd be Amazon.
 
Somnia said:
The money came from Microsofts overseas 20+ billion they hold on to and not bring to America due to taxes. Minecraft was not bought out of the Xbox Divisions budget.

I'm not saying Minecraft couldn't go if they sold the xbox division, but I'm pretty sure Minecraft doesn't operate under the xbox division, it's under another division completely. I'd have to look that up though.
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I'm pretty sure you are right. Minecraft goes beyond simple gaming. It's a platform onto itself.
 
I dont really care about Scalebound, but I hope this doesn't sink Platinum. Hopefully Sony, Nintendo, Sega Capcom Square Enix any one will hook them up with with new project soon. Preferably a Japanese publisher like the ones I listed above. Stay away from Westen publishers like Activision and Microsoft.
 
The_Dama said:
Games get cancelled all the time. If MS didnt like where the game was going, they can do whatever they want. Same with Fable, it got canned for a reason. Sucks for games but it is what it is.

People calling Xbox dead have no idea how how any of this works.
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Seen this posted many times...what is hard to understand why this is not the norm? NAme another big AAA exclusive game that was announced and showcased at multiple e3's and cancelled so far into development? It is not common, at all.
 
jayu26 said:
If Xbox is to be sold off, my preferred buyer would be Samsung. They know how to market and sell electronics all over the world and I would imagine they would be able to court more Japanese developer than any American company.
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The_Dama said:
Games get cancelled all the time. If MS didnt like where the game was going, they can do whatever they want. Same with Fable, it got canned for a reason. Sucks for games but it is what it is.

People calling Xbox dead have no idea how how any of this works.
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It's a bit more complicated than that in practice though. If for example, MS tried to shoe-horn unrealistic features, milestones, content or services into a game that changed it in fundamental ways such as to make it pretty much impossible to hit targets, they have in effect cancelled the game by force. That's a lot different from simply cancelling the game because the developers fucked up and took too long to deliver anything meaningful or missed milestones through incompetency.

I'm not saying that the former is what happened, I'm simply pointing out that it's not as cut and dried as you make out in terms of warranting a discussion.
 
onemanasylum said:
Seen this posted many times...what is hard to understand why this is not the norm? NAme another big AAA exclusive game that was announced and showcased at multiple e3's and cancelled so far into development? It is not common, at all.
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This is a baseless position to take without knowing exactly how much work went into this project. FFXV for example took a decade of development to make but the final game actually only represents a few years of work that ended up shipping.
 
I am still baffled by the notion that no one cared about this game, or that everyone thought it looked like shit and now everyone just wants to shit on Microsoft.

I'm so tired of this persecution complex shit
 
BibiMaghoo said:
This is my view. The game was not up to their standard, be that their fault or platinums, and so it's better not to rob people of £50 with a turd.
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Which makes me wonder, what's more damaging to your brand: Canceling an anticipated AAA title late in its development cycle or releasing said title and it being awful / a technical mess. Assuming that's the reason it was canceled of course.
 
Aurongel said:
This is a baseless position to take without knowing exactly how much work went into this project. FFXV for example took a decade of development to make but the final game actually only represents a few years of work that ended up shipping.
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How is it baseless at all? In is in fact not common, and does not happen often. There is a big difference in a project getting cancelled before announcement before it really gets off the ground, as opposed to one that was one of the flagships at 3 e'3 by a big publisher, and part of their advertising campaigns.

icespide said:
I am still baffled by the notion that no one cared about this game, or that everyone thought it looked like shit and now everyone just wants to shit on Microsoft.

I'm so tired of this persecution complex shit
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It's pure fantasy.
 
shinobi602 said:
It's a big blow to the Xbox line up. Honestly there's a serious lack of single player story driven games. Well, exclusive ones at least. Everything is literally MP focused. Forza 7, State of Decay, Sea of Thieves, Crackdown...(and I've heard Crackdown isn't going too hot either, though nothing as bad as this).

Unless they have a bunch of first party studios secretly tucked away somewhere (which they don't that I know of), I genuinely struggle to think of what surprises they could have at E3 *as of right now*. Halo 6 is to be expected, and I don't see publishers playing ball much anymore with 3rd party exclusives unless Microsoft gives the Xbox division a huge budget to throw cash around, which I highly doubt. Their major first party IP are on a decline with Halo doing less than before and Gears 4 not selling that well at all relatively speaking (not good enough to sustain a huge studio with that many workers and budget).

What's happening now is the exact opposite of what Xbox fans seemed to want out of a Phil spencer leadership.

I remember when he became head of Xbox and everyone was saying how there'll be tons of new games, but they're still coasting on announcements from 2013-2014 and in that time, games have been cancelled, multiple studios closed including Lionhead...

As a big Xbox fan since day one, I'm not very hopeful for the future. Scorpio won't do anything without software to push it heavily.
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As stated in the Xbox first party thread, Xbox's bread and butter is multiplayer, that's what they have built their brand and platform on and that's the audience they've cultivated for 10 years, as the industry moves toward GAAS it's a natural transition for Microsoft versus Sony and Nintendo. To your last point, they do have software to push their hardware and that's third party games, the same games that already pushes their hardware (the top selling Xbox One games backs this up).

Software wise Grand Theft Auto, Destiny, Call of Duty, Battlefield, Madden, FIFA, etc. Has done more for Xbox One sales than Halo or Gears ever will let alone their other exclusives and that's not a knock on Microsoft's 1st party games quality. That's just the reality of the current landscape.
 
animlboogy said:
It'd be nice for the brand to at least be with a company that primarily focuses on consumer electronics. Xbox being at the whims of a higher power in a completely different business has always led to such odd decisions, sometimes good, sometimes baffling.
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Eh. They've been making hardware forever and their Surface line is doing well.

I'd say their hardware is far more interesting then the other so-called hardware makers right now.
 
icespide said:
I am still baffled by the notion that no one cared about this game, or that everyone thought it looked like shit and now everyone just wants to shit on Microsoft.

I'm so tired of this persecution complex shit
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Outside of OTs, when could we simply enjoy anything here on gaf?
 
Guymelef said:
It's better for everybody not having Scalebound.
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Suppose - just suppose - that Scalebound would end up being finished by July to release in November, but as an absolutely terrible game (Scalebound: Dragon's Third, or something), and MS would choose to market it normally. Result: MS is criticized for pushing a bad game onto people.

Suppose they release it with minimal marketing. Result: MS is criticized for pushing a bad game onto market, while at the same criticized for making it hard to obtain and hard to discover.

By cancelling it now, MS won't save itself from criticism, but they will save money they can spend on some sort of emergency or future investment. Of course no one knows for sure when would the development really finish and what would be the result.
 
krang said:
Depends where the money saved is going.
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This is just the greatest narrative that has emerged from this disaster.

If Microsoft needs to divert funds from one of their few games in an anemic lineup, the division is in deep trouble.

Some of you guys propose these scenarios trying to spin things into a positive without even thinking it through.
 
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