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Scalebound cancellation was a "difficult decision" says Phil Spencer

"Im confident in 17 lineup thats our focus”

Spencer responds to disappointed fans on twitter regarding the cancellation of Scalebound.

Gazondaily3416d ago

Don't see how it's "good for gamers" Lol. He may be confident in the 2017 lineup for Xbox but I sure am not. Here's hoping he knows something we don't...

-Foxtrot3416d ago

I love that he's sticking to this "4 the gamers" bullshit

Can he become any more transparent

Yet people will continue to defend him because now he'll get his blind followers to hype up E3 for them since he's making out he did it because there's more to show off now.

Gazondaily3416d ago

What he should do is tweet saying:

"Its over guys. Finished. Pack up your bags xbox gamers. We are done."

This is business and he has a job to instill confidence in consumers right.

"since he's making out he did it because there's more to show off now."

He did what? I dont see him making it out that he did 'it' because there's more to show.

He does state that it was a hard decision but tries to reinforce confidence in the 2017 lineup. We as fans may not be confident but it's his job to allay fears.

People need to stop seeing him as some evil mastermind.

-Foxtrot3416d ago (Edited 3416d ago )

What do you mean you don't see that

"I'm confident in 17 lineup which is our focus"

Making out like there's more to come when really there won't be. Most of the titles at E3 will be for next year and Scorpio will be used to deflect their game problem

People need to stop seeing him as the god damn messiah.

gangsta_red3416d ago

@Fox

Pretty sure it's twitter speak since they have a limited number of characters.

Gazondaily3416d ago

"People need to stop seeing him as the god damn messiah."

And people need to stop seeing him as Bin Laden 2.0.

The guy is the head of Xbox and of course he is going to allay fears and try and build confidence for the Xbox 2017 lineup and do damage limitation.

Yes when we can critique him on his points but to say that this guy is a liar or transplant etc is so over the top.

He is doing what he has to. Whether Xbox delivers or not is a different question entirely.

Godmars2903416d ago

Should he have the games to back up that claim?

Also, who's taking bets for Crackdown 3? Two cents just started burning holes in my pocket...

Gazondaily3416d ago

@Godmars

I might take that bet. Not because I'm confident that Crackdown development is good but because you said there was no way the Pro would be out in 2016. 😆

What's the conversion rate of two cents to pennies? (After Brexit it's probably £700)

conanlifts3416d ago (Edited 3416d ago )

As a multiplatform owner who has had a bias for xbox this gen i agree. This move is not really acceptable. For me itis not about canceling a game, but more cancelling games they have advertised so much. Fable and scalebound were both hyped by ms and both cancelled. Not sure who but someone should be sacked for this. It's a poor move and put the xbox in a weak position. If they don't announce and release unknown games with Scorpio then it's not going to sell very well at all.

81BX3416d ago

This game cancellation isnt everything xbox dude. Yes it blowz hard but it isnt the only game

I_am_Batman3416d ago (Edited 3416d ago )

Not sure how trustworthy those guys are but if they are to be believed it looks like MS screwed up big time.

http://i.imgur.com/j6LFpLX....

Hopefully someone spills the beans on what went wrong.

spicelicka3416d ago

Not sure what you want him to do? Not even trying to defend him but you're making it sound like he personally cancelled the game just out of spite.

DeadManMMX3416d ago

Foxtrot the last 4 years we have had games announced at E3 and launched in the same year. Because E3 and Gamescom are the only place they announce games. So yes there will be more to 2017 if history is any kind of indication.

Automatic793416d ago

@Foxtrot

It may not be the way you see it. It may be an incredible E3 and although Scalebound has been cancelled( I was disappointed), you may be jumping on the negative bandwagon to soon. Let's see how the year plays out. They say they have games than we have to give them the opportunity to show off the games.

smashman983416d ago

How is this the case? Since Phil has taken over the xbox division he's brought out backwards compatability he's opened the doors for cross platform play. And He's generally always around for fans of Xbox. He knows fans have been hurting for some jp flavor on xbox. He knows scalebound cancellation is a tough call to make. And honestly if he had let scalebound release we'd all being having conversation about how xbox doesn't care about fans and they release buggy games that aren't ready. Its a classic no-win situation.

joab7773416d ago

It's getting worrisome a bit! They have Cuphead still! Seriously though. I was a bit worried about the PC gaming and how that would effect sales of software and the Scorpio! Now, though it is expensive, we are seeing services offered that stream ultra PC setting games. MS better get back to the drawing board and figure out what they wanna do!

