Varteras
Member
Yeah for some reason I was thinking Wii U. Not even XCX. I know that AC wasn't on a console that had sold 100 million by then but it's on it still and 1 million is still the last reported number. We'll never know how much more than that it sold. Old games getting referenced by their creators in later games happens a lot. Of course Platinum never forgot about Astral Chain. No developer would forget what they worked on. But again, Astral Chain just didn't go anywhere. It didn't drive conversations. It came and went. Some Switch owners picked it up but most were focused on whatever games Nintendo themselves were bringing. I'm not saying Astral Chain was bad. Not at all. But, it just doesn't have a presence. There again, one game can sell a million and be praised, celebrated, and continued while another does the same and everyone moves on. No one is asking where the next Astral Chain is at. I see tons of people wanting the next Xenoblade. It's an unfortunate reality of the industry. Like why it's okay for some games to have tons of bugs while others get raked over the coals for it.I think you're confused.
Xenoblade sold a million copies on a console that sold over 100 million units. Xenoblade was on Wii. Are you thinking of Xenoblade Chronicles X? That was the game on Wii U. And at the time of Astral Chain's release, the Switch was not at 100 million units sold. I'm sure it has continued to sell since the last figures were released. And don't forget that in the most recent Bayonetta 3 trailer they included that dumb dog costume from Astral Chain. So while AC may have been forgotten by you, it has not been forgotten by Nintendo or Platinum.
It is well reported that Miyamoto had a very specific vision for Star Fox Zero. PG was just hired help. Doing what was told of them. So no, I don't blame Platinum for that. That's Miyamoto's doing.
And I think Scalebound is an example of what happens without the proper hand holding they need. Microsoft was hands off on that project. They dumped a ton of money into it and PG couldn't figure it out so they had to cut the cord. So yeah, PG NEEDS that guidance from the publisher. Or it could backfire like with Starfox Zero.
I don't love their games so I don't even know why I'm defending them so much here. LOL. Maybe because they have made some good games and don't deserve all the blame for some of the misfires.
Again, Platinum Games agreed to help with StarFox Zero. They knew what they were getting into. They could have turned it down but Kamiya had really wanted to work on a StarFox game, so they agreed. They don't get a pass because Miyamoto had a vision that didn't work. They could have declined. You can give them that pass if you want, but their name is forever attached to that and it will continue to be a stain on them.
I definitely agree with Scalebound. Microsoft should have been more on top of that. Being a good publishing partner is knowing when to back off and let them work but then when to put a foot down and demand a result. I think that still goes back to their own management and having too many projects at once. PG isn't even 300 people right now. I don't even want to know how many people they had during Scalebound and trying to do 3 or 4 other projects at once. They need to stop trying to crank games out and focus on one or two projects at a time.
That's why I kind of rolled my eyes when they talked about demanding freedom if anyone picked them up. Like, yeah, no. Not if you continue to run yourselves the way you have been. You haven't earned the prestige to be able to tell someone how the relationship is going to go if they buy you.