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[Sosokrates]

Sosokrates reporting for duty

 

[assurdum]

Zenimax: not enough money, which resulted in fallout 76. Despite that, they still delivered the games.

Activitision/Blizzard: kotick let upper management ruin the company, instead of actually protecting his employees. He forced the company to make COD yearly to make more money.

MS solved zenimax money issues. And once Activision/Blizzard deal is done, kotick will leave the company. And everyone there will abide MS policies.

And again I don't point my finger against the MS money but their management history for such stuff. The problematic development of the last Halo and now Perfect Dark, show it. When stuff like this happened, they lost money and the game development is hurt. Yeah Halo infinite is "ended" well but they can't fix the things in the last minutes. It's too risky.

 

[Yoboman]

Things happen, doesn't matter folks. There's always someone capable of taking over a previous lead's role. Unless people actually think a game is made by a single person, or any 2 or 3 people.

I think you're right for your average game

I think the really great games definitely have an amazing director at the helm, and are the difference between delivering a good product and an amazing one

 

[kingfey]

Same can be said for any publisher, they had a very good year, prior years were not as good because they didnt have the devs. But looking at there devs i dont see how they can go backwards.

But im not surprised, people will probably still be saying "XGS need to prove themselves" after 3yrs of 2021 quality (or likly better imo).

Phil spencer is the only one that is holding xbox+ms+their studio's. There is a concern to be made, if Xbox still can't handle their studio's.

We all know how xbox treated their devs post x360 and early xbox one. They didn't invest in them properly. Without Phil, MS+Xbox wouldn't have been where they are now.

They seriously need to reevaluate how they handle their studio's.

Because once Phil leaves, entire thing would be a mess, looking from 343i and rare perspective.

 

[kingfey]

And again I don't point my finger against the MS money but their management history for such stuff. The problematic development of the last Halo and now Perfect Dark, show it. When stuff like this happened, they lost money and the game development is hurt. Yeah Halo infinite is "ended" well but it's more frequent the contrary happens.

We are talking about their new studios.
The one you are talking is Xbox Game studios. Which I understand is having problems currently.

 

[tmlDan]

From the info thats available you cant really make good speculation. I mean you could go for the negitive or positive slant, but because we have so little information it says more about the poster then anything else.

I

dude have you ever worked a job in your life? When you're a director you're essentially lead on the project meaning it is your baby.

You don't just leave a company or a project you run for a bit more money, wake up.

unbelievable.

 

[assurdum]

We are talking about their new studios.
The one you are talking is Xbox Game studios. Which I understand is having problems currently.

Ok I give up. I don't like to talk with a wall.

 

[kingfey]

Is this a good or a bad thing?

Good for new studio. Bad for existing studio.
New studio can simply hire new director, while existing studio will have trouble.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

I think you're right for your average game

I think the really great games definitely have an amazing director at the helm, and are the difference between delivering a good product and an amazing one

Yup. Kojima, Miyazaki, Cuckman, Todd etc. Pioneers who bring the best to the table

Dictatorship > Democracy

 

[Chukhopops]

It's like if Neil Druckman left any of his latest projects, but Naughty Dog's president, Evan Wells, remained at Naughty Dog. Isn't it funny for you to constantly downplay things?) It's literally a game director. Damn, I hope Hideo Kojima doesn't quit his next project because it might not be a Kojima game anymore

You mean like when Amy Hennig left ND after being Creative Director / Game Director on the Jak and Uncharted series? After making Uncharted 2, the best PS3 game?

Seems like people still enjoy ND games after she left.

 

[assurdum]

You mean like when Amy Hennig left ND after being Creative Director / Game Director on the Jak and Uncharted series? After making Uncharted 2, the best PS3 game?

Seems like people still enjoy ND games after she left.

Amy making Uncharted 2? Wut. From what I have understood was more a writer not the lead of the gameplay design.