bouzebbal3416d ago

Of course he has to say he is confident... imagine he says the opposite!!
Honestly, this cannot be good for xbox owners.. So many have been hyping this game.
Now they have a year where they have to release games AND a new hardware. No idea how they will make all this happen.
i say good luck.

candystop3416d ago (Edited 3416d ago )

Definitely not good for Xbox gamers but good if you could probably see it from Spencer's perspective. Ok so E3 is around the corner and the game hasn't progressed at all over the year. Then you hear the developer has claimed mental issues and you're stuck showing the same progess from last year. Platinum games has dropped the ball here. MS needs studios and games not developers looking for a pay day. I was in the Fable beta and that game sucked more and more with each update. MS needs to do something big here but I can see if my theory is right why Phil was like "wtf is up with these guys at platinum games."

IamTylerDurden13416d ago (Edited 3416d ago )

Yeah, Major Nelson already started the e3 countdown. By hyping things to come "down the road" it tells me you don't have much going on here and now. It takes focus off the lack of games coming over the next few months.

Septic,

Well Phil is a bit of a liar, he pretended Inside was a legit exclusive 2 weeks before it released. He also listed Scalebound first on the list of big 2017 exclusives that he was excited about.

https://www.vg247.com/2016/...

IGiveHugs2NakedWomen3416d ago

@Foxtrot

Phil Spencer is a damage controlling, PR man. That's it.

sk8ofmnd3416d ago

But what does this say about other ms console exclusives we havent heard a peep from? Sea of thieves, halo wars 2, state of decay 2, forza... Im confident halo wars 2 and forza is still comming but what about everything else?

kayoss3416d ago (Edited 3416d ago )

Sure, great way to build confident in your fans and consumers by cancelling games. Microsoft talk the talk, but rarely do they walk the walk.

Angeljuice3416d ago

@Foxtrot

I agree, check out this tweet on the matter from an Xbox fan;

"Obviously the cancelation sucks but he's still doing a great job and said it's for the better"

You could murder their entire family, as long as Spencer says "it's for the better" they'd be cool with it.

Obviously it isn't all Xbox fans, but it is sad that some except whatever they're told without questioning. How can cancelling a Japanese flavoured action RPG (with dragons), possibly be for the better on a system that lacks any real diversity in it's lineup?

dadano3416d ago Show
Goldby3415d ago

@Septic

"Yes when we can critique him on his points but to say that this guy is a liar or transplant etc is so over the top."

but he has lied. many times about things, im not saying the others dont do that, but we are talking about xbox right now, and Phil spencer the head of xbox, and the guy who gives the final thumbs up or thumbs down is caught saying things that the business he is running downs follow.

he doesn't like Timed exclusive deals, and said that after the BS marketing for Rise of the Tomb Raider, and then oks a timed exclusive deal for Dead Rising 4.

Spoke about the cloud like the was the be all and end all for Xbox, so far its been used in Forza for Ai and Titan Fall1

spoke about how DX12 saving the world, when the DX11 version of QB runs way better than the Windows 10 store version.

XanderZane3415d ago

@I_am_Batman
From what I heard, there were a lot of milestones missed and because of that, payments weren't being sent out to Platium Games. The developers weren't happy about it. It seems like this wasn't the first time that milestones were missed. Game may not have been finished in 2017.

pinkcrocodile753415d ago

Jesus H Christ (H for Herbert)!!

It's a game, it's not the end of civilisation. Sh!t happens so let them deal with it.

No need to be a be!!end about it

UltraAtomic3415d ago (Edited 3415d ago )

Even though this game is cancelled. Spencer has done a good job with xbox. He's given them a good free with gold line up, good Xbox live experience, halo 5 was good, Forza I heard was good aswell. Truth is compared to where Xbox was at in the beginning. They have changed tone since launch because of this guy.

Listen I don't want to end this conversation into a fanboy war or anything like that but lets be honest here

PlayStation and Xbox are the same. The only difference is there games. And if people like Japanese video games and some really good looking games but gameplay kinda EEEEEEEEEEEEEE then ps4.

Xbox caters more to the shooter fans. If you like shooter games with online gameplay but weak story then pick Xbox. Other than that, same crap.

