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Square-Enix trying to sell off IO Interactive (Hitman)
- Thread starter Edge_Maverick
- Start date
SargerusBR
I love Pokken!
Someone needs to speak to TellTale Games about that.
It's a good deal for sure but let's not pretend Marvel won't take their business elsewhere if S-E west manages to fumble it (see: Activision+Platinum)
unknownhero
Member
the hitman series won't carry with them. SE owns it.
Spyder_Monkey
Banned
Rise dropped a lot thanks to that dumb deal with Microsoft and releasing it the same day as Fallout 4. It probably picked up eventually thanks to the Steam and PS4 release but the initial release killed a lot of momentum early on. The fact that Shadow of the Tomb Raider is being outsourced to Eidos Montreal seems suspicious as well. I know the reboot series is popular... I just think Tomb Raider 2013 is one of the most boring, generic games I have ever played.
Leafhopper
Banned
I kinda forgot how much of a bad reception the game had the first couple weeks at launch, especially on PC.
That didn't help.
That didn't help.
In my experience the episodic format elevated the game to a regular feature of gaming, instead of a monolithic one and done. I'm impressed with the episodes, and the quality has been pretty conistent, which gave me confidence in what I guess is a now cancelled Season 2 :/
xrnzaaas
Member
ShockingAlberto
Member
Sure, but I'm not presuming that.
In fact, I'd probably say a lot of these messes are dying at the altar of Marvel. At least, this one probably is.
SargerusBR
I love Pokken!
SE i guess, unless they are going to sell the Hitman IP as well.
omnislayer
Member
FFXV sold extremely well, it was actually Hitman that sold poorly.
Let me guess FF15 didn't sell well so they decide to kill the western game first, if so fuck you square
Banderdash
Member
The dream: CD Project buys them.
The likely best case scenario: Microsoft buys the them.
The reality: THQ Nordic buys them.
The worst case scenario: Amazon buys them.
The likely best case scenario: Microsoft buys the them.
The reality: THQ Nordic buys them.
The worst case scenario: Amazon buys them.
The darkest timeline: Crytek buys them.
Doctor Ironic
Member
There are devs still posting on Reddit about season 2 and they're still hiring on their website, but this press release says funding stopped on March 31st?
I'm not sure what that means.
I'm not sure what that means.
xabbott
Member
In this climate they're already on death row. Sony's treatment of Evolution, Activision moving studios to fewer titles, EA is EA, etc. It's not like any publisher is completely safe at the moment. I would have said maybe Ubisoft but they have that hostile takeover going on.
MS could be a good fit if the studio learned enough with episodic content to do something on the Game Pass platform. Or even just doing a single player game in the Killer Instinct season format.
It definitely makes me question if season 2 is actually happening.
None of these categories have the correct winners attached to them.
I absolutely loved the episodic model, it's part of what made this game click for me. However, I can't count the amount of people who were turned off by it whenever I'd beg them to get into Hitman. I got a lot of 'Ill buy it when it's all being sold together,' but then the retail version kind of came and went without any fanfare, I didn't see many new people talking about it - plus, once all the episodes had rolled out, the game kinda exited the zeitgeist abruptly. The elusive targets are still going, but the game isn't buzzing like it once was, so I really don't imagine people ran out and bought that disc release.
Such a bummer. Hopefully this pans out for IO, with the license in tow. Maybe their next season won't have so many painful online hooks.
Such a bummer. Hopefully this pans out for IO, with the license in tow. Maybe their next season won't have so many painful online hooks.
SargerusBR
I love Pokken!
I wonder what does this mean for FF7 Remake. I won't be surprised if SE decides to drop the episodic format.
While I abhor the always online concept as a general rule, I don't think there is any evidence that this is what caused the problem (at least, it was not a primary cause).
I think the episodic business model was a more likely culprit, and the fact that the previous Hitman game had disappointed many fans so there was some attrition to sales as a result. I think a lot of developers fail to realize that when you fail to release a quality entry in a franchise, the follow up tends to pay the price with reduced sales overall.
Unless Square was willing to pay the marketing price to inform gamers as to the fact they heard us and improved the game exponentially, people will naturally drop off. I don't think SquareEnix marketed the game nearly as heavily, the game was episodic, and the last game was on the consumer's mind.
Add it all together and you already have a formula for significantly reduced sales. Maybe always online contributed somewhat to it on the tail end, but I'd wager it was a smaller issue than all the rest.
