Perfect Dark Cancelled, The Initiative Shut Down

Especially funny timing when they just announced new hardware is on the way... too bad they're cancelling all the software that would be played on it.
Well, at least I made it into the thread before adamsapple and miku could find creative ways to somehow spin this as good news.
 
Really hilarious for all the talk about the potential big hits coming from "The Initiative", and they gave nothing in the end.
 
Back to flipping burgers with Alyssa Mercante

GF_et-yXcAA8YYS
Somebody call Ace Ventura.
 
See Miku - and this is not a dig - but you told me that I was "trying to stir shit up" in the past, well, this is the reason why - I spent 510€ back in November 2020 for a XSX on the PROMISE of having good, exclusive games like Everwild, Perfect Dark (they were really hyping the initiative as this "superstar" studio), Fable, Starfield etc etc and, look where we're at now...no-show after no-show, broken promises upon broken promises, the few (then) exclusives proved to be mediocre (if not outright cack), studio closures etc etc - and people wonder why some jumped ship to the Ponystation quintuple ? Indiana Jones, Hifi Rush and a good Forza Horizon aren't enough for this absolute 5 year trainwreck...

Minus the braindead hardcore fanboys that just like shit on everything, there's always a reason friend why consumers switch brands/jump ship/whatever you wanna call it, MS's/Xbox's output this gen has been a complete and utter farce, no 2 ways about it, it's friggin' disgraceful is what it is, the joke of this industry for better or for worse.

I've been reading the news this whole afternoon man and...I don't know whether I should laugh or cry...long gone is the era of the amazing OG Xbox and the X360 and that's what gets me the most, I'm not exactly happy with these news but...they had their chances, they fumbled and in the end, they only got themselves to blame, what a shame...
 
My theory is that they have realized that customers do not accept wokism anymore and the game was too deep in development to be able to change all of it.

Microsoft has been extremely woke and the character design already tells you everything you need to know about the studio
 
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Tomb Raider is struggling too? Western AAA is finished.

Yup. Or at least, this form of it that's developed over the last 10 years. Western teams are too large, too much design-by-committee, too many consultants. Go back to smaller teams filled with gamers that like gaming and want to make shit they think is cool (not as a platform for a message/agenda) and you'll find success.
 
Well Phil's speech about them having a momentum now is a joke worthy a stand-up show.

But seriously, if you like games then don't joke about this. There is a big risk that we'll just have COD, Sea of Thieves, Forza Horizon and Candy Crush in the future. This day signals that they're abandoning everything that isn't already a successful multi million seller IP. More studios will go. More games will be cancelled. They even cut Turn 10 in half. I assume they'll spread out the cuts between the earnings reports, to show the stock market that they're in control.
I am going to be honest. MS has been releasing so many games recently since they became so big, but in reality, The only game I enjoyed was Forza Horizon 5 ( not affected ), and believe it or not, Halo which is not affected as well ( I love the Halo lore, and I liked the single-player part of the game ). The other game that I actually loved was ,Killer Instinct but that is an Xbox One game ( that old )

MS studios AAA games are B tier at best. The newest Forza M from Turn 10 is a complete lie and a joke. they flat out lied about everything from complete new engine to missing stuff that was even available in Forza 7. if they updated the graphics of 7 would have been a miles better game than the shit we got.

7 to 8 years for Perfect Dark
7 to 8 years since Rare announced its game
South of Midnight is barely a 7 out of 10 game.
Avowed is garbage ( with the audacity of an idiot art director fighting people on the net because he is so woke )
Grounded is garbage

Sorry, but sometimes incompetent people need to get fired. These people ( whatever devs or publishers ) need to understand that when you want money from your customers, you design a game that they actually want. Do not design a game that YOU as a dev/publisher want. I know it's selfish, but that's reality. You spend money on food YOU want. You spend money on clothes YOU want. Movies you want. You don't go to a restaurant and they bring you whatever they want and then ask for your money ( and be greedy about it. 80$ ? Sure Jane)

I know that is something sounds way unreasonable. but seriously, who at the management looked at grounded or avowed and said to himself self yup this is a multi-million dollar seller right there? Some games shouldn't even enter the production stage, and yet here we are. reminds me of MS approving any shit as long as they can get a game out like Azurik on the original xbox.

Thats not to say all people that ae fired are incompetent. but common sense I wouldn't fire an employee that is someone actually hard working and know what he/ she is doing. even if I to shut down the whole team for financial reasons ( which is not the case with MS, but more of devs playing with their balls for 8 years and have nothing to show for it ). they would place these people in a different projects.

I am in front-end and back-end development projects. When the project I am working on is done ( for whatever reason, end of contract, short project, timed project, etc ), I get moved to a new project. I don't get fired ( unless I did a shit job ).


Still. I hope competent people who got fired land on their feet in different projects/companies. and the rest to work on themselves to be better. Nothing else can be said really about this.
 