+ Show (23) more repliesLast reply 3415d ago
conanlifts3416d ago

Surely they have multiple unannounced games left for 2017. I think one of their messages said they had unannounced games for this year. If they do not then they are in serious trouble. Few people will buy scorpio for the games currently announced. Particularly if sony release their announced games without delaying them. While sony have a habit of delaying games MS are developing a habit of cancelling games they have spent so much time hyping up. This move is unusual when it was supposedly so close to release.

Christopher3416d ago

In 2017? Yes.
For 2017? Not likely.

Kenshin_BATT0USAI3416d ago

I mean it doesn't really matter, how important could a title announced this year and released this year be? Clearly not that important if it wasn't at last year's e3.

conanlifts3416d ago (Edited 3416d ago )

@kenshin @christopher you might be right. But i am not convinced they won't treat scorpio like a new console with a handful of new games releasing alongside it to boost sales. Of course i admit this is as much a hope as anything else.

Godmars2903416d ago (Edited 3416d ago )

"And people need to stop seeing him as Bin Laden 2.0."

Who ever called him that? I for one only ever saw him as someone who had to clean up someone else's mess and was given no time to do it. Much less any in which to begin making any impact of his own.

Scalebound was announced along with the XB1, right along with Crackdown 3. Spencer being shoved into the driver's seat didn't save one of those titles and it certainly hasn't lowered concerns for the other as silence over it only lingers.

Gazondaily3416d ago

"Scalebound was announced along with the XB1"

No it wasn't. It was unveiled at E3 2014.

gamer78043416d ago

Agreed, first they promised a good fantasy coop gaming fable legends, then near release cancelled it, now another fantasy coop game near release cancelled. This makes it very hard to get excited about anything they announce at e3 for fear of anything funded by microsoft will be cancelled. I sure hope they have another amazing new fantasy coop game to show at e3, and one thats near release already if they are going to keep doing this.

darthv723416d ago

SB was not near release. It wasnt even progressing as quickly as their other games despite being allotted another year.

rainslacker3416d ago

Better yet a solid Fantasy game that is SP, so it doesn't have to rely on some co-op online nonsense which complicates and dilutes game play to shoehorn in a feature where most of the fan base for these kinds of games don't really care about in the first place.

RosweeSon3416d ago

He better know a lot we don't Halo Wars 2 great for the fans a new Forza, yawn. Halo 6 and gears 5? Crackdown 3 looks promising and Rare used to be fantastic although not sure on their new game. Xbox is looking dire E3 better be rammed with exclusive games for them otherwise it's back to PS4 and a New Switch for me 2017.

Godmars2903416d ago

"I might take that bet. Not because I'm confident that Crackdown development is good but because you said there was no way the Pro would be out in 2016. 😆"

Know I've repeatedly said that if the 360 and PS3 had released a year or two later than they did things might have been better in general, but the Pro? Not that its really worth mentioning.

And I said cents not pence. Or whatever English call money. A cent is a penny.

Angeljuice3416d ago

One cent is currently 0.785 pence, you're trying to con him out of 0.43 pence you scoundrel.

Godmars2903415d ago

@Angeljuice:
Meh, from what I know it cost more to make a penny than its worth, there's no real need to make anymore and they can even be done away with, but are still being made because of political reasons. So there's that.

oasdada3416d ago

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me.

Overload3416d ago

This is why I only have a 360.

trooper_3416d ago

That's why I avoided the XBox brand.

XanderZane3415d ago (Edited 3415d ago )

Weird, gamers got over the PS3, PSP Go and MOVE foolishness just fine. Fool me twice? lol!! People have been fooled 3, 4 & 5 times. Don't really think that's the issue. If that were the case, gamers would never buy any game consoles and just stick with PC's.

@spectre_
Yes and gamers have avoided the PC, Nintendo, Sega & Sony brands as well and missed out on lots of great gaming in the past. *shrug* You aren't the first gamer to avoid brands. Don't see your point.

_-EDMIX-_3416d ago

I thought these guys had a ace lineup?

Something is deeply wrong if a single game missing ruins your entire year..

Do you now understand why I stated Microsoft has a house of cards in regards the first party?

gamer78043416d ago

the problem is, within the timeline of a year, 2 games that were pretty far along were cancelled, and one game (phantom dust) was basically cancelled, now relegated to just a remaster of the old game. This doesn't give much hope to any new IP announced at E3 funded by MS.

