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Microsoft Studios (& Partners) Current and Future Landscape
- Thread starter Banjo-Kazooie
- Start date
Agnostic Priest
Member
Honestly I think we are going to see what every studio is working on, even if it's early in development.
MS needs to go all out on the games along with Scorpio. Do what Sony does and announce games that won't be out for years to generate hype.
I feel like the coalition might be allowed to work on a new IP after the mediocre sales of Gears 4, or at least have two different games in development.
I know the above is highly unlikely.
Steelyuhas
Member
Phil has specifically said on multiple occasions they have moved away from announcing games so far from release (which is why we know nothing beyond the 2017 games).
That said the strategy definitely appears to work for Sony.
To the bolded: I think 18 months is the sweet spot. 2 E3s, the second one being a big gameplay showcase, should be enough, just like Sony did with Horizon Zero Dawn.
Regarding The Coalition, as much as I like Gears, i WANT them to try other IP's, or even have crazy crossovers (Gears of War: Crimson Skies anyone?).
Poodlestrike
Banned
LO isn't a franchise tho.
I do agree with your general point. Sony does the way off announcement stuff and they get away with it for a few different reasons; nostalgia for one, but also because right now there's a stronger sense that when Sony announces them, they'll both come out and be worth the wait. With MS... I don't think there's that level of faith. Maybe that's not entirely fair, but you look at stuff like ReCore (which I loved, but most people felt was a disappointment), or the Phantom Dust remake getting canceled and the process getting leaked in a pretty devastating fashion, and Fable Legends and Scalebound doing both... Yeah.
So I dunno if announcing far off titles is the way to go for MS right now. Might mean that they've got a spare conference as a result, but it wouldn't help anything anyway, so I'm not sure why they would.
I mean story dlc wasn't really featured in the season pass, so it just becomes its own stand alone thing at this point. That would make sense if you want to launch it in game pass. 3-4 hour side campaign starring Oscar or somebody. A taste of GOW4( before you put the full game in 2018)
Also I said in the Phil spencer shit show thread, that I fully expect Cuphead, Ori 2 and Ashen( depending on the scope. If it got bigger or not) to all launch in Game pass
Also I said in the Phil spencer shit show thread, that I fully expect Cuphead, Ori 2 and Ashen( depending on the scope. If it got bigger or not) to all launch in Game pass
Steelyuhas
Member
It's certainly easier and not as risky to announce existing IP early, but Sony has also been more comfortable recently in announcing new IP without any expectations of a release window as well.
They brought back Banjo and the Height of the 360's success, both has a new game and some ports, I'm sure that gave MS enough of an indication as to demand of that franchise . I'm 100% sure that is why we've seen nothing since.
Perfect Dark however is long overdue for a reboot, especially as Splinter Cell is dead, we are missing a AAA Spy game.
Agnostic Priest
Member
Yeah 18 months is a pretty good lead time. I don't personally want games that are 2+ years away to be announced, I just think people need their confidence back in MS.
Yeah I know he said that, I just feel like doing what I said would create even more hype around Scorpio. They really need to pull out all of the stops.
As for that Rare rumor. They should spin the Kinect Sports wave race mode into its own game. Have it be a smaller title priced at $20. Let it be like 8 player online MP, rankings, creatable avatars, 8 or so maps, add power ups to it and release it. Let it be your own "kart" style racer. That game was something that should been seen and played by more people and it wouldn't take as much effort or team size
Yeah, right under their nose.
Sure it would take more than just a little work though but it's a great idea.
TheDinoman
Member
I like games being announced years before they get released because I want to know that the manufacturer is invested in first party and that the sort of games I like will continue to be made. The Spider-Man, FF7 Remake and Death Stranding early announcements were the right thing to do, those were massive coups and if Microsoft had games of that magnitude they wouldn't sit on them for years and then do a reveal 6 months before release, that's just daft.
Kojima could put out a trailer that's just a naked man shitting into a bucket and you'd get over a million views for the trailer, countless re-uploads of the trailer and analysis videos and a 40 page thread on GAF dissecting the symbolism of the bucket and GAFers searching DIY stores for the exact bucket. You don't turn down that sort of exposure, doesn't matter that the game won't be out for another x years.