 

[kingfey]

Ok I give up. I don't like to talk with a wall.

Look here, MS has 3 publishers.

Xbox Game studios, zenimax, and now Activision-Blizzard's.

Each of them act independently, and report to Phil spencer.

 

[Sosokrates]

Phil spencer is the only one that is holding xbox+ms+their studio's. There is a concern to be made, if Xbox still can't handle their studio's.

We all know how xbox treated their devs post x360 and early xbox one. They didn't invest in them properly. Without Phil, MS+Xbox wouldn't have been where they are now.

They seriously need to reevaluate how they handle their studio's.

Because once Phil leaves, entire thing would be a mess, looking from 343i and rare perspective.

Matt booty is head of XGS, Phil does go and visit devs but its not his main duties,

The only issues they have had is 343, so the logic just does not support what you are saying.
Its funny people dont use gears, flight sim, Psychonauts and forza as a gage for XGS management sucess, they only use negative things.

 

[Yoboman]

You mean like when Amy Hennig left ND after being Creative Director / Game Director on the Jak and Uncharted series? After making Uncharted 2, the best PS3 game?

Seems like people still enjoy ND games after she left.

She was co director of Uncharted 2 with Bruce Staley, who was able to step into Uncharted 4 after making a separate GOTY title

Naughty Dog at the time had multiple directorial talents who could replace Henig

 

[assurdum]

Look here, MS has 3 publishers.

Xbox Game studios, zenimax, and now Activision-Blizzard's.

Each of them act independently, and report to Phil spencer.

It.... doesn't works exactly like this. Activision and Bethesda will be part of the MS Studio and they won't be anymore totally independent as you think. MS can stop their projects and lead them whenever they want because they aren't satisfied or whatever. And stuff like this could lead chief senior to leave the company.

 

[onesvenus]

After 4 years. I know I know… ‘people leave all the time’. You’d think people would want to see their product shipped before moving on.

Perfect Dark director leaves The Initiative

Perfect Dark's game director, Dan Neuburger, has seemingly left his position at The Initiative. According to his Linked…

www.eurogamer.net

Didn’t someone else high up on that team already leave?

This project seems a bit shaky.

Starting to think there’s some issues. It is something I feel microsoft struggles with at their studios.

really hoping it turns out great but we will see. if there’s no gameplay this year from the big games they showed trailers for like 2 to 3 years ago im going to deffo start questioning their abilities to produce great games in a timely fashion.

People do, game directors don't.

This studio was announced with lots of big words and promises. But something Microsoft doesn't seem to have learned is that shouting high from the rooftops will only bite themselves. This has proven to be the case once again with this generation.

It is true that high up game developers are constantly being poached. There is so little talent now in high up positions that there is a lot of poaching going on and people leaving a lot becuase they are getting cash thrown at them left and right.

saying that, in this case I am starting to feel like there could be some issues. They need to show the game off and it look solid imo.

I feel triple A western dev is in a strange spot, there’s little originality and a lot of focus tested regurgitated bull shit. I hope we see a strong shift and some awesome games coming out that feel truly next gen and new Sooner rather than later.

please, just let fable be incredible….

and Starfield.

Be interesting to see how much of CD is involved in this given how The Initiative seems to be struggling to grow. Losing the GD ontop of that can't be good

If they have someone better. But they've been struggling with talent aquisition as it is.

It's no doubt going to be undergoing some reboot/s.

A GD leaving after the design director. Chances are high that means the game is struggling in its current state

Obviously that doesn't mean whatever product comes out of this at end isn't going to be good

Can’t think of many examples where a game director left mid-dev because everything was going great

Not a good sign.

This is not normal, but I'll wait for June showcase.

Since the beginning they've said they want to be a really lean team that wants to make AAA following other process than the usual one.

Seeing that they are a ~50 people studio with roles focusing on production, can't it be that they are just a studio that focuses on production and then passes the baton to an external team, CD in this case, to do the heavy work?