Angeljuice3416d ago

They seem to be putting all their efforts into Scorpio and skimping on game/developer support this year.

joab7773416d ago

It's his job to be confident but Sony's exclusives are murderer's row this year and next. Scorpio better come BIG! Without software it's gonna be rough b/c Sony will just price drop the shit out of their slim and Pro models!

trooper_3416d ago

He's making excuses.

Yes Phil, run the brand further into the ground!

Unbelievable...

Bigpappy3416d ago

Good for gamers if the game is a mess and the guy who's job it is to fix it is having mental issues.
Better to kill it than try to sell it knowing it's screwed up.
I am with Phil until I have a reason not to be. This ain't it.

Angeljuice3416d ago

It is Platinum Games you're talking about, they don't produce bad games. Apparently the breakdown was something to do with the terrible treatment they were getting from Microsoft.
I don't know the details but those in the know have confirmed as much.

rainslacker3416d ago (Edited 3416d ago )

MS was barely holding on IMO. Scalebound and CD3, and maybe HW was about the only thing they could talk up before E3. While I'm sure they can manage to show a new game or two, there isn't much left to reveal for their internal studios, so I can't see how they can manage to somehow come out strong during E3.

I'm extremely frustrated with my X1 purchase. QB was disappointing, Scalebound is now cancelled, although I was on the fence with it after the last E3, and the best game I've played on it was an indie game in Ori. It's been a complete waste for me, and for the one game that compelled me to dive in, I found out a month after I could have just played it on my PC.

MS is screwing up left and right this gen IMO. It's more than the DRM. It's the lack of games, variety, steady stream of releases, and lack of focus on what a gaming console should be. They think more power will solve their problems, I think they're in for a huge fall if they keep doing the same crap with Scorpio.

I understand games get cancelled, or even delayed, but if you look at a game Sony cancels, they at least have 3 other games to announce to distract from it. MS distracts with promises of mythical technology, and Gears, Forza, or Halo. It's a freaking joke over at MS, and the savior Phil is getting a free pass from some Xbox fans. It's time he puts up or shuts up. All his platitudes about how great Xbox and MS mean nothing without games, and right now, they need a lot of them. "Wait for E3" from Major Nelson ain't worth crap when all this gen, that wait has never been worth it.

Sorry for the vent, but this was the last game I was hesitantly hoping would salvage my justification for spending money on the console.

MasterCornholio3416d ago (Edited 3416d ago )

"While I'm sure they can manage to show a new game or two,"

Forza will be one of them. As for other first party studios I really don't see anything coming from the Coalition and Rare. Maybe they have a 3rd party exclusive? But with the way the PS4 is performing on the market they have been alot more difficult to secure for Microsoft.

Edit:

Also since VR seems to be a big feature with Scorpio maybe Microsoft will announce a ton of VR games for the system. However just from reading comments on N4G I know many people will not like that.

rainslacker3416d ago

Forza is pretty much a given. Maybe Halo, and the next Gears if they want to announce early. Possibly one game squirreled away for the Scorpio reveal....which will probably be the most enticing because they need it.

VR they might make a big deal about if PSVR hype remains high.....probably a wait and see for them on that. Probably will get a mention or two, but a ton of games is hard to imagine. They were downplaying VR pretty heavy until PSVR look set to take off, now they're all about how the Scorpio can do it.

I do have this sinking feeling they're going to make Scorpio look like the best way to play, and offer up features and games which will simply run signficantly better on Scorpio in an attempt to make the OGX1 look less attractive though. I simply don't have faith that MS will support the legacy mandate for the long haul, but I don't believe they are stupid enough to completely shun the current fan base, although I'm sure they'd like that.

OTOH, I also have this feeling that Scorpio isn't what people are going to expect. Not on the spec side, that's kind of hard to peddle back on, just on what the console will actually be. I'm thinking it's going to be more like a slimmed down PC with heavy restrictions, where the console stuff still matters(ease of use and high performance vs. costs/hardware), but I imagine it's going to have a new focus for consoles to be more like a regular Windows PC, where people can do more things like they'd see on a regular PC. MS, I believe, desperately wants that segment of the market back after losing them to smart phones and other devices.

Just a hunch though, and could be complete wrong. MS could still blow everyone away. That'd be great, except for the fact that they haven't really been doing that since 2 E3's ago, where their line up has been less than stellar IMO, and since last E3, they've relied more on scant new hardware hype to remain relevant against the onslaught of games coming from Sony, and soon the new hardware, and potential new games, from Nintendo.....who itself needs a strong pre-release hype buildng machine for Switch.