FFVIIR is not "episodic" in the same way.
Darkstorne
Member
The sales figures are in the OP. I don't know why you'd jump to this conclusion.
As much as I love the concept of episodic content in games, I don't think it works. I know TellTale makes it work for themselves, but only because that's "their thing" and they don't need to turn over AAA profits to remain in the business. Their games are much lower in budget than Hitman was, and I don't think gamers would react well to a TellTale quality budget for an IP like Hitman either.
Here's hoping someone picks the team up quickly. Their latest Hitman might not have sold well but the quality is undeniable.
Do the size and scope of Telltale episodes equal that of Hitman's? I would imagine that's what the poster meant by "bigger".
FF7 is not episodic in this sense. They are making full length games. Use the Lighting Trilogy for reference.
LordOfLore
Banned
Yeah, it's more like a series of games.
LiquidSolid
Member
Thanks, Phil Rogers.
Awful news. I can't help but blame the mess prior to release, when Square Enix Europe couldn't seem to figure out how the fuck they were going to release it before they finally settled on the episodic model. It seemed like there was non-stop negative press surrounding the game back then.
This is a damn shame. Hitman was one of my favorite games of last year, and while the episodic model gave me pause at first, after seeing what they did with it I'd buy in on Season 2 right away.
On the bright side, at least this opens up the possibility of a new Freedom Fighters game.
On the bright side, at least this opens up the possibility of a new Freedom Fighters game.
That 42 million dollar loss they are eating for this is probably directly related to season 2.
Mister Wolf
Gold Member
Where was it reported that FFXV sold extremely well?
Square Enix (JP) is operating under different management from Square-Enix west. They even have different CEOs.
Let me guess FF15 didn't sell well so they decide to kill the western game first, if so fuck you square
I think FFVII Remake's format will be very different to Hitman's, they've never referred to FFVIIR as being episodic just a multi-part series of games that the producer compared in scope to the FFXIII trilogy games. It will probably be 3 $60 releases just with FFVII Remake: *Insert Subtitle* so a more safe model than Hitman's episodic format.
We will see I guess, because I really want to play a second season.
I vaguely recall SE not really knowing how they wanted to release this game too. The episodic announcement initially got a bit of backlash.
ULTROS!
People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
Sold well for them: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1348926
I really don't get why a number of GAFfers are ultra negative with FFXV and expect it to crap up everything.
Edit: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1372281
So can we please stop saying FFXV was a pithole for money.
Aangster
Member
Both IO and Square never officially confirmed Season 2, and there wasn't much dev chatter about it on Reddit. I imagine that it'd come as a shock to most IO devs, perhaps even upper management. Regardless, IO were looking to reimplement briefcase and human shield mechanics that didn't work during pre-alpha development for Season 2. It saddens me greatly that we won't see more 47 around the world.
Those incompetents at SQ Europe strike once again.
Jangowuzhere
Banned
Let's be real here.
The initial reactions to Hitman were very negative. Positivity may have started to pick up later on, but the first impressions are usually always the most important. Especially for a high budget triple A production.
I think the episodic format could have worked fine. However, the always online bullshit and the bad PC port at launch drove many away from buying it.
The initial reactions to Hitman were very negative. Positivity may have started to pick up later on, but the first impressions are usually always the most important. Especially for a high budget triple A production.
I think the episodic format could have worked fine. However, the always online bullshit and the bad PC port at launch drove many away from buying it.
Paasei
Member
Makes me very sad. I've only played the first 4 games. Where I truly loved Blood Money.
I think I have played that game over 50 times now.
If I would ever feel like speedrunning, that would be my game.
Never bothered with the new Hitman game and it's episodes, as I absolutely hated their approach on the series in Absolution, I never gave it any chance.
If it is more like Blood Money and the first 2 games, I can always get it. Complete edition isn't very expensive anyway.
One of my favorite series, as I am a sucker for stealth games, making 100% sure nobody ever knew I was there.
I think I have played that game over 50 times now.
If I would ever feel like speedrunning, that would be my game.
Never bothered with the new Hitman game and it's episodes, as I absolutely hated their approach on the series in Absolution, I never gave it any chance.
If it is more like Blood Money and the first 2 games, I can always get it. Complete edition isn't very expensive anyway.
One of my favorite series, as I am a sucker for stealth games, making 100% sure nobody ever knew I was there.