Kojima could put out a trailer that's just a naked man shitting into a bucket and you'd get over a million views for the trailer, countless re-uploads of the trailer and analysis videos and a 40 page thread on GAF dissecting the symbolism of the bucket and GAFers searching DIY stores for the exact bucket. You don't turn down that sort of exposure, doesn't matter that the game won't be out for another x years.
They were offering Perfect Dark to the publishers 2 or 3 years ago IIRC, maybe it's not Rare making a new PD but I think we will see something this year or next year? Someone might have agree to work on a new Perfect Dark, also Ken Lobb said that a new PD would be more story focused.
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-banjo-kazooie-perfect-dark-and-more-will/1100-6424597/
He also said 2020 would be a good year to release a new PD but who knows lol.
This interview was early 2015 btw, if someone grabbed PD later 2015 we might see something this year or next year.
But they were definitely offering Perfect Dark to publishers, they offered to Darkside along with Phantom Dust
http://kotaku.com/how-a-small-game-studio-almost-made-it-big-1696997142
Also, there was that reddit rumor that Microsoft was planning to reboot PD and Banjo in 16/17
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1004440
Maybe we will see something??
I wouldn't be surprised if that Gobo partnership is a new Banjo or PD.
But I'm betting we will see an old rare IP revival this E3, battletoads, banjo, pd, whatever.
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-banjo-kazooie-perfect-dark-and-more-will/1100-6424597/
He also said 2020 would be a good year to release a new PD but who knows lol.
This interview was early 2015 btw, if someone grabbed PD later 2015 we might see something this year or next year.
But they were definitely offering Perfect Dark to publishers, they offered to Darkside along with Phantom Dust
http://kotaku.com/how-a-small-game-studio-almost-made-it-big-1696997142
Also, there was that reddit rumor that Microsoft was planning to reboot PD and Banjo in 16/17
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1004440
Maybe we will see something??
I wouldn't be surprised if that Gobo partnership is a new Banjo or PD.
But I'm betting we will see an old rare IP revival this E3, battletoads, banjo, pd, whatever.
Will be minecraft kart if anything now, not Banjo/Rare. Why risk it with Banjo/Rare properties when you can just slap the minecraft name on it and sell millions? I'd fucking love a kart game though and it can be a GAAS. But if it's Minecraft it probably won't be exclusive, so doesn't really fit the purpose of this topic
I don't know about Ori 2 and Cuphead. Those games will sell a few mill and will be $20-$30.
Gears expansion is a good shout though.
It's the best Banjo game
DriftingSpirit
Member
Yep. I said something similar before. If Nintendo or MS had a Spider-Man exclusive in their pocket, they would announce it and their fanbases would (rightfully) go nuts.
Salty Hippo
Member
Agreed 110%, always shared that opinion. If you have proven studios behind those games and give them enough creative freedom, it's hardly an issue. That's exactly what Sony does.
Agnostic Priest
Member
Genius idea. They could make it kind of like a box car derby where you build your own racer (like that angry birds spinoff game mixed with Mario Kart). The multiplatform could be an issue, but it'll make so much money I'm sure they wouldn't care.
Eh I mean looking at how Yooka Laylee is performing on the Xbox digital store, I don't think Banjo would be the best idea from a pure business stand point, if it is a full $60 that is. Something smaller budget would make more sense. Voodoo Vince has actually been on the top 10 downloads 2 weeks in a row
Viva piñata would make more sense than Banjo or conker.
Oh I wasn't saying a branded kart racer. I was saying take the wave race mode and expand it.
Any Minecraft type racer would probably just be an add on to the existing Minecraft via dlc
DriftingSpirit
Member
Banjo should get the $40 treatment like Ratchet and Clank and Recore.
Gears expansion would be welcome, especially if they did something unexpected with it like Playground did with FH and Hotwheels. An expansion would be a great testing ground to see how fans react to any change in the old formula.
As for Banjo, I think MS will save it for the 20th anniversary next year.
I wish Rare would make the wave racer stand alone game. I've said it before, if they need an excuse then make it with a VR mode.
As for Banjo, I think MS will save it for the 20th anniversary next year.
I wish Rare would make the wave racer stand alone game. I've said it before, if they need an excuse then make it with a VR mode.
Oh, man. This right here is a good idea.
Let Microsoft continue to release their $60 tentpole releases and fill out their line-up with well budgeted smaller games in that mold. So long as the games are good/fun I think this would be a very good approach. Though that already kind of seems like the direction they're going in anyway.