Angeljuice3416d ago

@MasterCornholio

Yep, VR on Scorpio will have a tough time of it (with all the "gimmick" and "pointless" comments from Xbox fans).

Of course I know it was nothing but bluster over one of the competitors USP's. I expect a lot will have a sudden "change of heart" when VR is on Scorpio.

alstruck3416d ago

I think he meant Scorpio's upcoming 2017 launch lineup, not the One's..

wheatley3416d ago

I don't think someone who has to deal with stockholders would be saying "ah crap, that's it guys we've not got much left"

He's gonna work to build up other games in their line up so it feels like Scalebound won't be missed. Whether or not he has games to fill the void.

DivoJones3416d ago

Well it's good for Microsoft, in that they won't be forcing a release on a product doomed to fail. And good for gamers that they won't need to lie about it being ready to release when it's clearly not coming together.
Doesn't really affect me personally as I had no interest in the game in the first place, but definitely weakens their first party lineup for the year which already seemed sparse.

hamzilla3416d ago

Maybe Phil finally notices the truth and that is Sony has a legit lineup of AAA exclusive titles that they just can not match. and unless M$ merges with Steam somehow on PC their PC gaming will be lackluster at best. and unless M$ can make a merger with Blizzard they wont be gaining much or anything even with Scorpio this fall when PS4 Pro is well into its first year and we see what they can do. plus PC gaming is again on the rise with HDR/4K G-Sync monitors on the prowl finally.

Ra3v3r3415d ago

@Sk8ofmnd Sea of Thieves is definitely still coming (at the moment) as we just had a small alpha (I was one of the thousand) and the closed forums are filled with new details.

As an MS fan though it does worry me slightly that all I have as far as exclusives are games without solid release dates (SoT, Crackdown 3 and Cuphead), where as there's plenty coming for PS4 soon to keep me occupied - Neir, Horizon, KH3, Farpoint, and I know it's technically not exclusive, but I'm getting RE7 on PS4 cos you're damn right I'm playing it in VR!

Godmars2903415d ago

Know what? Still waiting on who's been calling Spencer Bin Laden 2.0. My inability to recall date or no.

AbleAmazing3415d ago

It is good for gamers if the result would've been a terrible experience. But, I feel for the team. I've been through a high-profile project cancellation before. It was devastating and I almost left the industry. So, I hope Kamiya and Co. are doing ok.

XanderZane3415d ago

Well, he says there is a 17 game lineup. I'm wondering if that is for the whole 2017 or just 1/2 the year. How many of the 17 games are games we already know about? We really need 17 games that absolutely no one is aware about. I'm happy we'll still see Sea of Thieves, Cuphead, Forza Horizon 3, Crackdown 3, Halo Wars 2, State of Decay 2, Below and a few other known Win10/XBox exclusive games, but they need to add another 20 more unknown games on top of that for 2017 if they really want to compete with Sony. They need to get exclusive games from American developers, just like Sony is getting exclusives from Japanese developers. If Namco, Sega, Atlus, Temco, etc.. can make exclusives for Sony's PS4, then EA, Activision, Bethesda, Take-Two Interaction, etc can make PC/XBox exclusives for Microsoft as well. Microsoft just has to pony up and pay for them. Or outright buy one of these companies. Microsoft is too soft. They need to be more aggressive if they want gamers to take them seriously and continue to buy their systems.

+ Show (17) more repliesLast reply 3415d ago
darthv723416d ago

Unless the game was not progressing at the appropriate pace (think putting more effort into other projects and not enough into this one) then it might have had to be a decision that needed to be made. Although, if MS was in charge of the IP then why not just find another developer like they are supposed to be doing with phantom dust?

Nobody likes to see games get canceled (especially the consumers) but it happens and it happens to studios that nobody wants to see close down either (evolution and lionhead come to mind). I guess it is just a matter of money and time.

Do you keep letting a studio develop at a pace that is counterproductive with a tentative release schedule that they initially said would work or do you cut the losses? That kind of decision is never easy but it isn't always so obvious a choice either.