Reading the first page of the thread, It's obvious these are great news for Sony fanboys, but I wouldn't celebrate until the game is out

 

[Petopia]

Well 343 cant get their shit together why do you think another microsoft owned studio be the same.

 

[dcmk7]

It's happened again? Kind of weird.

 

[Bernd Lauert]

Why describe them as a AAAA studio then?

You use terminology like that and it creates the impression that they are looking to set up an industry powerhouse. As it is, as I had suspected, Crystal Dynamics are developing this game with their oversight.

Idk, but The Initiative are like 60ish people right now, looking to hire only a handful of other people. They're not a classic studio it seems. Maybe has to do with their name.

Ironically, this dude leaving might mean that Perfect Dark is closer to release than we anticipated. Looking forward to what Crystal Dynamics can do.

 

[JLB]

People do, game directors don't.

what are game directors? Aliens?

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Well 343 cant get their shit together why do you think another microsoft owned studio be the same.

That's debatable. It took five years and 500 million dollars. They're still missing features like co op

 

[Bernd Lauert]

That's debatable. It took five years and 500 million dollars. They're still missing features like co op

500m? Nah.

 

[Sosokrates]

dude have you ever worked a job in your life? When you're a director you're essentially lead on the project meaning it is your baby.

You don't just leave a company or a project you run for a bit more money, wake up.

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Since the beginning they've said they want to be a really lean team that wants to make AAA following other process than the usual one.

Seeing that they are a ~50 people studio with roles focusing on production, can't it be that they are just a studio that focuses on production and then passes the baton to an external team, CD in this case, to do the heavy work?

Reading the first page of the thread, It's obvious these are great news for Sony fanboys, but I wouldn't celebrate until the game is out

So what? Are these guys just the equivalent of Sony's xdev or something?

 

[Notabueno]

Great news!

The trailers showed that they didn't understand shit about Perfect Dark and had a crap vision for it, although it's the Xbox game I'm most hyped for.

 

[Hendrick's]

 

[remember_spinal]

Since the beginning they've said they want to be a really lean team that wants to make AAA following other process than the usual one.

Seeing that they are a ~50 people studio with roles focusing on production, can't it be that they are just a studio that focuses on production and then passes the baton to an external team, CD in this case, to do the heavy work?

Reading the first page of the thread, It's obvious these are great news for Sony fanboys, but I wouldn't celebrate until the game is out

Naw, a game director doesnt hand over the reigns to a totally new team. Thats not how it works

What i assume the initiative is, is the opposite of Sony Xdev. Xdev does a lot or the hands on development and another 3rd party developer handles the creative aspects. I assume this is the initiative handling the creative aspects and allowing Crystal Dynamics to handle the hands on dev work.

That what it seemed like the plan was. I just think what ended up happening was bringing on a whole other fully fleshed out development studio led to a power struggle and CD won out in the end. They are probably fully taking over the brunt of the project from this point on.

I don’t think the initiative had a strong enough foundation before bringing on another studio.

 

[Snake29]

The problem with this studio and Microsoft is that they overhyped them from the start....

 

[Sosokrates]

That's debatable. It took five years and 500 million dollars. They're still missing features like co op

That 500million dollar rumour bwas never confirmed, infact some insiders said it was complete bullshit.

 

[anthony2690]

Maybe in the minority, but when Drew Murray was describing the game, having a go pro like camera as you play, it kinda put me off, maybe it's just the way it was worded or what I'm imagining isn't what it will actually be like.

 

[Banjo64]

Reading the first page of the thread, It's obvious these are great news for Sony fanboys, but I wouldn't celebrate until the game is out

Aw shit man, I’ve finally made it. I’ve gone full heel and am now considered a Sony fanboy

Do I get a badge for being GAF’s first Xbox AND Sony fanboy?

 

[OmegaSupreme]

That 500million dollar rumour bwas never confirmed, infact some insiders said it was complete bullshit.