But YL is an average game. Again if MS makes a great product with good publicity/marketing then it will sell
Banjo for 40 sounds good to me
PanicFreak
Member
Yes. Yes. Yes.
eerik9000
Member
$40 ReCore is an incomplete game, no thanks.
DriftingSpirit
Member
It would have been incomplete at $60. The price wasn't the problem with the game.
Agnostic Priest
Member
While I agree, do you think the Banjo name could push more sales? Maybe Yooka Laylee pushed low sales because it's an unknown name to the majority and it's review score was on the low side.
Damn, that's a great call.
Yeah. If anything yooka laylee showed that there's a demand and YL didn't fill that hole so MS should capitalize on it. Less effort than making a whole new game too. The only problem is the rare collection kind of eats into it.
I mean I don't think there's a massive seller there on the Xbox platform Even if it got great reviews. I don't know of that genre is really being desired that much outside of backers for the game.
I just think for the health of rare, there are better alternatives than Banjo. A $20 viva piñata game with amazing graphics to various demographics and they can add social aspects DLC which MS loves to it
GodfatherX
Member
Kinect Sports - yes spinoff the jet ski game into a 20 buck project by removing Kinect and adding course and other tweaks to make it a suitable stand alone. Same for some of the other games there like volleyball, tennis, and golf and make them Mario sports clones of a sort.
Package a collection of demos as a free download and buy the sports you like piecemeal from around 10.00 to 20.00 and a "season" of all of them for 50-60.00. I would absolutely be down for a Mario golf clone if done well for 20.00, and keep buying season after season to get more courses and characters. Same for tennis and the jet ski game. Been saying this is what Nintendo needs to do with Mario sports for a few years now. This is basically expanding the Killer Instinct model.
Let's not call it this though
Package a collection of demos as a free download and buy the sports you like piecemeal from around 10.00 to 20.00 and a "season" of all of them for 50-60.00. I would absolutely be down for a Mario golf clone if done well for 20.00, and keep buying season after season to get more courses and characters. Same for tennis and the jet ski game. Been saying this is what Nintendo needs to do with Mario sports for a few years now. This is basically expanding the Killer Instinct model.
Let's not call it this though
I've got your winning idea to help it sell better: make it like Kingdom Hearts.
Have Grunty inadvertently open up a bunch of portals that send all the different Banjo characters to different game worlds and then Banjo & Kazooie have to go find their friends (like Kingdom Hearts 1).
As long as it's still a platformer, you'll get Banjo fans back on board. And the other game franchises could help bring in additional fans.
I mean if you think about it, in that first game they were basically being magically transported to other worlds anyways. The idea of them visiting a bunch of varied locations is not new so I don't think it would be that out of place.
Garcia el Gringo
Member
Yup, Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts launched at $40 with the preorder bonus of the Banjo XBLA Remaster "for free" weeks before it'd go on sale. That was quite the value proposition back in 2008. Funny to see people talking about launching the next hypothetical Banjo for $40 as if MS hadn't done it before with the first and last time they touched the IP proper!
POTUS 2016
Banned
Makes sense. Generate hype for a game that'll be out in 3 years then cancel it a few months before its projected release date. Phil does not have any faith it would seem.
There is a reason for that fatigue, case in point both Below and Cuphead suffer from that. I want to know when a company reveals a game it will definitely come out in 6-8 months time - not some vague point in the future.
I feel the same for theme parks as well, begin doing your construction and 1 year prior to opening then announce what is coming.
I'd much rather we see actual gameplay/gameplay-based trailers from projects that are well underway. I'm glad EA's "here's some concept art/pre-alpha/behind-the-scenes footage of stuff that may not even see the light of day" offering in 2014[?] didn't turn into an E3 standard, so here's hoping Microsoft have content they can back their ambitious claims with.
The moment they start delving into "concept" footage I feel is when the more skeptical and distrustful of viewers/fans/neutrals will start to grow concerned (again).
Damn!
They've confirmed that like 5 different times now
I think Phil just didn't wanna show it off until people can play it (beta) because of the negative stigma around the power of the cloud, that's why we've seen so little of it
Calling it now, there will be a beta launching the day of E3, putting it into peoples hands is the only way people will truly believe it IMO
Yeah. They've been confirming it since last winter that it was 2017. Not sure why people aren't believing