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Western AAA has been finished for a good while, China emerging doesn't make things better too. The pond gets more fish inside.

I've been advocating scale down for a while now. I really believe they need to scale down on projects, budget and development time. Lower the risks, raise the output. Its not like AA projects are really that worse to play. I don't mean it should go full indie 2D shit, but there is no reason all games need to be 60hrs+ open world bloat with perfect textures only DF 400x zoom will see.

If Uncharted would come back, i'd like another Lost Legacy instead of 4.
 
After what they did to Joanna, I can't say I'm upset to see it cancelled. Well, I can't say much, I probably wouldn't have bought it anyways based on what I saw about the game.
 
Damm, I guess it really was in development hell. The vertical slice we saw a couple of years ago must have been mostly bullshit, because if the game was in anything resembling a playable state they probably would have pushed it out the door instead of cancelling it. Unless Microsoft decided it was more valuable to them as a tax write-off.
Yeah, It was likely one of those demos they spend 6 months on just to promote the game.

If anything, Xbox should have shut this down sooner.
 
Western AAA has been finished for a good while, China emerging doesn't make things better too. The pond gets more fish inside.

I've been advocating scale down for a while now. I really believe they need to scale down on projects, budget and development time. Lower the risks, raise the output. Its not like AA projects are really that worse to play. I don't mean it should go full indie 2D shit, but there is no reason all games need to be 60hrs+ open world bloat with perfect textures only DF 400x zoom will see.

If Uncharted would come back, i'd like another Lost Legacy instead of 4.
If there was nothing but indie games, I'd probably find a new hobby.

It's nothing but a hipster cesspit of doom clones, metroidvanias and rogue likes.
 
Give Nintendo the rights to perfect dark, as only company that would prob bring perfect dark out that doesn't have agendas , Xbox is cooked , this is what happens when suits who don't game run gaming studios push for games no one wants while pushing agendas everywhere , trying to keep all the diversity etc groups happy while not caring what the majority of proper gamers care, then Scratching there heads when no one buys there shit
 
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Remember when The Initiative was formed back in 2018 and people called it the new Naughty Dog or the second coming of Christ in form of a studio? Good times.

7 years later: no games released, closed down.

KEK
 
Especially funny timing when they just announced new hardware is on the way... too bad they're cancelling all the software that would be played on it.
Well, at least I made it into the thread before adamsapple and miku could find creative ways to somehow spin this as good news.
who need games, look at all these amazing controller color options.
 
Well, at last Crystal Dynamics will have more time to focus on Tomb Raider from now on.

But I do hope they learn from this lesson and develop a game that centers on what Core fans from the series want, and if the next TB doesn't pull good sales, they are next. Embrace puts their studios on the chopping block if not deliver great expectations.
 
It seems like a large portion of Western devs these days are all talk. So you either need to attract the cream of the crop or be a special type of tard-wrangler to get anything done.
 
See Miku - and this is not a dig - but you told me that I was "trying to stir shit up" in the past, well, this is the reason why - I spent 510€ back in November 2020 for a XSX on the PROMISE of having good, exclusive games like Everwild, Perfect Dark (they were really hyping the initiative as this "superstar" studio), Fable, Starfield etc etc and, look where we're at now...no-show after no-show, broken promises upon broken promises, the few (then) exclusives proved to be mediocre (if not outright cack), studio closures etc etc - and people wonder why some jumped ship to the Ponystation quintuple ? Indiana Jones, Hifi Rush and a good Forza Horizon aren't enough for this absolute 5 year trainwreck...

Minus the braindead hardcore fanboys that just like shit on everything, there's always a reason friend why consumers switch brands/jump ship/whatever you wanna call it, MS's/Xbox's output this gen has been a complete and utter farce, no 2 ways about it, it's friggin' disgraceful is what it is, the joke of this industry for better or for worse.

I've been reading the news this whole afternoon man and...I don't know whether I should laugh or cry...long gone is the era of the amazing OG Xbox and the X360 and that's what gets me the most, I'm not exactly happy with these news but...they had their chances, they fumbled and in the end, they only got themselves to blame, what a shame...
Feel free to quote whatever I told you so you're on about regarding Perfect Dark and Everwild. I don't think I've ever told anyone to buy an Xbox. I usually am just trolled nonstop for enjoying mine. Most of what I've said about Perfect Dark was just looking forward to it. The issues with The Intiative have been public knowledge for years. Everwild as well. I genuinely don't ever wonder why anyone jumps ship to Playstation, and I genuinely don't care. I don't tell people what to buy.
 
"To everyone across our studios: thank you. Your creativity and resilience continue to define who we are"

That's not really a compliment tho
 
The game must have been a Redfall level of bad for it to be canned.

The trailer looked dmn good as well.

FFS. I think this might be the first cancellation that I cared about.
 
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