Okay. Whats the excuse for missing features then?

 

[Ass of Can Whooping]

Aw shit man, I’ve finally made it. I’ve gone full heel and am now considered a Sony fanboy

Do I get a badge for being GAF’s first Xbox AND Sony fanboy?

 

[Chukhopops]

She was co director of Uncharted 2 with Bruce Staley, who was able to step into Uncharted 4 after making a separate GOTY title

Naughty Dog at the time had multiple directorial talents who could replace Henig

My point is she was a game director, she left and the studio didn’t collapse. She’s listed as “leading the 150-person team who created the game” on Wikipedia.

There isn’t a large game made by one person, no matter how famous, charismatic etc they are.

 

[TheBomb]

we are all experts!

 

[kingfey]

Matt booty is head of XGS, Phil does go and visit devs but its not his main duties,

The only issues they have had is 343, so the logic just does not support what you are saying.
Its funny people dont use gears, flight sim, Psychonauts and forza as a gage for XGS management sucess, they only use negative things.

Matt booty reports to Phil, which reports to satya. He is the one that is providing help and asset to them.

Flight simulator was 3rd party. Psychonauts 2 was in the middle of purchase.

Playground and the Coalition are 2 of the best xbox studios. Everyone in the world praises those 2.

What you need to understand is the criticism. MS got out of a period, where they didn't put any attention on their studio's. They mishandled Rare. And worst, they gave their flagship to 343i, and didn't bother holding them accountable.

If MS wants to compete for the future, they need to take this seriously. Rare is currently having problems with everwild, and 343i is still not taking halo seriously. With these issues, I am not trusting MS to be the top in the industry.

 

[Yoboman]

My point is she was a game director, she left and the studio didn’t collapse. She’s listed as “leading the 150-person team who created the game” on Wikipedia.

There isn’t a large game made by one person, no matter how famous, charismatic etc they are.

And they might have struggled if they didn't have the talent to step into that role at the time

Its a unique situation that you cant really compare

 

[R3claimer117]

My point is she was a game director, she left and the studio didn’t collapse. She’s listed as “leading the 150-person team who created the game” on Wikipedia.

There isn’t a large game made by one person, no matter how famous, charismatic etc they are.

Don’t waste your time ! It’s been too many good Microsoft news lately they’ll latch onto anything. You’d think this game had a bad gameplay debut or its a sequel the way some of these agenda driven post are coming in.

 

[Banjo64]

My point is she was a game director, she left and the studio didn’t collapse. She’s listed as “leading the 150-person team who created the game” on Wikipedia.

There isn’t a large game made by one person, no matter how famous, charismatic etc they are.

One man, one goal, One mission. One heart, one soul, Just one solution. One flash of light. One god, one vision. One flesh, one bone,



Game by committee = one big hodgepodge safe mess.

 

[Sosokrates]

Okay. Whats the excuse for missing features then?

Whats the excuse for TLOU2 not having MP at launch?

 

[Ozriel]

This studio was announced with lots of big words and promises. But something Microsoft doesn't seem to have learned is that shouting high from the rooftops will only bite themselves. This has proven to be the case once again with this generation.

Not sure I’ve got any confidence in your track record of predictions. First predicted that Halo would slip to 2022, then this gem

 

[kingfey]

It.... doesn't works exactly like this. Activision and Bethesda will be part of the MS Studio and they won't be anymore totally independent as you think. MS can stop their projects and lead them whenever they want because they aren't satisfied or whatever. And stuff like this could lead chief senior to leave the company.

They made a new division called MS gaming.
"Once the deal closes, the Activision Blizzard business will report to Phil Spencer, CEO, Microsoft Gaming"

I was wrong about the zenimax one. It will only be Activision-Blizzard's which will report to the new division.

 

[Varnish La PS]

So It's not Perfect, but Dark.