Sciurus_vulgaris3416d ago (Edited 3416d ago )

I think the cancellation, has to due with Platinum games stretching themselves too thin. Platinum has slightly less than 200 employees, yet from 2014 onward, the company made Bayonetta 2 (which reviewed well), and the mixed to poorly received Legend of Korra, Mutants in Manhattan, Star Fox Zero/ Guard, and Transformers Devastation. Additionally, Platinum games was working on two big RPGs Scalebound and Nier, while working on the smaller projects, which is insane.

Edit: I think the cancellation of Scalebound might also be tied to the game requiring a Windows 10 version at launch. Platinum games has no (or little) experience in PC development, to my knowledge at least.

conanlifts3416d ago (Edited 3416d ago )

If it is related to the windows 10 version then that would be despicable.

Sciurus_vulgaris3416d ago (Edited 3416d ago )

@ sd11 It is pretty apparent that windows 10 version of the game are forced. Windows has never relied on games to sell.

maybelovehate3416d ago (Edited 3416d ago )

I doubt it, all games are made on PC and tested on PC. I think they just didn't have a good game. What we saw at E3 last year looked very unfinished. And that was after 3 years of development. Rumors are their top devs just left. My guess is that the Studio and Director of the game over promised and couldn't deliver.

Sciurus_vulgaris3416d ago

@ maybelovehate, you do have a good point, but development likely started on XB1 first. I think staff at Platinum were jumping back and forth between projects. The studio was/ is making too many games at once. I can image Hideki Kamiya, wanted more people on his project and had to compete for staff with the rest of the studio.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3416d ago
never4get3416d ago

http://n4g.com/user/blogpos...
Predicted an EPIC FAIL for games that use Unreal Engine 4. Platinum Games' Scalebound use UNREAL ENGINE 4.
Platinum Games other game, Nier Automata have no such problem. Thus Money is not an Issue. SQUARE ENIX didn't even have the money to complete FFXV and they still contracted Platinum Games to make Nier Automata, while microsoft is many times richer. UNREAL ENGINE 4 is a plague destroying developers and games.

BG115793416d ago

If what you are saying is true, than Tekken 7 is cursed too.

Automatic793416d ago

@Darthv72

I believe since Scalebound first announced 2014 they gave Platinum games 4 years(including the year the game was shown), overall platinum got an extra year and MS realized they didn't get far enough. Probably lost millions to only see small progress.

Dixiedevil3416d ago

Doesnt look like it was Platinum. Reposting from I_am_Batman: http://i.imgur.com/j6LFpLX....

The_Sage3416d ago

Well... Sony never gave up on The Last Guardian, and that worked out pretty well.

Sciurus_vulgaris3416d ago (Edited 3416d ago )

Last Guardian likely had a much smaller budget than Scalebound.

darthv723416d ago

Team ico only works for sony and wasnt really working on anything but tlg. Sony had no reason to cancel so just let them work till it was done.

Bronxs153416d ago

@darthv72
finally a rational comment!

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 3416d ago
Gaming_Cousin3416d ago

"Difficult decision, we believe result is better 4 Xbox gamers, still disappointing. "

When you have money that can reach the core of the earth how the hell is it better for Xbox gamers? Have you only spoken to 3 gamers? Why not explain wtf is going on instead of making some bs up that its better for Xbox gamers. You cannot talk for Xbox gamers when you are part of a PR team.

WickedLester3416d ago (Edited 3416d ago )

I have to correct you in one aspect . While it's true that MS has tons of money, the Xbox division is merely one department in that company and like with any department, they have an operating budget that is determined at the beginning of each fiscal year they have to stay within. Plus they're not a cost center like HR or purchasing or accounts payable. They're expected to make the company money and if they can't, they'll fall by the wayside. They don't have the "keys to the vault" just because they're part of the MS conglomerate.

BlakHavoc3416d ago

Thank you!! So tired of that baseless argument

TheColbertinator3416d ago

@WickedLester

Excellent. Glad to see some business sense on N4G.

3416d ago
Deadpooled3416d ago (Edited 3416d ago )

And the xbox division is making losses, obviously when a company has shareholders who can see one division is making losses that division gets less money to invest for the next fiscal year.

MasterCornholio3415d ago (Edited 3415d ago )

Something that many people say over and over again yet the truth gets ignored.

