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Scalebound cancelled [Platinum Games and Kamiya have commented]
- Thread starter SteveO409
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mysteriousmage09
Member
It's a shame, but the game looked rough with each showing.
VincentMatts
Member
Im getting scorpio cause MS still have Halo and Gears and forza and everything else i want to play. Im getting it for the same reason i got the Pro. Same games, but better.
I mean its unfortunate that it was cancelled but if it was, theres definitely a good reason for it. They dont go and cancel good games for the hell of it. It probably wasnt very good/fun.
Fbh
Member
Damn, thats sad to hear. Feel specially bad for the people that spent years working on this.
The demos did indeed look pretty rough. But I always had hope that it would turn out great. (Wonderful 101 also had a terrible demo, but I love the game).
I'm also a bit worried about platinum. They dont seem to be doing very well:
- Their games with Activision have been mediocre at best. And the latest one, TMNT, was by far the worse. As far as I know their partnership with Activision is over
-Star Fox Zero got average reviews and a pretty negative reception by fans. Their current relationship with Nintendo is not known.
-Scalebound, their big AAA game by their best known director is now cancelled.
Seems like the only thing they have comming is Nier, which does look fantastic. I
I really hope it ends up getting great reviews and/or sales so they keep getting publishing deals.
The year is definitely looking MUCH better for Ps4 in terms of exclusives. And that image gets me really hyped.
But out of those 10 games 4 are also comming to XB1 and one is multiplatform with PC
The demos did indeed look pretty rough. But I always had hope that it would turn out great. (Wonderful 101 also had a terrible demo, but I love the game).
I'm also a bit worried about platinum. They dont seem to be doing very well:
- Their games with Activision have been mediocre at best. And the latest one, TMNT, was by far the worse. As far as I know their partnership with Activision is over
-Star Fox Zero got average reviews and a pretty negative reception by fans. Their current relationship with Nintendo is not known.
-Scalebound, their big AAA game by their best known director is now cancelled.
Seems like the only thing they have comming is Nier, which does look fantastic. I
I really hope it ends up getting great reviews and/or sales so they keep getting publishing deals.
Microsoft, take notes! Their exclusives still look abysmal.
The year is definitely looking MUCH better for Ps4 in terms of exclusives. And that image gets me really hyped.
But out of those 10 games 4 are also comming to XB1 and one is multiplatform with PC
OdysseusVA
Banned
Yea. Like I get this game had it's struggles, but you'd think they could have at least still released it at some point. Hell even if you have to sell it for $30 and make it a digital only game. At least try to get back some of your investment.
Relaxed Muscle
Member
Ah, here's what I was looking for
July 2015: "Those shits at MS...are they fucking with me?"
So, let's set a timeline HEAVY with speculation. Game was announced at E3 2014 without much notice. It skipped E3 2015, but showed up at Gamescom that year in August with an announcement of four-player co-op, which was shown off with a much rougher game in E3 2016's conference. The game was then cancelled soon after.
My guess is that, in July, Kamiya was told he had to rejigger the game into a four-player co-op thing. There were never any hints he wanted to make the game a Monster Hunter-like, but I am guessing people in charge of money were expecting him to do so. It gets announced, shown off, and the response is tepid. Changing tides at Microsoft, a desire to free up the UE4 team they put together to work with Kamiya, and being unhappy with the state of the game lead to it being cancelled.
If my guess is correct, that's really sad.
I'm buying this speculation. To me too the 4 player mode wasn't initially planned. And we know that MS pulled similar moved in the past.
scoobs
Member
Surely they'll greenlight these projects now that you've said this.
Microsoft needs to take a long look at the games they're green-lighting. They seem to lack creativity, any original IPs with new ideas get either pushed out the door too quickly or just cancelled when times get tough. Something is wrong with the production pipeline... need to fix it or I'm seriously concerned for their future as a publisher. You can only rely on Gears, Halo and Forza to keep you afloat for so long, they're already a bit long in the tooth. Come on Microsoft!
KingParappa
Neo Member
Microsoft, take notes! Their exclusives still look abysmal.
That comparison doesn't make any sense.
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
Gears has lost its sheen. If it hits 3 million it will be from the benefit of being the free game bundled with the system.
rocketskates
Member
ITT
People realizing that if you're REALLY gonna buy a system for ONE game that's STILL in preproduction, all because you think it looks cool....yeah that's a BAD idea. A really bad one, especially a Japanese game on a Microsoft system.
I'm not surprised at all. And I still expect KH3 to be cancelled for the One too.
I bought a Wii after Xenoblade came out. And a WiiU only for Bayonetta 2 after it came out. Xbox 360 for Tales of Vesperia and all the other JRPGs that only came out for it after ToV came out for it. I only bought my One for BC and the Halo collection and Halo 5.
People realizing that if you're REALLY gonna buy a system for ONE game that's STILL in preproduction, all because you think it looks cool....yeah that's a BAD idea. A really bad one, especially a Japanese game on a Microsoft system.
