Do you know what it was?
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Lionhead Studios and Press Play closed. Fable legends cancelled.
- Thread starter chadskin
- Start date
Do you know what it was?
Is that confirmed? They spoke years ago about another IP, but I don't remember any other information ever coming of it.
When John Needham took over the studio in early 2014 he said he was going to make Lionhead a games-as-a-service studio. Phil said that LH structured themselves around FL, so I just assumed the other project got killed.
Nightengale
Member
Well, confirmed as of June 2014 that there were 8 people prototyping new IP ideas.
Maybe things changed since then, but there are definitely stuff behind the scenes that's at least a year in the concept oven.
Cow Goes Moo
Member
sure I don't have to study tonight, lay it out for us curious folks
Steverulez
Member
Some of the incubation team guys left last summer iirc including the guy heading it so...
Nightengale
Member
Gary, right?
That's why I said a year in the oven. Even if it's currently not being worked on/put on ice, there were "ideas" and projects that happened for a sizable amount of time. (1+ years)
That didn't seem to pan out as well.
Poimandres
Member
Aren't all of those titles except Crackdown confirmed (or relialy leaked) for PC?
Flying Toaster
Member
I don't know anything for fact so it is all rumor and bullshit at this point but it seems as though a lot of things are being pushed for PC.
I am full of shit and it is just a feeling.
I am full of shit and it is just a feeling.
tiredheadcrab
Member
Yeah if he has a capable PC.
Poimandres
Member
Well, he did specifically say he was thinking about trading his Xbox One for Steam credit so I think it's likely he has a decent PC.
I wonder how high the cost would have been for Microsoft to try to spin off Lionhead completely out of their developing studios, basically releasing them as an independent entity. Valve did it once with Turtlerock but I'm very unfamiliar with the procedure and the costs involved in that process. Besides they even might have been able to sell it(with or without an IP) to get a little bit cash out of this whole affair, nothing they need though apparently.
To do that, someone has to put up the cash to support it. For Bungie, someone did. I doubt there was anyone to do that for Lionhead.
Caipirinha
Member
But will he have have a capable Xbox One Windows 10 App System©?
Yeah exactly. I mean ethically it would have been the sensible move to do but since when are ethical concerns a thing in any big industry? And like you mentioned I also highly doubt that there was/is any external party willing to contribute financial means to preserve a developer whose performance has been mediocre at most for the last years.
Ninja Sharingan
Banned
Please don't tell me you are listening to the people on here that are clearly delusional saying Microsoft is exiting the console business.
Windows 10 store yeh. I enjoy having both but each to their own
Please don't tell me you are listening to the people on here that are clearly delusional saying Microsoft is exiting the console business.
Windows 10 store yeh. I enjoy having both but each to their own
And what makes you so sure that MS aren't exiting console business?
I'm just curious on why you are so confident enough to say people are delusional.
If only we could have a thread of shame...but people will just keep saying "they're about to shut down"
Triggerhappytel
Member
Having a team prototyping new ideas is not the same as having a new IP in development. It's the same mismanagement that happened with Sony's Studio Liverpool -- having a developer fully reliant on a single franchise of decreasing popularity is a really bad idea in the long run.
Quantum Break, ReCore and Halo Wars 2 are confirmed. Gears of War 4 is pretty close with Greenberg naming it a console exclusive and Fergusson saying it will "possibly" come to PC.
Scalebound was in a list of Windows Store Game IDs found in one of the Gears of War: Ultimate files. Only Crackdown 3 still doesn't have any solid hint of a PC version.
Look forward for your goalpost moving when they announce the Xbox 'steambox like' edition.
Baron_Calamity
Member
Nothing that hasn't been already speculated on this thread. I have a good pc and I'm likely to build a new one later this year if new tech hits. If there is a new Xbox One, if all the games are coming to the pc and I'm done with the already released exlusives, I don't see a reason to keep my current box.
Well, I personally believe MS isn't ready to give up on XB1.
But if they do give up, I won't be surprised.
Nothing is sure now when it comes to MS. Everything is possible now at this point.
Well Bungie did exactly that so totally doable
Mhmmm look at the signs though.Please don't tell me you are listening to the people on here that are clearly delusional saying Microsoft is exiting the console business.
Windows 10 store yeh. I enjoy having both but each to their own
Microsoft comment in the past saying Xbox One will probably be the last console.
They've been slowly announcing upcoming XBox exclusively IP's for PC.
Developer comes out claiming that Microsoft is planning on making a monopoly on PC gaming.
Abruptly closing down studios without even their knowledge until the public announcement the day of. Despite being almost complete with a game with positive reaction.
Buying Minecraft, arguably the biggest online game ever and a new cultural phenomenon. Where the majority of players are on PC. ( I don't play the game but you can't deny it's sucess)
Microsoft might be trying to get ahead of the game in the PC gaming world. I doubt Xbox is going anyway in terms of name and branding. But I think it's slowly becoming clear where Microsoft is moving their focus towards.