It's like the people who claim that Microsoft can just buy PlayStation and dismantle it. Then you explain the legal issues behind that and they refuse to listen.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 3415d ago
Bronxs153416d ago

@Gaming_Cousin
oh boy.. the industry/ business world does not work like that. Do you expect Microsoft to come out and say all the money they have wasted and all the ways they are not pleased with platinum games? you expect Microsoft to throw a game studio under the bus? if they do that what other studio would like to work with them? it's business intelligence.

n4rc3416d ago

it seems like thats what people expect... and it aint going to happen lol

why else would you cancel a game youve been investing in for years? obviously it isnt meeting expectations and no sign that it will... but its unprofessional to say they couldnt cut it, even if thats the exact reason.

maybelovehate3416d ago

I think he is saying the game wasn't good, and it was better to focus attention on a good product.

3416d ago
StormLegend3416d ago ShowReplies(3)
DevilOgreFish3416d ago

they announced this for windows 10 around 3 months ago didn't they? with 4k screens too.......
I'm just wondering about their priorities now, and the importance of their new lineup of games.

chrono12053416d ago

It might be win 10 that pushed them too far. To announce a PC port this late would put to much stress on any studio that works mostly on consoles.

ZwVw3416d ago

Good likelihood that this is the case. Judging off Fable Legends, the talk of Crackdown 3 having trouble development and now Scalebound. The common denominator is that Win10 was announced/implemented way later in the game's development.

The entire XB1/Win10 crossplay integration system feels like an entire afterthought, which is causing development cycles more harm than good. Almost makes you fearful for State of Decay 2.

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60°

Take-Two CEO Once Again Side Steps Grand Theft Auto 6 Price Point

Strauss Zelnick says price of GTA 6 is being carefully considered and that Rockstar is focused on "making the most spectacular piece of entertainment on Earth."

Kuma20d ago

If GTA 6 abandons everything that made GTA 5 great, it will crash and burn right out of the gate. GTA 5 was funny and not at all PC. My worry is that they will cave to the PC crowd and ruin the vibes.

Eonjay19d ago

They got freaking BBLs twerking on the top of trucks for the gram, the freaking Flordia joker, and dude running down the stree in their undies and you are worried about it being 'too PC'? The internet has runied gamers. It doesn't matter how non-PC they make the game, you will all listen to the grifters telling you not to believe your lying eyes lol.

gigoran819d ago

"Rockstar Games’ co-founder and former VP of Development Jamie King said he envisions GTA 6 as a game that’s “maybe not quite as edgy or quite as funny” as its satirical predecessors."

oh yeah, totally internet grifters spreading rumors...

blacktiger19d ago

That's part of the plan, they destroyed you but they need to destroy the shareholders? Only 1 shre holder is the true elite that don't care

1nsomniac20d ago (Edited 20d ago )

Meh.., if it’s above £55 I ain’t buying it.

Rockstar are genuinely not half the company they used to be. I was a die hard GTA fan I’ve purchased every game and expansion and spin off day 1.

My opinion of GTA6 is that I can take it or leave it. Not bothered. They burnt too many bridges.

DaReapa19d ago (Edited 19d ago )

So they're actually leaving the door open for an L.A. Noire sequel? Nice!

VaNdAl19d ago (Edited 19d ago )

He should just come out and say it already it's getting stupid it's going to be a 100 bucks $200 for the special edition🤡🤡; 29315;🤣♿

Storm2319d ago

I won't be getting this game until I can get it for $70. SHoot, I could wait for it to be even lower. I don't need the game that badly as my backlog is still huge and I am enjoying playing other things.

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40°

Talking Aliens: The Video Games With Author Mike Diver

Skewed and Reviewed have posted an interview with Author Mike Diver about his pending book on Aliens video games.

70°

Xbox boss: Memory crisis could impact next-gen hardware pricing

Xbox boss Asha Sharma has discussed how component shortages will impact the company's plans for Project Helix.

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gamedeveloper.com
Eonjay21d ago

When does this end? Its killing everyone. Consoles and PC. And for what? AI? The benefits of AI are completely outweighed by the negatives. And the government should have never allowed one company to buy up all the RAM.

Lexreborn222d ago

This kind of proves this is an after thought product, most products like this are in r&d 5 years before they start mass producing. So they typically have the cost of components and things worked out long before assembly starts.

This is an assumption still, but I wouldn’t be surprised if project helix is similar to Scalebound,perfect dark and sod3. They had an idea but no actual execution other than concept stage. Being impacted by the ram shortage likely would also put this device 3-4 years out.