I'm not surprised at all. And I still expect KH3 to be cancelled for the One too.
I bought a Wii after Xenoblade came out. And a WiiU only for Bayonetta 2 after it came out. Xbox 360 for Tales of Vesperia and all the other JRPGs that only came out for it after ToV came out for it. I only bought my One for BC and the Halo collection and Halo 5.
Crossing Eden
Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
How many studios are making a game with the scale of scalebound, like huge monsters fighting each other along with four player co-op. Platinum had never even attempted a game with this scale before.
sixteen-bit
Member
Microsoft, take notes! Their exclusives still look abysmal.
Oh look its my art :3.
valkillmore
Member
Sony sticks with The Last Guardian for what, 10 years? And MS cancels this after less than half of that. The project really must not have been any good or inspiring guys.
LiLSnorpSnorp
Member
Why does there have to be so much unilateral blame? Considering the timeframe, this seems like something that just didn't work out for both parties involved.
Microsoft, take notes! Their exclusives still look abysmal.
does that really belong here :/
Obliterator
Member
Indeed. Its not really a mystery. We mostly know what happened.
The project scope was too big, and Platinum was running into major engine problems. The combination of which led to major setbacks, and eventual cancellation
Muscle Wizard
Banned
I think it suffered a minor Fable Legends syndrome where MS kept asking them to add stuff like multiplayer to fit the new paradigm they're focusing on.
Hello Nintendo exist.
HawthorneKitty
Sgt. 2nd Class in the Creep Battalion, Waifu Wars
No point? Uhhh peeps just want to vent on the Internets. Sounds like a human point to me.
This a developer that has made a MP online versus brawler a co-op game is hardly crazy.
You overestimate the importance of Power. If power were the case the Xbox and Gamecube should of destroyed the PS2, but they didn't. The PS4 is winning not because its more powerful but because it was cheaper and had a better marketing campain. Power was just the cherry on top.
Sumio Mondo
Member
Anyone remember what happened to Crimson Dragon? Take out the original OST from the Panzer Dragoon musician and put it into a mobile phone game no one played instead and replace it with a boring OST remixed by a Western composer just because. Why? That and the game ended up being mediocre despite being developed by former members of Team Andromeda (even Panzer Dragoon creator Yukio Futatsugi himself) and forcing the game to be ported to Xbox One and delaying it for that.
...I have not seen a game from Futatsugi since. Guessing he went back to making mobile phone games...
...I have not seen a game from Futatsugi since. Guessing he went back to making mobile phone games...
Nailed it hawk.
Salty Rice
Member
Well Microsoft wanted you to forget it thats why they silently replaced the Remake with a HD Remaster and even that looks like its canned.
Danis Saur
Member
Microsoft needs to either go to devs and say 'make this type of game for us with these types of features' or simply give them a blank check and not interfere. This is beyond ridiculous at this point.
I agree with the idea that a game should be cancelled rather than to be shipped broken and sold for $60, yes.
Scalebound though? Platinum games aren't usually broken at launch. Inclined to think Microsoft probably wronged Platinum in some way with this game and then couldn't ship it
Spieler Eins
Member
Ah, here's what I was looking for
Pretty sure that was because he didn't want to get on the Gamescom MS stage or something.
captainraincoat
Banned
Better to release a few really great games then it is to release many mediocre games
Glad they had the guts to nuke it
A lot of people are being quick to throw this on Platinum, but on one hand we have a developer that has consistently delivered dozens of games on time (including one in a little under two months).
On the other:
- reports of how Microsoft dealt with the scope and budget of Phantom Dust
- co-op being added to Scalebound
- Kamiya signaling dissatisfaction around that time
- Microsoft having a track record of pushing towards unecessary game modes, microtransactions, lotteries and loot boxes
- Microsoft having a problematic recent history with third party contracted developers
Erase the names from the above -- what would you think likely happened?
How did Kamiya suddenly lose his capability of delivering focused, well-regarded games and instead, by fault of his own team, fell into a bloated development hell and had his game cancelled?
It just plain doesn't sound as likely. This sounds very consistent with the post-mortem on Phantom Dust that Kotaku published. My guess is that Microsoft stretched the scope of the project, and Platinum crumbled under a lack of budget and time.
On the other:
- reports of how Microsoft dealt with the scope and budget of Phantom Dust
- co-op being added to Scalebound
- Kamiya signaling dissatisfaction around that time
- Microsoft having a track record of pushing towards unecessary game modes, microtransactions, lotteries and loot boxes
- Microsoft having a problematic recent history with third party contracted developers
Erase the names from the above -- what would you think likely happened?
How did Kamiya suddenly lose his capability of delivering focused, well-regarded games and instead, by fault of his own team, fell into a bloated development hell and had his game cancelled?
