Square-Enix trying to sell off IO Interactive (Hitman)
- Thread starter Edge_Maverick
- Start date
D
Deleted member 518153
Unconfirmed Member
So stealth games are officially dead now?
I wonder how much they want for IO tho...
I wonder how much they want for IO tho...
Here's the thing though. No matter how good a game is. The more restrictive and more non consumer friendly the chance of the product succeeding gets lowered. The game was to episodic, always online, wait till mission unlock, etc etc. It just made it more unassailable to a larger audience.
On a side note do not blame gamers for not buying the game. Blame whoever made the decision to make the game so restrictive.
On a side note do not blame gamers for not buying the game. Blame whoever made the decision to make the game so restrictive.
This is exactly why some people i know didnt buy it.
Not to mention other companies like Telltale ruining it for everyone by not delivering on time with episodic content.
Off-Kilter
Banned
And they just made one of the best games of the generation.
Goddamn pity.
Goddamn pity.
So 2016 and 2017 in a nutshell.
Hitman, great level design, great gameplay, great game - SE trying to sell the developer, and the franchise is dead.
Deus Ex MD, great level design, great gameplay, great game - Poor sales, franchise is dead and the developer making now Marvel games.
Dishonored 2, INCREDIBLE game, probably the best in its category in more than a decade - Poor sales and Arkane probably dead.
Prey, best immersive sim in a more than a decade BY FAR, a true successor of System Shock 2 - Poor sales, unfair reviews and Arkane dead 2.0.
We will return to poorly designed games of the first half of PS360 generation, with no immersive sims, no stealth games with good design and clonical FPS poorly designed.
THANKS INDUSTRY AND THANKS GAMERS...seriously WE SUCK.
Hitman, great level design, great gameplay, great game - SE trying to sell the developer, and the franchise is dead.
Deus Ex MD, great level design, great gameplay, great game - Poor sales, franchise is dead and the developer making now Marvel games.
Dishonored 2, INCREDIBLE game, probably the best in its category in more than a decade - Poor sales and Arkane probably dead.
Prey, best immersive sim in a more than a decade BY FAR, a true successor of System Shock 2 - Poor sales, unfair reviews and Arkane dead 2.0.
We will return to poorly designed games of the first half of PS360 generation, with no immersive sims, no stealth games with good design and clonical FPS poorly designed.
THANKS INDUSTRY AND THANKS GAMERS...seriously WE SUCK.
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
I just hope IO lands on their feet.
I wonder if the Hitman series has simply run its course? The recent version might be great, but it doesn't seem like enough people still care. That or the episodic nature simply turned people off.
I wonder if the Hitman series has simply run its course? The recent version might be great, but it doesn't seem like enough people still care. That or the episodic nature simply turned people off.
Discotheque
Banned
The only big publishers I'd be cool with acquiring this talent would be Bethesda
The shit they've been doing with the iD properties and now apparently Prey too is fantastic, I think they would let IO do some dope shit
The shit they've been doing with the iD properties and now apparently Prey too is fantastic, I think they would let IO do some dope shit
Triggerhappytel
Member
Ugh; I'd forgotten about that. I loved the original Soul Reaver so much, but I didn't enjoy any of the LoK games after that, so the franchise slowly dying didn't bother me so much. I'd love it if they rebooted it and just started again at from Soul Reaver.
I suspect S-E is going to want to keep the IP just in case.
I can see a mid-sized European publisher picking them up, like Deep Silver, Starbreeze and maybe even THQ Nordic.
And yet their Japanese division has had tons of bad decisions/management too, so are you saying that every S-E development team has had autonomy and has consequently fucked themselves? Or maybe there's a common theme and S-E management make a lot of bad decisions.
- FFXIV was a piece of shit that had to be completely redeveloped from scratch
- The entire debacle surrounding FF vs. XIII and it turning into FFXV
- Kingdom Hearts III
- Not wanting to publish Bravely Default outside of Japan because they're idiots
- Probably other stuff I've forgotten
Oh thats a shame, because now the whole thing is complete and is one of the best games of last year
tamaster92
Member
The episodic nature of hitman was one of th best things about it, having a new map, new targets and new challenges throughout the year was amazing and a great way to play that game
I hope season 2 still happens and hope IO and it's employees land on their feet
Hitman was an incredible return to form
I hope season 2 still happens and hope IO and it's employees land on their feet
Hitman was an incredible return to form
Fantastapotamus
Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
This is the most depressing thing I've read today
Neither is good, because exclusivity sucks ass and Hitman deserves a season 2 (and 3 and 4).
It's so weird to see people say they didn't buy because the game was episodic. To me one of the best things they did with this game was to make it episodic. Apart from Telltale and other story-heavy adventure game this is probably the best example of a game that should be episodic.
MontyBrown
Banned
Nailed it. Great games rarely succeed anymore. A lot of shit does.
Most gamers are idiots.
Damn, that's a really good point. What a shame.
TheSpoiler
Member
Hitman has an online requirement that sunk it. Deus barely had marketing and just kinda dropped. Dishonored had a damn awful PC launch leading to wary buyers of Prey (which had no review copies or advertising prior to launch)
But yeah it's the gamers that suck lol
ULTROS!