I’m not even sure MS has that endurance with Xbox yet

Fishy Fingers21d ago (Edited 21d ago )

I mean.... what?

We're at a point that Samsung wont even provide their own phone department ram because they can sell it at higher prices to 3rd parties (AI). Its more profitable to sell the ram than make their own devices with it.

You think because R&D starts 5 years ago the 3rd party component manufacturers will honour that price? They'll sell it to whomever is paying the most today, not some gentlemens agreement they made years ago. AI farms will buy more volume at higher prices than any console manufacturer will. It'll be the same for Playstation.

Lexreborn221d ago

Contractual agreements are not the same as “gentlemen” agreements. If you think that they work with their distributors a month before production then their entire business model is trash. They work with companies like nvidia constantly for building the graphics cards they need. They work with companies that build motherboards years in advance. This is what proper business planning does.

They are not buying components on a whim like a consumer. So again, considering the ram isn’t a singular module and is integrated into the motherboard I highly doubt they wouldn’t have a final schematic that they are supposed to be building around.

If they are delaying production another 3 years then it’s obvious again this is an after though project and is just trying to be responsive to their bad execution they had the last 14 years.

It also isn’t far fetched to use their failure to produce first party titles the last 7 years including the highly anticipated games I mentioned all being cancelled. That they would continue to you know… lie

Sitdown21d ago

You don't really know how this works huh?

Profchaos21d ago (Edited 21d ago )

Helix is going to be stupidly expensive

Instead of leaning into smarter upscaling techniques they're brute forcing hardware that will cost them dearly and it remains to be seen if it's genuinely going to provide a meaningful differential

I know in the oc.doace people like to brag about not using frame gen or dlss to get to high on a game but for the majority of players they happily use those technologies without a second thought

That's going to be ps6 vs Helix

Eonjay21d ago

Yeah with FSR 5 they should be able to offer a much cheaper version of Helix.

Eonjay21d ago

While this does seem to be the case, I am encouraged by the statement from Microsoft about wanting to provide affordable options. If this means a Series S style Helix, at least there will be something affordable being offered.

XBManiac21d ago

Series S is what has killed Xbox Series so... Will they dare?

blacktiger21d ago

It's called systematic inflationary. Yes we get it Microsoft, keep raising in the name ofall kinds of stuffs

pwnmaster300021d ago

Honestly if there was thing I learned from this generation is that new consoles arnt day one anymore.
I can wait 1-3 years.

DarXyde21d ago

Another important lesson from this generation: while Nintendo showed us that prices don't necessarily need to ever drop, we've now learned that waiting 1-3 years does carry some risk that prices increase. This generation is just bizarre in all the wrong ways.

LucasRuinedChildhood21d ago (Edited 21d ago )

The factors are largely external. Covid and Russia-Ukraine war causing inflation led to the first price increase in 2022.

Then we get Trump's tariffs increasing hardware prices, AI boom causing a RAM crisis, war on Iran causing a worldwide fuel crisis which impacts the cost of everything.

Gaming doesn't exist in a vacuum. The last few years have been a shitshow and lot of it was definitely avoidable.

DarXyde21d ago

LucasRuinedChildhood,

For sure. No disagreement on the external factors doing a lot of this. Where I have to gently push back however is on two fronts:

1. The pandemic definitely caused some issues: asynchronous development was a big issue and really complicated timelines and affected game quality. At the same time, when it comes to price hikes, it's really difficult to know what was genuine necessity and what was taking consumers for a ride. The pandemic brought about "stag-flation" which was increasing prices and stagnant wages, which was a problem caused by supply chain constraints. There was also "Greed-flation", where companies that were slightly affected or had no issues took advantage of the situation and squeezed everyone citing supply chain issues when there were none.

2. It's definitely true that the tariffs, AI boom, and RAM crisis were all things enabled by tech broligarchs throwing money at this caricature of a world leader, one of them being Satya Nadella. I don't think Sony and Nintendo have contributed much to this problem if at all, but Microsoft's Nadella I feel was instrumental in causing every one of those issues. Microsoft as a company contributed to both candidates (though they gave Harris 4x as much if I recall), but Nadella was all in on letting AI run wild. He paid for unregulated AI, and got a war that's not a war (even though Trump called it that at least five times on television) that screwed up helium access. So for me, I feel that one of the players in the gaming industry is a key architect of these issues, and for that reason I struggle a bit to think of it as "external".

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