It just plain doesn't sound as likely. This sounds very consistent with the post-mortem on Phantom Dust that Kotaku published. My guess is that Microsoft stretched the scope of the project, and Platinum crumbled under a lack of budget and time.
Mass_Pincup
Banned
Oh please explain me what asking for a cancelled game owned by a competitor for another platform is.
I'll wait.
Not Spaceghost
Spaceghost
This makes a lot of sense though I always assumed that tweet was referencing the fact that MS seemed to use Kamiya as a marketing gimmick rather than actually wanting him for his talent and for the types of games he makes. I forget waht year it was where at E3 kamiya basically just went up on MS stage and said like 3 sentences about scalebound and then the segment ended.
But seriously it looks like MS execs shoved their wrench into kamiya's project and slowed down development far more than it needed to be slowed down which lead to the projects cancellation.
Don't P* games usually have really short gap between reveal and release? W101 was 1 year, bayo 1 and 2 were 2 years, Vanquish was a year, MGRR was like a year from it's platinum reveal, starfox zero was almost 2 years and I think anarchy reigns was almost 2 years too. NieR 2 looks like it's also following that 2 year reveal to release trend.
The fact that scalebound was their first title to miss that 2 year mark was a big tell that something went really wrong, and it's likely MS forced them to redo a bunch of stuff.
Lord of Ostia
Member
This is a real shame, probably my most anticipated Xbox One release. As a first time Xbox owner this generation, I'm kind of disappointed with their exclusive offerings tbh. Ori was great, Sunset Overdrive was great, and I'm enjoying BC for some 360 gems I missed, but Quantum Break, Halo 5, and ReCore disappointed me, and I couldn't really get into Gears Remastered despite enjoying TPS genre. Scalebound seemed like a unique and interesting game, especially with Platinum at the helm.
Not really positive about the outlook for Xbox One at this point, personally.
Not really positive about the outlook for Xbox One at this point, personally.
I am disappointed it was canceled and being a fan of Platinum games, I hope it doesn't mean trouble for their studio. However, I have no issues with that specific PR statement as worded, and I think the "LOL, they turned it into an ad" responses are off-base/unrealistc. It's pretty much what I would expect in this situation.
I don't recall what statements you're referring to regarding the launch PR statements. I do recall some poor interview responses, and would agree some of those were poorly handled. That's irrelevant, though, in terms of analysis this PR statement.
Microsoft, take notes! Their exclusives still look abysmal.
Takes notes from what? Only two of those games actually belong to Sony
SomedayTheFire
Member
Shit like this is fucking dangerous. That is not what happened and that tweet has nothing to do with it. But people will start quoting this and eventually actually believing it when it's completely baseless speculation pulled from nothing.Ah, here's what I was looking for
July 2015: "Those shits at MS...are they fucking with me?"
So, let's set a timeline HEAVY with speculation. Game was announced at E3 2014 without much notice. It skipped E3 2015, but showed up at Gamescom that year in August with an announcement of four-player co-op, which was shown off with a much rougher game in E3 2016's conference. The game was then cancelled soon after.
My guess is that, in July, Kamiya was told he had to rejigger the game into a four-player co-op thing. There were never any hints he wanted to make the game a Monster Hunter-like, but I am guessing people in charge of money were expecting him to do so. It gets announced, shown off, and the response is tepid. Changing tides at Microsoft, a desire to free up the UE4 team they put together to work with Kamiya, and being unhappy with the state of the game lead to it being cancelled.
If my guess is correct, that's really sad.
Sammy Samusu
Member
Where? 👀
I guess you could say they were scale...bound?
I'm sorry I had to. On a real note, it sucks for everyone at Platinum though. Hopefully they all land on their feet ok after this and get to work on a new project.
IDontBeatGames
Member
Halo Wars 2 probably (or well) shouldn't be there, since it's being released before then on Feb 21, 2017. Unless there's going to be some DLC stuff announced for the Season Pass, along w/ a trailer or teaser for Halo 6. Sea of Thieves, do we really know a whole lot about this game? Sure, we learned a couple of things last E3 which was all in this trailer. Cuphead, I see the hype, however I think it'll have a cult following and not much else after release. I still hope it's a good game. State of Decay is one of those games I never played so I personally don't know much about. A large quantity on this thread has doubts Crackdown 3 is going to make it to the market.
And woo, a new Forza.
I don't see how you can be perfectly content with that compared to all the stuff Sony has shown off in the last year alone. If you care to explain, I'd be all ears to see how you're fine w/ just expecting pretty much that & Scorpio lol
ronaldthump
Member
WOOOOOAHHHHhhhhhh!
BigEmil
Junior Member
Thought Microsoft owns the IP though
Microsoft, take notes! Their exclusives still look abysmal.
Half those games aren't even exclusive to PS.
bitbydeath
Member
Not Ryse, that was 7 year development hell, switching between genres and even Kinect which almost sent CryTek broke.
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