 

[Topher]

They made a new division called MS gaming.
"Once the deal closes, the Activision Blizzard business will report to Phil Spencer, CEO, Microsoft Gaming"

I was wrong about the zenimax one. It will only be Activision-Blizzard's which will report to the new division.

Pretty sure Zenimax will be on the same level as XGS and AB in reporting to Phil Spencer.

 

[Dolodolo]

That's debatable. It took five years and 500 million dollars. They're still missing features like co op

It sometimes seems to me that it didn’t even take $ 50 million, given the general backwardness of everything in the project, except for the bare skeleton of the gameplay, in the form of shooting

 

[Sosokrates]

Matt booty reports to Phil, which reports to satya. He is the one that is providing help and asset to them.

Flight simulator was 3rd party. Psychonauts 2 was in the middle of purchase.

Playground and the Coalition are 2 of the best xbox studios. Everyone in the world praises those 2.

What you need to understand is the criticism. MS got out of a period, where they didn't put any attention on their studio's. They mishandled Rare. And worst, they gave their flagship to 343i, and didn't bother holding them accountable.

If MS wants to compete for the future, they need to take this seriously. Rare is currently having problems with everwild, and 343i is still not taking halo seriously. With these issues, I am not trusting MS to be the top in the industry.

I think the games MS release shows there management in a more positive light, yes it needs improvement but I think "the only being negative about XGS" narritive is bullshit.

We just disagree here, you say 343i is not taking Halo seriously, which is just complete clown talk when Infinite got an 87 metacritic.

The facts simply dont support what your saying.

 

[SenjutsuSage]

I think you're right for your average game

I think the really great games definitely have an amazing director at the helm, and are the difference between delivering a good product and an amazing one

Sometimes a different captain or perspective makes all the difference in the world.

 

[Sosokrates]

Not sure I’ve got any confidence in your track record of predictions. First predicted that Halo would slip to 2022, then this gem

 

[SenjutsuSage]

I think the games MS release shows there management in a more positive light, yes it needs improvement but I think "the only being negative about XGS" narritive is bullshit.

We just disagree here, you say 343i is not taking seriously, which is just complete clown talk when Infinite got an 87 metacritic.

The facts simply dont support what your saying.

Yep, 343 only released the most ambitious Halo campaign in history, with a range of brand new gameplay additions that has never been in any prior Halo game, changes that clearly signal an exciting future for Halo.

Same on the MP side of things. There's never been anything in Halo like Academy, weapon drills, practice mode etc. 343 doesn't have features delayed in a Halo game that was same old, same old, they got features delayed in a Halo game more ambitious and unlike any other Halo game before it. That blueprint is going to be incredible going forward as they come to grips with their new engine and all the new additions.

 

[kingfey]

I think the games MS release shows there management in a more positive light, yes it needs improvement but I think "the only being negative about XGS" narritive is bullshit.

We just disagree here, you say 343i is not taking seriously, which is just complete clown talk when Infinite got an 87 metacritic.

The facts simply dont support what your saying.

Might wanna hold on that infinite metacritic. Cyberpunk 2077 got 87 on xsx, 86 on pc.

Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world, action-adventure story set in Night City, a megalopolis obsessed with power, glamour and body modification. Assume the role of V, a mercenary outlaw going after a one-of-a-kind implant that is the key to immortality. You can customize your character’s cyberware...

www.metacritic.com

Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world, action-adventure story set in Night City, a megalopolis obsessed with power, glamour and body modification. Assume the role of V, a mercenary outlaw going after a one-of-a-kind implant that is the key to immortality. You can customize your character’s cyberware...

www.metacritic.com

But that doesnt show the problems the game has.
As I stated before, Halo infinite main issue is the free multiplayer mode, and the state they wanted to release the game in 2020. These are management issues at 343i. XGS needs to have some talk with 343i, and fire the head of the company, for letting these issues pass, as good product. Serious companies dont let these mistakes pass.