Tatsumi Oga
Banned
I have no time nor interest in starting to doubt MS and Xbox. Xbox One is doing fine now and if we are to believe Phil Spencer Xbox is here to stay and the news about an upgradeable Xbox One is something i can only consider good news.
Yep here is a defense line..."they released a second rev of the console its a steam box!"
Not even kind of similar
Interesting feature by MCV:
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/opin...you-re-making-a-mistake-with-lionhead/0163920
Ninja Sharingan
Banned
So Phil attempted to save it. Giving the fans what they wanted. this thing should have shifted focus as soon as it was unveiled.
The Agent Harrison jokes continue to be amazingly believable.
Nightengale
Member
Jokes aside, looking at Harrison's babies from Sony (Singstar, Home), he's always been a games-as-a-service guy.
That is very interesting, and thrills me to see, even though this went belly up.
Phil Harrison, if only you got them to make a normal game. Also, praise the lord that QB actually came to substance.
Ghost Slayer
Member
Jokes aside, looking at Harrison's babies from Sony (Singstar, Home), he's always been a games-as-a-service guy.
Little Big Planet also became big thanks to those license add-on. That guy is truly games-as-a-service guy like you said
Caipirinha
Member
Interested to see how MS attempt to break the news lightly to mega fans like yourself at E3. I'm gonna go with "look at all these PC games! Now coming to Xbox One...(when you install Windows 10).
It's frankly hilarious to continue seeing many UK/ US media push the story that Phil Spencer is the promised savior, up to and including mentionning "Mattrick's team" with Phil Harrison to place blame, omitting to say that Phil was a key part of the Xbox management team even then as the head of MS Game Studios...
wapplew
Member
Maybe it's the truth? They have ex lion head employees as source.
Caipirinha
Member
Gotta scape those goats baby.
The switching Fable's direction part?
That's not really what gives me pause here... more like the double standard and Mattrick's scapegoating.
Nightengale
Member
3 years ago, "everyone" at MS signed off on that "different future" of a console.
For about 3 whole weeks.
For about 3 whole weeks.
Mass_Pincup
Banned
It's like Phil Spencer didn't even work there, one time it's because his hands are tied and Mattrick took all the decisions and another time it's because one of his subordinate is making all the decisions.
Right now, the narrative is that people above him are pressuring him into these unpopular decisions. So basically nothing has changed. He's still helpless. Why continue blitheringly believe in someone who has no power?
Papacheeks
Banned
According to the MVC article we do. Which basically backs up my statement. It's not rocket science in seeing what MS values more about XBOX division. Phil Spencer is not the one making these decisions that basically sealed Lion heads fate. If U read the article he was trying to save traditional fable.
And to being rude. Sorry as I thought you being a PC person would know like myself MS's shady past with the Xbox platform and killing of other developers and projects by means of mismanagement.
You were as acting oblivious to MS's treatment and decisions that are big signs in how their philosophy is very different in how they treat and manage projects/studios.
Their microtransactions in big titles like Forza,Halo 5 req system. Buying majong for the purpose of just having it preinstalled on every windows 10 tablet,PC to gave renewable income. They even tore up fucking solitaire in 10 with dlc type transactions. Something that has been free and staple in Windows now wants to make money off of it.
wapplew
Member
Because he bring us BC, game with gold, app not behind pay wall, kill Kinect2.0, fight console warrior and promise Xbox will not go away.
Mattrick did bring Harrison on board to run the EMEA side of things and had him as a direct report.
Additionally, Harrison was the one who brought John Needham in to run Lionhead after Molyneux left. Needham had a games-as-a-service back ground and explicitly said he would turn Lionhead into a games-as-a-service studio. He reported to Harrison.
I'm sure Spencer was there in some capacity, but he certainly wasn't calling all the shots on the direction of their games.
hydrophilic attack
Member
If good guy Phil wanted to save Lionhead, but it was too late because they had gotten too far into a project, then why did he close down Press Play as well? They weren't all too far into their project. They could have still been repurposed to work on something else.
By their actions, it is very clear that MS is not interested in owning first party studios anymore, other than for guaranteed hits like Halo and Forza, for as long as these IPs can survive the milking. Why this is, we can only speculate. There is a good case to be made that they are moving away from dedicated Xbox hardware, but you can make cases for other scenarios as well.
Bits N Pieces
Member
Genuine question, whats your problem? You seem obsessed and consumed by Microsoft related threads and news and seem to take the same approach in every thread no matter the actual context.
Its a little disturbing
AncientDiety
Banned
So true..
Nightengale
Member
I think studios like Press Play and Twisted Pixel were acquired back when there was a desire to have the mid-tier/smaller scale product portfolio lineup that complements the big AAA games.
But those kind of games doesn't really seem to do well, but rather are just complementary to the portfolio.
Yeah, the game started under Harrison (he said it was one of the most fun projects in his career), but Spencer did approve it back in November 2014 when he got to see it for the first time and play it.
hydrophilic attack
Member
I don't agree with this at all. This year The Witness and Firewatch have both been a huge success. And we have stuff like Salt and Sanctuary and No Man's Sky coming up, that will probably do really well as well. The small/mid-scale is thriving right now.