People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
I noticed that many of these decisions happened before the Matsuda era, heh.
Its not really weird though. A majority of my friends I myself included do not like episodic games. The always online and other restrictions didnt help. The fame was starting to get good reviews and some people on gaf seem to call it GOTY, but to many people like myself saw the episodic and restrictions and went meh and onto the next game.
I'm going to go drink myself into a fucking coma.
SomedayTheFire
Member
What? You've got that backwards lol Telltale games sell great.
Surely the last thing people want is no one to pick them up
Stigfinnare
Member
pls buy game
The always online I get but what about the episodic nature makes you not like it? To me it gave the game way more legs as I could buy one episode and spend a lot more time with it than I would if I had the whole game from the get go. It made me more interested to see everything a level had to offer.
People keep mentioning that but I doubt that was the problem. Plenty of Online-only games have sold well
and yes, Gamers DO suck. No need to live in denial
ClosingADoor
Member
Ouch. Who gets the Hitman rights of the studio is sold? Would suck if IO couldn't continue with the series after all this time.
Must say, while I loved Hitman at the start, I didn't even bother picking up the last few episodes. Just lost interest.
Must say, while I loved Hitman at the start, I didn't even bother picking up the last few episodes. Just lost interest.
FlutterPuffs
Member
Great games are continuing to be made and selling well. Nier Automata, Horizon, BotW and Persona 5 came out this year.
Hell it's not like Prey, Dishonoured 2 and Hitman perfect to begin with. Prey followed bad PR after what happened with the Devs of Prey 2. Hitman came out with a highly experimental episodic system AND was following Hitman Absolution. Dishonoured 2 had bad word of mouth due to its performance.
Also Deus Ex MD is pretty disappointing.
To me personally not sure majority of my friends opinions and cant speak for them. I do not like waiting to complete the the next chapter in a few months or so. Its more of being impatient. Even if i do not complete the game i still like to be able to complete a game from start to finish. No matter how good a game is i dont care if I have to wait.
Triggerhappytel
Member
Prey sales might be especially poor (relatively), and I can maybe see Arkane Austin being affected, but I don't think Arkane Paris are going to be in trouble.
Bethesda needs to review how they market and release games which aren't Fallout or TES. This lack of review copies plan clearly isn't working, and the marketing before release for Prey I felt was especially poor.
Rebel Leader
THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
TheSpoiler
Member
Plenty have. But plenty did not have constant disconnects for the first few months. And since you get kicked back to the menu for server problems, which aren't the consumers' fault, that gets annoying. And since progress doesn't get saved between each mode, or even when you get booted, how do you think people are going to feel?
I think gamers suck too sometimes, but you can't make a faulty, busted product and expect people to buy it in droves. Nor can you go without marketing or dropping reviews before release. Your games might be good, but you can't expect everyone to be following a game around.
Absolution was badly received so Hitman as the successor has to deal with it. Sucks. Game is great and the only Hitman I could get into.
All the luck to the people at IO.
A Snickers and a roastbeef-tartar-sauce sandwich.
All the luck to the people at IO.
A Snickers and a roastbeef-tartar-sauce sandwich.
Bought it and will buy season 2 day one.
hosannainexcelsis
Member
Can I blame Marvel for this? I'm going to blame Marvel for this.
SafeinSound
Member
Now is Giantbombs chance.
I haven't played a Hitman since the ps2 days, but this news sucks. The latest entry to the series has had nothing but high praise, so this reallh sucks.
I haven't played a Hitman since the ps2 days, but this news sucks. The latest entry to the series has had nothing but high praise, so this reallh sucks.
What season 2?
MrS
Banned
None of those games are 'great', especially Mankind Divided. Hitman was decent but destined to fail by its piecemeal release strategy. Having finished Hitman, I didn't think it was that good. Obviously, I don't want to see IO shuttered.
Azure Phoenix
Member
Just what is going on at Square Enix? They spend a decade running their flagship franchise into the ground, throw stupid amounts of money at rebuilding a rubbish MMO from scratch and take over a decade to deliver products, yet when it comes to their Western arm anything less than a massive hit is immediately for the chopping block.
It's pretty obvious that SE are responsible for the episodic online only restrictions placed on Hitman, yet despite that IO managed to turn those negatives into a positive and put out one of the best Hitman games to date, one which reviewed better than FF15, managed to pick up Game of the Year awards and could easily be supported for another couple of years.
It's pretty obvious that SE are responsible for the episodic online only restrictions placed on Hitman, yet despite that IO managed to turn those negatives into a positive and put out one of the best Hitman games to date, one which reviewed better than FF15, managed to pick up Game of the Year awards and could easily be supported for another couple of years.
FlutterPuffs
Member
'Stealth games are dead' is the new 'PC games are dead' overreaction.
They were all also fixed before the Matsuda era. So maybe if they happened today, we would not have FFXIV 2.0 at all.
They insist (on Reddit) that season 2 is coming. Probably because they've been working it for a while.
I'm hoping its like how Evolution pushed one last big piece of content even after Sony dissolved them.